By
Sandley Chou
March 11, 2008
China and Russia are two of the most important countries in the world. They’re both perennial world powers, both in population and size, and both hold seats on the UN Security Council. They’re not small world powers that pretend to be important; instead, these are two countries that move and influence enormous numbers of countries globally.
Without a doubt, China and Russia matter.
And these two nations are definitely marching to their own beat. Both ignore Western cries for democracy, the concern regarding environmental standards, and human rights violations that are raised about them. Even with these differences, the West probably has little hope of changing the trajectories of these countries in those respects.
One of the biggest complaints against China and Russia is their insistence, or rather, their lack of concern for negotiating, cooperating and financially supporting regimes that are violators of human rights or harbor terrorist groups. Despite Western efforts and global outcry, for example, China is still supporting the government in Khartoum in Sudan.
But after an airplane crash in China Sunday, Western hopes for China to come on board against supporting terrorist harboring regimes probably gained a significant boost.
China has two western provinces that during the past century or so have been at the center of an independence movement. The first is well known and publicized in the West: Tibet. The second is less known: Xinjiang. Both provinces are ruled by China as autonomous regions, Tibet home to Tibetans and Xinjiang home to Uighurs. The cries for independence from Tibet are not often heard since the Dalai Lama left China decades ago, and tourism to the West has helped foster better economic ties. But there’s still a small faction in these areas that support separatist movements, albeit a minority among the population.
A China Southern Airlines flight was forced to make an unexpected stop in Lanzhou, a western provincial capital, after Uighur militants on board attempted to carry out an “air disaster.” The government has taken two people on the flight into custody and didn’t release further details. However, it’s been noted that the Uighur militants were promoting a free “East Turkmenistan.”
In recent days, the Beijing government has also issued statements saying the Uighur militants were also planning an attack on the 2008 Olympics, to be held in Beijing this summer.
While the Uighurs, although Muslim and in an oil rich region, have little to do with the “Global War on Terror,” the U.S. and other Western countries should denounce these actions. The West has traditionally taken a soft stance against other separatist movements in China, such as in Taiwan or against the Tibetans. Regardless of whether these decisions are right or not, the concept of the West wanting China to be on board with their own battle against terrorism probably doesn’t resonate well with China when the West stands aside or does little to support China’s own security fears.
“Terrorism” during the past decade has acquired a fast and loose definition. Regardless of how the word is thrown around, and regardless of how some believe separatist movements are justified in their fight against a Chinese government that has a track record of human rights abuses, including accusations that those targeted are minorities, the reality is that the West needs China and Russia’s help if it wants to carry out significant action against troubled regimes, such as Sudan’s government.
Thus far, China has supported the Khartoum government both economically and diplomatically, engaging them despite the troubles in Darfur.
It’s time for the West and China to come together to exchange support in their fight against global atrocities. If anything, the West should at least recognize China’s own internal fears. Perhaps these diplomatic tools can be transformed to cooperation on a larger, global scale.
[Reach columnist Sandley Chou at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]
5 Comments
#1 Uighur
on March 11, 2008 at 10:19 a.m.(Montreal, Canada | Unverified Name)
Sandley Chou's article seems like a well written article for an English class exam but far from an article worthy of being published in the Washington Daily.
She basically conducted a quick google search on the subject especially in relation to the Uighurs and it lacks any sort of depth and analysis. (i.e. the fact that Sandley Chou does not even know the name of the country that Uighurs striving for shows this point. Uighurs country is called East Turkistan NOT East Turkmenistan. Therefore, the main argument she makes that is West should go along with China regardless of principal and regard for true human rights, just to get China on board for confronting issues such as Darfur does not hold any water.
The notion of "Uighur terrorist" propagated by China is already proven to be a fantasy by the international community. Like the respected scholars on the subject such as Dru Gladley, and respected human rights organizations such as Amnesty International showed great deal of suspicion for these so called terrorist activities claimed by China.
Even latest claims of Airplane hijack already caused suspicion due to the unwillingness of Chinese government to produce any backing eveidece for international observers' independent verifications. There is widespread belief that Chinese government been fabricating such incidence to justify its increased crack down on Uighur peoples freedom and attempt diminish Uighurs increased stifle against the state sponsored discrimination and ethnocide against Uighur people.
I am a little bit short in time at the moment to expand on my point. However writers such as Sandley Chou should carefully study such important subjects which deals with the pain, suffering and existence of a 10 million strong people before throwing counter intuitive, shallow arguments.
#2 Andy
on March 11, 2008 at 11:56 a.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
"The cries for independence from Tibet are not often heard since the Dalai Lama left China decades ago, and tourism to the West has helped foster better economic ties. But there’s still a small faction in these areas that support separatist movements, albeit a minority among the population."
What are you smoking? The only reason why cries for independence are not often heard is because any kind of protest is met with imprisonment or worse. When I was in Tibet, I didn't meet a single Tibetan that wanted to be part of China. The only reason why separatists may be in the minority is because China has resettled many millions of ethnic Chinese in Tibet, making Tibetans a minority in their own land.
China and Tibet have had various levels of affiliation with each other throughout their history. The current dominance of Chinese rule over every aspect of Tibetan culture is unprecedented.
The whole idea of calling Tibet an "autonomous" region is nothing but propaganda. The dictionary definition of autonomous is: "self-governing; independent; subject to its own laws only." This couldn't be farther from the truth in Tibet.
Also, the government in Taiwan is just as legitimate as the government in Beijing. I have no problems with reunification as long as the new government is modeled after Taiwan's, not Beijing's.
#3 Dahlberg's Article
on March 11, 2008 at 12:29 p.m.(Montreal, Canada | Unverified Name)
Is terrorism the real issue for the Beijing Olympics or just a smokescreen?
By Tim Dahlberg, AP Sports Columnist
Here is an excerpt from above article.And the link to complete version. I can't post the complete article because of the word limit.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympi...
The facilities were never going to be a problem. We knew all along China would build spectacular structures, and deliver them in plenty of time.
................
So what would China have to gain by publicizing terror threats just five months before the start of the Olympics? Threats that we have no way of knowing are genuine or not, and which easily could have been kept quiet even if they were?
Quite a bit, actually.
China has a lot riding on the Olympics. The games will not only be a declaration the country is an athletic superpower, but a chance to project a lasting image to the world of a happy, progressive country that works.
Things that could conflict with that agenda include the issues with Darfur and Tibet, both of which have been getting more attention as the games draw near. On Monday alone, hundreds of Tibetan exiles tried to begin a march from northern India to Tibet to protest China hosting the Olympics, Tibetan activists held a mock torch lighting in Ancient Olympia, and Tibetan immigrants in San Francisco vowed to make a big scene when the Olympic torch comes to that city.
Chinese police have already said they will deal harshly with any social or political demonstrations at the Olympics. Any crackdowns will be easier to justify if they're linked with the fight against terrorism, something officials have already attempted to do.
In the end, the Chinese are the only ones who know just how real the terror threat is. But with just one announcement they have undoubtedly jangled some nerves among the tens of thousands of athletes, visitors and officials who will be in Beijing in August.
Because no matter what the issues, talk of terrorism trumps them all.
----
Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlbergap.org
The Associated Press
#4 Richard
on March 11, 2008 at 1:02 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
"While the Uighurs, although Muslim and in an oil rich region, have little to do with the “Global War on Terror,” the U.S. and other Western countries should denounce these actions. The West has traditionally taken a soft stance against other separatist movements in China, such as in Taiwan or against the Tibetans."
I find it disturbing that Sandley Chou seemingly connects the terrorist acts of the Uighurs with those of "separatist movements" in Taiwan. Why should the United States denounce Taiwan's separatist movements? Isn't the United States supposed to be the leader of the free world? And yet, you seem to say that the U.S. should side with the communists against the will of the Taiwanese people. People seem to forget that Taiwan is already autonomous and is under no control of the Chinese government. The United States working together with China to squash these "separatist movements" is the same as the United States fighting for communism.
#5 Al
on March 11, 2008 at 4:47 p.m.(UW Campus | Unverified Name)
Sandley Chou is clearly trumpeting the views of the dictators in Beijing in this article. Americans may not be the most informed people in the world, but it never ceases to amaze me how many Chinese have misconceptions about Tibet and Xinjiang.
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