Quote:
Originally Posted by Guymullins
China is the new hope for many African nations.They, the Chinese, do not insist on stupid western values like human rights, honesty or even healthy habits. They are quietly colonising Africa by sending their people in to establish businesses, from banking to tiny fancy goods dealers.Africans, as of old, are easily seduced and will sell out their birthright for baubles, and the Chinese are capitalising on this . They also supported some of the Big Men who are now ruling the post colonial ruins. Mugabe being foremost among the gang of thieves. Although Mugabe has turned his country into a wasteland, other African people love him because he sticks it to the white man whenever he has an opportunity. His own people are not so keen and have largely left for greener pastures.
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I always looked at Rhodesia/Zimbabwe as a proxy battle amongst a naive/disinterested west, Soviet Union(ZIPRA), and China(ZANLA).
With China clearly winning it all.
Black folks across the board didn't win(as advertised in the west), just Mugabe's Shona mob.....as exemplified by the genocide targeting the Matabele people and destruction of ZIPRA opposition...as well as the better known expulsion of white intellectual/financial capital.
But surely the descent into the 7th level of poverty hell has an effect on the people, when the promised table scraps are not forthcoming.
We know you can't eat a vote(the all too often doomed siren call of liberal dogooderism), but outside of the ruling network you can't feast on victory over colonialism either.
While African people may love from afar the odd African strong man who stuck it to "whitey", I'm not buying that love translating over to include China.
In fact I would provide anecdotal evidence from my experience that the risk of blowback on ethnic Chinese people, and Chinese economic/diplomatic interests is quite real.
At least here in the Southwest Pacific I've seen the indigenous folks when they hit boiling point and literally burn Chinatown to the ground.
Surely opinions towards China and Chinese people would be changing(possibly quite considerably and not necessarily for the better) over time at the coalface.