Chinese critics accuse the U.S. government of initiating a “color revolution” that emerged in July when students took to the streets of the South Asian country of Bangladesh.
In a series of articles, Chinese experts criticized the U.S. government for years, without providing concrete evidence, for supporting activists in Bangladesh who promote democratic ideas that they say have sparked violent protests in the country.
They also alleged that the US is stepping up efforts to destabilise Belt and Road countries.
Their comments echo a recently released report by the Chinese Foreign Ministry which criticised the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for inciting “color revolutions” in various places, including Arab countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet.
The China experts' campaign comes ahead of a visit to Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who is expected to raise the issue of Chinese support for Russia's defense industry in talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The first visit by a US national security adviser since 2016.
Earlier, on August 23, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added more than 400 companies and individuals, including 42 Chinese companies, to the Entity List, accusing them of supplying electronic components to Moscow.
“Bangladesh Syndrome”
On August 21, Shi Panqi, a columnist at Guancha.cn, published an opinion piece titled “Will the Bangladesh Syndrome Spread to Belt and Road Countries?” in which he said the US played a key role in Bangladesh's regime change, which Shi called a “color revolution.”
He said the Bangladesh syndrome was caused by a political power imbalance between the founding father's family, the opposition, the army, the people and external forces, and warned that such a syndrome could spread to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
“Long-term interference by external forces is a key cause of political turmoil in Bangladesh,” Shi said in the article. “Bangladesh has to pay the price for its growing geopolitical value.”
“What is happening in Bangladesh is a classic example of a 'color revolution,' and the role of the United States in this transition is clear,” he wrote. “The external powers with the most influence in Bangladesh, and those most actively seeking to exert that influence, are undoubtedly the United States and India.”
Without giving details, Ishi cited remarks by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as “proof” that the US is involved in a “color revolution” in Bangladesh.
“Zakharova had already said on December 25 last year that the US would launch a 'colour revolution' in Bangladesh if the outcome of the Bangladesh parliamentary elections on January 7, 2024 was not in US favour,” Shi said, adding that the US was attacking the Hasina government on ideological lines.
China's Interests in South Asia
In January, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was given a new term in office after her Awami League party won an absolute majority in parliament in local elections. But in July, students and workers across Bangladesh staged weeks of protests against her government, which had been in power for nearly 15 years.
The protests and government crackdown have reportedly left 300 people dead, thousands injured, and around 10,000 arrested.
On August 5, President Hasina fled the country and resigned. On August 8, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus was appointed Chief Advisor to the Bangladesh Interim Government.
“A 'color revolution' has erupted in Bangladesh following reports that the country wants to borrow $5 billion from China to replenish its foreign exchange reserves,” Wang Jin, associate professor and deputy director of the Middle East Institute at Northwest University in China, said in an article published last month.
Wang noted that Hasina has long maintained good relations with China, and said she signed 20 cooperation agreements with Chinese leaders in Beijing earlier in July.
Wang said the U.S. does not want to see stronger political and economic ties between Bangladesh and China. He said the U.S. wants to topple Hasina's government in a “color revolution” to seize Bangladesh's strategic ports. Beyond these general complaints, Wang did not elaborate on what the U.S. has done in the country.
The government had decided in 2018 to convert Matarbari port into a deep-sea port, which is expected to be completed by January 2027. Both Chittagong and Montoya ports were inconvenient due to their shallow draft and suffered from severe congestion.
In an article published on August 11, a Beijing-based commentator said the resignation of pro-Beijing Prime Minister Hasina was a victory for the US's “color revolution,” but that the trend could threaten Myanmar's 70%-owned deep-sea port project in Kyaukphyu, Myanmar.
“As the US expands its influence in South Asia, the Bay of Bengal is also becoming more strategically valuable,” the author wrote. “If the US is successful in supporting the pro-US government in Bangladesh, it could set up military bases there, threatening China's shipping routes.”
Last December, Myanmar's military junta and China's CITIC Group signed a supplementary clause to the concession agreement to resume work on the Kyaukphyu port, a project delayed by 15 years due to political instability in Myanmar and the pandemic.
Criticizing NED
In recent years, Beijing has repeatedly accused the United States of driving “color revolutions” such as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Arab Spring.
In May 2022, China's Foreign Ministry released a fact sheet stating that the National Endowment for Democracy is a U.S. government agency run by “white glove” operators who act as “democracy fighters” to subvert legitimate governments and cultivate pro-U.S. puppet forces around the world. Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijiang said the NED is in fact a second CIA for the United States.
On August 9th of this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a report titled “What is NED and What is it Doing?” According to the report, NED is currently cultivating pro-American forces in target countries such as Russia, Iran, Cuba, and Mexico, manipulating elections in Serbia, Nigeria, and the Philippines, and infiltrating Europe.
NED has stated on various occasions that its core strategy is to empower like-minded activists to build new political movements in their home countries.
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