Once again, the world press is writing about Hungary because of the names of the streets around the planned campus of Fudan University in China, which are blaming China’s human rights abuses.
As is known, Gergely Karácsony, Mayor of Budapest and Krisztina Baranyi IX. district mayor on its own initiative several streets were renamed. That’s how he was born
- the Dalai Lama Road, which refers to the Tibetan leader forced into exile;
- the path of the Uyghur Martyrs, which commemorates the violent integration of the Muslim minority of the Turkish ethnic group and, among others, the “cultural genocide” according to the United States;
- the Free Hong Kong Road, which commemorates the suppression of the democratic movement of the city-state and the overthrow of its legislature by Beijing;
- and Bishop Xie Si-kuang, which draws attention to a Catholic church person who has been imprisoned for 28 years for his faith.
From the BBC to The Guardian, Bloomberg and the Hong Kong Free Press to the Jakarta Post, a number of English-language newspapers covered the middle finger at the Hungarian government and Beijing. Several newspapers recall that the campus of an authoritarian university is built in such a way that the Hungarian government he was chased away the CEU, which adheres to liberal principles, and emphasizes the costs of the project, which Budapest would cover with a loan from the Chinese state. THE The Guardian for example, he writes: the project raises concerns about Hungary’s growing orientation to the east and its indebtedness toward China.
It’s good for Fricka, but China remarked to itself
Pro-government officials have clearly condemned the move, who has made finer and stronger criticisms. Zsolt Semjén deputy prime minister says street names are going to be “political gags” but will not help the situation of Uyghurs and Hong Kongers. In doing so, the KDNP president acknowledged somewhat that the situation of these people is not rosy in China.
István Hollik, and the communications director of Fidesz rewrote his relevant Facebook post with lightning speed, accusing Gergely Karácsony of not commemorating the persecuted Christians. Someone might have told him that Bishop Xi Si-kuang was a persecuted Christian in China.
The street renaming divides the Hungarian experts, but they agree on one thing:
China will not soon forget to stab.
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Attila Demkó, head of the Geopolitical Workshop of the Matthias Corvinus Collegium, complained that while in a major party in the present capital and district coalition the sensitivity to anti-Hungarian violations across the border is close to zero, the sensitivity to those living in the rest of the world is enormous.
The expert added:
if such a flick were to go at the governmental level, it would soon have adverse economic consequences.
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It should be noted that, according to international, mainly Western, criticism, China does not hesitate to use its economic superiority to exert pressure in geopolitical games.
The idea of Baranyi and Christmas may have been to put senior officials in an awkward position by saying that if they want to visit a Chinese delegation on the construction site of Fudan University, they have to walk along the path of the Uyghur Martyrs.
At first glance, it seems like a witty flick, but it should be known that the Chinese will not perceive it because for them the Dalai Lama, the Uyghur separatists or the Hong Kong protesters are not the communist party or regime but the enemies of the Chinese nation, i.e. the gesture is not Beijing government, but 1.4 billion Chinese people
– said Gergely Salát, China expert, head of the Chinese department of Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Blikknek.
Thanks to Chinese state media, street names are incomprehensible to the average Chinese person:
- Hong Kong is no longer a British colony, meaning it has long been considered free,
- not to hear about the oppression of the Uyghurs, but to remember the Uyghur terrorist attacks,
- And Xi Si-kuang is not even known.
Only the Dalai Lama says something to Chinese who can read the Latin letter, Gergely Salát explained, adding that it may not be the best idea to kick one of the world’s greatest powers from a prime ministerial candidate, because it will not disappear from the map after 2022.
Ákos Bertalan Apatóczky, head of the Chinese department at the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, also told Blikk that street names would certainly provoke disapproval of Beijing’s foreign affairs, but would not affect Hungarian-Chinese relations as Fidesz did in opposition to Tibet. due to.
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