More Bad Publicity for the PRC

Ever since the crackdown on Tibetan protesters, the People's Republic of China has gotten nothing but bad PR. And it continues after it was revealed that the Chinese are shipping guns and ammo to the faltering Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Story from the New York Times.

A Chinese ship loaded with armaments for Zimbabwe steamed into the port of Durban this week and set off a political firefight, putting newfound pressure on South Africa — and now China — to reduce support for Zimbabwe’s government as it cracks down on its rivals after a disputed
election.

Dock workers at the port, backed by South Africa’s powerful unions, refused to unload the ammunition and weapons on Friday, vowing protests and threatening violence if the government tried to do it without them.

Meanwhile, the Anglican archbishop of the province appealed to South Africa’s High Court to bar transporting the arms across South Africa, arguing that they were likely to be used to repress Zimbabweans. The court agreed, and by late Friday the ship had pulled up anchor and set sail.

The arms shipment was ordered from China before the elections, but its arrival amid Zimbabwe’s political crisis illuminated deep fissures within South Africa over how to respond, and brought new scrutiny on China at a time when its human rights record is already under fire for suppressing protesters in Tibet and supplying arms to the government of Sudan.

This report brings up an important question about the Chinese regime. Why are they so willing to prop up authoritarian regimes? Burma, North Korea, Sudan, Zimbabwe are just a few examples. Personally, I don't believe it's just because the Chinese don't care where their money comes from. I think it's a bit more strategic. If the regimes ruling some of these countries were to fall, it might bring more attention to the authoritarian style of Beijing. In the end, the PRC believes that the stability of these other authoritarian regimes increases the stability of the Beijing government.

This story also reflects badly upon the South African president Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki seems to have no major problem with the regime of Mugabe and recent elections shenanigans. He was even quoted as saying that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. However, this weapon shipment brings up the possibility of violence on the part of Mugabe to clamp down on the opposition party. It shows that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, no matter what Mbeki says.

Finally, the timing of this string of bad publicity for the Chinese is quite ironic. This is the year the 2008 Olympics are to be held in Beijing, an event that usually means good publicity for the host country. The Chinese government was hoping to use the Olympics to gain favor internationally. Just look at the debacle that is the torch relay. The Chinese hope for good publicity looks like it has completely backfired. It also makes the IOC look like a bunch of fools. And sometimes, you are what you look like.