What should Norway do with its relationship with China?
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Mette Halskov Hansen
Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Oslo
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Koen Wellens
Associate Professor of China Studies, University of Oslo
There is a lot of misunderstood courtesy in the dialogue with Chinese partners.
Chronicle
This is a chronicle. Opinions in the text are at the writer’s expense.
If China wants to earn the status and respect for the wishes of the world, an impressive economy and a strong military are not enough. The authorities can achieve more by being open to criticism and discussion about human rights violations. Instead, they follow impulses to offer roles and respond with insult or denial. But more countries must be willing to take the risk of being clearer in the dialogue with China. Is Norway one of them?
Little cultural and linguistic integration
Aftenposten recently published the “police files” from Xinjiang. These hacked files from Chinese police databases help document the widespread repression in Xinjiang of users and other Turkish-speaking groups. Pictures and texts speak for themselves.
Xinjiang is a region with almost 26 million inhabitants. Just under half are Uighurs. And about 40 percent belong to China’s majority, the Han Chinese. The demographic change in the region has happened rapidly.
China’s 1953 census showed that 75 percent of the 5 million inhabitants were Uighurs, while only 6 percent were he.
As students, we traveled in 1987 by bus around Xinjiang. Head of state Deng Xiaoping’s economic reformer had been running for some years. The region was marked by new forms of immigration: from state-led migration to build military production units to massive voluntary migration to Xinjiang in search of economic opportunities.
The 1980s and 90s were not without conflicts in Xinjiang. There was little cultural and linguistic integration between Uighurs and him and few marriages across ethnicities. Many male immigrants felt unwelcome and insecure about their Uighur neighbors. Many Uighurs expressed that their culture was not allowed to unfold freely, and that they did not get their fair economic gain that accompanied the development.
As foreign – and thus outside – students – we were told many stories that illustrated the underlying danger of conflict. Nevertheless, it was not possible to predict the degree and extent of repression that would take place 30 years later.
The fall of the multicultural state
The Chinese Communist Party has declared since 1949 that the country is a “multi-ethnic state” (duo minzu guojia). By that is meant a unified state that will accommodate different cultures and identities.
At the same time, the long-term goal of a common national Chinese identity has always been fundamental to government policy. What characterized the time before the early 2000s, when we ourselves researched so-called ethnic minority areas, was the combination of political control and attempts at integration. Even in Xinjiang and Tibet, which were under strong control, and where opposition to the authorities was most pronounced, experiments were made with the further development of bilingual education of children. Religious practice was relatively free.
Chinese linguists published articles that showed the great benefits of strengthening mother tongue teaching in order to also achieve better skills in the official language, Mandarin.
Today, there is little talk about the strengths of the multiethnic and multicultural. Xinjiang has become a school example of how far the current regime is willing to go if it believes that the goal of a common Chinese identity, culture and political ideology is threatened.
The Communist Party is tightening its grip
Fear of Islamist terror and separatism has been cited by the authorities as the main reason for intensifying repression in Xinjiang.
Several serious clashes between Uighurs, he and politicians since the late 1990s contributed to Xi Jinping deciding to deploy all forces.
In 2016, the Communist Party’s “strong man from Tibet”, Chen Quanguo, was sent to Xinjiang as party secretary to initiate and carry out new forms of intervention.
The measures to bring the Uighurs under full control and carry out assimilation have been documented through research, journalism and now the hacked police files.
Fear of Islamist terror and separatism has been cited by authorities as the main reason for intensifying repression in Xinjiang
About one million Han Chinese have been sent to Uighur families to “contribute to their education” in language, culture and behavior. Their reports have been used to determine who should be detained in camps.
The police force in Xinjiang has multiplied. The surveillance is massive, and even not having a mobile phone can be perceived as a sign that you are trying to hide something.
China Xinjiang problem
The situation in Xinjiang is starting to become a serious reputation problem for China. The authorities are used to criticism of human rights violations. But the documentation of extreme interventions in Xinjiang is beginning to become so massive that individual states, the UN, civil society organizations and business actors are reacting.
The Xinjiang Tribunal from 2021 and proposals to see this as an example of “genocide” fit into a number of different previous international criticisms. China has global ambitions, and denying the abuses in Xinjiang does not benefit them.
Our experience is that most topics can be discussed when you are open to criticism
Norway should do this
- Be clearer in your criticism
We experience that there is a lot of misunderstood courtesy in dialogue with Chinese partners. Our experience is that most topics can be discussed when you are open to criticism. It is possible that other norms apply in politics. But Norwegian politicians seem extremely cautious and general in their criticism of politics in Xinjiang. We do not think it is appropriate.
- Support dialogue and cooperation
Clearer criticism must take place in parallel with dialogue and cooperation. This should take the form of long-term building of relations within diplomacy, academia, business and civil society organizations. This type of network and cooperation has become much more difficult in China in recent years. But the escalating situation between China and the United States suggests that it is more important than keeping as many doors open as possible. There are many voices in China, and President Xi Jinping has the strongest – but not the only.
- Stand closer together with the EU and the Nordic countries
Nothing is more convenient for an authoritarian regime with great global ambitions than when smaller states act on their own and refrain from supporting and helping each other. Split and rule is a well-known strategy. Another is “using one barbarian to control the other.” Norway should ally more closely with the EU and the other Nordic countries. In this way, we can contribute to a common policy towards China and to ensure mutual support within Europe.