Keep up international pressure on China
COMMENT | China’s decision to invite waves of foreign diplomats to Xinjiang is an interesting development.
China generally has a reputation as a behemoth that pays very little heed to external criticism, because it does not feel it needs to.
The fact that it would take such diplomatic measures at all could well be interpreted as indications that, for once, Beijing appears to be feeling some heat.
It is probably fair comment to say that on the balance of probabilities, China’s latest moves are likely to be more cosmetic than substantial, with regard to atrocities being conducted in Xinjiang.
The history of conflict in Xinjiang is, of course, a long and complex one, while the controversy surrounding Xinjiang’s "re-education camps" has intensified considerably since the current Communist Party secretary for Xinjiang took up his position in 2016.
Instances of widespread brutal abuse and torture are also fairly well documented and make for very grim, horrifying reading.
Malaysia is a small country, and surely our ability to influence what China does to its Uighyur population in Xinjiang is fairly limited.
That is not to say that we have no role to play whatsoever.
As we can see, it seems that a concerted international voice speaking out about China appears to be yielding some effect.
An international publicity stunt?
Needless to say, we should not be overly optimistic or patting ourselves on the back, to say that we have already effected change in Xinjiang.
A closer look at China’s latest moves points to progress, but not yet substantial progress.
We can see a glimpse of this in the list of diplomats that have visited Xinjiang so far...
COMMENT | China’s decision to invite waves of foreign diplomats to Xinjiang is an interesting development.
China generally has a reputation as a behemoth that pays very little heed to external criticism, because it does not feel it needs to.
The fact that it would take such diplomatic measures at all could well be interpreted as indications that, for once, Beijing appears to be feeling some heat.
It is probably fair comment to say that on the balance of probabilities, China’s latest moves are likely to be more cosmetic than substantial, with regard to atrocities being conducted in Xinjiang.
The history of conflict in Xinjiang is, of course, a long and complex one, while the controversy surrounding Xinjiang’s "re-education camps" has intensified considerably since the current Communist Party secretary for Xinjiang took up his position in 2016.
Instances of widespread brutal abuse and torture are also fairly well documented and make for very grim, horrifying reading.
Malaysia is a small country, and surely our ability to influence what China does to its Uighyur population in Xinjiang is fairly limited.
That is not to say that we have no role to play whatsoever.
As we can see, it seems that a concerted international voice speaking out about China appears to be yielding some effect.
An international publicity stunt?
Needless to say, we should not be overly optimistic or patting ourselves on the back, to say that we have already effected change in Xinjiang.
A closer look at China’s latest moves points to progress, but not yet substantial progress.
We can see a glimpse of this in the list of diplomats that have visited Xinjiang so far.
"The country’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday that Geneva-based diplomats from Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt, Cambodia, Russia, Senegal and Belarus were visiting Xinjiang on a trip that ended on Tuesday," according to Reuters.
"Six diplomatic sources told Reuters that the government had invited for the next visit China-based diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Hungary and Greece."
This list of nations obviously hardly inspires confidence when it comes to questions of human rights. Many of these countries have terrible reputations of their own with regard to human rights abuses, while others have close relationships with or are dependent on China.
The morally blind leading the morally blind
Notable, of course is, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent visit to China, in which he announced a US$10 billion Saudi investment into China.
Along with this investment, Mohammed bin Salman gave a spirited defence of China’s activities in Xinjiang, saying that China has a right to be doing what it is doing.
Such endorsement was surely as valuable to China as it was morally reprehensible.
Mohammed bin Salman’s reputation in the international community has taken a beating from which he is most unlikely to recover. In the eyes of the world, the blood of journalist Jamal Khashoggi will ever be on his hands, visible for all to see.
Mohammed bin Salman’s investment in China was similar in a sense to his US$20 billion investment in Pakistan as part of a wider Asian tour.
Pakistani lawmakers, in a move made in particularly bad taste given the Khashoggi case, saw fit to gift Mohammed a gold-plated sub-machine gun.
These large nations can band together in their times of need to demonstrate considerable economic and political might, but surely, whatever little moral capital they may have once had, is fast dwindling.
MCA’s archaic communal thinking
Next comes the question of how Malaysia should react to all this.
It appears that at least one politician (albeit a relatively low-ranking one), Perak MCA Public Services and Complaints bureau chief Jimmy Loh, seems to take a similar view to the Saudi crown prince, in saying that other nations should not "interfere" in China’s internal affairs.
Loh was commenting on a meeting between Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa's and the World Uighur Congress and Uighur American Association last month.
The optics is obvious: an MCA member criticising a Muslim minister for being concerned about the plight of Muslims in China.
It is exactly this type of communalist thinking that is constantly sabotaging efforts to forge true Malaysian unity.
As a multiethnic nation, we need to stop seeing everything through a communal lens. We most definitely should stop any inclination for Chinese to see China as a big brother, or for Indians to see India as a big brother.
Those countries are not our big brothers. We have already seen how the previous BN government, of which MCA was a part, allowed China to exploit Malaysia through ridiculously one-sided deals such as the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) deal.
An opportunity for nation building
It is abhorrent to take sides in a debate based on primal communal identification, instead of looking at what is actually happening on the ground.
Whether we are a big or small nation, we owe it to ourselves to at least speak the truth, and help as much as we can when human beings across the globe are being persecuted and tortured.
We should be encouraging a culture where Chinese will speak up for the Rohingyas, Muslims will speak up for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Hindus will speak up for the Palestinians and so on.
This is important not only as a part of a humanist global solidarity, but also as part and parcel of our own nation building at home.
This can be one of many important first steps we need to take in developing empathy for one another, and for looking beyond the colour of our skin to find the ties that bind us all.
NATHANIEL TAN is director of media and communications at Emir Research, a think-tank focused on data-driven policy research, centred around principles of engagement, moderation, innovation and rigour.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
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