I find this article interesting as it relates to some of the concept we have
covered so far in class. In particular, we reexamine the idea of large
corporations finding loop holes in regulation policies. This particular article
talks about how these large corporation are illegally fishing in the Coast of
West Africa (here).
"The report alleges that Chinese
fishing vessels took advantage of the chaos caused by the 2014 outbreak of
Ebola, which hit Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and several other West African
countries, to conduct illicit fishing trips"
“Not only are they exporting the
destructive fishing model that destroyed China’s own fisheries, but some
irresponsible Chinese companies were stealing fish from African countries
affected by Ebola outbreak as its government was conducting one of the biggest
aid programmes to support these African countries to confront a major local
public health crisis,” the report states.
“While the Chinese government is starting
to eliminate some of the most destructive fishing practices in its own waters,
the loopholes in existing policies lead to a double standard in Africa,” Ahmed
Diame, a Greenpeace Africa ocean campaigner, said in a
statement".
“Unless the government reins in this element
of rogue companies, they will seriously jeopardize what the Chinese government
calls its mutually-beneficial partnership with West Africa,” he
added.
Again, we begin to examine the notion of finding
loop holds in the government system and like Sen. Warren mentioned, they can
certainly create disequilibrium among the citizens as well as bring about
tension. In the case of China, the country has in the past been accused of
manipulating their currency, giving false data reports (i.e., growth rate of
the country), and recently illegally fishing in the West African Coast. The
Chinese government may need to take this accusation seriously because it
can negatively affect future business
relationships as well as their reputation.
What are your thoughts on the article? Does
it surprise you or does it not surprise you? Why? Do you think with this
developing story, that it may affect China's business relationship with the West Africa countries? Also, how may it affect China's relationship with other
African nations (i.e., particularly East African countries)? What might be done to address and solve this issue?
Honestly, this does not surprise me at all. China does not have a great reputation based on the cases above and also numerous copyright issues. It seems that this sort of thing has been happening for awhile now and is a known quantity. I cannot see China doing anything about the fishing because China itself is not telling these people to illegally fish. They will simply say they are rogue and do nothing.
ReplyDeleteI have heard of companies in China accused of illegal whale hunting and fishing so I don't find this to be a surprise. It is unfortunate that global sustainability is not higher on China's industrial radar with a country growing quickly and amassing a large population. I think these fishing companies are less concerned about their relationships with these countries and more about turning a quick profit like what was discussed in the video with Piketty and Warren yesterday. I think China's government needs to recognize the potential for conflict and do something to resolve it or risk sanctions by the UN or other international organizations.
ReplyDeleteThis does not surprise me either. These fishermen will continue using fishing techniques that make them the most money until they are forced by regulation to become more responsible. I also doubt this action will affect business relationships with China and Africa.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised at all. This is not the first time that China illegally takes advantages of African resources. It is so sad to see that China refused the practice of this destructive fishing on its land but does it in West Africa. But I blame this action on West Africans and their different governments. It seems that they leave everything in the hands of foreigners, and the leaders are very corrupted; they only think about their pockets. I hope that this situation helps expose the unhealthy Chinese- African relationship.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that I did not find this article surprising at all. I feel as though these Chinese fisherman will continue to use this technique because they are able to obtain more money by using these techniques until some regulation is put in place to stop them. I hope that this situation does not cause an unhealthy relationship between China and Africa, but I fee as though it will not.
ReplyDelete