Marsaskala Mayor holds Chinese culture show in Saint Joachim’s Primary School

Feb 8, 2026

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The Mayor of the Local Council of Marsascala hosted the Chinese Ambassador Zhang Zuo in Saint Joachim’s Primary School for a Chinese-themed traditional-dance show. The show was organised by the Malta-China Friendship Association and the Chinese Centre for Culture in Malta. The Malta China Friendship Association is composed of Labour Party members and has ties with the Communist Party of China. The Mayor of Marsaskala, Mario Calleja is also its Vice-President.

The association was the brain-child of previous Labour Minister of Tourism Reno Calleja . Mario Calleja also met the Chinese Ambassador on behalf of the association in October last year.

Educators are not allowed to speak in public unless they get prior permission from the Ministry of Education but the Labour Party can use the education system as a prop and platform for its political ties and diplomacy with Maltese students being dragged into Labour’s foreign interests. On the other hand, Chinese diplomats in Malta are successfully scoring professional points in their job report with their cultural activities in Malta that Beijing considers as cultural and political influence abroad.

The Labour Party does not understand that cultural influence is a political tool, so the Chinese government is exploiting this weakness in the Maltese state to increase its influence. The Labour Party’s relationship with China is very self-serving and corrupt so China can successfully amplify its cultural influence in Malta while the government welcomes it with the equivalent of a colonial mentality. China in turn uses its increased influence in Malta and its relationship with the Maltese government to strengthen its position in Europe.

The Labour Party is welcoming untethered Chinese influence in Malta. Education Minister Clifton Grima signed a memorandum of agreement with a pseudo-university in China in a bizarre bid to strengthen educational ties between Malta and China.

The government’s relationship with China is not only conditioned by naivety and a lack of understanding of history and international affairs (they call it GEOPOLITICS), it is also driven by self-serving and corrupt interests and these conditions enable China to extend its influence and strategic position.