China asks PNG to protect citizens after looting‏

China on Tuesday called on Papua New Guinea to protect Chinese citizens and businesses, which had been victimised by a wave of lootings in recent days. Looters have attacked Chinese businesses since last Wednesday, as a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment spread across the South Pacific island nation where China has invested in a major nickel mine.

An anti-Asian immigration march in the capital Port Moresby last week sparked the rioting, with many Papua New Guineans blaming the Chinese for their poor standard of living and unfair business practices, said local newspapers. "The Chinese government pays great attention to the safety of Chinese-invested firms and of Chinese people in Papua New Guinea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

He said that while a few Chinese shops had been robbed, nobody had been injured. "We have already made representations with the Papua New Guinea government, asking them to immediately send police and increase their protection of Chinese business and people, as well as severely punish those responsible and ensure there is no repetition," Ma added. Police have said some of the latest attacks were probably not anti-Chinese but purely criminal acts.

The Australian government issued a travel advisory for Papua New Guinea on Tuesday due to "high levels of serious crime". "The situation is highly unpredictable," it said. A mountainous nation of some 6 million people north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is rich in a variety of minerals and other resources but has significant crime problems.

About 85 percent of its people eke out subsistence lifestyles in jungle-clad mountain villages. Last week, construction of a $1.7 billion nickel mine and processing plant was temporarily stopped after a fight between about 70 Papua New Guinean and Chinese workers. The fighting broke out between workers and villagers angry at Chinese managers over an industrial accident.

The project is majority-owned by state-owned China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp. Local workers protested last year over working conditions at the remote site. Many Chinese settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea around the time of World War Two, with subsequent waves of migration since. - BEIJING (Reuters)

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China asks PNG to protect citizens after looting‏

China on Tuesday called on Papua New Guinea to protect Chinese citizens and businesses, which had been victimised by a wave of lootings in recent days. Looters have attacked Chinese businesses since last Wednesday, as a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment spread across the South Pacific island nation where China has invested in a major nickel mine.

An anti-Asian immigration march in the capital Port Moresby last week sparked the rioting, with many Papua New Guineans blaming the Chinese for their poor standard of living and unfair business practices, said local newspapers. "The Chinese government pays great attention to the safety of Chinese-invested firms and of Chinese people in Papua New Guinea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

He said that while a few Chinese shops had been robbed, nobody had been injured. "We have already made representations with the Papua New Guinea government, asking them to immediately send police and increase their protection of Chinese business and people, as well as severely punish those responsible and ensure there is no repetition," Ma added. Police have said some of the latest attacks were probably not anti-Chinese but purely criminal acts.

The Australian government issued a travel advisory for Papua New Guinea on Tuesday due to "high levels of serious crime". "The situation is highly unpredictable," it said. A mountainous nation of some 6 million people north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is rich in a variety of minerals and other resources but has significant crime problems.

About 85 percent of its people eke out subsistence lifestyles in jungle-clad mountain villages. Last week, construction of a $1.7 billion nickel mine and processing plant was temporarily stopped after a fight between about 70 Papua New Guinean and Chinese workers. The fighting broke out between workers and villagers angry at Chinese managers over an industrial accident.

The project is majority-owned by state-owned China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp. Local workers protested last year over working conditions at the remote site. Many Chinese settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea around the time of World War Two, with subsequent waves of migration since. - BEIJING (Reuters)

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China asks PNG to protect citizens after looting‏

China on Tuesday called on Papua New Guinea to protect Chinese citizens and businesses, which had been victimised by a wave of lootings in recent days. Looters have attacked Chinese businesses since last Wednesday, as a wave of anti-Chinese sentiment spread across the South Pacific island nation where China has invested in a major nickel mine.

An anti-Asian immigration march in the capital Port Moresby last week sparked the rioting, with many Papua New Guineans blaming the Chinese for their poor standard of living and unfair business practices, said local newspapers. "The Chinese government pays great attention to the safety of Chinese-invested firms and of Chinese people in Papua New Guinea," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing.

He said that while a few Chinese shops had been robbed, nobody had been injured. "We have already made representations with the Papua New Guinea government, asking them to immediately send police and increase their protection of Chinese business and people, as well as severely punish those responsible and ensure there is no repetition," Ma added. Police have said some of the latest attacks were probably not anti-Chinese but purely criminal acts.

The Australian government issued a travel advisory for Papua New Guinea on Tuesday due to "high levels of serious crime". "The situation is highly unpredictable," it said. A mountainous nation of some 6 million people north of Australia, Papua New Guinea is rich in a variety of minerals and other resources but has significant crime problems.

About 85 percent of its people eke out subsistence lifestyles in jungle-clad mountain villages. Last week, construction of a $1.7 billion nickel mine and processing plant was temporarily stopped after a fight between about 70 Papua New Guinean and Chinese workers. The fighting broke out between workers and villagers angry at Chinese managers over an industrial accident.

The project is majority-owned by state-owned China Metallurgical Construction Group Corp. Local workers protested last year over working conditions at the remote site. Many Chinese settlers arrived in Papua New Guinea around the time of World War Two, with subsequent waves of migration since. - BEIJING (Reuters)

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What caused the PNG riots?

By Gelab Piak*

The recent riot in PNG against Chinese Businesses is cited by many newspapers and news agencies to be a symptom of a nation in crisis. The looting has been condemned and the Government has vowed to set up a bi-partisan team to investigate the riots. However, in order to define the cause of the problem transparently and accurately, we have to critically analyze what has happened and answer the above question.

The riots maybe uncalled for, yet are well over-due. This rioting is a build up of a mixture of many issues. As it is PNG is filled with many problems such as acute poverty, lack of development, HIV/Aids, Law and Order, Public Servants and Workers pays, a great divide between rich and poor, land owner issues and the list just goes on and on. The Government knows about these issues, yet has gone on to ignore them, and this is part and parcel of the cause of the recent rioting.

Theses riots were a mare work of opportunist and not a coordinated work. These opportunists were mainly from squatter settlements, where the poorest of the society lives. They took advantage of the looting else where and orchestrated copycat versions. But dig deeper and you’ll find that these people are people from remote areas who have been neglected by the Government for so long, that they have moved to the Towns and Cities in search of government services denied to them. Other settlement residents are Primary school, High school, and Secondary school dropouts that become “street boys” and eventually end up in criminal activities, and the end is always fatal.

The education system too, must be reviewed, as it has contributed to a large number of dropouts over the years, some with little education, thus having little understanding of the problems facing this country so they become contributing factors to some of the problems. The service delivery mechanisms of the Government also need to be reviewed, as these riots are evidence of the need provide services.

The Department of Labor has come under criticism from other government authorities, but all should accept the blame and not pass the buck around. Business Regulatory arms must be blamed for no checking to see if foreign owned business and owners are abiding by PNG laws. This issue also paints a bad picture of the way we manage our border security, and in the center of this, are corrupt leaders and Government ignorance, not only the current government but also the previous governments.

Adding salt to the wound is the great cultural divide between the two peoples and races. Another fact to consider is that we must understand that PNG is a developing nation; it is developing and peoples’ perception changes as they become more aware by changing with development.

As a developing nation, PNG is caught in the middle; on one hand is the Western culture and on the other is our own culture and where we stand upon is Christianity, (as we, as a nation, claim to be) which goes against most of the basic morals and norms of our culture.

As we probe deeper we realize our problems are complex and so our leaders must be prepared to address all other issues first, and must investigate with regards and in the interest of its citizens as well as the foreigners(in this case the Asians). If this problem is properly addressed; we won’t see another Honiara in PNG.

Dear David,

* My name is Gelab Piak, I am Free Lance journalist and also a student in Divine Word University. I have witnessed first hand the looting in Madang, and felt the tension in the air, as angry mobs looted.

This article is in response to the many letters and complains about the riots it is article based on the recent riots that have targeted Asian businesses in PNG yet it is different in that it tries to state clearly and points out that PNG has many underlining issues that have contributed to this regrettable event in the history of PNG.

I humbly ask you if you could publish it on your blog. I appreciate your kind understanding and thank you well in advance.

Thank you.

Gelab Piak
(unedited)
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What caused the PNG riots?

By Gelab Piak*

The recent riot in PNG against Chinese Businesses is cited by many newspapers and news agencies to be a symptom of a nation in crisis. The looting has been condemned and the Government has vowed to set up a bi-partisan team to investigate the riots. However, in order to define the cause of the problem transparently and accurately, we have to critically analyze what has happened and answer the above question.

The riots maybe uncalled for, yet are well over-due. This rioting is a build up of a mixture of many issues. As it is PNG is filled with many problems such as acute poverty, lack of development, HIV/Aids, Law and Order, Public Servants and Workers pays, a great divide between rich and poor, land owner issues and the list just goes on and on. The Government knows about these issues, yet has gone on to ignore them, and this is part and parcel of the cause of the recent rioting.

Theses riots were a mare work of opportunist and not a coordinated work. These opportunists were mainly from squatter settlements, where the poorest of the society lives. They took advantage of the looting else where and orchestrated copycat versions. But dig deeper and you’ll find that these people are people from remote areas who have been neglected by the Government for so long, that they have moved to the Towns and Cities in search of government services denied to them. Other settlement residents are Primary school, High school, and Secondary school dropouts that become “street boys” and eventually end up in criminal activities, and the end is always fatal.

The education system too, must be reviewed, as it has contributed to a large number of dropouts over the years, some with little education, thus having little understanding of the problems facing this country so they become contributing factors to some of the problems. The service delivery mechanisms of the Government also need to be reviewed, as these riots are evidence of the need provide services.

The Department of Labor has come under criticism from other government authorities, but all should accept the blame and not pass the buck around. Business Regulatory arms must be blamed for no checking to see if foreign owned business and owners are abiding by PNG laws. This issue also paints a bad picture of the way we manage our border security, and in the center of this, are corrupt leaders and Government ignorance, not only the current government but also the previous governments.

Adding salt to the wound is the great cultural divide between the two peoples and races. Another fact to consider is that we must understand that PNG is a developing nation; it is developing and peoples’ perception changes as they become more aware by changing with development.

As a developing nation, PNG is caught in the middle; on one hand is the Western culture and on the other is our own culture and where we stand upon is Christianity, (as we, as a nation, claim to be) which goes against most of the basic morals and norms of our culture.

As we probe deeper we realize our problems are complex and so our leaders must be prepared to address all other issues first, and must investigate with regards and in the interest of its citizens as well as the foreigners(in this case the Asians). If this problem is properly addressed; we won’t see another Honiara in PNG.

Dear David,

* My name is Gelab Piak, I am Free Lance journalist and also a student in Divine Word University. I have witnessed first hand the looting in Madang, and felt the tension in the air, as angry mobs looted.

This article is in response to the many letters and complains about the riots it is article based on the recent riots that have targeted Asian businesses in PNG yet it is different in that it tries to state clearly and points out that PNG has many underlining issues that have contributed to this regrettable event in the history of PNG.

I humbly ask you if you could publish it on your blog. I appreciate your kind understanding and thank you well in advance.

Thank you.

Gelab Piak
(unedited)
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

What caused the PNG riots?

By Gelab Piak*

The recent riot in PNG against Chinese Businesses is cited by many newspapers and news agencies to be a symptom of a nation in crisis. The looting has been condemned and the Government has vowed to set up a bi-partisan team to investigate the riots. However, in order to define the cause of the problem transparently and accurately, we have to critically analyze what has happened and answer the above question.

The riots maybe uncalled for, yet are well over-due. This rioting is a build up of a mixture of many issues. As it is PNG is filled with many problems such as acute poverty, lack of development, HIV/Aids, Law and Order, Public Servants and Workers pays, a great divide between rich and poor, land owner issues and the list just goes on and on. The Government knows about these issues, yet has gone on to ignore them, and this is part and parcel of the cause of the recent rioting.

Theses riots were a mare work of opportunist and not a coordinated work. These opportunists were mainly from squatter settlements, where the poorest of the society lives. They took advantage of the looting else where and orchestrated copycat versions. But dig deeper and you’ll find that these people are people from remote areas who have been neglected by the Government for so long, that they have moved to the Towns and Cities in search of government services denied to them. Other settlement residents are Primary school, High school, and Secondary school dropouts that become “street boys” and eventually end up in criminal activities, and the end is always fatal.

The education system too, must be reviewed, as it has contributed to a large number of dropouts over the years, some with little education, thus having little understanding of the problems facing this country so they become contributing factors to some of the problems. The service delivery mechanisms of the Government also need to be reviewed, as these riots are evidence of the need provide services.

The Department of Labor has come under criticism from other government authorities, but all should accept the blame and not pass the buck around. Business Regulatory arms must be blamed for no checking to see if foreign owned business and owners are abiding by PNG laws. This issue also paints a bad picture of the way we manage our border security, and in the center of this, are corrupt leaders and Government ignorance, not only the current government but also the previous governments.

Adding salt to the wound is the great cultural divide between the two peoples and races. Another fact to consider is that we must understand that PNG is a developing nation; it is developing and peoples’ perception changes as they become more aware by changing with development.

As a developing nation, PNG is caught in the middle; on one hand is the Western culture and on the other is our own culture and where we stand upon is Christianity, (as we, as a nation, claim to be) which goes against most of the basic morals and norms of our culture.

As we probe deeper we realize our problems are complex and so our leaders must be prepared to address all other issues first, and must investigate with regards and in the interest of its citizens as well as the foreigners(in this case the Asians). If this problem is properly addressed; we won’t see another Honiara in PNG.

Dear David,

* My name is Gelab Piak, I am Free Lance journalist and also a student in Divine Word University. I have witnessed first hand the looting in Madang, and felt the tension in the air, as angry mobs looted.

This article is in response to the many letters and complains about the riots it is article based on the recent riots that have targeted Asian businesses in PNG yet it is different in that it tries to state clearly and points out that PNG has many underlining issues that have contributed to this regrettable event in the history of PNG.

I humbly ask you if you could publish it on your blog. I appreciate your kind understanding and thank you well in advance.

Thank you.

Gelab Piak
(unedited)
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