Poll: Should China have executed drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh?

Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen, was executed today in China after being found guilty of drug smuggling. These things are never straight forward, and this case was complicated by claims that Akmal Shaikh was suffering from a mental illness (Bipolar Disorder). The Chinese dismissed these claims, saying that no evidence of mental illness could be found in the man's medical records. Since Akmal Shaikh's death, statements of condemnation have been made by the government and opposition leaders. They express their dismay that Akmal did not receive an independent mental health assessment whilst in custody.

Philip Alston, a UN special rapporteur, said the execution amounted to a violation of Chinese and international law. "International law points very strongly in the direction of the principle that the death penalty should only be used for crimes which result directly in the death of others". However, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy said: "The amount of heroin he brought into China was 4,030g, enough to cause 26,800 deaths, threatening numerous families."

Leo McKinstry of the Daily Mail says: "In contrast to New Labour's policy of appeasement and surrender, the Chinese Government acts vigorously to defend its people from the misery caused by the drugs trade. My regret is not over tough action by Beijing, but the fact that we in this country do not possess the moral clarity or strength of purpose to deal ruthlessly with drug peddlers and other enemies of our society."

So are we in the West too soft? Is China guilty of not giving Akmal Shaikh a fair trial, and of passing an excessive sentence? Should the death sentence ever be used?

Should China have executed drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh?
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It's time to think twice about foreign aid.

We must call time on British financial aid to China So says Shadow international development secretary Andrew Mitchell. Andrew points out that:

"British taxpayers need to know that their aid money is helping the poorest people in the world, not going to countries which have enough money to tackle poverty themselves.

"China... has an ambitious space exploration programme and is sitting on foreign exchange reserves of almost £2 trillion."

A while ago I asked why we were giving aid to Pakistan. Let's face it, these countries do not need our money for aid projects, this is all about greasing the wheels.

Tibet's living Buddha Slags off the Dalai Lama

Tibet's twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo (female living Buddha) has criticised the Dalai Lama over last month's riots in Lhasa saying:

"Old Tibet was dark and cruel, the serfs lived worse than horses and cattle. "Watching on television a tiny number of unscrupulous people burning and smashing shops, schools and public property, brandishing knives and sticks to attack unfortunate passers-by I felt boundless surprise, deep heartache and indignant resentment. "The sins of the Dalai Lama and his followers seriously violate the basic teachings and precepts of Buddhism and seriously damage traditional Tibetan Buddhism's normal order and good reputation."

A little China friendly perhaps?

Gordon Brown IS boycotting the Olympic opening ceremony.

Gordon Brown has once again demonstrated his skill in the art of gross indecision. He tells us that he will not be attending the Olympic opening ceremony, but that his decision is in no way a boycott of the games as the Olympics Minister, Tessa Jowell will be attending. That's funny because he did boycott the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon that Mugabe attended, sending Baroness Amos to take his place. I can see no difference between the two situations. In both the EU-Africa summit and the Olympic opening ceremony he has, and is sending someone to stand in for him as a representative of the country. How can he be boycotting one but not the other?

How does Gordon Brown get these important decisions so wrong? Is he so out of touch with public opinion that he gets it wrong and is then forced to change his mind. Or is he just hanging on to the last minute to find out how the public feel, because he does not trust his own instincts as a leader of a major nation? We need a Prime minister who can make the right decision, popular or not, and then stick to it. Gordon is just weaselling out of his responsibilities. Just like he did with the EU-Africa summit and the signing of the Lisbon Treaty.

This is a boycott, but Brown does not have the guts to tell China.

UPDATE: This is from David Cameron:

"People all over the world must be scratching their head wondering what the British Prime Minister must think. If dithering was an Olympic sport Gordon Brown would have a gold medal."

The late, great institutionalist John Galbraith once said:

"Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable."

Unfortunately for us, Gordon Brown seems quite capable of making decisions that are both disastrous and unpalatable.

Gordon Brown will not attend the Olympic opening ceremony.

Gordon Brown will not attend the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. He will however be at the closing ceremony. Convenient? Smart? Dithering? Savvy?

Olympic Torch Relay - In San Francisco - They must be Mad.

The Olympic torch will pass through San Francisco today. Have the Bozos that arranged the Olympic Torch Relay's route no idea at all about the City of San Francisco? It may have a large Asian-American (Chinatown) population, but it also has a massive LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual) community who are renown for their fight for both Gay and Human rights.

There have been protests in the City before the torch has even arrived, God knows what the scenes will be like when they try to parade the flame through the streets. The picture (top right) shows "students for a Free Tibet" activists unfurling two massive banners from the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday. You can watch footage of the demonstration by clicking HERE.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has urged all leaders of the world not to go to Beijing - he said: "For God's sake, for the sake of our children, for the sake of their children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet - don't go. "Tell your counterparts in Beijing you wanted to come but looked at your schedule and realised you have something else to do."

Olympic Torch Relay - China can do no wrong.

From Thursday's Hansard written answers:

Olympic Games: China

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will hold discussions with (a) the International Olympics Committee and (b) the Chinese authorities to urge them not to include the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Chinese provinces which, taken together, constituted Tibet prior to the Chinese invasion, in the route of the Olympic Torch before the Beijing Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: We are aware that the Olympic Torch Relay is due to pass through Tibet and up Mount Everest on its way to Beijing. The passage of the torch relay through any country is a matter for the authorities of the country concerned and the International Olympic Committee.

What a load of rubbish. Norman Baker did not ask who had the final say on the Olympic Torch Relay's route - he asked if our government would try to persuade China that it would be a bad idea. The government are making all the right noises to the media, but they have absolutely no intention of actually do anything that might upset the Chinese.

Money talks, Humanity walks.

Don't miss Question time tonight - Caroline Flint

Don't miss Question time tonight, Caroline (If looks could kill) Flint is on and she is always good for a laugh. It's worth watching to see if she can reply to a single question with a straight answer (unlike all the other Labour MPs). I guarantee she will lose her temper, and even better - Clive James will drag her over the coals in his usual sarcastic manner. I can't wait. In the meantime I'm having a Chinese delivered and I'm trying out Chicken Kung Po for the first time. You can't call me unadventurous.

David Cameron's China Speech Video.

Just a quick one. I've just watched David Cameron's China speech, and personally I was impressed. It's not easy to be both critical and diplomatic at the same time, but I feel that David pulled it off. I don't think the Chinese government will be happy with what David had to say, but I believe they will understand why he said it.

You can watch the video by clicking HERE.

David Cameron - Coal is the new Green Fuel CCS

David Cameron is promoting CCS (carbon capture and storage) during his trip to China this week:

"Right now, at least a dozen CCS pilots are ready to launch around the world and the UK is supporting the EU-China Near Zero Emission coal project. "But even though in the UK we have the depleted oil and gas fields that are ideal for testing this technology, not a single pilot is yet taking place in Britain. "We cannot afford this kind of delay."

Current uncertainty in the global supply of oil and gas has brought coal back as a viable source of energy. Coal is widely available, according to the World coal Institute there are enough reserves to last 164 years (Oil 41 years, Gas 67 years) at current production rates.

The International Energy Agency has a Clean Coal Centre, it’s managing director, John Topper, said:

"If you are in China or India where you have huge resources of coal and you have elements of the population that do not have access to electricity then your driver is to build and operate power stations as quickly and as effectively as possible."

It is hoped that the development of CCT (clean coal technology) will allow coal to be used as a environmentally friendly fuel.

CCT comes in many forms, the US FutureGen programme, is a $1bn project attempting prove the viability of near-zero emission coal-fuelled power. The project will involve the integration of an IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) electricity plant with hydrogen production, carbon dioxide capture and geological storage.

The major concern is not if the technology will work but how long it will take to implement. Michael Cupit, director of energy at Ernst & Young said:

"It all depends upon the uptake among the big companies. Once somebody takes the bull by the horns, you can usually squeeze the technology and make it commercial fairly quickly."

David is correct, we have all the infrastructure available to carry out trials on this technology. Britain should be leading the way, not following.

Tony Blair pulled out or the trough just in time to board the Gravy Train.

China's, The Guangzhou Daily newspaper has been a little critical of Tony Blair's £240,000 pay off for his speech delivered in Dongguan, in China's southern province of Guangdong. The speech was on the subject of environmentally friendly ways to achieve economic development. However, it didn't go down too well with one writer at the China Youth Daily: "Mr Blair's speech sounded familiar to me. It was like listening to some domestic county or city-level official making a report, and his viewpoints did not have too many new ideas. "That being the case, why did the local political and business sector spend such a huge sum of money to 'buy' this speech, and was it worth it?"

Even more critically the Guangzhou Daily said: "Like many world-renowned statesmen, Tony Blair, who only recently left his throne as British prime minister on 27 June this year, has been rushing around the world making commercial speeches after leaving office. This time, Blair's money-sucking tentacles have extended into China."

Not bad money if you can get it. If you add Tony's lectures to the reported sum of £5m for his memoirs, I think we can safely say that he will soon be a very wealthy man.

Russia, China and Iran - The axis of "oh crap here comes World War III"

Things are not looking good on the international peace scene. Vladimir Putin is making comparisons with the Cuban missile crisis and the US's proposed European missile shield, He has condemned Condoleezza Rice's new sanctions imposed on Iran, likening the US to "mad people wielding razor blades" and he is supplying Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards with weapons.

Iran are treating the sanctions with contempt, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: "The hostile American policies towards the respectable people of Iran and the country's legal institutions are contrary to international law, without value and, as in the past, doomed to failure."

China are investing heavily in the Iran and their foreign ministry said Beijing was "opposed to imposing sanctions too rashly in international relations", saying it "can only make the situation more complicated".

When you add to all that the rumours that Vice-President Dick Cheney is pressing for a military strike on Iran before the Bush's Presidency is over, peace with the East is definitely not looking good at the moment.