Ah, Noel, you are being far too pensive and far too philosophical. You have to look at this whole matter pragmatically.

Chinese labour built the railroads across Western Canada and opened up the hinterlands here. That was 125 years ago, and the railways are still there, so it is fair to conclude that they did a pretty good job. Hell, the Chinese built a wall in their own country some time ago, and that wall is still standing.

Many of these Chinese labourers who were brought to Canada to build the railroads stayed behind, and they applied their Confucian values to the kids that they raised - these kids became doctors, lawyers, and businesspeople. Even the kids that didn't do so well in school have made a positive contribution - please consider that you can find a Chinese restaurant in just about every small town in Canada, this is very handy if you are hungry.

Although I have only ever flown over the Congo (not driven inter-city), I have driven on the roads that the Chinese recently built in Nairobi - notably the main road leading from Jomo Kenyatta airport to the city - and I note that it is a very fine road indeed. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles use it every day. It is a much better road than the road to Nairobi Wilson Airport, which was built about the same time by a European contractor using Kenyan labour.

As far as I am concerned, these "roads for minerals" deals are quite beneficial. They are a heck of a lot more beneficial to the local population than "cash for minerals". If you are not sure about this, just ask any Congolese citizen who lives in the Kivu provinces what benefit they are getting from the cash generated by all the mining activity there.

Michael