Pressegespräch: Ist China ein Partner für demokratische Staaten?
IGFM , 12.0 9 .2017
Under the question „Is China a suitable partner for democratic states?“ A press conference was held on 7 September 2017 at the IGFM office. Representatives of various groups, who are persecuted and oppressed by the People’s Republic of China, were invited. Central themes were the destruction of the cultural identity of the individual groups, as well as the dangerous influence of China in the Western world, which is intended to conceal human rights violations with the help of international bodies.
IGFM board spokesman Martin Lessenthin moderated the conversation with the Tibetan Tsewang Norbu, a founding member of the Tibet Initiative Germany; Lei Zhou, the chairman of the German Falun Dafa Association; Dolkun Isa, the General Secretary of the Uyghur World Federation and Temtselt Shobtsuud, chairman of the South Mongolian World Conference.
The destruction of the cultural identity of the Mongols
In the beginning, Temselt Shobtsuud reported on the destruction of Mongolian culture by China. The Mongolian human rights activist complained that the People’s Republic had expropriated large land of Mongols and thus destroyed the basis of nomadic culture. The government in Beijing had planned to ensure that Mongols became a minority in their own country. The number of Han Chinese residents is growing steadily. As a result, the Han Chinese culture pushed the Mongolian back more and more.
Beijing’s interest in the exploitation of Mongolian mineral resources favors immigration from China and the industrialization of the cities. Sheep and horse breeding are replaced by industry and pig breeding. The expulsion of large military training grounds by the People’s Republic is also leading to a loss of land. Shobtsuud speaks of „cultural murder“ on Mongolian culture since the Chinese occupation.
Censorship and suppression of protests
The Tibetan Tsewang Norbu also reported on the exploitation of Tibet’s mineral resources. Thus, the Chinese name for Tibet -Xīzàng means „Western treasure chamber“. In Tibet, too, China is trying to suppress traditional culture. Through legal arbitrariness, unwanted citizens would be arrested as „citizens“. The state mass surveillance leads to self-censorship of the Tibetans. Any protest against the communist one-party dictatorship and the Chinese occupation would be immediately stopped.
Desperate Tibetans saw the only possible form of public protest in self-burning. The number of these cases is high. Norbu also criticized the fact that the People’s Republic of China used its economic power as a political leverage to force silence over human rights violations. Norbu described the Chinese communist government as „the world’s largest terrorist organization.“ It can therefore not be a partner for democratic countries.
Millions of Falun Gong followers in labor camps
The Buddhist meditation school is rooted in Chinese culture and had at least 70 million adherents in China until 1999. Nevertheless, it has been pursued with cruel hardness since 1999. The reason for this is the fear of the communist government not to be able to exercise complete control over the direction of faith. Thousands of people were killed and millions were sent to work camps. Lei Zhou pointed out that this was not just about the suppression of an alternative culture or belief, but also about economic interests, especially the exploitation of labor camps in camps, arbitrary high fines, and trade in organs of detainees.
China’s long arm in Europe
Dolkun Isa is a Uyghur human rights activist with German citizenship. His example demonstrated how China is putting pressure on human rights activists across Europe – and how the Chinese government is instrumentalizing international institutions to silence human rights activists. Isa has already been arrested several times at the instigation of China or prevented from reporting human rights violations in China, even within the European Union. Finally, he was arrested in Italy on 26 July 2017 at Interpol’s request. Isa was on his way to a press conference in the Italian Senate, where he was to report on the situation of the Uyghurs in the People’s Republic. Furthermore, Isa, that since July this year the Egyptian authorities had arrested about 200 Uighur students. 50 of them were already deported to China, their whereabouts refuse the Chinese authorities any information.
In addition, on 1 September 2017, a prohibition came into effect after the Uighur language was officially banned in schools. He pleaded with the European Community to stop any direct and indirect support for human rights abuses.
Unity: Chinese government is not a partner for democratic states
IGFM board member Hubert Körper pointed out the persecution of Christians in China. Many persecuted Chinese Christians who had sought protection in Germany have already been deported from Germany. As the Chinese government tried to play the various groups against each other, this meeting was of particular importance. All parties agreed that Europe and other democratic countries must prevent the influence of China on the rights of the state’s organs.
„China offers itself as a partner of the West and must therefore be clearly compelled,“ said IGFM board spokesman Martin Lessenthin. „Moral scruples are not the only Chinese Communist Party that has ruled since 1949. It operates the world’s largest labor camp system, is committed to ethical and religious minorities and strangles every human rights and civil rights initiative. „