Hu Jintao in Copenhagen: Danes excel in the art of kowtowing

The visit of China´s president Hu Jintao in Denmark proceeds as expected; the Danes, who otherwise are eager to show how they care about democracy and human rights - particularly in small economically less important countries - are speaking softly, and without a stick in sight, to their high guest.

Denmark´s socialist Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt refuses to put Tibet on the agenda during her discussions with Hu tomorrow, thus going against the clearly manifested policy agreed by the Danish parliament. 

Instead the representative of China´s authoritarian ruling clique is wined and dined like an emperor while in Copenhagen. Today Queen Margrethe took her guest on a tour of the harbor on board the royal yacht Dannebrog. Earlier in the morning almost the entire Danish cavalry - 48 riders - greeted Hu on his arrival at the Queen´s Amalienborg palace. 

Later on in the afternoon Crown Prince Frederik will pay tribute to the "300 years of Danish-Chinese trade", at a business gathering. Denmark, like most other crisis ridden EU countries, is looking for help from China to get the economy going. So far, China has offered only nice words - which is the likely outcome also of this visit. 

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of political prisoners languish in the enormous government operated Laogai slave labor camps in China ...

But, who knows, maybe Hu will offer to buy the loss making Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas. Modern Danish technology could be the key to improving the productivity of the camps ...