THE ZAMBIA-CHINA FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION CORRECTS ANTI CHINA MISINFORMATION
The Zambia-China Friendship Association would like to correct the highly misleading, inaccurate, ill-informed, and diplomatically damaging anti-China propaganda that has been published by one Hon. Miles Sampa, Member of Parliament for Matero, Aspiring Candidate for PF presidency and Former Deputy Minister of Finance under the Michael Sata PF Administration.
Hon. Sampa`s article is calling for Zambia to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state and that Zambia is better off having diplomatic relations with Taiwan than the People’s Republic of China, on the basis that,
1) Taiwan is wealthier than China
2) Dumping $10b debt on Zambia
3) Called China names including that it is bullying Taiwan
4) Made accusation that China is interfering with Zambia`s debt restructuring engagements with the IMF
Consequently, he has advised President Hakainde Hichilema not to go to China, and to strengthen bilateral ties with China but instead take a trip to Taiwan.
All his accusations, and rationales are patently false. To begin with, his “grade 12” understanding of the history of the founding of the People’s Republic of China is grossly inaccurate.
The correct position is that the People’s Republic of China was founded by the great Chinese people under the revolutionary and anti-imperialist leadership of the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zedong following the treacherous Chiang Kai Shek and his nationalist party attempted betrayal of the Chinese revolution to the imperialist colonial forces which included America, Great Britain and France, who were trying to divide China the same way they divided Africa for colonial exploitation. Having been defeated, Chiang Kai Shek and his small band of followers with the aid of the West imperialist powers ran away from China Mainland and forcefully imposed themselves on the island of Taiwan, a province of China.
We would like to point out further, that this imperialist plan, which Chiang Kai Shek was a tool of the imperialist forces, presented an existential threat to the Chinese people and the nation-state, where the imperialist western powers including Britain, and France were trying to destroy China through the sale of illegal drugs, such as opium and other illicit drugs in order to effect a genocide on the Chinese people for profit.
In fact, they unleashed two unprovoked wars on China, called “the opium war”. The first war was fought in 1839-1842 when the Chinese government tried to impose a ban on opium by a British merchants, the second war was fought from 1856 to 1860, this time by Britain and France together against China in which they plundered China and desecrated the emperor`s palace and forced China to give-up sovereignty over Hong Kong, which was only handed back recently on 1ST July 1997 after 156 years of colonialism.
The other absurd assertion by Hon Sampa is the one where he suggests that Taiwan is wealthier, and more technologically advanced than China.
To the contrary, it is common knowledge that China is the second largest economy in the world now and technologically very advanced, it is the only country in the world to have an independent space station and the Chinese 5G technology is number one.
There are many more areas in which China is number one in the world, for purpose of this discussion we cannot list them all, suffice to say that a comparison between China and Taiwan as suggested by Mr Sampa is the height of folly.
Mr. Sampa has further accused China of, in his own words, “dumping a $10b debt on Zambia”, suggesting that, China forced Zambia at gunpoint to take this $10b debt when in fact, this $10b debt was solicited and contracted by mutual agreement between successive Zambian governments from Dr Kaunda right down to PF in which Mr Sampa served as a Deputy Minister of Finance.
Unlike the $750 million Eurobond debt which was contracted from Western vulture funds by Mr Sampa, then deputy Minister of Finance, for which he is remembered to have proudly called himself Mr. Eurobond, which Eurobond debt up to date has not been properly accounted for; the Chinese debt on another hand is easily accounted for and its use is visible to all Zambians in the health infrastructure such as the levy Mwanawasa, the masterpiece of road infrastructure including the Mongu- Kalabo road, housing units for our security personnel, the Kafue lower hydro project which has effectively ended load shedding in our country and others too numerous to mention.
The Former Deputy Minister of Finance has further suggested that Zambia open diplomatic relations with Taiwan in preference to China. We would like to inform Mr Sampa and the country, that Countries under the established order of international relations, countries do not open diplomatic relations with provinces of other countries, Taiwan is a renegade province of China. This proposal by Mr Sampa is the egregious of all his dubious proposals. We would like to remind the nation that, it is on this very issue that Zambia`s relation with China is anchored.
It was Zambia in 1971, then represented, by our very own illustrious and consummate diplomat, Hon. Dr. Vernon Johnson Mwaanga (serving under the late Fourth President Rupiah Banda, then Foreign Affairs Minister, and founding President of Zambia, Late Dr. Kenneth Kaunda,) led the United Nations organization General Assembly to kick out Taiwan which was illegally occupying China`s seat at the United Nations, to overwhelmingly and democratically restore the people’s Republic of China to the United Nations and take up its legitimate seat as a fifth permanent member and only one democratically elected to seat on the security council.
That was the event that defined and put to rest once and for all, that there is only one China in the world which is now referred to as one China policy, to which all member states of the United Nations subscribe, including the United States of America. Therefore, it is incomprehensible as to why anyone would remotely suggest that Zambia abandons a universal principle governing current international relations with China of which it is the main architect.
In his article, Mr. Sampa has concluded by advising the Zambian Head of State, His Excellency, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema to abandon a scheduled Presidential visit to China which is a co-chair of Zambia’s sovereign debt restructuring mechanism, accusing it of being responsible for the perceived lack of progress in the engagements with IMF.
It is our considered view that this assertions by Hon. Mr Sampa are not based on truth, and his advice to the head of state not go to China, is reckless, ill-advised and full of mischief boarding on the unpatriotic.
We are, however, fortified, confident, and comforted by the fact that, His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, President of Republic of Zambia has already shown a better understanding of international relations and the world geopolitical situation and he is patriotic enough to put the interest of the country first by having decided that he will be going to China soon
Issued by
Chibeza Mfuni
DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL
23. May 2023