US giving assylum to N. Korean refugees

[DanS]

Also the general gutlessness of the pathetic SKorean government doesn't change the fact that China is being a MUCH MUCH MUCH bigger obstacle to these refugees escaping NKorea permanently. Which is evil.

I agree that it is evil. I guess I'm more sanguine in that China couldn't stop a determined underground railroad from operating.

[Bosh]

You will never be the RoK president with that platform.

No doubt.

Seriously, think of the consequences. How long did it take Germany to start recovering after reunification? and East Germany probably was in a much better shape than DPRK now.

The cost of cleaning up the mes of the DPRK will be enormous (much worse than East Germany) but there's nothing much that can be done about that, the place is already a hell hole and it'll cost a fortune to make it livable no matter what happens in the future. The faster that Korea can be unified and that process can start the better.

Our British overlords stuck us with the Port of First Asylum (something like that) which created a nice social problem for a couple of decades. And the UN still owe us tens of millions.

What does that have to do with anything? Nobody's asking China to grant the refugees asylum, just to forward them on to countries that will instead of sending innocent refugees back to imprisonment/death/various bits of unpleasantness.

In addition the current evil policy on the part of the Chinese government results in North Koreans sneaking all around the country trying to get to South Korea or doing various kinds of illegal work. The current Chinese policy is CREATEING "a nice social problem" in China not averting it.

[Arrian]

Ah, UR, ole reliable. You could probably give half the forum a heart attack by saying that you actually disagreed with PRC policy on something. Then again, you might end up in jail, and we wouldn't want that.

-Arrian

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Arrian
Ah, UR, ole reliable. You could probably give half the forum a heart attack by saying that you actually disagreed with PRC policy on something. Then again, you might end up in jail, and we wouldn't want that.

-Arrian

Are you sure we would not want that?

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Yeah, and did you ever think WHY they are so rabid in doing so? Because if Cubans hit the shore, they get to stay.

Actually, it's to discourage them coming by boat. Generally speaking, the Florida Straits are rather dangerous waters for light craft. Lots of people drown or get eaten by sharks when their crappy boats sink. But we have that stupid policy of considering any Cuban who makes it to land a political refugee , even though the vast majority are economic refugees. If we got rid of the policy and started sending them back regardless, I think fewer people would die in the water. Alternatively, we could just expand the visa program and let more Cubans fly here.

They do stop Hatians in the water. They also sent back some Cubans who made it to a bridge that is no longer connected to land. Technically, they never made it to land.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Silver14
It just wouldn't surprise me if there were others we didn't know about.

If only that were true, we could send back all those Cuban criminals after they get out of jail.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Silver14
Fine, I'm wrong. Send all the kids back...they don't count.

In the early 1960s, many thousands of parents sent their children to live in the United States, often alone, until they could come. Being a child doesn't mean getting sent back, unless your guardian wants you back.

Had Elain's mother lived, it's possible that a custody battle would have erupted between the parents, since she didn't ask her ex-husband if it would be okay to take Elian to stay with her drug-dealing, theiving relatives in Miami.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Bosh
What does that have to do with anything? Nobody's asking China to grant the refugees asylum, just to forward them on to countries that will instead of sending innocent refugees back to imprisonment/death/various bits of unpleasantness.

That's exactly what we did. The Vietnamese boat people were supposely here only temporarily, until some other country gives them citizenship.

Well, guess what? These other countries got tired after awhile and we got stuck with thousands of them.

Originally posted by Bosh
In addition the current evil policy on the part of the Chinese government results in North Koreans sneaking all around the country trying to get to South Korea or doing various kinds of illegal work. The current Chinese policy is CREATEING "a nice social problem" in China not averting it.

The policy is averting a nice social problem - not to mention a political one.

Just think about this. Suppose the PRC declares that they will allow DPRK refugees* to stay until they could go to RoK, the US, or some other country tomorrow, what would happen?

What kind of infrastructure would be needed to house them, feed them, and cloth them? What if the RoK suddenly decides that millions of DPRK refugees are too many for them to handle and refuses to accept more?

Humanitatian is nice and all, but I am afraid throwing open the gates will create a much bigger problem.


* I am not sure if they are refugees either, but I won't be arguing over this point at the moment.

[KrazyHorse]

Was that before or after the vietnamese handed your asses to you and brought down the Khmer Rouge?

[MrFun]

EDIT: nm; thought the discussion was Vietnam War without even reading the posts above KH's


**** happens when you get home at midnight after seven hours of thesis research and a five hour road trip


Note to self: Don't post when you're too tired.

[KrazyHorse]

Who the **** is talking about the United States? Aren't you putatively an historian?

[KrazyHorse]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War

[MrFun]

I editted my original post.

[KrazyHorse]

[MrFun]

It has been a loooong day; but a productive one. Sucks that the interlibrary loan system in this area is so cumbersome that I have to make this road trip two to three times a month in between material being sent up to where I live.

But I still get sh!t done.