Kyrgyz Wary of Chinese Bearing Gifts

A Chinese offer to provide high-tech TV equipment for an isolated part of Kyrgyzstan has met with a sceptical response from commentators who suspect an ulterior motive.



What worries them is the other part of the deal, under which news from Beijing will be broadcast in Kyrgyzstan. That has led to claims that the country is willingly subjecting itself to propaganda from its giant neighbour.



A press statement from the Kyrgyz parliament on October 21 announced that members had debated a series of agreements with China, one of which would see up to 15,000 digital TV receivers supplied to Batken region, in southwestern Kyrgyzstan.



Officials from the Kyrgyz communications ministry say the deal would help overcome the physical isolation of Batken, a slice of land enveloped between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Until now, viewers there have only been able to watch TV channels from the two neighbouring states. Digital boxes will give them access to Kyrgyz national television for the first time. As well as two TV channels from Kyrgyzstan, they will also be able to watch channels from Russia and elsewhere.



According to Ernis Mamyrkanov of the Kyrgyz broadcaster El TV and Radio, “The free distribution of TV receivers will reduce Uzbek and Tajik expansion in southern Kyrgyzstan.”



He added that it would also speed up the transition to digital broadcasting, which Kyrgyzstan plans to complete nationwide by 2014.



Batken’s isolated location was one of the reasons why the militant Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was able to use it as a launch-pad for incursions into Uzbekistan in 1999 and 2000. These raids put Batken on the map, and the Kyrgyz government pledged to tackle social and economic problems facing the region.



The Chinese will also supply a new printing press for Batken, making it cheaper to produce newspapers.



Most commentators seem happy with this side of the deal. What worries them is the prospect of greater Chinese cultural influence via the airwaves.



China has increasing commercial links with Kyrgyzstan, with many businessmen operating in the country and high levels of bilateral trade. Many residents of Kyrgyzstan are, however, suspicious of Beijing’s motives, and the latest deal will – if passed by parliament – only heighten those concerns.



In reality, the Chinese TV rebroadcasts that are envisaged are rather limited in scope. First, the two channels will be seen only in the capital Bishkek, and second, the news will be in English rather than in a language most people would understand.



But some analysts are still concerned that the broadcasts form part of a concerted cultural invasion.



“The Chinese government is deliberately trying to create a political and cultural environment that is loyal to China,” said political scientist Nur Omar.



“The fact that the Chinese have been granted permission to broadcast here is very telling, and it’s a trend that is set to increase.”



Another commentator, who asked to remain anonymous, asked “what the Chinese are going to broadcast and who is going to check the content”.



Deputy transport and communications minister Taalaybek Eshaliev has the answer. “This is not about giving the Chinese a television or radio channel,” he said. “It will be rebroadcasts of the state CCTV 9 channel, which mainly focuses on economic news in English.”



Narynbek Moldobaev, who chairs the parliamentary committee in charge of communications, said legislators had put in place steps to guarantee national “information security”.



“These channels will be serviced by a Kyrgyz company. We will have levers of control,” he said.



Some commentators note that the arrival of Chinese TV only adds to the crowded media scene in Kyrgyzstan, where media from Russia are widely available, Kazakstan TV and radio are available in the north and programmes from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are available in the south.



Mirgul Akimova is the pseudonym of a journalist in Kyrgyzstan.