China Found An Ally In Hungary

Hungary’s prime minister Orbán and China's prime minister Wen Jiabao

Several of Hungary’s past leaders and poets have valued political freedom above all – political freedom in the sense of national independence, freedom of speech and assembly, and a democratic government by the people. Even prosperity and love trailed behind political freedom as priorities.

In the 19th century, Petőfi, Hungary’s greatest poet, wrote:

“Freedom and love/ These two I need/ For love I sacrifice my life/ For freedom I sacrifice my love.”

And he did die on the battlefield in 1849 fighting for a free Hungary, independent of Austria. In 1956, Imre Nagy, the ex-communist leader of the Hungarian Revolution, sacrificed his life trying to liberate Hungary from Soviet tyranny.

The revolution failed and the Soviet troops stayed in Hungary until 1991. This, however, did not stop latter-day dissident Bálint Orbán, who risked his freedom by publicly demanding that the Soviet troops leave Hungary in his speech given in honour of Imre Nagy at his reburial in 1988. 

This same Mr Orbán is Hungary’s current prime minister, after his centre-right party (FIDESZ) routed the Socialists and won the 2010 elections with a two-thirds majority. 

The Hungarian electorate kicked out the Socialists after eight years in power. They saw the Socialists as having betrayed them by deviously selling out Hungary’s assets to multinationals.

The question arises whether the new prime minister in turn is selling out Hungary to Communist China. This same Mr Orbán, who in 1988 so courageously stood up against the communist Soviet occupiers, now as the prime minister of Hungary is behaving very differently towards both Russia and Communist China. When in June 2011, China’s Premier Wen visited Hungary, Mr Orbán banned all demonstrations in Hungary against China.(1) 

This was done in order to prevent the number of Tibetan refugees who stay in Hungary from protesting against China’s atrocities in Tibet. But just in case the Tibetans might still want to protest, they were ordered into the Hungarian Immigration Ministry for the day to check their documents. 

What happened to Mr Orbán, who was once a freedom fighter, when it comes to the struggle for freedom for the Tibetans now? 

Remember, the great Hungarian poet Petőfi advocated the universal right to freedom for the whole human community.

And Mr Orbán now even went beyond the extent to which Western democracies kowtow to China when it comes to human rights in Tibet. Western leaders increasingly shy away from meeting the Dalai Lama for fear of upsetting the Chinese regime, but at least they do not stop demonstrations against the Chinese regime. 

But Hungary, like most of the rest of the world, sells out justice for short-term economic gains when it comes to China. 

While Mr Orbán was prime minister for the first time between 1998 and 2002, he refused to do business with both Russia and China. Now, in his welcoming speech during the Chinese premier’s 2011 visit to Hungary, Mr Orbán talked of wanting a “long-lasting alliance” with China. 

Yes, you read it right – “alliance”! Even Australian governments only call China a friend, but the US an ally. China responded by declaring it is turning Hungary into its central high-tech manufacturing base and distribution hub for Europe! 

Are Mr Petőfi and Imre Nagy turning in their graves?

{(1) “Hungary’s politics: Orbán and the wind from the East”, Nov 14, 2011, The Economist}

ANDRIS HEKS lived under Hungarian communism for 18 years. He is currently planning a PhD thesis, under Dr Chongyi Feng’s supervision, focussing on China’s growing world hegemony and comparing the past Leninist Hungarian and current Chinese Communist regimes.