China’s ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ Is Nothing Like The Real One

CHINA HAS has bestowed its version of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Confucius Peace Prize, on Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe, who has been labelled a violent dictator.

Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since 1987 and his rule has been marked by accusations of human rights violations.

The Beijing-run Global Times newspaper said 91-year-old Mugabe had beaten off competition from candidates including the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye. “Mugabe as we know him and as the people of Zimbabwe have experienced his reign is a war-monger, a bellicosist and a sadist who delights in the misery of the people”, wrote Dr. Gorden Moyo, Zimbabwean human rights activist and politician.

The Confucius Peace Prize was established in 2010 after Chinese dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, who called for political reform and the end communist rule in China, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, causing outrage in the country.

But the award committee praised Mugabe’s stewardship of the 54-state African Union after he became chairman earlier this year.

He was awarded for overcoming a number of difficulties and for contributing to building the government, economy and order in the country while continuing to work at the age of 91 actively for African peace.

If you asked the opinion of many people, they would tell you that Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe’s name isn’t exactly synonymous with peace.

Despite Mugabe’s reputation of brutality and economic mismanagement of Zimbabwe, Qiao Damo, the committee’s chairman supported the decision to award Mugabe with the prize.

Mugabe joins a list of other strongman leaders who have been awarded the prize, including former Cuban President Fidel Castro who won in 2014 and Russian President Vladimir Putin who won in 2011. “I myself have reservations”, he said.

It was not known if Mugabe, whose health is said to be failing, will travel to China to collect 500 000 yuan (nearly 79 000 dollars) in prize money.

Not long after coming to power, Mugabe’s government led a campaign to crush opposition groups in the Matabeleland area that saw the massacre of thousands of people.

Confucius is named after the ancient Chinese philosopher of the same name.