WHY ZAMBIA MAY NEED TAIWAN AND NOT CHINA THAT IS HOLDING IT HOSTAGE OVER DEBT
By Miles B. Sampa, MP (23.05.2023)
Knowledge and exposure is vital to a person and nation’s development. The naive and uninformed say Taiwan and China are and must be one but in reality they are extra miles apart on governance, political ideology, democracy, economic and foreign policies.
Maybe body looks, language and food menu can be said to be the only common denominator.
History has always been an interesting subject to me and my G12 results indicates so.
About 1945 the first democratic if not only elections were held in China. Mao Zedong defeated Chiang Kai-shek who with his people then retreated to a small island called Famosa (Taiwan). Then in 1949 Mao Zedong decided to adjust the long name of China effectively removing the equivalent word of republic to a word meaning people. Those on the Taiwan island protested against the name change and argued they were not part of the new name. Todate some 74 years later, Taiwan lives independent but China insists they are part of mainland China. If ever we thought colonization was finished in the World then we need to think again.
A huge cold war exists between the two and the mainland big brother psychologically bully the younger brothers in the tiny island. Earlier this year when the then US Speaker Nancy Palosi visited Taiwan, China sent their jets to keep circling the island to intimidated the guest and hosts.
China can be said to be allies of Russia and Taiwan of the West as regards the current war.
With a population of about 20 million (like Zambia), Taiwan’s GDP per capita is one of the top 15 in the World at $32,811 while China is almost 3 times poorer at $12,814 value per Chinese citizen.
The USA GDP per capital is $ 77,422 while Zambia far below at only $1,400 available on paper atleast for each of us.
What does Taiwan export or what raw material do they have?
Unlke Zambia, it turns out they have about zero minerals and almost zero arable raw material
What they have and Zambia or China does not have comparatively, is mega investment in R& D (Research & Development). They have invested heavily over time in educating their citizen to find technological solutions or new electronic designs for the global manufacturing industry. They also have a skilled and culturally disciplined people. I’m short their biggest asset is their own people.
As a result, they are currently the World’s largest inventor and exporter of electronic micro chips. They also have huge manufacturing value additions in apparel (mass production tailors) and sports shoes.
They have also advanced in health and medical technology or skills.
Simplified Korea exports nothing but only their thinking using their brains. They get their youths highly educated, sit them in a big room to think and design little electronic chips used in mobile phones, planes, electrical cars etc etc. Elon Musk seeks Taiwan for their chips or semi conductor for his expanding electrical vehicles production Tesla plants.
For their micro chips production and semi conductors production lines, Taiwan imports Copper and Lithium.
In short, Taiwan has become excessively richer than their big brothers in China and many all other countries around the world because of thinking harder and faster from their education curriculum. Simplified ba Taiwan niba ‘Group 1’.
If ever one needs a comparative proof of what ideology works well amongst Communism, Socialism and Capitalism, Taiwan provides the answer. The quality of life between the Taiwanese and the mainland Chinese is miles apart.
In the meantime China is arm twisting Zambia and refusing to sign a common creditors framework so as to allow the IMF release the already approved $1.2 billion bailout package for Zambia. They playing elephant games with the USA while the grass called Zambia is suffering. China offloaded over $10 billion debt on Zambia within a few year with very expensive loans some thought was soft financing if not free aid. Yes the infrastructure is all good but no one can be happy living in a 5 star hotel that does not serve breakfast, lunch ir dinner because funders of the hotel stopping other banks from releasing funds for logistics and food supplies.
So my well researched take is that the Zambian President HH should consider visting Taiwan as our potential economic ally. Of course China will be annoyed but we should tell them that their enemies are not our enemies. Zambia should be friends of everybody in the spirit of non aligned movement as was espoused by our founding father KK and his peers at the time.
MBS23.05.2023