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From Our Own Correspondent: Tonga and the United Kingdom

02/08/2013

Tonga and the United Kingdom

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Tonga and the United Kingdom

China's influence spreads across the Pacific; the villlage fete, joy of an English summer

Sveral thousand Chinese are working in the South Seas but how areTongans reacting to them? And, the joy of the English summer - the village fete.

In Nuku'alofa and Hapa'ai, John Pickford sees how China's growing international clout is extending across the South Seas. Thereis now a community of several thousand expatriate Chinese people doing business in Tonga and ever more visible signs of governmental interest in the Pacific. Not all development is positive, though. Recently the delivery of a Chinese-made aircraft sparked a complex international diplomatic standoff, affecting aid and transport. And, local people have varying opinions of Chinese aid and investment. 

In Sussex, on Britain's south coast, Christine Finn takes part in one of the true joys of an English summer - the village fete. These intensely local events, put together by small communities and often raising funds for local causes, also serve as showcases for some highly individual contests - from 'welly wanging' (throwing a rubber boot as far as possible) to pet shows, where the entrants might well end up eating each other.

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