HICHILEMA IN CHINA: HONESTY AND INTEGRITY MUST DRIVE THE AGENDA
Mr Hakainde Hichilema is taking his maiden Presidential trip to China.
Of course, like we said before, this trip has come after a lot of illusions and arrogance accompanied by ignorance on the part of Mr Hichilema. However, we are glad that reality finally dawned and Mr Hichilema came back to his senses and accepted guidance on this very crucial assignment of the future of the traditional Sino- Zambia relations.
This particular trip is important to resolving our country’s current economic and foreign policy challenges and therefore, we expect Mr Hichilema to be honest and sincere with the leaders of China by committing to the following:
• Mr Hichilema should sincerely and uncompromisingly stick to and reaffirm Zambia’s support for the One- China policy and unequivocally state that the government of the People’s Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, is the sole legal representative of the Chinese people, and denounce US interference in the internal affairs of China over Taiwan.
• Mr Hichilema should be honest with the leadership of China and explain the presence of AFRICOM in Zambia since the US government has made it clear that the purpose of AFRICOM is to counter Chinese and Russian expansion in Africa. China has been mentioned in this issue, so it’s only right that as the host of AFRICOM, Mr Hichilema assures the Chinese government over this issue.
• Mr Hichilema must seek technical and bilateral support from the Chinese government in order to operationalise TAZARA to full capacity. This move will positively impact the railway industry and subsequently translate into higher bulk and heavy cargo inflows for import and export via the railway network. Further, this will also increase the lifespan of our road network. The Chinese are very passionate about TAZARA because it signifies two things: the long-standing relationship between our two countries, and the beginning of the most iconic and awe- inspiring engineering feats done by China in Africa.
Below is the guidance we provided to Mr Hichilema in July this year over his maiden trip to China:
After a lot of illusions and arrogance accompanied by ignorance, finally, Mr Hakainde Hichilema has conceded to guidance on the need to respect and uphold the traditional friendship between Zambia and China, and will embark on a state visit to the country next month (August).
We are glad that eventually, commonsense has prevailed over Mr Hichilema’s big-headedness and diplomatic ignorance on this matter of major interest to our country and its people.
Sino-Zambia relations are a traditional friendship established by the founding leaders of a senior generation of the two countries, Chairman Mao Zedong and Dr Kenneth Kaunda. And these relations have withstood the test of time because they have always been anchored in mutual trust, respect, and cooperation.
And so, as Mr Hichilema heads to China next month, he should take into account a few critical issues to enable him to represent our people and country well and prevent possible embarrassments to the country and himself as a leader:
• Let Mr Hichilema firmly and uncompromisingly stick to and reaffirm our country’s support for the one-China policy and unequivocally state that the government of the People’s Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, is the sole legal representative of the Chinese people, and denounce US interference in the internal affairs of China over Taiwan.
• Mr Hichilema must appreciate that strengthening Sino-Zambia ties and China-Africa friendship and cooperation in general has always been a vital cornerstone of China’s foreign policy. And the Chinese have always been willing to work with Africa with mutual respect and equality in order to open up and advance new prospects of cooperation with practicality on a win-win basis.
• Mr Hichilema should realise that prostitution is for brothels and not for foreign relations. There is a need to stick to our traditional non-aligned policy and not allow our country to become an agent of US imperialism and its hegemonic agenda, and not allow AFRICOM to establish itself in our country.
• Mr Hichilema must exchange in-depth, genuine and unswerving views on Sino-Zambia ties with President Xi Jinping in order to deepen mutual trust, confidence, and cooperation between our two countries. There is no need for Mr Hichilema to start prostituting around clear matters of foreign policy, because the Chinese have always been consistent, sincere, and have helped Zambia in the cause of national development since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1964. The Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) line is one of the many historical testimonies to their genuineness and dedication.
• Mr Hichilema must realise that in order for Zambia to carry forward and sustain this inherited, traditional friendship between the two countries, frequent visits and exchanges are the surest way of cementing friendships closer and tighter. There was no need to wait this long to take this important trip, particularly when one considers the longstanding relationship Zambia shares with China.
• Mr Hichilema must value the relevant cooperation plans from China and seek to expand them in areas such as technology, agriculture, commerce and trade, infrastructure, and so on, to enable Zambia to realise economic stability and self-development.
• Mr Hichilema must also guarantee the legal rights of Chinese enterprises operating in Zambia and not harass them at the instigation of his friends – the US – and other imperialist governments he is fraternising with.
As we have always said, this particular state visit is crucial to resolving Zambia’s current economic glitches, and Mr Hichilema must attach importance and honesty to this engagement. Let him not go to China with the usual diplomatic illiteracy he parades – egocentricity and his habitual lies – because the people he is going to meet are not fools. They are well ahead of him and very refined. They have already studied his personality, inclinations, intellect, emotions, behaviours, and so on.
They will give him the full honours, ceremonies and pomp, which he seems to be enjoying so much lately, but if he proves to them that he is not a man of his word, they will never respect him as a decent human being, and that will be a great shame in the diplomatic history of our country, because China has been “a good friend, partner and brother” to Zambia and the Chinese have always held successive leaders of this country in high esteem and trust since the establishment of Sino-Zambia relations.
The die is cast. Zambia is watching!
Fred M’membe
President of the Socialist Party