I had this "letter to the editor" published in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.


Economic pressure on China may influence Burma policy

The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, October 04, 2007

As we sit in (varying degrees of) comfort in our living rooms and watch the news, Canadians sometimes feel that we can't do anything to help people who are suffering overseas.
An example is the violent crackdown on peaceful protests that the military dictatorship in Burma is carrying out against Buddhist monks and nuns, as well as lay people who join the call for democracy. (By the way, I refuse to call the country "Myanmar" because that is what the military junta renamed it.)

I think that there is something we can do. The greatest political and economic supporter of Burma is China, which is also the source for much of Wal-Mart's merchandise. By refusing to shop at Wal-Mart (or at least refusing to buy Chinese-made products there) and by telling the company why we are doing this, Canadians might be able to encourage it to talk to the Chinese government about its support for the dictatorship in Burma.

China has already pressured the Burmese military to restrain its response to the protests, so that China won't look bad internationally before the 2008 Olympics. This worked at first, but protesters are now being killed.

Perhaps Canadians can indirectly pressure China to do more. Although it isn't a democracy, China understands the power of economic action.

Donald B. Campbell
Saskatoon
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007