Posted on 10/02/2006 6:08:11 PM PDT by blam
Rioters attack Chinese after Zambian poll
By David Blair in Lusaka
(Filed: 03/10/2006)
Chinese shopkeepers barricaded their properties against gangs of looters in Zambia's capital, Lusaka, yesterday as a presidential election sparked a backlash against Beijing's growing influence in Africa.
Michael Sata, an opposition candidate, won 28 per cent of the vote after accusing China of "exploitation" and turning Zambia into a "dumping ground".
Rioters took to the streets of the Zambian capital Lusaka after President Mwanawasa was re-elected in a close contest
Although President Levy Mwanawasa was re-elected with 43 per cent of the vote, Mr Sata won in areas most affected by Chinese investment. In Lusaka, he polled almost three times as many votes as the president.
China has become one of the key foreign powers in Africa as it searches for raw materials to fuel its economy.
Chinese immigrants have opened many shops in Lusaka, where their community has grown tenfold to about 30,000 in the past decade.
But their presence has sparked great resentment. Chinese businessmen are accused of underpaying their workers, ignoring safety rules and driving local companies out of business with cheap and shoddy goods.
Last year, 46 miners dies in an accident at Chambishi, a copper mine owed by Chinese investors. Three months ago, its workforce rioted over low wages and poor conditions.
Mr Sata, the leader of the Patriotic Front, claimed yesterday that Mr Mwanawasa had "stolen victory". He mobilised these grievances behind his presidential campaign.
"We want to work with the Chinese, but they must change," he said.
"Their labour relations are very bad. They are not adding any value to what they claim is investment. Instead of creating jobs for the local workforce, they bring in Chinese workers to cut wood and carry water.
"We don't want Zambia to be a dumping ground for their human beings."
When it became clear that Mr Sata had lost the election, riots broke out in his Lusaka strongholds. Mr Sata said the government had "robbed" him of victory by "stealing votes" from under the noses of "timid and toothless" election observers from the European Union.
Resentment over what his supporters believe was a "rigged" election caused the unrest. But looters soon began targeting Chinese-owned shops.
In Kamwala market, the Chinese owner of a clothes store locked his heavy metal door as looters ran down the street, carrying their booty.
As a panic-stricken crowd gathered nearby, he decided to leave.
"Out, out," he told his Chinese assistant. "We go now." The two men ran out of their shop, barricading the blue door behind them, and sped away in a white car.
All the shops nearby, many of them Chinese-owned, were empty, their windows shuttered, their closed doors reinforced with metal bars.
Clouds of black smoke rose from tyres blazing in the streets in the nearby township of Garden. Here, people vented their anger over the Chinese.
"Wherever you go — the market, the town centre — the Chinese are there and they are putting Zambians out of business," said Joe Mamba, a 27-year-old cobbler.
"I make shoes with genuine leather. The Chinese people make bad shoes very much cheaper, so people go to them and I have no business."
A crowd of youths gathered on a street-corner nearby. Bruno Mwanza, an unemployed 34-year-old, said: "We are being robbed of our birthright by the Chinese.
"Zambians are peaceful people, but when pushed to the wall, they react."
Interesting.
Seems kinda racist to me.
Bush's fault.
"We don't want Zambia to be a dumping ground for their human beings."
The world just seems to get strangerer and strangerer...
"Chinese businessmen are accused of underpaying their workers, ignoring safety rules and driving local companies out of business with cheap and shoddy goods."
Yep. They understand.
If Zambia is a dumping ground for Chinese goods, what's Wal-mart? Should I have rioted instead of saving twenty percent on my food bill shipping at Wally today?
I dunno. The Zambians are worried about 30,000 Chinese out of a population of over 10 million. About 0.3% of the population.
Whatever.
Friends of yours? ;-)
"If Zambia is a dumping ground for Chinese goods, what's Wal-mart?"
1. Chineese toady
2. Savior of Red China
3. Checkbook for Chinesse war machine
4. etc.
I'll put you down for Wal-mart hater.
A similar thing happened in the Solomon Islands, the Chinese ancestry community was attacked.
Yeah, why does that sound so familiar ?
I can't see how what's going on in Zambia is President Bush's fault.
But I thought only the US was into Empire building? /sarcasm off
China's increasing addiction to capitalism is the best thing that could happen. Let the markets roll.
"Chinese colonialism" is a testament to the failure of "independence" in Africa.
Maybe the old European colonialism should have been kept.
I hope some sanity will emerge somewhere in Africa and I guess its possible, but this isn't very encouraging.
China is our enemy in a future war and their influence is spreading. That is scary.
Hummm..if Zambians never bought Chinese goods in the beginning, the Chinese wouldn't open shops there. And, of course, there won't be any riot against the Chinese now.
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