China has published the official political doctrine often known as the Xi Jinping Thought, in Swahili. And the move may mean the millions of Swahili speakers in East and Central Africa could get the tale of China’s transformation into a language they know.

Yet the book itself may be an extension of Beijing’s cultural influence abroad. This week, officials from Kenya and the Chinese government gathered in Nairobi to launch the first portion of the book. Known formally as theXi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, it has been published in various editions.

It was originally available in Chinese from 2012 but has since been translated into 37 languages across the globe in 180 countries.

The volume in Swahili is from the first edition on the Governance of China by Chinese.

The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi indicated the translation is an important marker of China’s 60 years of diplomatic relations with Kenya and that it could help African readers understand the historical backgrounds and cultural roots of China's path of development, the governing philosophy of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese wisdom about building a better world.

Some observers say the translation helps deepen people-to-people exchanges. 

“The Swahili version is a bold attempt to share with Africa, the great lessons from China’s recent modernisation,” argued Prof Peter Kagwanja, CEO of the Africa Policy Institute.

“This is at a time Africa is grappling with the ideals and challenges of a rebirth after centuries of slavery, slave trade, colonisation and lingering neo-colonialism.” According to him, Africans can learn one or two things about the concept of consensus building and harmony as a path to prosperity.

The Kenya Literature Bureau and the Chinese Foreign Languages Press jointly worked on the translation.

“It is more than a launch. It is a symposium of diplomacy,” Peninah Malonza, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage told guests at the launch at the University of Nairobi on August 14, 2023.

By teaching Swahili in their academic institutions, china paves the road to a cultural understanding, a road that leads to tourism, trade and the bridging of hearts across East Africa and China.” Among the audience was Mr Hu Heping Chinese Minister for Culture and Tourism, and also the Deputy Head of Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee.

But far from a cultural gesture, some experts say the Chinese government is tapping into a growing language to advance its influence abroad.

“It plays into the greater vision of China’s public diplomacy, especially to Swahili-speaking countries like Kenya. It also means the philosophy will be widely accessible to countries where China is seeking deep ties,” said Dr Cavince Adhere, a China-Africa analyst in Nairobi.

Dr Adhere says the idea of translating the book means China is keen to tell its story in languages people understand, as well as signal an appreciation of different cultures.

“In a way, it allows a normal reader to understand China’s development path. Many African leaders are dazzled by China’s transformation. Few go into details. The translation can change that,” he told Nation.Africa.

Swahili is the only African indigenous language that is also the official language at the African Union. It is spoken mostly in East and Central Africa, with at least 200 million people fluent in the language. But institutions across the world are now teaching it as a foreign language.

In China, the book is taught in schools and is often referred to in media commentary. Since 2018, it has been added to the Chinese Communist Party. It lists 14 guiding principles for the Chinese Nation, the Communist Party, and President Xi himself.

While Xi promises to elevate China’s prosperity, it is banked on the traditional Chinese socialist values which he argues will help rejuvenate China as a global power.

The Chinese often refuse the accusation translating the book is meant to export those Thoughts abroad or seek an international model that could favour China. So far, the Chinese have become the biggest bilateral trading partners in Africa. And in spite of debt criticism, the contribution of Beijing has generally been accepted as good for development in Africa.

“China plays an important role in the development of African countries’ infrastructure, and President Xi, in most cases, has put forward the concept of community with shared values, which to him, sees sharing development needs as a key component of many African countries’ achievements,” said Dr Daniel Oloo, a lecturer of Journalism and Mass Media at Mount Kenya University.

“African countries may tend to lean towards China for this kind of opportunity. One of Xi’s projects is the Belt and Road Initiative, a $1 trillion programme launched in 2013 and meant to build connecting infrastructure to help expand trade between China and its partners abroad. Some 44 African countries signed on it," he added.

Yet the Thought doesn’t depart from the Chinese ideology under the Communist Party. Instead, it is supposed to build on the previous party ideologies. China had initially been broadcasting certain programmes in Swahili, on China Radio International. And some Universities teach it as a foreign language. - AGGREY MUTAMBO, The EastAfrican

Chinese social media is littered with racist videos, particularly content that mocks black people or portrays them through offensive racial stereotypes, research by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found.

The human rights watchdog analysed hundreds of videos posted on Chinese social media since 2021 and found that major platforms, including Bilibili, Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo and Xiaohongshu, “do not routinely address racist content”. 

One type of video that is popular on Chinese social media portrays people in African countries as primitive or impoverished, with Chinese people – often the content creators – being shown as wealthy saviours.

One video posted on Douyin in April this year shows a woman in an African country washing her hands in a hut, before drinking what is described as homemade alcohol from a muddy blue container. The video, which is captioned “#LifeInAfrica #cleanandhygienic #PrimitiveTribe” has 12,000 likes and several negative comments underneath, such as: “Thank you to my eight generations of ancestors for giving birth to me in China.”

Other videos denigrate interracial relationships, particularly between black men and Chinese women, in ways that are both racist and misogynist. HRW found that Chinese women who post photographs with their black male partners on Chinese social media sometimes receive online harassment, including death threats, rape threats and doxing, where private residential addresses and images are shared online.

In other cases, Chinese people who support victims of anti-black racism in China were called traitors online.

Chinese authorities have condemned online racism, especially when there is a backlash, and pledged to crack down on “unlawful online acts”. Last month, Lu Ke, a Chinese vlogger, was convicted in Malawi of 14 charges including child trafficking and procurement of children for use of entertainment, and ordered to leave the country. He was arrested last year after a BBC Africa Eye documentary exposed him as the creator of videos featuring Malawian children, which were being sold on Chinese social media for up to £55. 

Lu had coached the children to recite messages in Mandarin that they didn’t understand, such as: “I am black monster, my IQ is low.”

The social media platforms included in the HRW investigation have all published community guidelines banning content promoting racial or ethnic hatred and discrimination. But HRW said these policies are “inadequate”.

The researchers note that Beijing’s Great Firewall of censorship on the Chinese internet means that platforms have thousands of content moderators who remove or restrict politically sensitive content. Comments critical of government policies, the Communist party or even just gripes about the economy are deleted within hours, whereas content that is derogatory about ethnic minorities often remains online and earn thousands of likes.

HRW said: “The amount and extremity of racist content on the Chinese internet suggest that the platforms either are not meeting their own standards banning racist content, or that their policies are inadequate when addressing racist content, both contrary to their human rights responsibilities.”

Manya Koetse, the editor-in-chief of Whats on Weibo, a website, said that since the BBC Africa Eye documentary, racist videos on Weibo were taken down more promptly. But, she noted, “often what is perceived as racist content against black people in western content is not perceived as racist content against black people in China”.

Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “The Chinese government likes to tout China-Africa anti-colonial solidarity and unity, but at the same time ignores pervasive hate speech against black people on the Chinese internet.

“Major Chinese social media platforms are failing to fulfil their own guidelines to address pervasive racist content.”

Douyin told HRW that the platform “on average take[s] action on more than 300 videos and comments per day that include violative content targeting black people”.

ByteDance (Douyin’s parent company), Bilibili, Kuaishou, Weibo and Xiaohongshu have been approached for comment. By Amy Hawkins/ Additional research by Tzu-Wei Liu. The Guardian

Survey of students in post-16 education in Wales finds that a quarter were unable to find suitable housing last year as rent and bills soared.

8% of students in Wales have experienced homelessness during the cost-of-living crisis, according to a new National Union of Students Wales (NUS Wales) survey. The survey of 570 students, conducted over the summer, also found that half of those students who have been homeless had experienced it for more than a week.

With rent, energy bills and other housing costs rising at an unprecedented rate for well over a year now, almost a quarter of students in Wales said they had been unable to find suitable, affordable accommodation in the 2022-23 academic year.

Students reported living further away from their education provider or commuting from home to make ends meet. 32% of students said they had been unable to pay rent and 36% said the same of bills.

The report also shines a light on the negative academic impact of students having to pick up extra work shifts. The majority of students work alongside their studies, and 1 in 5 work more than 20 hours a week. 64% of those who do work said it negatively impacted their studies.

On top of this, 1 in 5 students in Wales have missed in-person classes because of the cost of transport and 9% have missed online classes because of the cost of broadband or equipment such as a laptop.

The findings show that maintenance support for students in higher and further education in Wales is failing to reflect the cost of living, and NUS Wales is calling on the Welsh Government to do more to support all groups of students, including apprentices on the £5.28 minimum wage.

There are a significant number of students in Wales who will not benefit from the Welsh Government’s 9.4% increase to the undergraduate maintenance package or the 33% increase to the EMA for FE students.

The report’s findings are consistent with the findings of a similar survey conducted in 2022. A quarter of students in Wales continue to live on £50 or less a month after paying rent and bills – figures consistent with this time last year before any support had been announced.

NUS Wales President, Orla Tarn, said:  “The fact that not much has changed for students in Wales, who continue to be left with so little to live on, should be a real red flag for the Welsh Government that it will need to act again to support students in 2023-24.

“One of my main concerns continues to be students’ mental health. We know that money troubles, housing issues and poor work-life balance can all be detrimental to your sense of well-being, and during the cost-of-living crisis all three have become more pronounced for many students.

“The Welsh Government acted last year by raising the undergraduate maintenance package and the EMA for further education students, but swathes of Wales’ student population – including students from outside of Wales, postgraduates and apprentices – have not benefited.

“I urge ministers to take these groups into account when designing support schemes and take real action to get spiralling student rent under control. The Welsh Government’s White Paper on Fair Rent cannot come soon enough for students paying through the nose for accommodation.” - NUS Wales