EDITOR: The musical legend Bob Marley once sang “Everyman has the right to decide his own destiny” will form the theme for my opinion on the 1 China policy that has caught as many people that the COVID-19 pandemic caught, injuring, crippling and killing those in whose gills the hook of misinformation firmly stuck, and was in many cases, forced down their throat against their wishes.

And if we are not careful the same might happen in the 1 China scenario.

Just like how Trinidad, Barbados, Zimbabwe and SVG all decided that they did not want to be subjected to British rule and became independent, so Taiwan and Hong Kong should also be allowed to determine their own destiny, instead of the bigger colonial power wanting to impose their power and force over people who beyond a shadow of doubt, have demonstrated to the world that they can exist on the world stage without being tied to a colonialist communist state.

Likewise, within the last half century, we have seen the fragmentation of the former Soviet Union into independent states, with Russia now trying to re-colonize the Ukraine against their wishes. This is communist imperialism and is in direct conflict with the true communist ethos, even though communism in theory and practice is a contradiction. And I explain; a communist society is “supposed” to be a classless society and seeks to extract from each according to his/her ability and also to supply to the needs of all its citizens.

Under communism, the leadership, the communist party (CP), consists of the BEST sons and daughters of the society and herein lies the contradiction!

How can a society be CLASSLESS when the communist party is made up of the BEST sons and daughters of society. The word BEST classifies a certain group or class of people, so how can you have a classless society when in fact the country is led by the intelligentsia class. So how can you have a classless society when members of the CP enjoy a far better standard of life than the average citizen? The contradiction is glaring!

So back to the Taiwan issue of independence. Yes Taiwan must be able to determine the destiny of its people who are democratically elected.

Historically, there is a global trend where ‘mighty’ nations bully weak nations due to their superior fire power or armaments. That happened right here in SVG when the British through treachery assassinated our National Hero Joseph Chatoyer. Nowadays, it is the US, Russia, France, Britain and China being the worst offenders.

Taiwan MUST be recognized as an independent nation by the UN and other international Health, Financial and Agricultural institutions. The very fact that Taiwan can lend SVG millions shows that it has significant reserves in order to assist a fledgling economy like ours. However, that does not mean that we should make reckless ‘gill hooking’ arrangements with them. There is much more lasting cooperation from Taiwan to be expected, but we should never turn away genuine aid from any country when the situation arises, as we are a tiny vulnerable state.

I am of the informed opinion that the resources of this planet can sustain all of mankind, and should not be enjoyed by an exclusive few. Now that is what true socialism is all about. This brings to mind the miracle with the five loaves and the two fish in feeding five thousand, found in the Holy Scriptures. The 2 fishes and 5 loaves is symbolic of the few people who possess all that is required to keep the majority satisfied. The lesson taught/learned from Christ, is that if we are thankful and bless the resources we have been provided with and thereafter distribute it according to our individual needs and abilities, then EVERYONE will be satisfied and adequate surplus will be generated. Simple so.

Greed, selfishness and ego is the description of all those who want their names published on the Forbes richest person in the world list, while in their respective countries, thousands, if not millions are living in abject poverty and in many cases without a proper health and social security system in place, what a HUGE contradiction eh ? For those of us who have a Christian hope, we know that we are on the cusp of a new reality, where the Lion and Lamb must lie together, where nuclear bombs will be replaced with nuclear energy, where swords will be changed to ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. In other words prophecy MUST be fulfilled, and in that prophecy, the FIRE of judgment and purification !!!

1 Taiwan, 1 Ukraine, 1 Palestine, 1 SVG, 1 world, 1 people !

Donald De Riggs