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UK Government blocks GB Energy from using solar panels manufactured with Chinese slave labour
(www.renewableenergymagazine.com)
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
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UK Politics
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the uk, a country built on slave labour to benefit the monarchy, lecturing anyone about slave labour is laughable.
Wow, that might be the dumbest take I’ve ever seen.
“Humanity, a species that once contained individuals that once did something bad, lecturing anyone about not doing bad things is laughable.”
Especially when they are in a country that has slave labour now. 🤦
Well we did abolish slavery before the United States did…..
...and don't forget that sundown towns still exist in America.
How is it "lecturing" to decide that a publicly-funded state company will not use products built by enslaved people?
It is straight bizarre to suggest the current Labour government (who'd like to abolish the monarchy fwiw) should embrace the evils of slavery because British capitalists often embrace the evils of slavery.
I mean, current "Labour" are as tight with British capitalists as the Tories. That in mind, this behaviour does actually come as a surprise in some ways. That they're simply saying what they think will be popular is also very on-brand for what "Labour" are now though, so there's that.
You're right, we should obviously just let slave labour continue on, without voicing any concern over it.
Ah, Americans who are currently fighting to own slaves again, and kill all poor and LGBTQ+.
Please tell us more.
the current policy of the government is enslavement of the poor and disabled and genocide of trans ppl soooooo
I mean, as a UK citizen, she's right. And also the UK isn't too far behind the US in terms of killing the poor and lgbtq+
However, if they have any way of actually confirming these panels are made with slave labour, then it is a positive move to refuse to use them. But failing that, this is getting in the way of green energy growth.
No she's not.
A few hundred year ago, some people did some bad things therefore I can't be against said bad things?
Fucking ridiculous.
Perhaps they should take responsibility for forced slave labour that actually is happening now in their country, but then they couldn't criticise us for hypocrisy without being hypocritical themselves.
Acting like it was "hundreds of years ago" does nobody any good.
Even if we ignore the existing forced (oft unpaid) prison labour, the British have made strong use of slavery recently enough that people are still alive who may have lived through it.
I have no doubt that Katy acknowledges the atrocities going on in her own country, we don't need to engage in whataboutism.
It is hypocritical and laughable for the UK to lecture other countries on slave labour. It is still, also, right for anyone to call out countries for using slave labour.
To extend this to a more extreme example, if Russia was to come out and criticise Israel for their disgusting assault on Gaza, it would be both laughable and also correct.
Where is the lecture, or is simply not enabling other countries to engage in this "lecturing"?
I see more lecturing from others about the UK here. That we are not allowed to reject slave labour because of actions in the past.
You can't have it both ways. Either we are allowed to call them out, or we can't.
Nobody is saying you can't call them out. They (me) are saying that it is laughable (see: ironic) of the UK to do so, whilst also being the correct thing for the UK to do.
See my example in my previous reply.
I don't think that any further value would come of continued discussion between us - feel free to reply but I'm done here. Have a good one!