[Editorial]
The following title, “Hillary Clinton warns African nations against ‘the creeping new colonialism’!” seems this week’s one of the most famous (if not notorious!) news items since she made that comment last Saturday (June 11) in her interview with a pan-African TV in Lusaka, Zambia.
Even if “Clinton did not identify any perceived culprits,” it’s a well-known fact she talked about China, as Huffington Post’s June 11th’s issue reports as in the following: “[A] day earlier she had urged scrutiny of China’s large investments and business interests in Africa so that the African people are not taken advantage of.”
To make a long story short, first and foremost, her “could-be” courageous (if not, playing a devil’s role or otherwise simply stupid enough even not to remember she and her nation America literally embodies “the most deadliest, the most far-reaching imperial power that has ever existed in human history, and/or the most destructive and exploitative power on earth whose far-reaching global power which could even reach to any corner of this planet,” in other words, her nation is the surest embodiment of that very “colonialism” itself she talks about!) remarks on dangers of “new colonialism” seems this week’s top global joke.
Her remarks could also make many around the world raise the following sort of questions:
How much serious, just like Hillary, the state of senior American public officials’, politicians’, media reporters’ (i.e., public figures) state of amnesia is?
How far, just like Hillary, American public figures’ culture of hypocrisy could go on like this?
How bad, just like Hillary, the culture of self-righteousness among many Americans could be?
How disgustingly, just like Hillary, the culture of arrogance is pervasive in many American people’s attitudes towards others?
How deep, just like Hillary, the culture of self-deception as a sort of “social disease” can be persistent among not small number of American public figures?
How unbelievably lethal to both oneself and many others, just like Hillary, the culture of self-indulgence could be?
Apparently she might have forgotten her own nation’s history.
It seems she is not much aware what most others know such as the US history of conquest through a countless number of colonial, imperial, hegemonic wars, invasions, and interventions (i.e., ongoing destruction, violence, massacre, and permanent occupation), through economic exploitations, political oppressions and culture imperialism (i.e., “soft power” strategies), particularly through “media deception, manipulation and manufactured consent,” and, of course, through genocide and holocaust of the weak, mostly non-white populations around the world.
Secretary of State Clinton made her amazingly amnesiac statement to the world, particularly to those formerly, in fact the could-be most horribly “colonized” people on earth such as the African people. She made this unbelievably self-righteous statement to the “third world,” in other words, the mostly “colonized peoples” who’ve been invaded, enslaved, exploited for centuries by the West and her own nation United States of America.
For the readers’ sake, here are some of her now HISTORIC remarks:
“African leaders must ensure that foreign projects are sustainable and benefit all their citizens, not only elites. We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave. And when you leave, you don’t leave much behind for the people who are there. We don’t want to see a new colonialism in Africa. We want them to do well, but also we want them to do good! We don’t want them to undermine good governance, we don’t want them to basically deal with just the top elites, and frankly too often pay for their concessions or their opportunities to invest. American development aid and public works projects come with good governance conditions and that the Obama administration is interested in Africa and its people. Their success, she said, is in everyone’s long-term interest. We want a relationship of partnership not patronage, of sustainability, not quick fixes. We want to establish a strong foundation to attract new investment, open new businesses. Create more paychecks, and do so within the context of a positive ethic of corporate responsibility. We think it’s essential that we have an idea going in that doing well is not in any way a contradiction of doing good.”
After leaving Zambia, Clinton flew to Tanzania, the second stop on a three-nation tour of Africa focused on trade, development, health and women’s empowerment. Clinton arrived in Zambia from the United Arab Emirates, where she attended an international conference on Libya. After Tanzania, she will head to Ethiopia before returning to Washington next week.
Dr. Kiyul Chung who is Editor in chief at the 4th Media is also a Visiting Professor at School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University.