I received an email from Li Guangyi at UCLA with an update on the Baoding Villages. The email was sent in June last year but I only read it now. Since it was intended as a post, I am posting it here:
Hi All,
Liu’s old website is closed, but he has a new one:
http://www.baodingcun.org/web/index.asp
The recent striking news is, thanks to Liu’s effort, the Lake Victoria Free Trade Zone is now in in partnership with China and the Uganda Government.
http://www.sseesamirembe.com/
Paradise Investment Ltd. promised to invest 1.5 billon dollars on this free trade zone. The ceo of Paradise, Liu Jinlong, is an intimate friend of Liu Jianjun.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/detail.php?newsCategoryId=220&newsId=648431
There are some astounding words in the report of Chinese media. After reading the news, many Chinese netizens are wondering if now China has an oversea colony or concession, like Hong Kong. But such words are not available in the speeches of Ugandan officials. I think the Chinese journalists are exaggerating. But I don’t know if Liu asked them to do so.
http://business.sohu.com/20081110/n260537880.shtml
http://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/20081107/13505480670.shtml
I’m not familiar with this particular case, but China does have many Special Economic Zones in Africa. See Deborah Brautigam’s recent book “The Dragon’s Gift”.
[…] Lake Victoria East Africa Free Trade Zone, also known as the Ssesamirembe Eco-City, has for a while looked like one of the largest Chinese concessions in Africa and one with the most […]
Where are you? What happened, we no longer hear from you. Did the project of Sseesamirembe Eco City Vanish?
Thanks any way.