Tuesday, July 14, 2009
China, meet Uighur ethnonationalism
The Uighur plot thickens. After Turkish President Erdogan described the events in Xinjiang as "like a genocide" (perhaps a touch extreme, given that at most a few hundred people have died, as opposed to 800,000 in Rwanda), the Chinese fired back with a nasty editorial. Xinhua is getting downright North Korea-ish with their headlines over the matter, as in today's "Distorted reports on Xinjiang riot denounced."
Meanwhile, an interesting tidbit from the BBC:
Until now, al Qaeda and its ilk have largely left the Chinese alone, presumably because they don't see China as a threat given China's strongly pro-sovereignty political stance. But no longer. Muslim solidarity with the Uighurs might mean that China may soon face the kind of extremist threats that Western nations are already used to.
On the NYTimes op-ed page, Philip Bowring explores Muslim solidarity with the Uighurs, and to what extent this will cause big problems for China's relations with its Asian neighbors. The answer... probably not much, but it's a tricky issue that affects China's standing with governments from Indonesia to Kazakhstan to Turkey to the Magreb.
Meanwhile, an interesting tidbit from the BBC:
In a report, a UK-based global security intelligence firm said that events in Xinjiang had triggered a call from an Algerian-based al-Qaeda affiliate for reprisals against Chinese workers.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQM) had promised to target Chinese workers in Algeria and north-west Africa, Stirling Assynt said.
AQM appeared to be the first al-Qaeda affiliate to officially state that it would target Chinese interests, the group said, warning that others could follow suit.
Until now, al Qaeda and its ilk have largely left the Chinese alone, presumably because they don't see China as a threat given China's strongly pro-sovereignty political stance. But no longer. Muslim solidarity with the Uighurs might mean that China may soon face the kind of extremist threats that Western nations are already used to.
On the NYTimes op-ed page, Philip Bowring explores Muslim solidarity with the Uighurs, and to what extent this will cause big problems for China's relations with its Asian neighbors. The answer... probably not much, but it's a tricky issue that affects China's standing with governments from Indonesia to Kazakhstan to Turkey to the Magreb.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
ICP: No Turkish move on Uighurs
Inner City Press has the latest:
Interestingly, both AFP and Reuters carried the original story, claiming that Erdogan said his comment at a meeting of Gulf states. But if the Turks are now denying he said it, he a) didn't say those precise words or b) got a very quick phone call afterwards from Hu Jintao.
Either way, any Security Council discussion of Xinjiang now seems much less likely.
Inner City Press asked the charge d'affaires of the Turkish Mission to the United Nations Fazli Corman about the quote and if Turkey had in fact made any moves to that effect. "We didn't make any moves on that," Ambassador Corman said. "That reports were not actually based on the realities."
Inner City Press asked if Prime Minister Erdogan had been misquoted. Yes, Ambassador Corman indicted. [sic]
Interestingly, both AFP and Reuters carried the original story, claiming that Erdogan said his comment at a meeting of Gulf states. But if the Turks are now denying he said it, he a) didn't say those precise words or b) got a very quick phone call afterwards from Hu Jintao.
Either way, any Security Council discussion of Xinjiang now seems much less likely.
Hillary tries to become high-profile again
With a major foreign policy speech forthcoming, Foreign Policy observes:
This sounds about right to me. Except for some unfortunate Iran comments early in her term, Clinton has largely kept to the Obama line and strayed less often than, say, Joe Biden (he of the "well, if Israel's gonna bomb Iran, hey, that's their call" sentiment).
But if our Secretary of State doesn't believe in negotiations with Iran, it'll be interesting to see what happens if a fully recovered Clinton winds up being an instrumental player in those talks.
I await her speech with interest.
Perhaps more than any other member in Obama's "team of rivals," Clinton has had to walk a fine line: to prove to the president and his loyalists (to say nothing of a rapacious press corps) that his former primary opponent would be a trustworthy team player, restraining her own foreign-policy inclinations to bolster and never undermine his. Channeling Obama's vision while making the secretary of state job her own has required impressive self-restraint amid a host of foreign leader powwows, interagency meetings, and appointments. Not lacking for opportunities to seize the megaphone, Clinton appears to have carefully calibrated the amount of individual voice, vision, and volume she has projected so far, perhaps with an eye to gaining a measure of trust that will ultimately enhance her effectiveness.
This sounds about right to me. Except for some unfortunate Iran comments early in her term, Clinton has largely kept to the Obama line and strayed less often than, say, Joe Biden (he of the "well, if Israel's gonna bomb Iran, hey, that's their call" sentiment).
But if our Secretary of State doesn't believe in negotiations with Iran, it'll be interesting to see what happens if a fully recovered Clinton winds up being an instrumental player in those talks.
I await her speech with interest.
apparently I'm a "self-hating Jew" too
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can't get the White House to pick up the phone, so apparently he's decided that any Jews in the Administration who do not agree with the Likud stance on settlements are "self-hating Jews." From Haaretz (hat tips to Andrew Sullivan and Matthew Yglesias for digging this one up too):
Hm, this kinda reminds me of all those "liberals hate America" attacks that one hears from the likes of Glenn Beck. Rather beneath a head of state, right? So why is such a man still in power? Well, check out the sharpest tactics of his opposition (again, from Haaretz here):
Tell me this does not remind you of Draco Malfoy distributing magical "Potter stinks" buttons to Hogwarts students in the fourth Harry Potter book. Or am I just a nerd?
Netanyahu appears to be suffering from confusion and paranoia. He is convinced that the media are after him, that his aides are leaking information against him and that the American administration wants him out of office. Two months after his visit to Washington, he is still finding it difficult to communication normally with the White House. To appreciate the depth of his paranoia, it is enough to hear how he refers to Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod, Obama's senior aides: as "self-hating Jews."
Hm, this kinda reminds me of all those "liberals hate America" attacks that one hears from the likes of Glenn Beck. Rather beneath a head of state, right? So why is such a man still in power? Well, check out the sharpest tactics of his opposition (again, from Haaretz here):
Later, Kadima supporters handed out stickers with anti-Netanyahu slogans in the Knesset cafeteria.
Tell me this does not remind you of Draco Malfoy distributing magical "Potter stinks" buttons to Hogwarts students in the fourth Harry Potter book. Or am I just a nerd?
tap water safer than bottled water
A bad day for bottled water, a good day for the planet.
- GAO reports that tap water may be safer than bottled water, removing one of the remaining justifications for bottled water
- A small Australian town's residents became the first to vote to ban bottled water in their town. The final tally was 354-2, and one of the two was a representative of the bottled water industry.
Another good step for Australia, which not only spends US$390 million a year on bottled water but, if it drinks the same brands we do, has to have that water imported over vast distances. The negative effects of bottled water -- energy usage, plastic waste -- are well-documented, but it's doubly galling to have to pay for something that used to be free, back when most stores and parks had, you know, drinking fountains. Hopefully more people will do as Bundanoon has done.
- GAO reports that tap water may be safer than bottled water, removing one of the remaining justifications for bottled water
- A small Australian town's residents became the first to vote to ban bottled water in their town. The final tally was 354-2, and one of the two was a representative of the bottled water industry.
Another good step for Australia, which not only spends US$390 million a year on bottled water but, if it drinks the same brands we do, has to have that water imported over vast distances. The negative effects of bottled water -- energy usage, plastic waste -- are well-documented, but it's doubly galling to have to pay for something that used to be free, back when most stores and parks had, you know, drinking fountains. Hopefully more people will do as Bundanoon has done.
SHOCK! China opposed to raising of Xinjiang in the Security Council
Surprise, surprise, the Chinese reacted swiftly from Beijing to Turkey's call to raise the ongoing Urumqi violence in Xinjiang at the UN Security Council. From Xinhua:
Now, no one can stop the Turks from simply raising the issue in Security Council consultations, but in order to get it on the Security Council's agenda, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan called for, one would need 9 of the 15 Security Council members to vote for it.
As of this morning, Ambassador At Large has heard no word from the Turkish delegation over whether they will actually attempt this, but if they did, AAL would love to know which nine countries would dare to risk publicly crossing China on its own internal affairs.
"The Chinese government has taken decisive measures according to the law. This is purely China's internal affair and doesn't demand a UN Security Council discussion," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told the regular briefing.
Now, no one can stop the Turks from simply raising the issue in Security Council consultations, but in order to get it on the Security Council's agenda, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan called for, one would need 9 of the 15 Security Council members to vote for it.
As of this morning, Ambassador At Large has heard no word from the Turkish delegation over whether they will actually attempt this, but if they did, AAL would love to know which nine countries would dare to risk publicly crossing China on its own internal affairs.
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