This week Eric and Cobus discuss the recent surge of anti-Chinese sentiment in Zambiawhere public anger is on the rise against politicians in both Lusaka and Beijing. Critics accuse both governments of not being sufficiently transparent about debt and whether core Zambian infrastructure assets are at risk.
First, there was the unfounded report that China was going to take over the country’s television broadcaster, ZNBC. Then, there was the story, also untrue, that China was going to assume control of Zambia’s state-owned electric company ZESCO. Most recently, a violent video of four Asian men brutally beating a black man, allegedly to death, circulated on Zambian social media sites under the headline “Zambian student killed by Chinese.” There is every indication that the video may not be what it says it is as there is still no evidence to prove when it was shot, whether the assailants were actually Chinese nationals or if the victim was actually Zambian.
International media coverage also reflects the growing unease about the Chinese in Zambia. Eric & Cobus discuss two stories in particular:
- ‘Say no to China’: Anger mounts in Zambia over Beijing’s presence by the French news agency AFP.
- Zambia’s Sovereignty Concerns Put China in Crosshairs by Salem Solomon of Voice of America’s Africa Division.
