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CHINA VS TAIWAN DEBATE

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Right to reply

Sir,


After reading a letter to the editor by Jeremy H S Liang, the Ambassador of Taiwan to the Kingdom of Eswatini dated September 13, 2018, regarding the Taiwan versus China debate I felt appropriate to make my own comments on the issue, after all, this is just a debate no hard feelings to either of us.  


My interest is not really on the political issue between China and Taiwan, but is on certain statements the ambassador made regarding China’s assistance to the African continent. I think as a black African it is my duty to understand the history of Africa from the days of slavery to present day colonialism.


Perfect Partner - I think we need clarity on what this perfect partner wording is all about with regard to the poor working class of the Kingdom ofEswatini.
Freedom and Democracy - True Taiwan is one of the most democratic and free countries in the world, but what about your perfect partner?


Unaffordable burdens - From days of slavery to present day, Africa has found herself being systematically pushed deeper and deeper into debt by the Western financial institutions like IMF and World Bank. They know very well that these monies do not assist the ordinary citizens of Africa but those in power at that time, but the debts will be forever there even if a democratic state is achieved. What infrastructure developments can you rightly point out that is the product of the Western colonialists? Recall these debts may take over 100 years to settle if ever they will be settled.


Low quality goods and cheap labour - True some products from China are sub-standard, however, it suffixes to look back at the imports of goods from the West. They have been dumping their sub-standard products here in Africa since the colonialist era. They have been also dumping arsenals of weapons that have been used by Africans against Africans, after all their market is on killings. The welfare of workers mostly in the manufacturing and mining sectors that are owned by the West needs some reckoning.


Poverty, servitude and surrendering sovereignty - It is worth noting that poverty in Africa is moving from bad to worse without the interference of China.
This is mainly due to the foreign policies of the western countries with regard to Africa.


Raw materials are being transported to the West and products come back more expensive than before. African states do not know of any sovereignty, if China will deprive us of our sovereignty, I doubt because it does not exist ever since Africa was colonised.
Think of it, no African country is in the UN Security Council.


According to Martin Meredith, author of the Book; ‘The State of Africa”, a two-way trade between China and Africa has reached over US$115 billion by year 2010. China is working in partnership with Africans in building infrastructures across Africa.


They state clearly that this is not their one-way route to development. True China is not a saviour to Africa; they fail to address issues like human rights, good governance and democracy in Africa. They work with dictators, but even the West are part of that scheme.


I personally support Taiwan’s fight to be a free country, whereby any country can have the option to have both China and Taiwan as perfect partners. However, if someone is on the top floor of tower 101 and throws stones, he does not care to whose head that stones will land.


In closure I will quote the song of the late Bob Marley; “You can fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time.”
Garvey

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