By Sandiso Bazana Reading the Times Live article about the introduction of Mandarin in South African schools made me question the vision that African leaders have of Africa and whether they see Africa prospering on its own — have they given up on the ideal once proclaimed by leaders such as Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Léopold […]
China
Posted inBusiness, Equality
Africa’s China dream hangs in the balance
Voices coming out of Africa and China’s state departments describe relations between the two as based on mutual interest, cooperation, equality and respect. Two-way high volumes of trade, investments, development aid, infrastructure and resource deals are cited as evidence of this win-win relationship. But Afro-Sino engagement has many narratives and deep introspection reveals power, cultural […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Why Beijing is likely to continue pushing a hardline stance
By Walter Bhengu The recent student-led protests in Hong Kong have been massive, the streets of Hong Kong have been in disarray and the Chinese government is not impressed. The so-called Umbrella Revolution has been gaining momentum on the streets of Hong Kong and has captured the imagination of many around the world. Beijing has […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Whose South Africa is it anyway?
“All those who live in it”? Well, at least according to the Freedom Charter. Cute, don’t you think? Ah, reminds me of when I moved out of my parents’ home to pursue “first-time renting”. Though I snagged a tight-spaced bachelor unit, next door to a Celine Dion friend, who often blasted her music into the […]
Posted inGeneral, Media
Why ‘freedom’ sells
Having lived in China for seven years I have my own kind of sorrow, mixed with the tenderness of memory when I see a small Christian community deep inside China harassed for their faith. The leader, pastor Zhang, was imprisoned for 12 years and his family was in danger of losing their lives before making […]
Posted inGeneral
Thuli and other 21st century ‘freedom fighters’ among Time 100
Although she occupies only a sliver of a column on p. 80 in the “leaders” section of Time magazine’s special edition on “The 100 Most Influential people” (May 5 2014), this should not mislead anyone as to the comparative importance of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s inclusion in this annual pantheon of (itself) one of the […]
Posted inBusiness, Tech
Academia is Africa’s last hope
“I am studying mathematics because I wanted to study something as difficult as it is useless.” I follow this statement with a polite laugh and wink. This is how I answer a person asking me why I’m studying a subject that most people regard with a terrified shudder (no doubt linked to their bad memories […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
Bye-bye 132 000 Chinese tourists
By Michael Jones “I’m sorry, I simply do not see them” is an often-quoted response I hear when talking to high-end South African tourism brands about marketing their products in the China outbound travel market. Strange considering that official government statistics are adamant that South Africa received 132 334 Chinese tourists in 2012 making it our […]
Posted inBusiness, Equality, Gender violence, General
‘Unwanted, dirty’ – reading a Chinese woman’s memoir (I)
— Written while recuperating from a broken hand and wrist How everything is already memory. His broken hand cradled, cupped and listened to as its slow bones knit back. The wonder of watching his fingers and palm go through their re-blooming: the fingers learning again to outstretch, then bunch up like an evening blossom that […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Brics can unlock deadly stalemate, bring humanitarian relief to Syrians
By Jonathan Whittall On one of my first visits into Syria with MSF, I arrived on a cold night in a city with no electricity and shortages of food. A community under siege hosted me while they lived in fear, huddled into basements in an attempt to escape the continuous bombing. I saw field hospitals […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The role of China on the African continent
The exponential rate of Chinese investment in Africa over the past few years has been noted with both optimism and scepticism by mainstream media, political commentators and influential role players in the developed and developing world. Opinions triggered by this new development are deeply polarised. A positive view of increased and concentrated Chinese investment on […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The blind sage talks constitutionalism
“The law is optional. Those in power use it when it suits them and ignore it when it doesn’t.” Sound familiar? These words could be describing South Africa, but the context is China. The speaker is Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, the blind self-taught activist lawyer who sought refuge at the US embassy in Beijing last […]