The United States government is accused by Chinese commentators of having initiated a “color revolution” that surfaced in Bangladesh when students rallied on the streets in the South Asian country in July.
Without providing any concrete evidence for the specific charge, Chinese pundits in a series of articles criticized the US government for having sponsored activists to promote democratic ideology in Bangladesh over many years. They said such ideology has resulted in violent protests in the country.
They also claimed that the US is increasing its efforts to destabilize Belt and Road countries.
Their comments echoed a recently-published report from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs that criticized the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for instigating “color revolutions” in different places including Arabic countries, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang and Tibet.
The Chinese pundits’ campaign came ahead of US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday. It is expected that Sullivan will raise the issue of China’s support of the Russian defense industry during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. This will mark the first visit by a US national security advisor since 2016.
Prior to this, the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) added more than 400 companies and individuals, including 42 Chinese firms, to its Entity List on August 23 and accused them of supplying electronic parts to Moscow.
The ‘Bangladesh syndrome’
Shi Panqi, a columnist at Guancha.cn, on August 21 published a commentary with the title “Will the Bangladesh syndrome spread across the Belt and Road countries?” saying that the US had played a crucial role in the regime change, which Shi termed a “color revolution,” in Bangladesh.
He said the Bangladesh syndrome was caused by an imbalance of political power among the family members of the country’s founder, the opposition party, the military, the public and external forces. He warned that such a syndrome can be spread to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
“The long-term interference of external forces is an important reason for the political turmoil in Bangladesh,” Shi said in his article. “Bangladesh has to pay the price for its increased geostrategic value.”
“What is happening in Bangladesh is a classic example of ‘a color revolution’ while the United States’ role in this transition is clear,” he wrote. “The most influential external forces and the most willing to use their influence in Bangladesh are undoubtedly the US and India.”
Without providing more details, Shi cited the comments of the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova as “evidence” of the United States’ involvement in a “color revolution” in Bangladesh.
“Zakharova had already said on December 25 last year that if the results of the Bangladesh parliamentary election on January 7, 2024, were not in line with the United States’ wishes, the US would start a ‘color revolution’ in Bangladesh,” Shi said, adding that the US had attacked the Hasina administration with its ideological advocacy.
China’s interests in South Asia
In January this year, Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, renewed her term after her Awami League won an absolute majority in the parliament in local elections. But in July, Bangladeshi students and workers held weeks of protests against the Hasina administration, which had been in power for about 15 years.
The protests and the government’s crackdown reportedly led to the deaths of 300 people, the injuries of thousands of people and the arrests of around 10,000 people.
On August 5, Hasina fled the country and resigned. On August 8, Muhammad Yunus, a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, took charge as chief advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government.
“A ‘color revolution’ broke out in Bangladesh after media reports said the country was seeking to borrow US$5 billion from China to replenish its foreign reserve,” Wang Jin, an associate professor and the assistant director of the Institute of Middle East Studies, Northwest University of China, said in an article published last month.
Wang pointed out that Hasina had for a long time maintained a good relationship with China. He said Hasina signed 20 cooperation agreements with Chinese leaders in Beijing in early July.
Wang said the US did not want to see the strengthening of political and economic ties between Bangladesh and China. He said the US wanted to overthrow the Hasina government via a “color revolution” in order to obtain strategic ports in Bangladesh. Beyond those general complaints, Wang did not elaborate on what the US had done in the country.
In 2018, the government decided to transform the Matarbari Port into a deep-sea port, which is set to be completed by January 2027. The country’s ports at Chittagong and Montoya both were handicapped by shallow draft and were seriously congested.
A Beijing-based commentator said in an article published on August 11 that the resignation of pro-Beijing Hasina was a victory for the United States’ “color revolution” but that such a trend might threaten China’s 70%-owned deepwater port project in Kyaukphyu, Myanmar.
“While the US is increasing its influence in South Asia, the strategic value of the Bay of Bengal is also growing,” the writer said. “If the US succeeds in supporting a pro-American regime in Bangladesh, it may establish military bases there, which will threaten China’s maritime transport routes.”
Last December, Myanmar’s military government and China’s CITIC Group signed an addendum to a concession agreement to resume work on the Kyaukphyu port. The project had been delayed for 15 years due to political instability in Myanmar and the pandemic.
Criticizing the NED
In recent years, Beijing has repeatedly called out the US for promoting “color revolutions,” including the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Arab Spring.
In May 2022, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a fact sheet, in which it said the National Endowment for Democracy is a US government agency run by “white gloves” operators taking the role of “democracy crusaders,” which has subverted lawful governments and cultivated pro-US puppet forces around the world. Zhao Lijiang, a spokesperson of the foreign ministry, said the NED is actually the second CIA of the US.
The foreign ministry on August 9 this year published a report with the title “The NED: what it is and what it does.” The report said the NED is now cultivating pro-US forces in target countries, including Russia, Iran, Cuba and Mexico, manipulating elections in Serbia, Nigeria and the Philippines and infiltrating Europe.
On different occasions, the NED has said its general strategy is to empower like-minded activists to build new political movements in their home countries.
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