Article

2006-11-18 Down Under

Australian troops preparing to enter Tonga

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Posted by Fred 2006-11-18 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 From the Britannica Book of the Year:

"Civil servants went on strike in 2005 ...because wages had fallen behind inflation....There was also discontent over the transfer of privatized goverment activities to members of King Taua'ahau Tupou IV's family....The Tongan govt finally agree to most of the striker's demands. Most significant, however, was an agreement to establish a royal comission on democratic reform...."

King Taufa'ahau Tupou died a few months ago at the age of 88. His brother, or nephew--somebody of the royal family, anyhow-- who had been involved with some kind of democratic reforms, was killed in a traffic accident in California about 6 months ago. This has left a leadership vacuum in Tonga.

Posted by mom">mom 2006-11-18 19:54|| 2006-11-18 19:54|| Front Page Top

#2 Several pro-CHINA/ASIA bloggers are calling for Beijing to protect the lives of Chinese workers + businessmen in Tonga, after reports that two Chinese businessmen were killed in the local violence.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2006-11-18 23:59|| 2006-11-18 23:59|| Front Page Top

23:59 JosephMendiola
23:54 JosephMendiola
23:27 trailing wife
23:15 JosephMendiola
23:14 BA
22:55 BA
22:55 gorb
22:55 JosephMendiola
22:53 gorb
22:47 SteveS
22:39 KBK
22:34 JosephMendiola
22:34 Scooter McGruder
22:26 JosephMendiola
22:19 Mark Z
22:07 Iblis
21:46 RD
21:42 trailing wife
21:36 gorb
21:32 Steve White
21:31 trailing wife
21:16 Mick Dundee
21:15 gorb
21:12 MU