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Fiji’s archbishop is warning that “new colonial forces” are moving into the Pacific Island nation.
“Today, there are new colonial forces moving into Fiji,” says Archbishop Peter Loy Chong of Suva.
“There is the fear of China and Chinese extractive industries and companies. There are powerful multinational corporations taking their places. Big nations like Australia, USA, New Zealand and China are exerting political influence in Oceania.”
The Fijian island chain is home to about a million people. It has mineral deposits including gold and copper and thriving fishing and timber industries.
On Fiji’s 52nd anniversary of independence from Great Britain, Chong spoke out about his concerns and fears for the island nation.
Chinese companies have been active in the Pacific region and the United States and Australia are trying to strengthen ties with the area’s governments, he says.
Last month, Fiji held military exercises with the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Local communities do not participate in decision-making, he says.
Instead, decisions about trade, foreign debt and capital investments are made with little or no input from the majority of the people affected.
The “divide between the state-elites and local communities hinders true participation,”.
Chong says Fiji is experiencing “uncertain times.”
“We live in fear. It is dangerous to speak your mind for truth and justice. I have been threatened for speaking out,” he says.
“In globalisation, nation states have not disappeared, but they now operate within a different context.
“Nation states retain power, but they must wield that power in collaboration with other powerful nations and multinational corporations. In reality, it is the multinational corporations that rule the world.”
Fiji is a religiously diverse country. Two-thirds are Christian, with the predominant denomination being Methodism. About 10 percent of the country is Catholic.
The Catholic Church has two key roles in Fiji’s political history, Chong says. These are to:
- set forth the requirements of just social action set forth in the Bible and Catholic social teaching
- denounce social, economic, or political actions and structures in the name of justice and the Kingdom of God.
“The Church wants to build a just society and it seeks to do so on the solid foundation of four fundamental values: truth, freedom, justice and love.
“In its commitment to a just society, the Catholic Church seeks to enhance true democracy in Fiji,” he says.
“On behalf of the Fiji Catholic Church, I pray that all Fijians collaborate for a truly independent, democratic and just society where the principles of participation, subsidiarity, human dignity and freedom is practiced.”
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