China and the race for Supremacy

The battle for world supremacy heightened by series of wars, colossal carnage, Imperialism, changes in world socio-political orders, colonialism and the scramble for, and petition of Africa was thought to have been brought to a halt after the collapse of Soviet Union- subsequent to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. But years later, it is emerging that the fall of the Berlin Wall was only but a turning point to the on going battle for supremacy; the battle by a country, religion, or ethnic group to completely conquer and dominate the rest. Today, only few of the above named groupings would still prefer the military way to either spread their Ideologies (religion, politic, language and culture) or keep them afloat. The majority of them have preferred to use their financial powers and diplomacy as the best tool to bolster their struggle for supremacy. Apparently the few countries that stretch their military muscles are facing stiff resistance regardless of their wealth. In fact, most citizens are becoming increasingly cautious with the presence of foreign military in their countries as well as the presence of their own military in foreign countries.
In Africa, for instance, we saw the intended plan to move the United States African Command (USAFRICOM- headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany) to Africa, meet opposing forces that left the Bush administration with no option but to annul the move. Of resent, we’ve seen the Okinawans being determined to have the US military base moved off Okinawa Island, Japan. Protesters in Okinawa asked the US to “build peace not base” Well, why must a country establish military bases in foreign countries with well established military? Is it to safeguard her interest? During the scramble for, and petition of Africa, language and culture was one of the most effective guns loaded with bullets of colonization. And, today most of these European countries are still crossing their national borders to spread their languages and culture; France has set up her cultural centers (Alliance Française) up to estate level/ residential areas in Anglophone Africa. Germany too is on this struggle and has seen her Goethe institute opened worldwide, and many students are taking classes. In East Africa, more than 100 students seat for German language exams at Goethe Institute every month in Nairobi alone. This is despite the fact that the tuition fee charged for a German certificate course is more than that paid in Kenyan high schools for a full year.Britain too has seen her own British council scattered worldwide including places like Russia where they are not fully-welcomed.
In the colonial era, Africa had to learn English, Portuguese, French and others. Today, the motherland speaks more than what she learned from her colonial masters: There is German, of course, and she is currently learning Chinese and Japanese languages. If every ethnic group, country or religion were to participate equally to this competition of letting others know or have what one has, it would have been a healthy competition or a battle for world peace- as it could result to promoting understanding. But because only a few wealthier or mightier powers are able to take part, it becomes a battle for Supremacy. The poorer will remain on the receiving end, with little or nothing to give: the poorer/weaker you are the more you receive and know while forgetting what you had, and the richer/stronger you are the more you give and little you add to what you have. In this regard, Africa has taken more than give the rest of the world in terms of language and culture. Many people, especially in Asia and the US, know less about Africa than Africa knows about them. We’ve seen a vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin showing her inadequacy or total lack of knowledge about Africa during the last presidential election in the US.
Yes, it is very true to say that there are faculties of African studies in all major Universities worldwide, but that is just not enough. If there is no plan to establish effective African cultural centers to match the likes of Goethe Institute, Alliance Française, Confucius Institute and others, Africans will still be meeting friendly people abroad whose remarks or perception about Africa and Africans are quite disappointing.
A Congolese friend got upset with when I asked a German lady, a third year History student at Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, to be as honest as a German and tell me what pops in her mind whenever the word Africa lands in her ears . Her answer was very brief “A Lion!” The Congolese man was upset for he anticipated a disappointing answer. Because she (the German Student) had never even been to Africa for a safari holiday and see the king of the Jungle, I concluded that she, and others like her, should better be made to know more about Africa and Africans than they know about Lions, poverty and Safari holidays.In the same breath, when a well educated Taiwanese friend in Europe, with masters in her field of study asked me “…what color is your blood?” I did not consider her a racist! She knew nothing about Africans, leave alone Africa; She was a thick ice that needed an African axe (knowledge) to get broken. As for the case of spreading language and culture, Britain or Anglo-culture seems to be on the right path towards winning the race, especially now that commonwealth is very attractive and its membership is open to all, with conditions that herald Anglo fusion of others (language and culture, Ideologies, mentalities etc) but with an iota of effect to the purity of anything typical English.
Wealthy countries in the European Union have kept their relationship strong under the European flag, but the competition among them is stiff outside the EU border. The Irony here is that, as these European countries move out to spread their languages and culture, they're being ambushed and swept away by English from their very bases in Europe. The perceived reality that English is the language of the world is making it even difficult for many European languages to survive extinction.
In Germany for instance, more English words are finding their ways in via the media, both printed and electronics. These new words, such as “Top ten, Talk Show” and many others, are first quoted as foreign words but they never remain foreign forever. In a language class in Germany, a language teacher taught me to say recyceln or recycling (recycle) because “…es klingt kühller/cooler, it sounds cooler than the original German name wiedergewinnung- (with a light touch). Yes, it sounds cool/English.
The Hip Hop culture, Hollywood movies and Rap music are among the tools used to spread English language and Anglo-culture. Many youths find it “cool” and very important to sing in English language as this helps them increase their sales by reaching a wide audience. This is a stable fact, as most Fm stations play music sang in either English or German in Germany, English or French in France or English or Italian in Italy. In Germany, English music takes the lion's share of airtime on FM radios. Interestingly when you are on the German side of the border away from France, you will hardly hear French music being played on German FM radios and it is the same when you cross over to the French side of the border where you will hardly listen to German music on radios. In Africa too, you can listen to music in English language in Francophone zones, but hardly can you hear French language music being played on radios in Anglophone countries like Kenya, unless if it were a mixture of African language and French as sang by Congolese musicians or Angelique Kidjo of Benin. It is either African language or English in Anglophone Africa.As for the case of England, It did not surprise me when I spent a whole Saturday listening to a London based online Fm and the only music I heard being sang in foreign language was a song by R. Kelly featuring daddy Yankee. Well, the song is only about 50% sang in English.
England is the country where foreign languages were dropped as a compulsory subject for school children in the age-bracket of (14 to 16) in 2002 while the rest of Europe begins learning as early as 7 years old. In Germany, most school pupils begin learning foreign languages in the 5th class. But there are still those who do it at their tender age of 7. Well, I’m not sure whether people whose native language is English have got no interest in other people’s languages, but one US Soldier then stationed in Germany once told me “…why learn their language when they can speak English? …if you speak English you can’t get lost anywhere!”
As these western powers struggle to teach people their way of life and promote their agenda by all means- including internationalizing their media houses, China pops in, very timely, with a CCTV and a Confucius Institute. Through this CCTV one is able to view the positive side of China. The timing and the name of the Chinese Institute has nothing to do with causing confusion; it is the Chinese cultural centre named after a renowned Chinese philosopher and is there to promote Chinese language and culture internationally besides bolstering her relationship with the outside world and keeping her fast growing economy on track.The institute has set up foot on influential African countries like Egypt (Suez Canal University) South Africa (Stellenbosch University), Kenya (University of Nairobi), Nigeria (University of Lagos) and more than 10 other African states. It was not by mistake that the first Confucius institute in Africa was established in Kenya and not Angola, a country that has stronger economic ties with China and has got the largest population of Chinese citizens in Africa. In fact, it only makes a statement that the drive to bring the institute to existence is not in tandem with china’s economic growth policy but her ambition to tilt the world’s attention towards her as the forthcoming super power.Confucius institute has received its share of criticism from the west and Asia alike, with some terming it as “a representative of Chinese diplomacy” Asian Times online. But, in spite of the criticism, the Institute is expanding and growing at the same pace as China’s Economy: The first Confucius Institute was opened on Nov. 21.2004 in the Korean city of Seoul, yet to date they are 396 worldwide, most of them in western countries (over 60 in the USA). In fact, there are schools in the west, which are ready to higher teachers from China just to have their students learn the Chinese language and culture. According to McDowell news online (mcdowell.com) McDowell county school board, in North Carolina, had accepted to recruit and fund at least two teachers of mandarin dialect of the Chinese language to teach in McDowell school for three years. This is a situation where by Chinese language and culture is being given attention where others like Spanish, German, Italian or French can only be mentioned.

In Africa, unfortunately, the institute is helping to expose some universities as money oriented rather than academic oriented; some universities hosting the institute are capitalizing on the fact that the Chinese government is funding the education , to earn from it by charging the students tuition fee. When I asked one staff member, in front of Chinese language students at a leading University in Nairobi, why she was asking for tuition fee even without any printed fee structure, she fumbled with the question but managed to give this answer “…we need to pay lecturers and buy books for the Chinese library…” Clearly, she failed a straight face test, for everything is financed by China.
As this struggle for supremacy continues, those who began earlier to conquer and influence the world with their language and culture seem to be far much ahead. But China is yet to pull the last shot and everyone will face east. The superpowers of today should now be keen to promoting human rights issues and fundamental freedom in china rather than frustrating her ambitious and, seemingly, unstoppable plan to becoming superpower.
The most populous country is increasingly turning out to be what she wants to be. We should check her human rights records but allow her to twinkle today, for tomorrow, she will be the star.



By Dominic O. Otiang'a