To be candid and more precise, it was on this date last month when the incumbent Chinese Ambassador to Nepal, Qiu Guohang, in a satirical mood asked Nepal as to why this country, Nepal, sold practically all the China aided and assisted factories at a dirt cheap price? Why?

The Chinese envoy for the first time perhaps sought explanations from the Nepalese authorities as to why China gifted factories in the name of the Nepalese population were sold even to the foreigners? He was referring apparently to the Bansbari Leather Shoe factory, a China constructed shoe industrial unit, which the then “democratic” government under late Girija Prasad Koirala was sold to an Indian businessman.

The one who managed such a “grand reduction sale” of the entire China aided or say gifted plants after the 1990 change was none less than the close relative of late Koirala who was then the Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya.

Rumors had it then that Minister Acharya was just the medium to sell these China aided projects. The main villain behind such a grand sale was the Prime Minister Koirala himself who presumably sold out the entire China projects under the instructions of the Indian regime. To recall, late Koirala was born in India.

The idea behind such anti-China activities was to sale all those projects having China made tags in order to manage the regular flow of those materials or say products which the Chinese factories produced right here in Nepal. In the process, several factories constructed by China were sold out in a merciless manner.

It would be an act of wisdom to recall that India, Nepal’s traditional friend,  has not built even a single factory in Nepal which could generate employment here for the unemployed Nepali youths. Analysts claim that India never wanted to see Nepal becoming self reliant on some products that the country needed in the process of its development. Instead, at best either it pressed Nepal to sale all the running factories  to facilitate its products a regular flow and thus the subservient Nepal governments after 1990 political change did what they had been told to do. Thus the entire Chinese industrial plants were sold well within eight years of such a “democratic change” which eventually made Nepal more dependent on India. Nepalese economy was deliberately made to go down. It went down since then. It was indeed a structured policy of Nepal’s “democratic” governments to wipe out the existence of the China aided projects or say plants. Things moved as per the Indian wishes unfortunately. Nepali Lendhup acted as per the instructions.

The Chinese pain is understandable in that the sale were not only selective one but utmost care was taken by the “democratic governments” that only those plants will be sold under the pretext of “sick industries” which were built by the Chinese government as a gift to the friendly people of Nepal. Chinese gifted projects were first declared sick industries to enhance the sale and pocket under table kick back which must have run in billions.

Strong rumors had it then that the Koirala family through such grand reduction sale of the Chinese plants amassed crores of rupees to the extent that the then Finance Minister, the middle man- is reported to have bought some eighty Ropanis of land in the nearby Kathmandu mountains close to Lubhu in Lalitpur.

Rumors are rumors which need to be substantiated. But since the rumors are very strong and thus demand deep investigation as to who benefitted immensely from such a grand reduction sale of the Chinese factories? If Acharya is absolved from any guilt then we will apologize unconditionally.

Minister Acharya at the moment is not in the political scene that much as he used to be in the dictatorial days of the Koirala rule.

The Chinese pain has come at an opportune moment because China fears as to whether the same history will repeat if she constructed some more plants for the Nepalese population as a gift?

China, as per the Ambassador, is willing to assist Nepal in several ways, however, she concurrently wants proper and adequate assurances from Nepal government authorities that the projects that were  in the pipeline will not see the same fate.

The Chinese Ambassador made his feelings known to a select group of Nepali media men at an interaction program organized by the newly established Nepal-China Media Forum held April 21, 2010.

We can better understand the Chinese pain. But there is no way that we the media men can block the sale of China aided projects if the government of the day so desired. What could be done at best from our side will be to inform the public which is what we have done and will be doing in the days ahead as well.