Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: Flex on May 31, 2013, 02:00:05 AM
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Chinese President Xi Jinping coming to T&T.
Historic visit
By Lara Pickford-Gordon
Friday, May 31 2013
In what will be an historic occasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping will arrive in Trinidad tonight for a two-day visit aimed at deepening ties with TT and the English-speaking Caribbean region. He will be accompanied by First Lady Peng Liyuan, government officials and media personnel.
Shortly after 7 pm, President Anthony Carmona, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran will welcome President Xi at the South Terminal of the Piarco International Airport on the eve of a very hectic schedule of engagements.
Also part of the ceremonial welcome will be Chief Justice Ivor Archie, members of Cabinet and Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley.
President Xi’s arrival comes just days after TT hosted US Vice-President Joe Biden and Caricom leaders for multilateral talks.
According to a media release from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), “both China and Trinidad and Tobago will review their existing bilateral relationship and will seek to deepen areas of trade, and investment, energy, technical cooperation, and the exchange of high level visits and cultural exchanges.”
OPM reported that TT and China were interested in strengthening the China-Caribbean cooperation and China-Latin America and Caribbean cooperation.
Persad-Bissessar and President Xi “would seek the expansion of cooperation in international affairs, including the reform of the United Nations system; reform of the international financial and trade architecture, climate change and global security.”
While in TT President Xi will meet with heads of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) who have diplomatic relations with China.
The President’s official engagements begin tomorrow at 9 am with a courtesy call on President Carmona at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain followed by a courtesy call on Persad-Bissessar and bilateral talks. At the end of talks a media briefing will take place.
In the afternoon, President Xi meets with President of the Senate Timothy Hamel-Smith and House Speaker Wade Mark at the Parliament Building, Tower D, International Waterfront Centre. From here he proceeds to the site for the Couva Children’s Hospital, Preysal Main Road, where there will be a plaque unveiling ceremony. Persad-Bissessar and Minister of Housing and the Environment Dr Roodal Moonilal will be in attendance.
President Carmona will host a State Banquet for President Xi at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, St Ann’s.
The Chinese First Lady will have her own engagements tomorrow. After accompanying her husband for the courtesy call on President Carmona, she will attend a concert in her honour at NAPA. A few hours later she will visit the Lady Hochoy Home at Cocorite, then accompany her husband to the State banquet at the Hilton Trinidad. Newsday learnt that persons of Chinese ancestry in TT have been invited to attend.
On Sunday, Madame Peng Liyuan will visit the Yerette, Home of the Hummingbird, Maracas Valley, St Joseph, where several types of hummingbirds could be seen.
President Xi and the First Lady will depart TT around 4 pm.
China’s Ambassador to TT Huang Xingyuan said President Xi’s visit was the first to TT and the English-speaking Caribbean region since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries 39 years ago. He said the visit could be called “a visit across oceans to China’s good friends.” He said it will be a “milestone in our bilateral ties, and a major diplomatic event signifying China’s commitment to developing cooperative relations with the Caribbean countries.” China and TT established diplomatic relations in 1974 and have “wide and deep cooperation in political, economical, cultural and other fields.”
Xingyuan said China has always been “committed to friendly, sincere cooperation, mutual development and resolving difficulties together. China looked forward to TT playing a more important role regionally and internationally” when it takes over the chairmanship of Caricom. In the field of economy and trade, Xingyuan said this has improved continuously and bilateral trade had reached US$627 million in 2011, the highest ever. He said more businessmen were going to China to explore investment opportunities and a growing number of Chinese were coming to TT to establish potential business relations.
At the end of last year TT and China signed a framework agreement for a concessional loan to be used for building the children’s hospital.
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let him go kamwah and eat some pow and char sui pork
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let him go kamwah and eat some pow and char sui pork
So what happen to Kong Chow pow!
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PM PRAISES CHINA TIES
President Xi Jinping arrives for visit
By Joel Julien
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday said Trinidad and Tobago was honoured to host President of China Xi Jinping, on his first visit to this region since being elected leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Xi arrived last night at Piarco International Airport, accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, and a number of officials and media personnel for a two-day visit.
She described the state visit as particularly historic and significant because it is the first visit of a president of the People’s Republic of China to the English-speaking Caribbean.
Persad-Bissessar said one of the aims of the visit is to set the stage for a deepening of the bilateral relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and China, in areas such as trade and investment, energy, infrastructural development, technical co-operation, tourism, and cultural and educational exchanges.
Trinidad and Tobago’s soon-to-be-established embassy in Beijing, she said, will facilitate the promotion and expansion of trade in China and further strengthen the ties that exist between the two nations.
Persad-Bissessar said she attached great importance to the relationship which Trinidad and Tobago has developed with China since the 1970s.
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has enjoyed over those years a truly excellent bilateral relationship that has been characterised by extensive trade in goods and services, economic and technical co-operation, and high-level visits like this one. Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked closely with the Chinese Embassy in Port of Spain to foster that friendly diplomatic relationship between our two countries,” Persad-Bissessar said
She pointed out that Trinidad and Tobago has become the fifth largest import market for Chinese products.
“From China, we import everything from diesel buses, ferro-silicon manganese, iron/steel tubes and pipes, re-factory bricks, woven fabrics, and Carnival costumes.
“The value of bilateral trade between China and Trinidad and Tobago reached a historic figure of US$627 million in 2011. Yes, there is an imbalance in that trade and that gap keeps getting wider. The trade deficit between our two countries was US$158.7 million in 2005 and by 2010, it jumped to US$380.9 million, both in favour of China. We would hope this gap can be reduced as our entrepreneurs in business take up the challenge of the Chinese president to increase exports to China,”Persad-Bissessar said.
(http://newsday.co.tt/galeria/2013-05-31-4-1A_Xi_&_Peng.jpg)
President and First Lady: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife First Lady Peng Liyuan arrive today for a two-day State visit.
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(http://newsday.co.tt/galeria/2013-05-31-4-1A_Xi_&_Peng.jpg)
He rel get tru
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let him go kamwah and eat some pow and char sui pork
That sh!t restaurant??!! stueeeepppssss
it had man selling box chinese food out of those square vans on independence sq when i was ah yuteman, which was ah trillion times better than kamwah, dem chinese ppl in T&T cyar cook like the old ones.
back then we had the best chinese food ever!! T&T got real fackin sorf boy, in every facet of life. the standard drop real bad in that country. it's ah damn shame.
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(http://newsday.co.tt/galeria/2013-05-31-4-1A_Xi_&_Peng.jpg)
He rel get tru
... and put dem together and yuh get:
(http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2012-11-18/450/20121118000086.jpg)
Not shabby at all.
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well done
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PM PRAISES CHINA TIES
President Xi Jinping arrives for visit
By Joel Julien
Persad-Bissessar said one of the aims of the visit is to set the stage for a deepening of the bilateral relationship between Trinidad and Tobago and China, in areas such as trade and investment, energy, infrastructural development, technical co-operation, tourism, and cultural and educational exchanges.
So.....more chinese contractors?
(http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2012-11-18/450/20121118000086.jpg)
Not shabby at all.
Dey leave she home or dey did bring she?
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let him go kamwah and eat some pow and char sui pork
That sh!t restaurant??!! stueeeepppssss
it had man selling box chinese food out of those square vans on independence sq when i was ah yuteman, which was ah trillion times better than kamwah, dem chinese ppl in T&T cyar cook like the old ones.
back then we had the best chinese food ever!! T&T got real fackin sorf boy, in every facet of life. the standard drop real bad in that country. it's ah damn shame.
ah feel u is one ah them people that does drench they chinee food in ah tonne ah ketchup,yuh fightin prostate cancer
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de best food ever is shay shay tien and it had ah place bout 35years ago on one ah them streets in town....golden dragon,on like fukkin corn.
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She pointed out that Trinidad and Tobago has become the fifth largest import market for Chinese products.
“From China, we import everything from diesel buses, ferro-silicon manganese, iron/steel tubes and pipes, re-factory bricks, woven fabrics, and Carnival costumes.
[/quote]
What is wrong with this woman and her Gov't do they know about ANSI standards? am sure she do, turning a blind eye. Engineering firms don't use Chinese metal in the Petro Chemical, Power Piping and cross country Piping Industries. Chinese metal fail in several industries standards testing. TT Gov't asking for trouble.
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...
(http://www.wantchinatimes.com/newsphoto/2012-11-18/450/20121118000086.jpg)
Not shabby at all.
Dey leave she home or dey did bring she?
Ah doh think so.
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US $3b for region
No $$ for St Lucia, St Kitts, 3 others
By Juhel Browne: CCN Senior Multimedia Journalist
Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries that support the People’s Republic of China’s One China policy, including Trinidad and Tobago, are to benefit from US$3 billion in concessional loans from that country.
Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, Montserrat, Guyana, Barbados, The Bahamas, Grenada, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda support the One China policy, in which the People’s Republic of China does not recognise a separate entity called the Republic of China which administers Taiwan.
Belize, Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis maintain relations with Taiwan.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar informed the media of the latest financial assistance being offered by the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, after she attended a luncheon held at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre, St Ann’s, which featured an address from Xi while he was in T&T on a three-day State visit.
“President Jinping announced at the luncheon he will be contributing US$3 billion in concessional financing for the Caricom region, so we indeed thank him for that very generous gesture. US$3 billion for infrastructure projects—US$1.5 billion, and another US$1.5 billion for other kinds of development projects in the region,” Persad-Bissessar said.
The US$3 billion parting gift from Xi comes just days after United States Vice-President Joe Biden paid a two-day visit to Trinidad, during which he met with several Caricom Heads of Government, including Haitian President Michel Martelly, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas.
In response to a question from the media, Persad-Bissessar said the concessional financing would be limited to those Caricom States that support the One China policy.
“And that is as it should be. You would have seen that those countries that do not support the One China policy were not invited by His Excellency for the meetings, for the bi-laterals today, and I have no difficulty with that in principle because Trinidad and Tobago has always supported the One China policy, as several other countries,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Speaking through an interpreter, China’s Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Huang Xingyuan, said the concessional financing may be increased in the future.
“One thing I would like to emphasise here is that the people of China will never forget their old friends, especially those friends that supported us at the crucial moments of history,” he said.
Caricom Heads of Government who attended the luncheon at the Hilton did so after Xi held bilateral meetings with each of them at the hotel.
They included Guyana’s President, Donald Ramotar; Suriname’s President, Desi Bouterse; Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller; Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell; Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit; and Prime Minister of The Bahamas Perry Christie.
Ramotar said he does see not the US$3 billion in concessional loans from People’s Republic of China to the Caricom States that support the One China policy as an attempt to gain influence internationally.
“I don’t think China has to gain influence. I think China is a powerful and influential country in the world and the question of what kind of influence to me, China has a very positive influence in the international arena and I welcome that,” Ramotar said.
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Ahrm. When we go hadda pay back for that?
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I'm weary of this kind of 'generosity'. I wonder what we signed on to. Our PM's wording makes it sound like a thinly veiled bribe. Especially since CARICOM has been saying that the US not really taking them them on at all.
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I'm weary of this kind of 'generosity'. I wonder what we signed on to. Our PM's wording makes it sound like a thinly veiled bribe. Especially since CARICOM has been saying that the US not really taking them them on at all.
Unfortunately dis de way the world does work nowadays oui....'gifts', 'investment incentives' etc
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I'm weary of this kind of 'generosity'. I wonder what we signed on to. Our PM's wording makes it sound like a thinly veiled bribe. Especially since CARICOM has been saying that the US not really taking them them on at all.
Unfortunately dis de way the world does work nowadays oui....'gifts', 'investment incentives' etc
No problem with that.
Thing is...to pay back when? How?
I dunno if my memory bad..buh I reading dis and wondering:
“President Jinping announced at the luncheon he will be contributing US$3 billion in concessional financing for the Caricom region, so we indeed thank him for that very generous gesture. US$3 billion for infrastructure projects—US$1.5 billion, and another US$1.5 billion for other kinds of development projects in the region,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Didnt they especially have a hue and cry about chinese contractors in T&T? Who going and get dem contracts to do this infrastructural work? Other kinds of development geared towards what? Concessional financing meaning cash in hand or in services?
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Cant believe T&T needs a loan !!!!!
A country that is rich in oil, pitch and natural gas among other things. !!!!
Craziness !!!!
Just now the world will be in death to China, the U.S already owe them Trillions.
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China breeze in, label de TnT journalist "Third World", ban dem from de sinting... and Tantie Kams jess grinning wider dan ah court jester. Journalist dem complain to Gideon Hanoomansingh, and he take he head out chinee bamsee long enough to come back wid "maybe allyuh hear 'Third Party' instead?"
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re: the loan. there wasn't an announcement of upcoming project or projects?
well, it better to be part of the new game than left on the sidelines.
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I'm weary of this kind of 'generosity'. I wonder what we signed on to. Our PM's wording makes it sound like a thinly veiled bribe. Especially since CARICOM has been saying that the US not really taking them them on at all.
Don't yuhs know that china and japan has fished out their waters to an all time low??
over fishing is ah serious issue plaguing the orient right now and the sad part about it is, their economy and life style depends heavily on sea food.
another thing that we should take into consideration is that caribbean waters is rich with plant life which in turn attracts fish, particularly T&T, which has the most fish of all the other waters in the caribbean.
i bet allyuh anything that china or japan already start trawling in our waters, and if this is the case then our leaders are a bunch of fackin knuckle heads!
there's no way that any sovereign nation should sell out the rights of their waters to allow trawling (over fishing), there's just no way!! dr williams woulda never allow that, no way!!
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DOG MEAT HORROR
http://www.newsday.co.tt/news/0,213904.html
By Marlene Augustine Friday, July 10 2015
Go vegetarian is the advice coming from Health Minister Fuad Khan as he weighed in on the horrror of a dog being skinned by a Chinese looking man in a video which went viral on social media yesterday.
“We normally have stray dogs and one wonders if the Chinese restaurants, those which have sprung up all over the place have been serving dog meat and something else,” Khan told Newsday yesterday.
“So I think the time is right because if one becomes a vegetarian they will not end up in that position. They will lose weight. This is something we have a look at very very seriously.” Khan pointed to the number of stray dogs in this country that have disappeared, and are not seen in the dog pound. “So they have to be going somewhere,” said the Health Minister. Khan said he was very worried about what was being said about a restaurant in Diego Martin and although he felt horrified by the video, he was not surprised.
He said some of the Chinese nationals might have brought some of their culture to Trinidad and Tobago, but indicated that there is little that can be done to stop it.
“The Food and Drug Act addresses the importation of food items, but it does not cover issue like this,” Khan said. “When you mix food with MSG - vetsin that is - it softens the meat. The taste will change as well as the meat consistency, and it will look like beef, pork, or something.
So one has to be extremely careful what they are eating.” Khan went on to say, “I have been very particular because I know in China, rats, dogs and cats and other things: the Chinese public is coming down on quite a few of those people who are doing it. When I was told about the video...I was a bit worried about what is being sold.” He noted that there are no laws to protect animals at that level.
However he noted the video brought into the forefront that there have been a total wipe out of stray dogs in Trinidad and Tobago, adding, “we never had that before.” He suggested having public health inspectors going out and checking these meats.
“Now that the video has come out, people may go underground for a while, and it has to be a constant assessment,” Khan said.
Meanwhile, the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) is on the look out for the couple of Chinese looking men who were seen in a video on social media skinning the dog dangling from a rope.
President of the organisation, Sita Kuruvilla, revealed they are attempting to get more information about the incident depicted in the video.
“We do have some information,” Kuruvilla told Newsday yesterday.
“We are trying to verify where this incident actually occurred, and who were the people involved.” She added that when they had verification, the organisation will be going to the site to speak to whoever is in charge, basically to advise them that this is not an acceptable practice in Trinidad and Tobago, and to make sure that they stop completely.
Some reports indicate the incident occurred on the compound of a restaurant but Newsday understands the video was taken by a security guard who works on the construction site of the new Carenage Health Centre located at the corner of Constabulary Street and Western Main Road, Carenage.
Serious health concerns and questions were raised by listeners to various radio stations yesterday who called in to speak about the issue as the video went viral.
An official of the Chinese Embassy in Port-of-Spain also commented on the incident depicted in the video after viewing it yesterday. He expressed his “sincere regret for the people who did such a cruel thing.” “It is absolutely wrong to hurt animals such as dogs and cats which are our humanity’s best friend,” the official said.
The official also asked Newsday if it was possible to find out if the persons who were shown in the video are Chinese, whether the video was shot in Trinidad and Tobago, and he further questioned why the local man who shot the video did not stop the killing, asking too if he also shared the dog meat with the men who killed the animal.
“I myself personally am strongly against such a killing, because I love dogs and cats,” the Chinese official told Newsday saying he also raised a dog in his home, and not all Chinese people would do such a cruel thing.
“Actually, there are a lot of animal protection volunteers in China,” he added. “They do all their best to protect animals every day.” Explaining that there are no laws in TT to specifically deal with such an incident the TTSPCA president told Newsday, “What we do have is a Summary Offences Act which deals with animal cruelty and, as in a case like this, (where) the animal would not have been most likely treated humanely, the animal cruelty laws would apply.” Kuruvilla indicated the TTSPCA wants to take a broader approach where many different groups are doing construction in Trinidad, to ensure that it is understood on a general scale that this is not accepted practice in TT.
However, she said since they were in a difficult position as far as legislation goes, “we are going to strengthen our position by looking at whatever agencies may have some influence over an issue like this.” Kuruvilla went to say, “I know everybody is getting very workedup about it, but the only way we can prevent things like this from happening is to make it very clear where in the law states that it cannot be allowed.
They need to know that it is not a cultural practice in this country and it is not going to be tolerated by citizens of this country, and certainly not by the Animal Welfare Organisation,” Kuruvilla said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf7mJWuXylc
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What the embassy official really thinking is, "Rooks dericious!"
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What the embassy official really thinking is, "Rooks dericious!"
Buh Peong your name sounds Chinese. If ah din know better ... :devil:
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That's how I know what he's thinking, I was thinking it too.
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Is it right for the writer to describe the man as "chinese" looking? Why not describe him as asian. I just nitpicking and would love to hear other views. Chinese is both a race and nationality?
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highly doubt they were skinning it to sell it...mos likely they hailed from those areas in china that consume the dogmeat and they were prepping it for themselves
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Dog meat horror upsets Carenage
By Marlene Augustine Saturday, July 11 2015
Operators of Chinese restaurants went mum but Carenage residents were loud in their horror to to hear that dogs are being eaten in their community.
“No, no, no,” were the only words uttered by one Chinese restauranteur who also showed Newsday the door.
The varying moods followed the video of a dog being skinned by two Chinese looking men which went viral via social media earlier in the week, aired on national television, and reported on by Newsday yesterday, including comments and concerns on the matter made by Minister of Health, Dr Fuad Khan. The video is said to have been shot on a construction site in the Carenage area, where residents spoken to by Newsday yesterday felt that more must be done about the culture of some Chinese immigrants in Trinidad and Tobago. The incident raised concerns that dog meat may be, unknown to the public, on the menus of restaurants set up by Chinese immigrants.
A proprietor who sells food, and only gave her name as Debbie, told Newsday she felt sick when she saw the video.
“I have stopped eating their food a while, but now I am convinced that I don’t ever want to eat Chinese food again because I’m not sure what I am eating from these people. If they want to eat it fine, but don’t sell it to people who don’t want to eat it,” she said.
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said she too will never buy Chinese food again.
“I have always heard people saying that they eat that (dog meat), but now I don’t have to see any more videos or hear about it no more,” she said.
However, another said he is not surprised about the video because he knew that in their country some of the people eat the meat of various animals.
“I don’t really eat the food, but I know they eat it (dog meat) and this is not the first time,” he said. “It had a time when a dog got bounce down on the road I saw one of them came and took the dog away and the individual did not put it in the garbage,” he said.
However, Keith Mohammed yesterday visited Newsday’s head office on Chacon Street, Port-of- Spain, and noted that “It is not fair to stigmatise the Chinese people in the community of Carenage. I have been into some of the restaurants in the area, and you can see they are not happy about the incident. It is not all Chinese eat dog. People eat catfish which feeds on faeces and manicou. They also eat iguanas and for people to be saying these harsh things about Chinese people in TT, that is being cruel,” he said.
Animal rights activist Nalini Dial says “if you need to sell canine meat to the public, you need to advertise it on the menu.”
“If people wish to try it just as we see rabbit meat being sold in supermarkets, we don’t really like that but if people want to eat that (dog meat) the people must know what they are eating,” Dial said. “If they like it after they have tried it and acquired the taste, it is their choice to eat it regularly and to eat it they can order it. But it needs to be advertised on the menu just as they would advertise chicken, pork and whatever they served.”
However, Dial said as an activist she was concerned over where they were obtaining the dogs and how the dogs were being put down before preparation for eating, and if this is being sold at restaurants.
“We understand that the dogs are skinned alive,” Dial said. “This is inhumane and cruel and these people can be charged under the Summary Offences Act 1918.” Meanwhile, former president of the Supermarkets Association, Balliram Maharaj, said yesterday that there were no words to express how he felt when he saw the video.
“I felt so sick and disgust when I saw the video,” he said. “I was having dinner when I saw the video being aired on television and I just could not continue to eat. I know for a fact now I don’t want no part of any type of meat again.” When Newsday tried to get a response from various Chinese restaurants on the Western Main Road, St James, no one wanted to comment on the incident.
One effort in a Chinese Supermarket located in St James, was met with raised hands by one of the sales clerk and a terse “No, no, no” while showing Newsday the doorway of the establishment.
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:)
We don't serve dog meat
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150710/news/chinese-restaurants-we-dont-serve-dog-meat (http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150710/news/chinese-restaurants-we-dont-serve-dog-meat)
Chinese restaurant employees are slamming Minister of Health Dr Fuad Khan for what they call his “uneducated” and “irresponsible” statements regarding Chinese food.
Khan, who was weighing in on video footage of Chinese men skinning a dog, which went viral on social media last week, was reported as suggesting there was a link between a decrease in stray dogs on the streets and an increase in Chinese restaurants all over the country.
“We normally have stray dogs and one wonders if the Chinese restaurants, those which have sprung up all over the place, have been serving dog meat and something else,” Khan told Newsday.
He further said Chinese seasonings could change the taste and texture of the dog meat.
“When you mix food with MSG—vetsin, that is—it softens the meat. The taste will change as well as the meat consistency, and it will look like beef, pork or something.”
Worried about impact
However, employees at several Chinese restaurants in Port of Spain yesterday described the comments as “ignorant, uneducated and irresponsible”.
Manco Qui, an employee at the popular Me Asia Chinese Restaurant on Ariapita Avenue, said he was disgusted by the insinuation and worried about the impact it would have on Chinese food businesses.
Qui said despite the belief that eating dogs is a part of Chinese culture, it was a misconception that all Chinese people eat dogs.
“We don't serve dogs,” he said. “It is a false belief that all Chinese people eat dogs. Killing dogs is cruel and we believe anybody who kills a dog should be punished.”
Qui said he saw the video and wanted to point out that the men in the video were Chinese construction workers and not restaurant workers, and were most likely preparing the dog for their own consumption. He was adamant Chinese restaurants would not serve dog meat to the public.
Asked if sales had been affected since the video began circulating, Qui said not at all.
At another popular restaurant on Maraval Road, a female employee who asked not to be named said Khan's comments were “uneducated”.
She added that despite the video now being circulated, it was not a recent video. “I had that video on my phone months ago,” she said.
While she too expressed concern about the impact Khan's comments would have, she said it was business as usual at the restaurant.
“Nobody has complained to us. People come in and make jokes about it, but sales have not been affected.”
The Express checked with several other Chinese restaurants in the capital city yesterday, where it was also business as usual.
Customers could be seen enjoying their meals.
Mosos Nnaji, who purchased a midday meal of rice, chow mein and chicken at a restaurant on lower Henry Street, said he would continue to buy Chinese food because it is affordable and tasty.
“I don't believe what they say about the dogs,” he said.
Another customer said he didn't care either way. “If it's dog, it tasting good,” he said, as he placed his order.
Efforts to contact Khan yesterday were unsuccessful.
TTSPCA: Respect
Trinidad culture
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TTSPCA) Sita Kuruvilla yesterday said Chinese nationals in Trinidad must have respect for Trinidad culture.
Speaking with the Express via telephone, Kuruvilla said while eating dogs may be a cultural norm for the Chinese, it is unacceptable here, as dogs are considered companions.
“Culturally in Trinidad, people don't eat dogs. We view them as companions. In Trinidad, it's not acceptable in our culture. You don't go to somebody else's country and do something that flies in the face of the culture of that country. If people come into Trinidad, ideally they should try to abide by the cultural norms.”
She said while there weren't any laws to prevent the eating of dogs in this country, there is a Summary Offences Act dealing with cruelty to animals which may apply in these cases.
“We don't know the conditions under which these dogs were caught or killed, so that may actually constitute cruelty to animals,” she said.
Kuruvilla said the TTSPCA was appalled at the contents of the video and is currently trying to verify where the incident took place.
No decrease in stray dogs
She also took issue with Khan's comments, calling them “uninformed”. She said while there may have been an increase in Chinese restaurants, there has been no substantial decrease in stray dogs in Trinidad.
“People keep telling us that they have been seeing a decline in the stray dog population. We recognise that on the main highways you don't see as many dogs, but from our work we know that in communities and recreational areas, there are lots of stray dogs. The regional corporations continue to pick up stray dogs. They pick up somewhere in the region of 4,000 stray dogs a year,” she said.
Another 4,000 dogs are relinquished to the TTSPCA each year, she said, in addition to those brought into other animal welfare organisations.
“There is no shortage of stray dogs in the country at this time and those statements were not based on any facts at all,” she said.
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We’re Trinis too
By MIRANDA LA ROSE (NEWSDAY)
Wednesday, July 15 2015
Young Trinidadians of Chinese descent have engaged in an online campaign on social media to combat xenophobia and racism that has emerged following reports in the media of Chinese men skinning a dog supposedly to cook for food.
Lily Kwok, 22, of Glencoe, who started the campaign, told Newsday yesterday that the video shown on television last Thursday and published in the newspapers along with “uneducated comments” by Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan “has led to an onslaught of xenophobic and racist comments against Trini- Chinese.” A Facebook profile which she started yesterday invites “any and everyone to join me in taking a photo sending a positive/ constructive message on social media to combat ignorance, xenophobia, intolerance and racism.” She posted, “Fight ignorance. Proclaim your humanity. Spread love.
#IAmAPerson.” A photo shows her holding a poster that read, “I will not go back to China” and “I am Trinidadian.” At press time the post had attracted 114 “Like” and had 824 “Share.” Asked why she started the campaign, Kwok said the comments she has heard, including “telling the Chinese to return to China and for Government to control Chinese immigration” in all forms of media and on the street, were hurtful. “After all,” she said, “I am a person who has feelings, who has an identity.” As a Trinidadian, who was born and raised in Trinidad to parents who were also born and raised in Trinidad, she said, “I was angry at first.” However, she said, she believes education is a more powerful tool than ridicule in dealing with hateful and bigoted people.
The day after the airing of the video during a television newscast, Kwok said her family’s restaurant experienced slow business and closed earlier than usual.
Before the entire incident, Kwok said, “I never experienced xenophobia and racism in Trinidad.” The response to the campaign, she said, has been mostly supportive and positive, but some have questioned her “Trinidadianness.” Restaurant owner, Jenny Lin Hulder, 32, who has also joined the campaign told Newsday that Khan’s comments on dog meat being seasoned with MSG and possibly served in restaurants might have created panic in public.
“I am seeing a decline in sales.
Not only me, but other restaurants have been affected ever since the video was aired,” she said.
Among others affected were relatives going about their business in a market who had vegetables thrown at them.
“It has gotten ridiculous. Jokes is one thing but getting thrown at with vegetables is public lynching,” she said. Most of the older Chinese were not saying anything, she said.
“What can they say? They can’t express themselves so well because they don’t have a great command of the English language. It is the only younger ones like us, who were born here, who have a better grasp of what is going on, and who will have to make representation.” Asia Jutla, a young professional of Maraval, said she joined the campaign because she realised it was important to address the xenophobia and racism that persons of her ancestry were experiencing after the publicity given to the skinning of the dog.
“Personally it is upsetting to hear the statements being made out of ignorance by a lot of my countrymen,” she said.
Many people have not realised that the recent fire on Charlotte Street housed a Chinese association that looks after the cultural heritage of Trini-Chinese nationals who were born and bred in TT, she said, yet she heard statements that said it was good “for them because they are cruel to dogs”.
It was hurtful, she said, “to know people are still being stereotyped and identified as sub- sections of society for victimisation and isolation.” Trinidad is supposed to be a “callaloo country”, she said, “but when things like this happens it shows that, maybe, we aren’t that close to being a callaloo country.” Proud of her national heritage, she said, “It is so important to hold onto the things that bring us together as a people rather than the things that drive us apart.” Kwok, Lin Hulder and Jutla all declared that they do not eat dog meat.
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http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20150714/news/8216i-will-not-go-back-to-china8217
(http://www.trinidadexpress.com/storyimage/TT/20150714/LOCAL/150719712/AR/0/AR-150719712.jpg&MaxW=730&imageversion=Article)
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Most folks don't realize that the Chinese first came to Trinidad in 1807 before the East Indians to work as Indenture laborers and have been in Trinidad longer than the East Indians.
So if they were born in T&T then they belong to T&T just as much as most other Trinis.
Many of them born in T&T might be of Chinese decent but will be culturally more Trinbagonian than Chinese.
Below is an excerpt from this thread: History of Trinidad & Tobago's Population,Politicial & Cultural Growth from 1498 (http://www.socawarriors.net/forum/index.php?topic=63928.msg918847#msg918847)
1807 - The Slave Trade is abolished by the British and Trinidad is left with labour shortage.
First shipment of 200 Chinese labourers brought to Trinidad by the British as part of an experiment to assess their potential as a new form of cheap labour which was later labelled as indentureship.
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Chinese restaurants hit hard
http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-07-18/chinese-restaurants-hit-hard
Chinese restaurant owners fear that untold damage has been done to their businesses in the aftermath of a video showing Chinese nationals skinning a dog and Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan’s statements allegedly equating the reduction of the stray dog population to dog meat being served up to diners at Chinese restaurants.
Sales have plummeted by as much as 80 per cent at some Chinese food establishments.
The owners fear if this disturbing trend continues they may be forced to close their businesses because they will be unable to pay the rent and staff wages with dwindling customers.
The situation has become so dire that two emergency meetings to address the matter were held by the members of the China Society, the umbrella organisation for the various Chinese associations and groups, at the Chinese Association headquarters at St Ann’s on Tuesday and a business place in St Clair, on Thursday.
The fallout has been felt in Chinese restaurants nationwide, and not only in the western peninsula where the video originated.
Affected business owners came from as far as San Fernando to relate their experiences.
Johnny Chow, a member of the China Chamber of Commerce, said depending on the districts, several owners reported a drastic decline in sales ranging from 50 per cent to as much as 80 per cent.
He said some restaurant owners had no choice but to dump their perishables or sell their unused chicken, beef and pork at below cost price.
Chow said this could cause a domino effect in the local economy affecting local suppliers to Chinese restaurants.
Vice-president of another Chinese group, the Fui Toong On Association, Joe Chan, said a local supplier’s sales to his Chinese customers dropped by 40 per cent.
Besides their livelihood being placed in jeopardy, another major concern of members of the Chinese community is that the xenophobia, verbal insults, hazing, discrimination, and racial stereotyping that Chinese are subjected to may escalate to physical attacks, dirty tricks and smear campaigns.
The Sunday Guardian was shown video footage of a man exiting a vehicle and cutting the tyre valve stem on a Chinese man’s pickup in Massy Stores car park in San Fernando, earlier this week.
A dog hanging by a rope was posted on social media on Friday near to a Chinese establishment in St Croix Junction, Princes Town.
The Sunday Guardian confirmed from a resident that the act was done by someone in the neighbourhood and not Chinese people.
In the light of the backlash and negative repercussions, the China Society and other organisations of T&T citizens of Chinese descent have called on Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan to retract his statements warning people to beware of what they consumed from Chinese restaurants.
In a statement, the Chinese organisations alleged that “a proverbial witch-hunt” was now on against Chinese in T&T and they were being harassed by other citizens.
They said the result of the re-broadcast of the video and the minister’s comments was that all people of Chinese descent had become the subject of derogatory comments, racial slurs, harassment, intimidation, racial isolation, intolerance and bias.
On the streets, in business places, in person, on the phone and on social media they were constantly being singled out and harassed.
Chinese Association president Clyde Allum said, “As a Trinidadian-Chinese I am repulsed by the video. I accept there are Chinese who eat dog meat but that does not apply to every Chinese.
“What I find very much more distressing is the fact that Dr Khan made those statements and actually attributed the lack of stray dogs to the Chinese community.
“I think it is in very poor taste and we would like him to make an apology to the Chinese community.”
Joseph Tai Chew, president of the Chung Shan Association, said Khan’s remarks were unfortunate.
He said the Chinese community had done a lot for the country in various fields, including the economy, medicine, arts, culture, and generating employment.
Tai Chew said Chinese people were very reserved and didn’t make a lot of noise, but it was very sad when negative statements about the Chinese came from “higher places.”
President of the China Society Yung Gen Siu said a solution must be found soon for the Chinese restaurateurs’ plight.
Andrea CWH-Coutain from the I Am Trinidadian Facebook social media page said her concerns had always been for the Chinese people and Chinese mixed people of Trinidad, and how they were perceived and treated in the public eye.
Candice Lee Kim, who took to social media with the I Will Not Go Back to China sign campaign, said Khan’s statements were irresponsible. Lee Kim said Trinidadians generally took what the media reported to heart without a follow-up or investigation.
Chinese community members are fearful that there will be reprisals from the State in the form of relentless health food checks.
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan did not return the Sunday Guardian’s calls.
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
Make sure you decline the msg!
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
well I decided to stop, not because of no dog meat, but because apart from the odd jobs here and there, the immigrant owned establishments contribute very little to the local economy..........apart from doing their part in contributing to the endemic tax evasion in the system, 95% of their inputs are imported from china and the lion share of revenues sent guess where?..........now I know u might say but we doin' dat too, re: d tax evasion...but d difference is it stays in the system when we do it.... "not justification" just our economic reality
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
well I decided to stop, not because of no dog meat, but because apart from the odd jobs here and there, the immigrant owned establishments contribute very little to the local economy..........apart from doing their part in contributing to the endemic tax evasion in the system, 95% of their inputs are imported from china and the lion share of revenues sent guess where?..........now I know u might say but we doin' dat too, re: d tax evasion...but d difference is it stays in the system when we do it.... "not justification" just our economic reality
So based on your statement, how much do the Chinese restaurant owners really contribute to the TT economy since their money is supposedly going back to China?
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
well I decided to stop, not because of no dog meat, but because apart from the odd jobs here and there, the immigrant owned establishments contribute very little to the local economy..........apart from doing their part in contributing to the endemic tax evasion in the system, 95% of their inputs are imported from china and the lion share of revenues sent guess where?..........now I know u might say but we doin' dat too, re: d tax evasion...but d difference is it stays in the system when we do it.... "not justification" just our economic reality
So based on your statement, how much do the Chinese restaurant owners really contribute to the TT economy since their money is supposedly going back to China?
dread please........not dis mornin'...........I outlined the goings on very clearly above...............
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
well I decided to stop, not because of no dog meat, but because apart from the odd jobs here and there, the immigrant owned establishments contribute very little to the local economy..........apart from doing their part in contributing to the endemic tax evasion in the system, 95% of their inputs are imported from china and the lion share of revenues sent guess where?..........now I know u might say but we doin' dat too, re: d tax evasion...but d difference is it stays in the system when we do it.... "not justification" just our economic reality
So based on your statement, how much do the Chinese restaurant owners really contribute to the TT economy since their money is supposedly going back to China?
dread please........not dis mornin'...........I outlined the goings on very clearly above...............
I'm asking a serious question because I know non Chinese Trinis that have been evading taxes for donkey years in Trinidad and don't spend their money locally... Maybe groceries and a carnival fete, gas and other things but they bank their money outside..
So I ask again, what is the percentage and eseentially what is the difference between them and the rest?
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
well I decided to stop, not because of no dog meat, but because apart from the odd jobs here and there, the immigrant owned establishments contribute very little to the local economy..........apart from doing their part in contributing to the endemic tax evasion in the system, 95% of their inputs are imported from china and the lion share of revenues sent guess where?..........now I know u might say but we doin' dat too, re: d tax evasion...but d difference is it stays in the system when we do it.... "not justification" just our economic reality
So based on your statement, how much do the Chinese restaurant owners really contribute to the TT economy since their money is supposedly going back to China?
dread please........not dis mornin'...........I outlined the goings on very clearly above...............
I'm asking a serious question because I know non Chinese Trinis that have been evading taxes for donkey years in Trinidad and don't spend their money locally... Maybe groceries and a carnival fete, gas and other things but they bank their money outside..
So I ask again, what is the percentage and eseentially what is the difference between them and the rest?
percentage.............and I remember clearly using the the phrase "already endemic" and "immigrant establishments" ............and it is a genuine concern......the country looses both money from the economic system and the tax system....at very high rates
There are many who run from electronic transactions like is d plague simply for the fact that that leaves a "footprint" ..................now consider that they are taking advantage of a system that already foregoing billions in tax revenue, because we have oil............jus to lazy to go out and get all income earners under d tax umbrella
It have real business owners who actually believe they doh legally have to pay tax by right or statute and does only realize when dey try to expand or try to get commercial or gov't contracts.
The nature of my work only allows me to speak broad facts and acknowledgements that already more or less public domain, so do what u could with that
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I still eating mih Chinese food......doh see what the big fuss is. Is a setta hypocrites living here. All kinda nasty wild meat locals does eat (including ah nice, cute fluffy thing like rabbit), but scorning the Chinese....steups!! hypocrites....
Yep I friends who does eat Bugs tired talk to them.
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this whole fiasco is ridiculous... chinese restaurants shouldn't suffer because one restaurant or a few of them are inhumane... proper health inspection needs to be done..
when my grandfather was chief public health inspector he did his job and served the nation well... i don't know what these current crop doing now, they fraid hard work and are far from diligent...
clean restaurants following the right standards should not suffer like this... worse thing is, Fuad is like family to us, so i really would need to talk to him and ask him what really going on here...
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https://www.facebook.com/BarbadosToday/videos/10153146754108191/
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Chinese businessman murdered
By Marlene Augustine (Newsday).
A CHINESE-BORN La Horquetta businessman became the country’s 25th and latest (up to press time) murder victim when he was gunned down outside his restaurant off South Tumpuna Road, La Horquetta on Saturday night. Police have identified the businessman as Chong Cao also known as Andy, 30, of South Tumpuna Road, La Horquetta.
Cao was the owner of a supermarket and the Zhong Guo Cheng Restaurant and Bar not too far from where he was shot.
According to reports, Cao was walking out of the restaurant when a gunman approached him and fired several shots. It is alleged that three shots hit the victim about the body and his face causing him to collapse at the scene.
Cao was rushed to the Arima Health Facility where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The incident is said to have occurred at about 10 pm. When Newsday visited the home of the murdered businessman, a close friend stated that the wife of Cao was not doing well and other family members were having a prayer session.
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, also told Newsday, Cao was on his way from his other business (supermarket), with his wife and baby. The neighbour explained that when the gunman approached the driver’s door and noticed the wife in the drivers seat, he walked away. “The gunman walked up to the car and noticed that Andy’s wife was driving so he played like if he forgot something and walked away. At that time he (Cao) had already gone inside to drop off some bags he had in his car,” he continued.
“Eventually Andy came back outside toward the car and that is when the gunman ran toward him firing several shots.” The neighbour also explained that the restaurant was still opened with three customers inside, while his wife remained in the driver’s seat.
Inspector Roger Alexander yesterday told Newsday that although the police have not yet arrested the killer, “we do have someone who is assisting us in the investigation with respect to who did the shooting.” Last April, Chinese national, businessman Hi Hong Huang was fatally shot and killed outside his business place, Happiness supermarket, off the Southern Main Road, Curepe.
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http://6abc.com/food/restaurant-manager-seen-hauling-roadkill-into-eatery/1168144/
(Just as a general comment: This thread is probably better off if we separate the "Dog Meat Horror" from "The Chinese in T&T").
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http://6abc.com/food/restaurant-manager-seen-hauling-roadkill-into-eatery/1168144/
(Just as a general comment: This thread is probably better off if we separate the "Dog Meat Horror" from "The Chinese in T&T").
;D
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What wrong if allyuh eat a lil scooby doo.......ent we like to say what doh kill does fatten.
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Kamwah coming out with a new dish........bow wow chow.
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https://www.youtube.com/v/R9JD4gj-Gbc
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https://www.youtube.com/v/lfKGZdXp4iA
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https://www.youtube.com/v/TscVwmKC0Fg
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https://www.youtube.com/v/UkwOBSczxlQ
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https://www.youtube.com/v/s7BlVaLEHWs
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https://www.youtube.com/v/5K4EA61IaYc
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https://www.youtube.com/v/9InnmIS5ntM
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https://www.youtube.com/v/DPbObj72PW0
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https://www.youtube.com/v/704Z7wd7TB0
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https://www.youtube.com/v/-SrlQb7pjPU
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https://www.youtube.com/v/KXU8gL8uwKk
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https://www.youtube.com/v/gfKJUyrLaU4
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https://www.youtube.com/v/gfKJUyrLaU4
usually I don't have no comment on the political correctness of things, but I cringe watching this one in Dimanche Gras. I wonder if it have songs like these going on in Poland, Hungary etc? I wonder what I would think about those songs?
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https://www.youtube.com/v/gfKJUyrLaU4
usually I don't have no comment on the political correctness of things, but I cringe watching this one in Dimanche Gras. I wonder if it have songs like these going on in Poland, Hungary etc? I wonder what I would think about those songs?
Fair.
I din cringe, but I share the concern. That stated, he "definitely" was unlikely to find Chinese collaborators to aid in the stage presentation ... which might have contributed to exaggerated depictions.
Nonetheless, the tenure of the song does not suggest discriminatory intent (although intent is not needed to indict him on the grounds you suggest), but a political concern.
Kudos to him for contrasting the comparative plight of fellow Caribbean citizens. Still ringing in my ear is the immigration officer I heard asking a CARICOM national, "why yuh come here for?"
The calypso itself addresses an issue that is worthy of scrutiny, and is a topic that is on the minds of many in the population - not to mention an occasional subject of media (and law enforcement) inquiry.
Many of the other renditions highlighted on this thread (partially for the very reason you cite) share similar features. I would be curious what others think.
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It's an incredibly racist song, you can't make excuses for someone making fun of an entire ethnic group.
What the hell is a "fellow" Caribbean/Caricom citizen? Only black and east indian people are "true" Caribbean people? Chinese people have been in T&T in numbers for over 150 years. This song is full of ignorance and blatant racism - had someone done something similar about a different ethnic group, the uproar would be tremendous.
That songs deserves no stage on a national platform.
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It's an incredibly racist song, you can't make excuses for someone making fun of an entire ethnic group.
What the hell is a "fellow" Caribbean/Caricom citizen? Only black and east indian people are "true" Caribbean people? Chinese people have been in T&T in numbers for over 150 years. This song is full of ignorance and blatant racism - had someone done something similar about a different ethnic group, the uproar would be tremendous.
That songs deserves no stage on a national platform.
I shall respond only to the item in bold (at least for now).
Since yuh decided to narrow the category on your own ... in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary ... please leave me out of the presumption.
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I shall respond only to the item in bold (at least for now).
Since yuh decided to narrow the category on your own ... in the face of obvious evidence to the contrary ... please leave me out of the presumption.
You are not even making sense. You said
Kudos to him for contrasting the comparative plight of fellow Caribbean citizens. Still ringing in my ear is the immigration officer I heard asking a CARICOM national, "why yuh come here for?"
Aren't people of Chinese descent possibly Caribbean citizens too? It's a stupid generalizing comment that is as ignorant as the song. If that's what you takeaway from the song and give kudos for, then I feel sorry for you.
Frankly this whole topic is ridiculous in the first place and suffers the same ignorance as that song since the title says "The Chinese in T&T" and 80% of the posts are about people eating dogs.
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R45, let me try to walk you through this gently; I'll even hold your hand.
In part, the calypso casts a contrast between the perceived accommodating immigration policy that pertains to the NEWLY ARRIVED Chinese in the country and the less than efficacious immigration policy that commonly visits all sorts of torturous and ridiculous outcomes on CARICOM nationals.
I made no reference to the ethnicity of the CARICOM nationals because that is irrelevant. Ostensibly, the disconnects regarding intra-CARICOM travel by CARICOM nationals apply to all nationals without regard to race or ethnicity. (Frankly, when I typed that sentence, although I considered that someone might offer your sophomoric (or perhaps emotive) reasoning, I decided not to clarify it further because there's only a modicum of time that I can dedicate to thought formulation of the lowest common denominator ... and because as to CARICOM nationals, immigration policy in Trinidad & Tobago does not make any distinctions based on race or ethnicity (at least of which I am aware, despite contributions on this very forum that alleged the contrary under the previous administration).
There is a notable and undeniable rise in the population of NEWLY ARRIVED persons of Chinese descent in Trinidad & Tobago. However this phenomenon has occurred, it is clear that the FORMAL mechanisms under/through which it has occurred (likely bilateral agreements) have not been clearly articulated and explicitly communicated to the populace at large. As such, there is a foment of opinion on ground level with respect to the ease with which the newly emergent group (largely a merchant class) has cemented a prominent position within an economy that has a significant underclass and struggling lower middle class, and a comprehensive body of persons whose relationship to the economy is through the public sector or as functionaries within the service economy, and to whom minimal avenues of incentivized entrepreneurship have been granted. It is a juxtaposition that presents predictable outcomes and predictable comment.
Coupled with the reality that illegal immigration and human trafficking are documented facets of the growing permanence of the "new group" within the society, the issue is ripe for social and political comment (long the domain of calypsonians). Therefore, to dismiss the relevance of Skatie's calypso (and the foundations on which it stands) is absolute nonsense. One has to recognize that this is a multi-faceted issue that contains some elements that are certainly repugnant, but other elements that are meritorious for public ventilation.
The depiction of the situation (via his stage presentation) was lacking. I say that without reservation. There were unfortunate stereotypical representations that reflect a lack of cultural sensitivity and that nakedly had nothing to do with the principal tenet of the calypso. However, as lamentable as that is, the calypso fits into a political narrative that is properly the domain of calypsonians (and any other social commentator for that matter). To put that in context, last night Cro Cro's second rendition was off the mark, but it was based on a substantive matter that recently occupied the attention of Caribbean society and a larger global audience.
Perhaps it's lost on you that as you read this thread, a similar debate exists in Europe with respect to the "immigrant presence'.
What else? It IS possible to have this conversation without sublimating the NEWLY ARRIVED with those that arrived two centures ago. You seem hellbent on not accepting that bifurcation or possibility.
Moreover, although I have not heard our fellow citizens from the latter group make public pronouncements regarding the former group, there are several anecdotal perspectives regarding what the actual relationship is between both groups.
None of this topicality is particularly unique to T&T. In 2016, newly arrived Chinese communities are arriving all across the globe, many to places with a significant historical presence of a Chinese populace.
In closing, as I was posting those old 'kaiso', I encountered songs from Dominica and Guyana that echoed the changing environment, but which in their rendition reflect the intersection of our ole mas culture with the insensitivity that comes from isolation. Although all of us are "the people who came", we are not immune from broaching the shores of xenophobia.
Racism is not the necessary ghost in the room. Thus my initial comment re: discriminatory intent ... would more properly have read "racial discriminatory intent" than merely discriminatory intent.
I first heard the song a couple hours before Dimanche Gras. My immediate thought was: I haven't heard any public comment on this song. I later found out why: many people heard it for the first time last night. It was the hearing of the song yesterday ... that prompted me to post other representations in calypso with respect to "Chinese" and Trinidad & Tobago.
Funny might be "Chinese Accident", funny is not this calypso.
(With respect to the dog issue: if you scroll up, you'll see that I am on record as holding the view that the threads should be distinct. However, although it is within my present discretion to "do something about that", I have considered that the issue stemmed from a resonant matter that captured the attention of a broad swathe of the populace for both compelling reasons and less sustainable motives. I can agree to disagree.
You'll note that I made that comment in contributing a circumstance that occurred outside the shores of Trinidad & Tobago (roadkill deer "consumption" on the premises at a restaurant in North Carolina), because at times some of us are only able to render dispassionate comment when the public policy of "somewhere else" is implicated).
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Donald Trump and us
Amery Browne, Op-Ed, Trinidad & Tobago Guardian.
Much of the US campaign season has been dominated by Donald Trump and his pronouncements. There are frequent expressions of concern over the intolerance that characterises his rhetoric, and over the possibility, no matter how remote, that he could become the next so-called Leader of the Free World.
The easy part would be to engage in hand-wringing over the rise of Trump and what it says about the people of the United States; the more important challenge would be to look within ourselves in the Trinidad and Tobago society and identify traits and tendencies that we might actually share with that alleged standard-bearer of intolerance.
We are certainly not as immune to xenophobia as some of us might think. Just think back to the popular reactions to the circulation of photos that suggested that persons of Chinese origin were indulging in some canine cuisine. Numerous people including the then Minister of Health were open and comfortable with utterances that blatantly contributed to the further stigmatisation of “those persons sneaking in here from China.”
Let us not forget the enduring sentiment that associates some crime and most poverty with “small island” immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago. If we ignore the obvious irony of any of us pontificating on the nature of people from small islands we are still left to confront a disturbingly Trump-like propensity to blame our problems on “them”; on those we perceive as outsiders and outliers.
Consider as well the negative reaction of many of our fellow citizens to the protests against perceived nightclub discrimination. Surely we should have matured enough as a society to recognise that in a democracy there will always be people who would express concerns that are vastly different to your own concerns.
The fact that the same things that move them do not move you does not negate their right or even duty to address injustice as they see it. But yet we expend so much energy in railing against such expressions, and in shouting rhetoric that includes why don’t you instead protest against x or y.
It may not be your personal cause of choice, but at the end of the day isn’t every one of us entitled to feel respected and at home in this place, notwithstanding whether or not someone choses to wear what our police service might refer to as a pants-like substance.
If you still think the Trinbago nexus to “trump” is limited only to the local game of All Fours, give some consideration to the manner in which some of us use Facebook (maybe in our jurisdiction it could be labelled as Racebook). There is the phenomenon of several FB groups of various political affiliations, some of which are closed or secret, whose membership is comprised of people who share a philosophy that is sometimes expressed as raw racism.
This spills over into the general engagement and participation, but it is within such groups that the most provocative photos, memes, myths, anecdotes and affirmations of prejudice are shared and digested.
Large groups, feeding daily on the most empty rhetoric designed to rally the most basal and hostile emotions with talk of Rowley going south to engage in “necromancy” and Kamla spraying “blood and religious fluids” from helicopters. I don’t know about you, but that reminds me of some of the rhetoric spewed by a certain ambitious billionaire.
There’s much more to be explored on the topic, but consider as well Trump’s consistent and pernicious focus on people of the Islamic faith. While many of us here carry a facade of religious tolerance, this is often belied by our quiet conversations amongst ourselves when people of like mind are gathered.
That is when the vicious anti-small church, and anti-Hindu, and anti-Muslim and anti-Catholic and anti-Baptist inter alia rhetoric emerges. Such characteristics do not require a tan and a bad hair piece in order to take root.
Perhaps a real test of our society’s religious tolerance or intolerance would be to consider our reaction to the prospect of one day a Member of Parliament being sworn in live on television, but in a ceremony with a difference. He or she would begin by being covered with paint and feathers, then after self-inducing vomiting would swear an oath to “zemi”, dancing all the while on legs covered with shells.
Would we warmly embrace such traditional expression of the beliefs of the First Peoples of this land in which we live, or would we recoil in horror and shout (and I quote) “get them out of here”? Honestly.
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CHEAP CHINESE LABOUR
By COREY CONNELLY (NEWSDAY).
Human trafficking at its worst.
This is how businessman Emile Elias described the discovery of eight Chinese men at an unfinished building on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, on Monday.
He also said the people responsible for the men’s illegal presence in Trinidad and Tobago, presumably to perform menial tasks, should be arrested.
Speaking in his capacity as a founding member of the TT Contractors Association, an outspoken Elias said the trafficking of Chinese labour has been an ongoing problem for many years, one which he contends is “obviously supported by certain persons at a high level.” “These men were found in a building so the owner of the building should have been arrested. The alleged contractor who was using them should have been arrested.
“The person who met them at the airport when they landed - and there is always someone meeting them at the airport because they cannot speak a word of English.
“They (Chinese) lie on the form and say that they have come for the allowed 90 days, and then they do not go back.” Elias, who is also executive chairman of NH International (Caribbean) Limited, called on the authorities to quickly implement the laws that were already in place.
“We have labour laws. We have the OSH Act. We have immigration laws. How come all these people are being allowed into this country?” he asked.
“Who is the human trafficker? Who is the contractor of the job and who is the owner of the building? Let’s name and shame them.” Elias claimed the men are made to “work and break every labour law in the country.” He told Sunday Newsday: “They break the OSH and labour laws in respect of hours of work. They break every law regarding the payment of taxes, no PAYE. All of these laws are being broken and the persons are known and we have to go to the source of who exactly recruited these people in China.” Currently detained at the Immigration Detention Centre, Aripo, the eight Chinese men were reportedly brought into the country to do menial, contract labour.
They were held on Monday by officers of the Port-of-Spain City Police and Immigration Division during an exercise on Charlotte Street.
Saying the Chinese were taking food out of the mouths of citizens, Elias said those jobs could have easily gone to locals “so they could feed their children.” “And the authorities should be ashamed of themselves that they talk about arresting these people.
But they didn’t arrest the person who is feeding them, who was employing them, who was paying them? On whose property they were living - all illegal acts.” He added: “This is human trafficking at its worst because what they are doing is bringing these people here. They work 60 hours a week without overtime. They don’t pay local taxes.
“They are fed (sic) meagre amounts of money at the job site.
They sleep and live on the job site in filthy conditions and then they are sent back to China. The reason they do this is that they perceive that this is cheaper than using local labour.” Elias said the law enforcement agencies, including the Immigration Division, should have been more proactive in addressing the problem of illegal immigrants over the years.
“Don’t tell me you are investigating.
Fifty per cent of the issue with them is that they are victims. So they are also breaking the law and they are victims,” he said.
“But the culprit is the human trafficker who brought them to Piarco in the first place. All of them should be arrested without any delay and charged with harbouring illegal immigrants and bringing them into the country, because none of them have a work permit.” Elias asked: “How could they get a work permit for construction skills that we have in surplus in Trinidad and Tobago? We are already in a recession. Plenty of people are looking for work.
This criminal behaviour has to be stopped with some urgent arrests.
Otherwise, it will continue as it has in the past. Now is the time.” Elias also said the conditions at the detention centre were like the Hilton Trinidad compared to the environment in which the Chinese nationals lived on the building site.
“It can’t be difficult to know who is the building owner, the contractor in charge and who met them at Piarco and met them inside with landing cards. Who is the immigration officer who allowed these people in?” he asked.
“We stop Jamaican from landing and there is always a lot of publicity when that happens. How come we did not stop them (Chinese)?” Former president of the TT Contractors Association Mikey Joseph echoed Elias’ views, saying the owner of the Charlotte Street building and the contractor who brought the Chinese men into the country, in the first place, should be investigated and charged.
“The fact that you have illegal immigrants found on a construction site, they have to be working for somebody,” he told Sunday Newsday.
“And the police should have continued their investigations and charged the owner and the contractor who would have had these people there and have them account for the illegal migrants and how they came into contact with them.
“I think they (police) have a very good foundation to start with because they are working on a project and it must have had a main contractor.” Regarding the apparent difficulties in bringing such perpetrators to justice, Joseph said: “Sometimes, you have the culture of the brown paper bag. So that people who might have been influenced improperly, would want to cover their tracks. That is why the action of the police in charging the individuals heading up the line will reveal all of the players.” Saying the police and immigration did a good job in unearthing the Chinese immigrants, Joseph reasoned that the next course of action should be to determine the basis upon which they arrived in the country. He said the media had a pivotal role to play in keeping this issue on the front burner.
“There are deeper and more fundamental issues that we must follow up on to call people to account.
If you drop it and look for the next sensational story, nothing will not happen.” Joseph said the police too must must continue their probe.
“Charging the illegal immigrants themselves is not good enough.
The police has to follow through and bring to book all who facilitate them (Chinese) in being here.” Counter Trafficking Unit deputy director Alana Wheeler said she was not in office and was unable to answer Sunday Newsday’s questions when contacted on the issue yesterday.
Over the past decade, Chinese workers have been employed on major multi-million dollar State construction projects, such as the National Academies for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain and San Fernando, which were awarded to Chinese firms. Their hiring were also conditions of government- to-government loans from China.
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Mixed moods over Chinatown
By Peter Christopher (Guardian)
As the rebranding of Charlotte Street has begun, the Chinatown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi690uVGNXE) arch just off the corner of Charlotte and Park streets has divided public opinion.
Yesterday, many questioned the installation of the archway, which was unveiled on Thursday evening, with some even comparing it to a symbol of colonialism by the Chinese.
“This is unacceptable, this is an international scandal. How can we have Charlotte Street being what it is? Chinatown,” said Don Phillip to Guardian Media yesterday, adding, “This is not Chinatown, this is Charlotte Street. I’m calling on the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to remove this sign or the people will take it down.”
However, Phillip was immediately challenged by another passerby on Charlotte Street, who questioned why the archway should be removed.
A few vendors who were selling items a short distance away from the archway also questioned the installation of the Chinatown branding, as they felt it did not reflect the current make up of Charlotte Street.
There was much talk about the archway as the workers put it up, with people either chastising the Chinese symbolism or praising it for changing the visual of Charlotte Street. One pedestrian of Chinese descent praised the work, as she felt it was a good homage to the Chinese community in Trinidad.
However while many had a lot to say as they passed the archway, very few were willing to speak directly to the Guardian on the matter.
Some Charlotte Street vendors, even those who were not in favour of the change, however, took the opportunity to market their items as “Chinese products” as a result.
On social media there were similar expressions of discontent, which were often buffered by arguments that there were several Chinatowns in various cities across the world.
Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez, in a statement late yesterday defended the archway.
He said, “The Chinese have a rich culture which is supported by many persons in Trinidad and Tobago and they have worked hard towards the development of not just the Charlotte Street area but all of our country. Furthermore, they have a deep heritage in the East Port-of-Spain area including George Street, Charlotte Street and Nelson Street with establishments in the 1960s like Yet Ming, Ng Chow, Chooquan Supermarket, Cheewah, Tam Pack, Aleong’s and Chin’s Grocery.”
Martinez also reminded that the Chinatown initiative was discussed over two years ago, and also explained the rationale of choosing Charlotte Street.
“There are five Chinese associations on Charlotte Street, with four within the boundaries of the designated Chinatown area. They are the Chinese Civic Association, Toy Shan Association, The Fui Toong On Association and The China Society. Closer to Oxford Street, the Chung Shan Association has had a long existence. Just off Charlotte Street, exists the Sun Wai Association on Queen Janelle Commissiong Street,” Martinez said.
In September, a stakeholder meeting was held concerning the development of Chinatown on Charlotte Street. Following that stakeholders’ meeting, Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s MP Stuart Young expressed his disappointment over the poor attendance at the meeting.
Martinez also explained that the arch was part of this country’s attempt to twin Port-of-Spain with Chinese City Shangai. He said the move has many potential economic and tourism benefits for the city.
He added, “Chinatown symbolises a space that has an international presence. Other metropolitan cities have all benefited from the presence of a Chinatown as part of their City’s stature. The city of Port-of-Spain has been considered for many years to lack innovation. As such, the arches of Charlotte Street’s Chinatown represent more than just a physical beautification measure, but a symbol of a deepening, bright relationship between one growing city and one of the world’s top cities.”
Guardian Media attempted to contact Downtown Owners and Merchants Association President Gregory Aboud for comment on Chinatown, but he did not respond to us up to press time.
Second Chinatown arch goes up
By Rishard Khan (Guardian)
Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez said they would continue with the Chinatown project, despite the criticisms coming from some members of the public.
He believes naysayers would come around to the idea with time.
“It would be historical for us,” Martinez told journalists at the corner of Charlotte Street and Independence Square as the second arch was being installed.
“And not only that, we will now be added to the list of Chinatowns around the world...you have an opportunity to see history in the making...it’s the first time a Caribbean country would have had an opportunity like this.”
He suggested that those who may not agree with the project may just be hesitant to accept change but would come around to the idea in time.
“In everything that you do, in everything in life, change is inevitable. The thing about change is not everybody would accept change as easily as you would want them to and not everybody see the benefits of an item as you see it...it will take them a little while to come around, some people would have gotten it already.”
He said that the arches are only the beginning of the project and as it progresses, the public can look forward to more benefits. He explained that the project would bring with it improvements and enhancements to the area’s infrastructure and, in the long run, can lead to the alleviation of many problems across the city.
Guardian Media attempted to reach the Chinese Association for a comment on the polarized discussion surrounding the Chinatown project, however, up to press time, we were unable to. Asked whether he received any feedback from them, Martinez said he has “not been in touch with any of the associations as yet.” But he said he has received commendations from other organisations such as the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce, members of the business community and “Trinidadians who saw it as a benefit.”
When Guardian Media visited Charlotte Street yesterday, the Shanghai Construction Group along with City Corporation workers were installing the second of two arches. The first arch was installed at the corner of Park and Charlotte Street last Thursday. However, this was met by heavy criticisms from members of the public who accused the Corporation of “wasting tax-payer dollars” and “selling out to China” among other comments.
In a release on Friday, Mayor Martinez said: “Other metropolitan cities have all benefited from the presence of a Chinatown as part of their City’s stature. The city of Port-of-Spain has been considered for many years to lack innovation. As such, the arches of Charlotte Street’s Chinatown represent more than just a physical beautification measure, but a symbol of a deepening, bright relationship between one growing city and one of the world’s top cities.”
“It is therefore believed that Chinatown will add value to Port-of-Spain’s development including a positive impact on the economic, cultural and educational welfare of its citizens.”
(https://www.guardian.co.tt/image-3.2411131.89eb4b37c1?size=1024)
A woman takes a picture of the Chinatown arch just off the corner of Charlotte and Park streets, Port-of-Spain, yesterday. - Anisto Alves
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Chinese New Year | Lion Dance | CNC3 (https://www.facebook.com/CNC3Television/videos/2864848593597522/UzpfSTYwMjA5NTE3NDoxMDE2Mjg0MDYyNTI1NTE3NQ/)
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6 charged for murder of Chinese national
T&T Express Reports.
Four locals and two Venezuelans have been charged with the murder of Chinese national Xiangong Phang during a break-in at the Happiness Grocery at the corner of Eastern Main Road and Sixth Avenue, Barataria, on August 23.
The six have also been charged with robbery with violence and burglary.
The decision to charge the suspects followed a meeting with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard SC and advice received last Friday, police said in a statement yesterday.
They will appear before a Port of Spain magistrate via virtual hearing today.
The six are:
• Malik Kyle Jack, 21, of Pelican Extension, Morvant;
• Hudson “Hugo” Phillip (a Venezuelan), 21, who lives in Morvant and Laventille;
• Oswaldo Anton Marano, (a Venezuelan), 25, who lives Morvant and Laventille;
• Lindon Williams, 24, of Laventille;
• Kenneth Dabreo, 27, of Belmont;
• Emmanuel Phillip, 28, of Pelican Extension, Morvant.
Around 3.45 a.m. on August 23, several people broke into the Happiness Grocery and proceeded to the upper floor where seven Chinese nationals lived.
The intruders were armed with knives and cutlasses.
During the incident, several people were chopped and wounded.
Members of the North-Eastern Division Task Force as well as other police officers responded and held eight people.
Two of the suspects were later released.
One of the injured people, Xiangong Phang, was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where he died.
The others were treated and discharged.
The intruders were handed over the Homicide Bureau of Investigations (HBI) where investigations were carried out.
The investigation was spearheaded by Senior Supt Joseph Chandool, ASP Douglas and assisted by Insp Maharaj.
WPC Mohammed of the HBI Region 2 laid the charges.
(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/trinidadexpress.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/fe/ffeef858-ebf1-11ea-a802-2bd7bbe33e6e/5f4da309a3e8f.image.jpg)
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Sinanan denies Chinese firm chosen to take over PoS port
SEAN DOUGLAS (NEWSDAY).
MINISTER of Works And Transport Rohan Sinanan denied claims by Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh that the Government favours a named Chinese firm to take over the running of the Port of Port of Spain.
Newsday spoke to Sinanan on Tuesday after Indarsingh made the claim when speaking on the budget in the House of Representatives on Monday and reiterating his points in a statement on Tuesday.
Indarsingh named the firm as Orient Overseas Container Line of Hong Kong, while saying a French firm, CMA CGM, from Marseilles, was also interested.
Sinanan said, “If Rudy Indarsingh has that information, he has more information than I have. You should ask him for that. I have no information or no knowledge of what he said.”
Indarsingh also criticised the Government’s recent purchase of a $17 million gantry crane, just ahead of the privatisation.
Sinanan responded, “I wouldn’t comment on Mr Indarsingh.
"What I can tell you is the port has a programme going forward. If you listen to my speech today on the budget, I said a lot about the port.”
He said his speech contradicted much of what Indarsingh said.
On Indarsingh’s complaint about the Government not specifying its proposed business model for the port, Sinanan said he had also addressed that in his budget speech.
Newsday asked about Indarsingh’s claim the Government in recent years and just before the budget had ignored the views of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union (SWWTU) on reforming the port.
Sinanan said after the recent general election Indarsingh was still in campaign mode.
“We have a country to run. I’ll not waste time in petty politics.”
On Indarsingh’s query as to whether port privatisation had been an item in the People's National Movement’s election manifesto, Sinanan said previously it had constituted a couple of full paragraphs in the 2015 manifesto, and he was glad Indarsingh was reading it.
RELATED NEWS
Indarsingh: Chinese, French eyeing Port of Port of Spain
SEAN DOUGLAS (NEWSDAY).
COUVA South MP Rudranath Indarsingh asked whether the privatisation of the Port of Port of Spain was “a done deal” with a preferred bidder, perhaps a Chinese firm. He was speaking on the budget on Monday in the House of Representatives.
“I want to ask the Minister of Finance (Colm Imbert) or the Minister of Works and Transport (Rohan Sinanan), if he is brave enough to join this debate, whether the Government has already made up its mind in terms of the business model and who will be the business partner as relates to the Port of Port of Spain.
“I am getting news on the grapevine that a Chinese entity by the name of Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), a container shipping and logistics service company with a track record of being involved in over 70 countries, based in Hong Kong, has its eyes on the port.
“There are probably those in the Government who are facilitating their entry.”
Indarsingh claimed a firm CMA CGM, based in Marseilles, France, also wanted to become a partner at the port.
He said if it was a done deal, it would be "a total disrespect by the Government" to announce it in the budget speech without first telling the port's majority-recognised union, the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union.
Indarsingh asked if the Prime Minister’s freeze on public-sector recruitment, announced in his televised address last Saturday, would include the teaching service, health sector and protective services. He said it had taken seven months of the pandemic for Dr Rowley to realise the alleged high absenteeism of public servants who are now on rotation in reporting for duty.
“Is the Prime Minister attacking the head of the Public Service? Is the Prime Minister attacking all permanent secretaries and heads of department?”
Indarsingh accused Finance Minister Colm Imbert of “playing dead to catch corbeaux alive” by floating the idea of pushing the retirement age from 60 to 65, while not revealing he had allegedly seen the National Insurance Board’s tenth actuarial review which he said contained this recommendation.
Indarsingh said, “If you access your pension between 64 to 60, you will lose six per cent of your entitlement on an annual basis if you exercise the option of an early retirement.” He called on Imbert to say if he agreed with that report.
He then alleged discrimination by the Government against his constituency.
“Based on the track record of this PNM Government, no road, no school, no health issues, nothing will be addressed in the constituency of Couva South.
“They will continue their policy of discrimination and treating the Opposition constituencies as second class.”
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Aboud notes concerns over China's involvement in T&T
SHANE SUPERVILLE (T&T NEWSDAY).
Amidst the festive atmosphere at the unveiling of two stone lions in Port of Spain to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Wednesday, there were concerns about China's growing involvement in T&T's affairs.
Speaking at the ceremony, on the corner of Charlotte Street and Independence Square, president of the Downtown Owners' and Merchants Association (DOMA) Gregory Aboud said the Chinese community has made invaluable contributions to T&T's culture and economy over the years, but there was some unease that China's diplomatic involvement could come at a high price later on.
Noting China's growing economy and influence in the region, he said some people were concerned that Chinatown could extend from Charlotte Street to other parts of Trinidad.
"Given the fact that your country now rivals the US in terms of economic power, given the very small fragile state of our country, there are concerns that we are dancing with too big a partner with China, and...that China's involvement in T&T will one day cause perhaps Chinatown to spread way outside of Port of Spain to other areas of the country.
"I do have a great deal of respect – we all do – for your accomplishments and your culture, and we ask the same of you in return.
"After all, true friendship, which we believe you are offering us, asks nothing in return for your contribution of friendship. And so on that note I would like to thank you on behalf of Port of Spain and on behalf of the mayor of Port of Spain."
Last week former US ambassador to T&T Joseph Mondello, in an interview with US media, alleged that in a newspaper article the Prime Minister had said the US was a trade partner of the past and China was this country's new partner.
Dr Rowley has since denied he made any such comments and Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Dr Amery Browne maintained that T&T was a friend to both China and the US.
In his address, Chinese ambassador Fang Qiu said the two countries had a long and prosperous history of relations and hoped the new year would enhance the mutually beneficial ties.Qiu said TT and China had a lot of similarities and was confident the two could work together to build a better future.
"The national motto of T&T, "Together we aspire, together we achieve," speaks to building a community of a shared vision.
A vision by Chinese residents in T&T.
"Both countries share the same vision, and that is a better life for people and a better world for all. We have been working out our shared vision especially in this extraordinary new year of 2021, in true friendship in solidarity we supported each other with morale and material to fight the pandemic."
Port of Spain mayor Joel Martinez said the unveiling of the lions was only one step in the development of Chinatown, as there were plans to have cobblestones placed on the road and giving the street a "general facelift" with the removal of overhead wires.In October 2019 the city corporation put up arches with the word "Chinatown" on Charlotte Street. The arches were set up by the Shanghai Construction Group.
The decision to rename the street met with some resistance from some people, who
questioned why the street needed to be renamed.
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Sinanan denies Aboud's claim of land sold to China
SHANE SUPERVILLE(T&T NEWSDAY).
Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan has dismissed claims by environmental activist Gary Aboud that state lands were being sold to China as part of ongoing infrastructural work, and accused him of trying to hold back the country's development.
At a media conference at his ministry in Port of Spain on Tuesday, Sinanan referred to videos posted by Aboud in which he claimed the governments of T&T and China were involved in a partnership that would involve the sale of state lands without proper oversight.
Aboud also claimed there was some malfeasance surrounding the transaction and called for clarity from the authorities over the specifics.
In response, Sinanan said work on the Diego Martin overpass was not a government-to-government partnership, but a partnership between China Railway Construction Company (CRCC) and Junior Sammy Construction Company (Jusamco).
"Number one, the government has nothing to do with the sale of port lands. And two, the aspect of the sale of state lands remains under the purview of the procurement regulator. This is total misinformation and lies being put out by Mr Aboud.
"He indicated the government and the Chinese are in a government-to-government arrangement. This project was a public tender where anybody could have entered for this project. This is not a government-to-government project. The government has given no land to the Chinese on this project."
Sinanan said Aboud's claim that the land for the CRCC's site office near the worksite for the Diego Martin overpass had been sold to the Chinese government was unfounded, and the office was temporary and would be taken down once the project was completed.
He also accused Aboud of deliberately peddling misinformation and trying to hold back TT's infrastructural development, noting his objection to the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway's extension from Cumuto to Sangre Grande.
He also referred to the proposed Sandals hotel and resort in Tobago which was withdrawn in 2019, and questioned whether critics took infrastructural development seriously.
"The advancement for our community will not take place if we continue to accept these lies. In simple terms, look at what happened to Sandals in Tobago.
"Those who want to keep us where we are and pull us back with lies they make, we need to call them out."
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China promises to help Trinidad and Tobago with covid19 vaccines
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
A virtual meeting on Tuesday between the Prime Minister and China President Xi Jinping set the stage for Trinidad and Tobago to receive covid19 vaccines from China, amid uncertainties over other sources of vaccines.
A statement by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) said Dr Rowley received a call from Xi via teleconference at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's. The office said their discussions centred on several matters of mutual interest.
Also at the meeting were Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne, Minister of National Security and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh and Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister Maurice Suite.
Browne, in a text message to Newsday, said: "The meeting with President Xi was very productive."
He said the meeting included specific dialogue on covid19 and both nations' efforts to control the infection and keep their respective populations safe.
"President Xi thanked the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for our provision of a consignment of PPE (personal protective equipment) to China early in the year 2020, and took the opportunity to indicate that China would respectfully assist our national efforts to access approved covid19 vaccines in the near future.”
Browne said Rowley reaffirmed the critical importance of equitable access to approved vaccines for TT, the region, and the world and noted that the Sinopharm vaccine is currently being considered for approval by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The ambassador of China has been an excellent and proactive partner helping TT to organise the meeting, Browne added.
He said the talks were enhanced by TT's strong history of good relations with China, and by the friendship of Xi and Rowley over the years.
Deyalsingh opted not to comment, advising Newsday to seek details from the OPM.
A Chinese Embassy official promised to seek replies to queries about Xi's enthusiasm to help TT.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Roshan Parasram told Newsday TT has signed bilateral agreements with non-disclosure clauses, but also said it was public knowledge that the Sinopharm and Sinovac vaccines were now candidates before the WHO for emergency use authorisation (EUA) status.
"They haven't got it as yet, but we hope in the near future they shall," Parasram said.
"Countries have been purchasing vaccines outside of the emergency use authorisation – even countries like the US and UK. They have gone through their own regulatory process."
Parasram said some countries including the US and UK have purchased these vaccines outside of those being approved for EUA status, but TT's policy will continue, that is, to only use vaccines approved by the WHO. He said a whole-of-government approach is used to source vaccines, involving several ministries.
"Traditionally the CMO is responsible, chairs the Drug Advisory Committee which is responsible for making a recommendation to the (health) minister for actual registration of new vaccines into the country. My main other role is to chair the national technical advisory group for vaccines." He said this group decides which population groups to vaccinate.
Parasram said the CMO's role as the health ministry's main technical officer is to look at the technical details presented by any vaccine manufacturer and then make a recommendation.
Elsewhere, Reuters has reported Sinopharm's unit in Wuhan presented a 72 per cent efficacy rate in phase III (large scale) clinical trials. German news agency DW reported a 79 per cent efficacy but rising to 86 per cent in the United Arab Emirates, but with a patient in Peru suffering arm paralysis after getting the jab.
The Sinopharm website carries an interview in January with company chairman Liu Jingzhen who said ten million doses were administered across China. Sinopharm produced 100 million doses last year, and aimed for a billion doses this year, the interview added.
The Sinovac vaccine’s efficacy ranged from 91 per cent in Indonesia, 65 per cent in Turkey, and 50-78 per cent in Brazil. Other efficacies were: AstraZeneca (62-90 per cent), Moderna (95 per cent), Pfizer (95 per cent) and Sputnick (92 per cent.)
On July 24 last year, China offered Latin America and the Caribbean a US$1 billion loan facility to buy vaccines.
Sinopharm vaccines are used in China, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan, Serbia and Peru, and Sinova vaccines in China, Bolivia, Turkey, Indonesia, Brazil and Chile.
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Chinese Embassy: Our vaccines are safe, effective
SEAN DOUGLAS (T&T NEWSDAY).
IN light of news of Tuesday's virtual meeting between the Prime Minister and China President Xi Jinping, when the latter promised to help TT to access covid19 vaccines, the Chinese Embassy later told Newsday that vaccines produced by Chinese firms were safe and effective.
The embassy said that under Xi's strong leadership, China has succeeded in bringing covid19 under control at home, while actively contributing to international anti-epidemic co-operation.
"Recently China has been providing or exporting vaccines to dozens of countries, especially developing countries, in concrete steps to implement President Xi's commitment of making vaccines a global public good.
"Chinese vaccines have been proven safe and effective."
The embassy said China and TT have shared morale and material to fight in solidarity against the pandemic, further testimony to the robust and strong partnership between the two countries.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had a very productive phone call today (Tuesday) and exchanged views on further anti-pandemic co-operation including vaccines accessibility. China stands ready to assist and facilitate the efforts of TT to mitigate this pandemic and safeguard the health of its people."
The embassy promised to stay in touch with the relevant parties in TT so as to advance co-operation on the subject.
Newsday understands that China's two top candidate vaccines seeking World Health Organization (WHO) approval are Sinopharm (already sent to Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Dominica) and Sinovac (sent to or due for Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador.)