CHINA AND EGYPT’S UPRISING

CHINESE REGIME FEARS “EGYPTIZATION”

The words “Egypt” and “Tunisia” have been added to the list of censored items on the internet in China

Vincent Kolo

China Worker, February 3, 2011

Earlier this week, the League of Social Democrats held a protest at the Egyptian Consulate in Hong Kong in solidarity with the mass struggle against dictator Hosni Mubarak. The protesters held placards with the message “Egypt today, Hong Kong tomorrow”. In a similar vein, the website Tibetan Review ran an article headlined “As Egypt sneezes democracy, China fears catching a cold.” This idea, of the mood of revolt gaining an echo in China, is taken very seriously by the strategists of the Beijing regime.

The magnificent popular uprisings sweeping North Africa and the Arab world are causing jitters not just for Middle Eastern autocrats. In addition to forcing the governments of the United States and Israel into crisis meetings, the appearance on the streets of hundreds of thousands – even millions – against corrupt dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan, has also unsettled China’s so-called ‘communist’ rulers. This is more than a little ironic considering Communist Parties have been banned for decades in Mubarak’s Egypt, Ben Ali’s Tunisia, and most of the other states now facing mass upheavals.

But there is no mistaking on which side the Chinese regime stands today. It has been a close ally of Mubarak’s repressive regime. While it does not have the same strategic presence in the region as US imperialism, trade with Egypt increased threefold over the past five years to reach US$7 billion in 2010, making it China’s second largest trading partner in Africa and the Middle East, excluding oil. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said “Egypt is a friend of China and we hope Egypt will return to social stability and normal order as soon as possible.”

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