Thousands of protesters against the establishment of Fudan University in Budapest
The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, who appears here on a screen installed outside the Parliament on June 5, 2021, is one of the slayers of the Chinese university project in the Hungarian capital.
REUTERS - BERNADETT SZABO
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In Hungary, large gatherings are now allowed on condition of having a health pass.
More than 10,000 people demonstrated on Saturday, June 5 in Parliament Square in Budapest, against a plan by Viktor Orban's government to build a Chinese university campus: it is on the banks of the Danube that the Fudan University of Shanghai should open its first campus in Europe.
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With our correspondent in Budapest,
Florence La Bruyère
Viktor Orban keeps getting closer to China, which earned him criticism from Washington.
He recently used his veto power to block critical EU statements on Beijing.
His government bought millions of doses of the Chinese vaccine, and entrusted China with the construction of a high-speed train line between Budapest and Belgrade.
A nebula of shell companies is involved in these trade deals (with China) which would allow the party and those close to Orban to enrich themselves, the opposition suspects.
According to a poll, the majority of Budapesters are against the establishment of Fudan in their city.
And they took to the streets en masse to say it, Saturday June 5th.
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The sun is shining on the crowded square.
A protester waves a Tibetan flag.
Another brandishes a plush toy of a character banned in China: Winnie the Pooh.
The mayor of Budapest Gergely Karacsony first pays tribute to the young Chinese who demonstrated in Tien An Men Square in 1989: “
We have nothing against the Chinese.
What we want is a university city for Hungarians, not a Chinese university paid with our taxes!
"
Because it is the Hungarian state that will finance the construction of Fudan.
What worries Gabor and his wife: “
The problem is that Hungary borrows a lot of money from Russia and China.… We will have to have children, just to repay this money!
oh no, no…!
"
This contract with China does not benefit Hungary, but Fidesz, the corrupt party of the Prime Minister, castigates the mayor of Budapest: “
The Fudan affair is the last act of Fidesz's moral suicide.
"
The mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsony, wants to challenge Viktor Orban in the next elections.
This rather shy politician has gained confidence.
His humorous speech received a standing ovation from the crowd.
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