China invests in Kyrgyzstan for Central Asia leadership
Friday, April 25th, 2008
By Joyce Roque
April 25 - The Kyrgyz Republic remains to be a country in the process of unraveling itself. It is the second smallest country of the five central Asian states bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. Despite being a land blessed by breathtaking natural beauty - some calling its Tien Shan range the Switzerland of Central Asia – it is one of the poorest in the world with an estimated 40 percent of its population living below the poverty line.
The Tulip Revolution
In 1991, the country declared independence from former Soviet Union led by Askar Akayev. The divorce from Kremlin would lead to devastating effects on its economy when an estimated 98 percent of its exports depended on the Soviet market. It hindered the country’s goal of transitioning to a free market economy. Akayev would later on be ousted in popular revolt in 2005 called the Tulip Revolution on accusations that government interfered with parliamentary elections aggravated by the country’s widespread poverty and corruption. (more…)









War, poverty, corruption, the drumbeat continues to beat throughout all of Africa. Just a few years ago it all seemed so full of hope, South Africa was emerging from the shadow of apartheid, nations throughout the continent were throwing of the colonial yoke of their former European masters, strong and impassioned leadership was going to recast the great continent. But this is Africa, and things are never that easy.
The train station in Mbeya, Tanzania stands out among the other buildings in the city. It is the nicest structure in the city, and it, along with the railway that runs through it, was completely financed and built by the People’s Republic of China.

