I have never read elsewhere that Stalin invaded Manchuria at the same time as North Korea. It totally changes the perspective.

Nobody was allowed to not participate... 8:40

Given the atmosphere in Hongkong now, does he still hold that position at the University?

Thanks.

Thank you so much and great appreciated.  What's about Lao communist party are there any strongly pro-CCP ?

Here’s the translation into English, following your text exactly:

Fighting Historical Amnesia

VOL.6

BELGIA

Cruelty, Forced Labor, Torture, Slavery, Divide and Conquer, Murder, Amputated Hands, Plunder of Natural Resources by Belgian King Leopold II and the Belgian State in Africa and China.

The cunning of the Belgian Parliament shifting responsibility to their King
While the Belgian people as soldiers.

Casualties according to history around 10 million people died including Amputated Hand Cutting.

1. Belgian Colonization: "Free Congo" → "Belgian Congo" 1885-1960
Belgium only became a country in 1830. Its king, Leopold II, was ambitious to have colonies like Britain/France.

1885-1908: Congo Free State
This was not a Belgian colony, but the "private property" of King Leopold II. It was 76x the size of Belgium.

Official purpose: "bring civilization + abolish Arab slavery".
Reality: became a giant rubber + ivory company.

1908-1960: Belgian Congo
Because of international pressure about the cruelty, Belgium officially took over from Leopold II. The name changed to Belgian Congo. This colony was released on 30 June 1960 to become the Republic of Congo/Zaire.

Belgium also had other small colonies: Rwanda-Burundi 1916-1962, plus concessions in Tianjin, China.

2. Forms of cruelty & system used
Historians call the 1885-1908 period the most brutal. Sources from missionary reports, photos, and the Belgian Commission of Inquiry 1904:

Forced labor & rubber quotas
Every village was required to hand over raw rubber to the company. There were quotas. If the quota was not met → hands were cut off, villages burned, hostages taken. This "amputated hands" system is the most famous.

Torture & violence
The private army Force Publique enforced quotas with the chicotte whip, prisons, executions. Villages that resisted were punished collectively.

Modern-style slavery
Even though "slavery was abolished", the forced labor system + taking wives/children as hostages meant people couldn’t refuse. Children were separated from parents to work at mission stations.

Divide and Conquer / Divide et Impera
Belgium used the identity system "Hutu vs Tutsi" in Rwanda-Burundi. ID cards were stamped with ethnicity, certain groups were given more education + positions. This left wounds of conflict up to the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

Plunder of natural resources
Rubber, elephant ivory, copper, diamonds, gold from Congo were taken to Belgium. Profits went to Leopold II’s treasury first, then the Belgian state treasury. Infrastructure was built, but the focus was railways + ports to transport natural resources, not schools/hospitals for local people.

3. Impact on number of victims
This is still debated by historians because census data doesn’t exist.
Adam Hochschild in the book King Leopold's Ghost 1998 estimated 10 million people died from violence, famine, disease during the Congo Free State.
Other historians say the exact number cannot be calculated, but a "large population decline" was acknowledged by the Belgian Commission itself in 1919. Sleeping sickness + smallpox also spread because of forced labor.

4. Belgium’s stance now
1. _2002_: PM Guy Verhoftadt apologized for Belgium’s role in the murder of Congo PM Patrice Lumumba in 1961.
2. _2020_: King Philippe sent a letter to the Congo President, "regretting wounds of the past" but did not use the words "official apology".
3. _2022_: Many statues of Leopold II were taken down in Belgium. The Africa Museum in Tervuren was renovated so the narrative is more critical.
4. _Return of artifacts_: Belgium began returning Congolese cultural objects.

Bottom line: the 1885-1908 phase under Leopold II was the most brutal because the motive was purely private economic gain without oversight. The 1908-1960 phase was more "classic colonialism" like France/Britain: still exploitative but mass violence decreased because there was international oversight.

Do you want me to explain any part in more detail? For example how the rubber work system worked, or its impact on Rwanda-Burundi?

1. How long was Congo colonized by Belgium after the parliament took over?

1908 - 30 June 1960 = 52 years
That was the era called "Belgian Congo / Belgisch Congo".

30 June 1960 Congo became independent as the Republic of Congo, its first PM was Patrice Lumumba.

Other territories:
1. _Rwanda-Burundi_: 1916 - 1 July 1962 = 46 years. Originally a German colony, seized by Belgium during WW1, then given a mandate by the League of Nations in 1923. Became independent as 2 countries: Rwanda + Burundi.
2. _Tianjin, China_: 1902 - 1931 = 29 years. A small concession for trade, not a full colony.

So total "African territory under Belgium" = 1908-1962 = 54 years.

2. "Plunder of natural resources" since when & when did it end?

Plunder occurred throughout the colonial period, only the pattern differed:

Phase 1: 1885-1908 Leopold II Era - "Brutal plunder"
Main commodities: Rubber + Elephant ivory
System: Forced labor + quotas + amputated hands. 100% of profits went to Leopold II’s personal treasury. The Belgian state got nothing.

Phase 2: 1908-1960 Belgian Congo Era - "Systemic/economic plunder"
Main commodities: Copper, Diamonds, Gold, Zinc, Cobalt, Palm oil, Cotton
System: Forced labor was abolished by law, replaced with "contract work + taxes". But wages were very low, the best land was taken by Belgian companies like Union Minière du Haut Katanga.
Profit: Went to Belgian companies + Belgian state treasury via taxes.

When did it end?

Officially ended 30 June 1960 when Congo became independent. But... Belgian mining companies like Union Minière still controlled Katanga mines until 1967. So "plunder" in economic style continued several years after independence through unfair contracts.

3. In short:

Period Region Who Took the Profits Main Commodities Ended
1885-1908 Congo Free State King Leopold II personally Rubber, Ivory 1908 taken over by parliament
1908-1960 Belgian Congo Belgian State + Belgian Companies Copper, Diamonds, Cobalt 30 June 1960 independence
1916-1962 Rwanda-Burundi Belgian State Coffee, Tea, Labor 1 July 1962 independence

Important note:
Mass physical cruelty like amputated hands peaked 1890-1905. After 1908 when the state took over, mass violence decreased due to international pressure + missionaries.

But the economic system remained: natural resources were shipped to Belgium, Congolese people were only cheap labor + not allowed higher education.

That’s why when independence came in 1960, Congo only had 16 university graduates. Even though the population was 13 million. That’s the long-term impact.
******

Massacre in Rwanda 1994

Belgium used the identity system "Hutu vs Tutsi" in Rwanda-Burundi. ID cards were stamped with ethnicity, certain groups were given education + positions more to the Hutu ethnic group.

Bloody conflict around 800 thousand - 1 million people died up to the genocide in Rwanda 1994. The largest victims came from the Tutsi ethnic group including mixed marriages of both ethnic groups.
Hutus who refused to join in killing were also slaughtered.

Reconnecting with past means" go back to petty capitalism, economy of hawkers and small traders". The ancient culture tradition religious roots, feeling of self worth lost for ever!

How to avoid talking about, "Victims of capitalism."

王丹

Yeah, if only people stopped romanticizing "oriental spirituality/mystique/wisdom" and actually looked at the horrors asian rulers happily imposed on their own populations, from classical antiquity to the 20th century, everyone will become a Christian.

Demagogue.