Foundinchina.com

A friend alerted me recently to the this site, where well-wishers were invited to voice their support – in no more than 64 words - for one of the world’s most inspirational figures for her 64th birthday. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 19th year of on-off incarceration was recently extended through a sham trial, had, at time of writing, received in excess of 11 000 messages. These included contributions from Bono, Yoko Ono, George Clooney, many world leaders, MP’s, and fellow Nobel Laureates.

Despite attempts by Burma’s junta to bring down the site, words of solidarity continue to pour in; from Morocco to Sweden, Malaysia to Finland, Indonesia to Mexico, Australia to India, Britain to Bhutan – and on and on - words of support have arrived from all walks of life and nearly every corner of the globe.

Nearly.

I haven’t read all 11 000 messages, but among the numerous pages I flicked through not one response emanated from China. Not a single word of encouragement or vestige of hope for Aung San Suu Kyi and her people; and not one shred of evidence that Burma’s powerful neighbour has the will, the integrity, or the moral responsibility to change or educate its people about the suffering going on in her own backyard.

Why am I not surprised?

http://theutopian.net/

Few observers come close to matching John Pomfret’s insight when it comes to China matters. His latest offering, Why China won’t do more with North Korea, is no exception:

Reading all the stuff about North Korea’s nukes, one thing strikes me: the United States seems to want to outsource not just its jobs to China, but also its diplomacy. “It’s up to China!” and “China can do more!” are the operative phrases emerging from DC-think-tanks and the US government. As if….

First, there’s a silly assumption in Washington that our interests (no nukes in North Korea) are the same as China’s. But they’re not. China’s first interest in North Korea is making sure the Kim regime doesn’t collapse. China’s second interest? Making sure the Kim regime doesn’t collapse. From Beijing’s perspective, nukes in North Korea rank somewhere around 10th.

The article goes on to outline the reasons why China will almost certainly rebuff calls for a greater effort on her part to get tough with Kim Jong Il’s misguided madness. It boils down to this: China likes her backward, despotic neighbour just the way it is, nukes and all.

The only other reason I would be tempted to add to Pomfret’s list is that China takes delight in her strategy of doing nothing (or paying lip service to doing something) when by so acting she leaves the US frustrated and hamstrung in its attempts to orchestrate change. This not to mention the glee in Beijing when their global rivals have to spend so much time, effort, and resources cleaning up in China’s own backyard.

Globally responsible stakeholder? No. Not yet. Not by a long way.

An assertive China is one thing; a global playground bully is quite another. The playground comment is entirely appropriate because China’s leaders are behaving like children again:

BEIJING (AFP) – China warned Paris Thursday not to make more “errors” on Tibet amid news the Dalai Lama may be made an honorary citizen of the French capital, just as frosty ties between the two nations had improved.

“We urge the Paris side to stop doing things that interfere in China’s internal affairs and make no further errors on the Tibet-related issue.”

“If the Paris city government does make this award, it will definitely meet once again with the Chinese people’s firm opposition,” foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told reporters.

The characterisation of the proposed Honour as an “error” is a typically aggressive Chinese response to anything that isn’t consistent with the CCP’s love affair with obedience: do what we say, or get punished.   

Read more here.

The line ‘interference in China’s internal affairs’ has been tiresome for years. It’s also full of crap. Beijing simply doesn’t like the fact that His Holiness is regarded throughout the world (with one petulant exception) as a decent peace-loving man. Honours for such individuals are entirely appropriate and are not, I would boldly suggest, matters for China to ‘interfere’ with.

Unfortunately, irresponsible despots have no qualms about using economic blackmail to get their petty way on this and other issues. Appeasing China by backing down, as South Africa did recently, is going to lead the world to a bad place. China must grow up to the fact that not everyone shares their world view. 

I sincerely hope that the French government and people stand up to China on this, and that other world leaders offer their support for that position. Not to do so will only embolden China’s leaders to make increasing demands of the countries they do business with.

Give the Dalai Lama his honour, not to annoy China, but because you were going to do it anyway and because France feels that it is deserved. DO NOT BACK DOWN.

Update

While France ponders, the Dutch, it appears, are showing signs of courage.

http://transcurrents.com/

This should come as no surprise for a government that views human life (especially non-Chinese life on distant shores) as ultimately expendable in the pursuit of resources, regional strategic influence, and, dare I say, global dominance.

The latest in a long line of ‘pragmatic’ foreign policy initiatives that have impacted directly on the lives and deaths of countless thousands in Darfur, Zimbabwe, and Burma (to name a few prominent examples), has now been revealed as the underlying cause of the Sri Lankan government’s defiance in the face of international calls for humanitarian restraint in dealing with the Tamils: they have Beijing’s backing and they know it.

Timesonline  reports today:

On the southern coast of Sri Lanka, ten miles from one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, a vast construction site is engulfing the once sleepy fishing town of Hambantota.

This is where China is building a $1 billion port that it plans to use as a refuelling and docking station for its navy, as it patrols the Indian Ocean and protects China’s supplies of Saudi oil. Ever since Sri Lanka agreed to the plan, in March 2007, China has given it all the aid, arms and diplomatic support it needs to defeat the Tigers, without worrying about the West.

It certainly seems that President Mahinda Rajapaksa is firmly in Beijing’s pocket given the alacrity with which he’s appeasing his benefactor’s regional goals by pursuing what appears increasingly like a cleansing policy. The CCP’s mouthpiece China Daily has the gall to talk of the unfolding humanitarian crisis and UN efforts to allow aid to the affected region:

A top UN official pressed Sri Lankan leaders yesterday to let aid into the northeastern war zone, as the ruling party won a sweeping victory in an election seen as a referendum on its fight against ethnic Tamil rebels.

The government has pushed deep into the Tamil Tigers’ strongholds in the north in recent months, surrounding the beleaguered rebels and vowing to end the quarter-century war. But reports have grown of starvation and casualties among the tens of thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting.

Well, isn’t that lovely! Beijing once again gives the appearance of having its finger on the humanitarian pulse while simultaneously applying enough pressure to squeeze the life out of thousands of suffering people.

Is there a whiff of hypocrisy about this recent wave of concern? This analysis certainly suggests as much:

None of this diplomatic posturing should be taken at face value. All of a sudden Washington has begun to express concern about the plight of tens of thousands of civilians caught in fighting as the Sri Lankan army closes in on the remaining pocket of territory held by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Until recently, however, the US has quietly backed President Rajapakse, the war and the military’s gross abuse of democratic rights. But as the army made rapid advances into the LTTE’s remaining territory from early January and the defeat of the LTTE appeared likely, the US made a tactical shift.

These matters are invariably more nuanced than their face value, but it doesn’t excuse China’s disregard for human rights in the way it pursues its global goals, which, thus far, have little connection with its self-proclaimed ‘peaceful rise’.

To summarise the latest transgression of morality then, Chinese support via its seat at the UN and growing clout as the world’s financier has enabled Sri Lanka to laugh in the face of international criticism, and to look forward to a positive outcome to the $1.9 billion IMF loan the government is seeking. China is effectively saying to Sri Lanka, “give us our naval base and we’ll counter criticism when you start killing an ethnic minority indiscriminately; finish the job and we’ll make sure you get the funds to clean up the mess.”

It all sounds alarmingly familiar. Because it is.

Update

The bloodbath continues. And China’s role in the unfolding slaughter becomes clearer.