China Lays Claim On Obama

Obama's Roots Extend to China

Apr 12, 2009 Tongkeh Joseph Fowale

President Barack Obama's vast web of family ties extends to China. What does this mean for the Chinese media and Africans living in China?

Those who thought that China could be shielded from the “Obama euphoria,” got it all wrong. If Obama is African, then the math is simple. If he is Kenyan, then there is a high probability that the American president carries Chinese blood in his veins. China’s claims on Obama are based both on history and current realities.

The China-Africa-Obama Math

President Obama’s ancestral home Kenya has now become a strategic and symbolic landmark in China’s relations with Africa. This relationship, as history has proven, is not only based on politics and economics but also on flesh and blood. The bond was confirmed when the DNA of Mwamlaka Shariff Lali, a 19 year old Kenyan girl was traced to China. It recalls the story about the expedition of Chinese sailor Zheng He who landed on the East African coast six centuries ago.

If Obama is not a descendant of the Zheng group, then there is another angle from which the Chinese dragnet falls on him. His half brother Mark Ndesandjo has been living in China since 2002 in the Southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. He is also married to a Chinese woman. History alone knows how marriage has helped to bring families and nations together. “The China-Indonesia-Kenya-Britain-Hawaii web mirrors a world in flux,” says Roger Cohen in The New York Times of March 17, 2008.

Obama’s Brother and The Chinese Media

China is a country that does not allow good things to pass it by. Especially if these good things can serve the purpose of fanning the flames of national glory. This is what explains the red-carpet treatment granted to Mwamlaka Shariff after her DNA tests linked her to China. It also explains the media attention given to Mark Ndesandjo after his brother rose to prominence in America. Before this time, little was known of Ndesandjo who had lived in China since 2002.

Time of December 5, 2008 commented on a YouTube clip which circulated around China from Shenzen TV about Ndesandjo. It showed pictures of him teaching piano at a Shenzen orphanage. The Chinese media also published pictures of MarkNdesandjo practicing Chinese calligraphy and noted “he can pretty much be considered an old Chinese hand.” Times’ report finally concluded about Ndesandjo “he’ll have lots of unwanted attention in the next few months.”

Significance of The Obama-China Connection

In an interview with one of Obama’s half sisters Auma, Cohen tried to uncover Obama’s extended family network. Auma, told him about herself. “My daughter’s father is British. My mum’s brother is married to a Russian. I have a brother in China engaged to a Chinese woman.” China without doubt therefore, has a very solid claim on American President Barack Obama. This issue largely blown out by the media has become a factor of national pride among Chinese.

But as China seeks to rub shoulders with the most powerful man on earth who happens to be African, three questions remain unanswered. Should all Africans show proof of a Chinese DNA before they gain full recognition in Chinese society? Should they produce certificates showing that they have relatives as leaders in Britain, Canada, Australia or …? Will the Chinese change their perceptions about Africans when Obama leaves power?

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Obama's brother, Mark in China