https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/l...hina-kqlqmjp39
Little England? Not any more - Barbados is becoming Little China.
[Awash with cash from Beijing, the island is ditching the Queen. Some fear it is simply swapping one colonial master for another, writes Matthew Campbell.
…...It coincides with a plan by the island, famed for its rum cocktails, calypso contests and cricket stars, to sever its last colonial ties with the UK by declaring itself a republic on November 30. In a ceremony attended by Prince Charles, it will formally drop the Queen as head of state in favour of an elected President.
Some observers are wondering, however, if Barbados is dumping the symbolic British monarch in favour of a real and formidable emperor in Beijing…..
….The presence of Chinese labourers — I counted at least a dozen without entering the main building development — in a country trying to boost employment among its own population is a sensitive issue.
So, for different reasons, are the Chinese buses, Chinese-built houses and the Confucius Institute housed in a Chinese-style pavilion on a local university campus...etc…..etc...]
There are also concerns among some of the island's population that the issue was not put to a referendum and are frightened about the future.