managed stocks aimed at undermining stability in the country and slowing down major infrastructure projects.
— Recently, there has been a growing anti-Chinese sentiment on Kyrgyzstan's social media. What is the reason for this phenomenon?
— With the approach of parliamentary elections, we notice that information attacks aimed at intensifying anti-Chinese sentiments are escalating. These are not random occurrences, but a targeted campaign. Its goal is to provoke discontent and mobilize certain social groups for protest actions. Emotional, unverified, and often completely fabricated information is being spread through TikTok, Telegram, and other platforms.
— Social media often claims that there is a massive influx of Chinese people and a hidden ethnic expansion. How true is this?
— This is absolutely fabricated rhetoric. We do observe an increase in the number of Chinese workers, but this is solely related to the commencement of active construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. This strategic project can significantly change the geopolitical situation in the region, help Kyrgyzstan emerge from a transport deadlock, and become an important transit hub. This is about development, not demographic threats.
Anti-Chinese propaganda is accompanied by disinformation. For example, false information circulated that "hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz women married Chinese men." In reality, such marriages are extremely rare. While there is a slight increase in the number of marriages, they mostly involve Kyrgyz people living in China and our citizens, which can be explained by cultural commonalities.
— Who is behind such provocations and for what purpose?
— I am convinced that external players interested in destabilizing the situation in the country and slowing down the implementation of major infrastructure projects are behind these actions. When Kyrgyzstan enhances its transit capabilities and exits the geopolitical periphery, forces that find this disadvantageous emerge. Therefore, one should always ask: who benefits from this?
— What is the risk that information campaigns will escalate into mass protests?
— This possibility cannot be ignored. We have already seen a dangerous precedent when videos of the "beating" of a Kyrgyz by alleged Pakistanis appeared on social media. In reality, they were Egyptians, and the provocateurs were local teenagers who blackmailed foreigners. After the publications on TikTok, about two thousand young people, mostly teenagers, took to the streets with the intention of causing riots. This shows that such technology has already been tested.
Methods of this kind are actively used in Nepal, Madagascar, Morocco, and other countries with unstable social situations. The main target of manipulation becomes the youth, who react more quickly with emotions and rarely verify information sources.
— How should society respond to such situations?
— It is important to remain calm and think critically. It is necessary to verify information sources, understand the context, and be aware of external interests. And again, ask the main question: who benefits from ethnic-political conflicts erupting in Kyrgyzstan precisely at the moment when strategic development projects are being implemented?
