China…

Yesterday was “Chinese Arrival Day”. Even though it ain’t a public holiday, it absolutely deserves more recognition than it’s been getting since Chinese are one of our “Six Peoples”! While some of us are concerned about China and what it’s up to in our neck of the woods, we gotta remember that yesterday was the 173rd anniversary of their arrival to our shores! Yep…Chinese ain’t no “Jong yu-come-lately” in our fair(?) mudland!!  History has an ironic twist that can bite nations on their behinds sometimes. Back when the British dragged the Chinese to labour on our plantations, they’d just fought an Opium War with China that disrupted that country.
“Opium War” you ask, Dear Reader? Yup!! Britain had conquered India and forced its poor peasants to switch from their crops like rice and wheat to produce Poppies – from which Opium is extracted. Many displaced Indian farmers had to emigrate to Guyana, etc!! The Brits then shipped tons and tons of Opium into China and created a market of millions! They used the Chinese currency obtained to purchase Chinese tea to enjoy their “cuppa” with our WI sugar!!
Now while Chinese indentured numbers were fairly small, they punched waaaay above their weight in their contributions to our country. Because the British shipped in even less women than with the Indians they intermarried with everyone – especially with African women. Their mixed descendants are to be seen everywhere! The Chinese didn’t only stand behind shop counters – they took to schooling pretty early and soon were quite prominent in the professions, the Civil Service and even politics. Think of a field of endeavour…ANY field – and the Chinese been there, done that! Farming, settlements, groceries, rum shops, big business, manufacturing, bakeries, public service, politics. In the lexicon of the developed countries nowadays – in the age of immigrant angst – they were a “model minority”!! However, starting with the ethnic riots of the sixties – even though they weren’t directly involved – they concluded that the business climate was irretrievably ruined.
After independence, reacting to Burnham’s policies, as did the Portuguese who’d moved up before them, many Chinese Guyanese moved on to Toronto. And if you want to taste the best Chinese food in the world for OUR tastebuds – just mosey on up there!! The restaurants now in Guyana aren’t the real deal…they’re from different parts of China with different cuisines. None of them can make a lo-mein to tickle your Eyewitness’s gourmet tastebuds. Any Hakka Chinese here now? Thought not!!
As your Eyewitness noted above, of recent, there’s been an influx of “new” Chinese immigrants who’ve focused on cornering supermarkets and hardware stores. Many are convinced they’re part of China’s grand design to influence Third-World countries.
This time, there might be a backlash??

 …in US crosshairs
For years US leaders have been wringing their hands at the rise of China economically where its economy might surpass theirs by 2050!! Trump, however, has come out with – and is executing now – a strategy to deal with that challenge – and also the military one that goes hand in hand!! It’s called the “Strategy of Denial” since it seeks to deny China the wherewithal to continue on its present growth trajectory. The US move to control the Venezuelan (largest) oil deposits in the world – and its about-to-be-launched strikes in Iran and already launched strikes in Nigeria are all part of denying China the energy it needs to remain as the factory to the world!!
The Donroe Doctrine seeks to deny China markets to the Americas – as do the tariffs to enter the US market – while the restrictions of computer chips for the AI industry that will undergird the 4th industrial revolution will also deny them the preeminence they crave.
Will the strategy succeed? Time will tell!!!

…and Cuba
Trump says the idea of Rubio becoming the “president of Cuba” sounded good to him!! China’s unwillingness to intervene as Cuba’s being squeezed through denial of Venezuela’s oil will reinforce its image of weakness!