Last night on the news, you heard PUP Representative Kareem Musa explain why he led a delegation to mainland China last week.
He said it was all set up by the Belize - Chinese Association - and, indeed, the President Johnston Ou can be seen immediately behind Musa smiling as he hands over the symbolic flag.
But Ou rejected that narrative today. In a rare release from the Belize Chinese Association signed by Ou as the Chairman, he says, quote, "The invitation for (Musa) to visit China was not made by the Belize Chinese Association or myself . The invitation came directly from the China's Zhi Gong Party and specifically requested the Hon. Kareem Musa who accepted and also chose the members of his delegation. Since I was scheduled to be in China on business, I accompanied the delegation as a translator only. Apart from one Board Member who accompanied me, all other Association Board Members were not aware of this visit since this was not a official Association event." End quote.
Today, Musa confirmed that Ou did invite him, but then conceded that he did so on behalf of the Zhi Gong party.
As to whether he chose the delegation, Musa told us via text that he only recommended Kevin Arthurs, but claims that Ou is the one who selected city councillors Oscar Arnold and Michael Norales.
So, who is the Zhi Gong Party that's giving out these invites? Well, it's one of the eight non communist parties in China and according to Wikipedia, quote, "On occasions, the party appears to be used as a convenient intermediary for contacts with certain foreign interests."
But, to hear Musa tell it, it was that it was not a great big deal. As he casually put it, Belize has a lot to learn from China:...
Kareem Musa - Representative, Caribbean Shores
"We don't have any block against China. I don't believe Belize has a closed door policy against China and so really it was an invitation that we accepted as a sort of a fact finding mission, a listening tour, and a learning experience for us. We are a developing country and when a big country like China who has had great success over the years, particularly in the area of agriculture, in the area of poverty alleviation. And I will tell you that my experience was an eye opening one because you can see where in the last twenty years, we're talking hundreds and millions of people coming out of poverty and as you know Belize has had its focus on poverty alleviation for quite some time but for some reason it's not working out. And it's very important for politicians young politicians like myself are exposed and to see where it is that we are going wrong. So that we can make the adjustments going forward."
And while he glossed it over, the fact is that with China sniping Taiwan's global allies left and right, the signal being sent to Taipei by this visit is a very chilling one - and it could even have political implications domestically. We'll see how it unfolds.
Email
Print