China's lawmakers wish for peace, stability in N Africa

BEIJING - On a big TV screen in the lobby of Beijing Railway Hotel, news programs about African unrests always draw attention from a group of delegates to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) who are staying in the hotel during the session.

The well-being of people in the restive countries in north Africa, and how peace and stability can be restored, is one of the hottest topics among delegates of CPPCC, a political advisory body, and deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC).

"I'm very concerned about the turmoil in north Africa. We are all fellow Muslim brothers. I hope people in Egypt, Libya and other countries can have their normal life back as soon as possible," said Yang Faming, a CPPCC delegate and head of the Islamic Association of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Jiang Minglin, a delegate to the CPPCC and expert on construction materials, said he worried most that massive unemployment would follow the turmoil to haunt the region. He still recalled many local and Chinese people lost their jobs when his foreign aid construction teams retreated from Iraq before the Iran-Iraq War.

Guo Xiangdong, NPC deputy and chairman of Chongqing First Construction Group (CFCG), worried about the safety of CFCG's over 200 workers in Angola, which is also affected by the north African turmoil.

"Unrest in one country will affect many other countries. No peace no prosperity, I hope all countries to be stable and all people to be safe and sound," Guo said.

Yang Xueliang, manager of Sinohydro Corporation's aid project in Libya arrived Beijing on February 25. But he still missed his Libyan friends. He said he could never forget the crowd who came to bid farewell to them, holding banners saying "Don't leave, we wish you to stay."

"The project was only two months from completion. I wish Libya can restore stability soon so that I can return to finish my job there," Yang said.

Egypt's tourism was hit hard by the unrest. Now the country needs stability to restore economy. Investment need stable environment, said Mahmoud Aramaic, former Egyptian Ambassador to China.

Egypt's manufacturing, construction and tourism industries lost $1.7 billion in the turmoil, or one twentieth of the country's GDP in 2010, according to statistics from the Egyptian government.

In addition, more than 23,000 prisoners escaped during the unrest.