As South Africa commemorates the annual Youth Day, the Chinese Consulate in Joburg has given a moving tribute for young people in South Africa and China, for immense contributions against apartheid and for fighting for democracy in their respective nations.
Addressing the Wits School of Governance’s China-South Africa Youth Dialogue, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Joburg, Tang Zhongdong said incumbent leaders of both nations – President Xi Jinping and President Cyril Ramaphosa - are attaching greater importance to the youth, nudging them to succeed.
“First of all, I would like to compare the Youth Days in South Africa and China through their history, backgrounds and influences. The South African Youth Day has very important meaning. Learn from books, in 1970s protests started in African schools after the Bantu Education Department ordered that Afrikaans had to be used on an equal basis with English as a language of instruction in secondary schools,” said Tang.
“At that time, the whole system of Bantu education was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. On June 16, 1976 more than 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. In the wake of clashes with the police, and the violence that ensued during the next few weeks, approximately 700 people, many of them youths, were killed and property destroyed.
“The Youth Day is unique because it started a revolution that would see the end of apartheid and the beginning of a new South Africa, and it still inspires the government to enact strict human rights laws that prohibit racism, oppression, and discrimination,” he said.
On the other hand, Tang said Chinese people celebrate Youth Day every May 4.
“It was established to honour the patriotic and anti-imperialist "May Fourth Movement" that began on May 4, 1919, when a group of Chinese students protested the weak diplomatic response of the then Beiyang government to the Treaty of Versailles, marking the beginning of China's new democratic revolution.
“After World War I, as one of the victorious nations, China demanded abolition of all privileges of foreign powers in China, including the cancelling of the "Twenty-One Demands" with which Japan extended its control of the Chinese economy, and the return of the territories and rights of Shandong Province. However, Western Allies dominating the Paris Peace Conference ignored China’s request, and even decided to transfer the illegal privileges of failed Germany in Shandong Province to Japan.
“When the news reached Beijing, thousands of college students gathered in Tiananmen Square on May 4, start protesting. The protests were suppressed by the Beiyang government but sparked the participation of a wider population, including merchants and workers,” he said.
Throngs of people expressed their anger through demonstrations and strikes. The greater movements finally pressed the government to refuse to sign the Treaty.
In 1949, the new government of China declared May 4 the National Youth Day “to preserve and develop the spirit of patriotism and democracy” of the May Fourth Movement.
By comparing the two youth days in South Africa and China, Tang said one can conclude that “no matter in which country, the youth always represent progressive power to make positive changes happen”.
Tang also highlighted the deepening relations between China and South Africa over the past 25 years, touching on how the friendly nations have opened up opportunities for youth to study.
Currently, more than 10 Chinese universities have established cooperative relations with South African universities.
“Hunan University of China, Stellenbosch University of South Africa, Northeast Normal University of China and University of Pretoria of South Africa have been selected as partners of the ‘20+20 Cooperation Plan’ among Chinese and African universities within the framework of China-Africa Cooperation Forum.
“So far, South Africa has received more than 7 100 Chinese students. In 2017, there were 2 500 Chinese students studying in South Africa. In 2018, the total number of South African students studying in China was nearly 3 000.
“In 2015, South Africa became the first African country to incorporate Chinese language teaching into its national education system. At present, there are six Confucius Institutes and three independent Confucius Classrooms in South Africa, in which teachers and volunteers are devoting to help local students to experience the diverse beauty of Chinese culture,” said Tang.
China has been South Africa’s largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, bilateral trade volume climbed up to US$56.7 billion last year, “a historical height” according to Tang.
As announced previously by the Chinese side, over the next three years, China will import a total of US$100 billion of goods from South Africa. South Africa is also one of the largest investment destinations for Chinese companies in Africa. By the end of 2021, China's investment in South Africa totalled over US$25 billion, which created over 400 000 local jobs cumulatively,” he said.
IOL