tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138994904411225576.post6677020802873039698..comments2023-12-29T00:08:21.051-08:00Comments on fear of a red planet: UK Visas & Immigration on Ai Wei Wei: Embarassing, stupid, and wrongGilman Grundyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06607416440240634159noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138994904411225576.post-75181452058454642882015-07-31T22:47:24.794-07:002015-07-31T22:47:24.794-07:00One shouldn't underestimate the capacity of pe...One shouldn't underestimate the capacity of people to misjudge a situation. But Ai Weiwei is a household name, and they certainly didn't leave the decision to an apprentice. This was just a test - no problem for Mrs. May and the Cabinet. Next week, it will be forgotten.<br /><br />I seem to remember at least two unsuccessful tries by the Dalai Lama to visit South Africa in recent years. There's quite a civil society there, and there were outbursts of anger and shame - but hen big business is involved, there's no sense of shame that can't be overcome.<br /><br />Either way, it's good that the decision has been reversed. justrecentlyhttp://justrecently.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138994904411225576.post-26355269649357874922015-07-31T10:00:19.952-07:002015-07-31T10:00:19.952-07:00Well, they just reversed the decision, so either t...Well, they just reversed the decision, so either this was (as I hope) just the work of a lone idiot in the UK visa service, or there was some deeper politics involved: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33738721 Gilman Grundyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06607416440240634159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9138994904411225576.post-85439454299587107462015-07-31T08:42:07.764-07:002015-07-31T08:42:07.764-07:00A friendly way of interpreting this would be that ...A friendly way of interpreting this would be that the UK government puts business first. But I don't doubt for a moment that this was an intentional, clear-minded move to curry favor with the CCP.<br /><br />I think there's a local footnote to that, too. If Western governments show that little respect to citizens' rights in China, there's no reason why they should, in the long run, respect citizens' rights at home.justrecentlyhttp://justrecently.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com