Today is a public holiday in South Africa – Human Rights Day. There’s a certain irony in spending the day focusing on China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vladimir Putin, knee-deep in a human rights disaster.
What one makes of the Ukraine crisis increasingly maps on where one lives. This is made clear by a remarkable new set of polling data recently published by the European Council on Foreign Relations ...
Category: Twitter
Dubious Rumor Spreading On Pakistani Twitter Xi Jinping Will Soon Visit
Unsubstantiated rumors started to spread on Pakistani Twitter over the weekend that Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit the country and, more specifically, inaugurate a new Chinese-built airport in the port city of Gwadar. There's good reason to ...
No, Jackie Chan Didn’t Wear a T-Shirt Promoting Uganda’s First Son to Be “The Next President”
The fact-checking team at Pesa Check debunked a photo that's been circulating on Twitter and Facebook showing Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan purportedly wearing a t-shirt with a photo of the first son of Uganda, Muhoozi Kainerugaba, with the caption "The Next President."
China’s Ambassador to Somalia Takes On All-Comers In Rare Twitter Brawl
China's ambassadors in Africa are normally very reclusive, especially on English-language social media platforms like Twitter. So, it was a bit surprising to see Fei Shangchao, China's envoy to Somalia, get into an all-out Twitter feud on Tuesday with anyone and everyone willing to ...
Hello World! China’s AU Mission is Now on Twitter
China's mission to the African Union opened a Twitter account on Monday, becoming the 53rd Chinese diplomatic entity in Africa that's now active on the microblogging platform. For some unknown reason, Chinese diplomats and missions in Africa are ...
China’s Ambassador to Somalia Makes Clear That When It Comes to Taiwan, There’s No Room For Compromise
Occasionally, China's famously media-shy ambassadors in Africa come out of their shells and engage in surprisingly frank discussions on social media. Admittedly, it doesn't happen very often but it did on Monday over on Fei Shengchao's Twitter page when the Chinese envoy to Somalia responded to critical ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
Xi Bets on Global South in Moscow
Museveni’s “OK Boomer” View of World Politics
Uganda President Yoweri Museveni's office published a quote from the septuagenarian leader that revealed an outdated view of world affairs where major global powers have what he terms "centers of gravity." While it's not entirely clear what he meant by "USA for ...
China’s New Ambassador to Tanzania Signs on to Twitter
China's new ambassador to Tanzania, Cheng Mingjian, is the latest Chinese envoy to open a Twitter account. There are now 51 Chinese diplomats in Africa that use the platform. Click here for a complete list ...
China’s Critics Are Piling On Over the Entebbe Airport Story, Even the Originator of the “China Debt Trap” Meme
The online flurry over the Entebbe Airport story is drawing out commentators and critics from all sides of the debate, including the New Delhi-based author and analyst Brahma Chellaney, the man who first coined the phrase "debt-trap diplomacy." ...
Former U.S. Diplomat Peter Pham Draws China’s Ambassador to the DRC Into a Twitter Feud
Long time Twitter rivals J. Peter Pham, a U.S. diplomat during the Trump administration and a vocal critic of China in Africa, and China's ambassador to the DR Congo, Zhu Jing, squabbled again over the weekend after Pham tagged the ambassador personally in a critical post related ...
China Signals Its Approval of Ethiopian Debt Restructuring Talks
Beijing gave its blessing on Wednesday to the new creditors committee that China's co-chairing with France to overhaul Ethiopia's $30 billion debt. The committee, operating under the auspices of the G20, met for the first time on September 16th and plans ...