CCTV FOLLIES 6.27 Not a dictator!

New Zealand's Chris Hipkins gets in line for a private photo op with Xi, along with the leaders of Barbados, Mongolia and Vietnam -Hipkins sits in front row of Li Qiang speech! Long live democracy!

Prime Minister of New Zealand Chris Hipkins cleared the way for a smooth visit to Beijing by declaring Xi a non-dictator and telling the skeptical press that what China did was “a matter for them.”

A bold move, a calculated diplomatic initiative that might have opened doors but didn’t really pay off, which just goes to show that the Chinese communists reserve a special disdain for foreigners who wholeheartedly agree with them.

Xi does manage to squeeze Hipkins in for a brief audience, wedged between the Prime Minister of Barbados, the Premier of Mongolia and the Premier of Vietnam, one after the other, all on Xi’s busy dance card.

In keeping the democratic mood and the dignity of a meeting involving a Five Eyes member of the Western bloc, Xi lectured Hipkins,and Hipkins studiously took notes.

For Hipkins it was well worth disavowing President Biden’s comm…