http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5242692.stm
They fail to mention that Thomas Sankara, the guy who gave Burkina Faso its name, was also a motorcycle enthusiast; it gave him his revolutionary personality, similar to Che Guevara (haven’t read or seen “The Motorcycle Diaries”, though).
Anyway, that the cheaper motorcycles are being exported to Burkina, and, no doubt, other African countries, by China is but another sign of the growth of Africa’s spending on Chinese-made products.
At the same time, China is being criticized by the West for violations of copyright and intellectual property, including that PowerMac clone for $499 from a while back.
So, while China is appropriating as much of the West’s technology (legally or no) as possible, Africa’s being sent shiploads of cheap Chinese utensils, motorcycles, and other stuff that they usually couldn’t afford from Europe, the U.S., or Japan.
Would this make China a modern “Robin Hood”?
No, China is insane, and I would consider them more of a Napoleon.
Wow, Napoleon would be a strong comparison for any government, even though I concede that their human rights record is quite ugly.
China’s only mean-mugging at Taiwan because they see its current status as a result of the Kuomintang’s army having lost the Chinese Civil War on the mainland, and nothing more (while the official view from Taiwan is the direct opposite).
They’re also mean-mugging at Japan because of grievances over gratuitous WWII bloodletting (like the “Rape of Nanking”).
Korea, on the other hand, is being used by China as a chess piece to hold the West and West-o-phile nations (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Phillippines) in check. The missile launch from Pyongyang, however, is trying Beijing’s patience, and NK obviously doesn’t share China’s economic views anymore (total communism vs. China’s market socialism), so China may do something up there beyond peace talks in the future if Kim Jong-Il is feeling just that froggy.
See China’s peaceful rise>
Oh, and here’s Taiwan’s former president cosplaying:
Oops, messed up.