TR EMERITUS

By Mark O'Neill from The Asian Sentinel The bloody events of mid-July in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, in which hundreds of people lost their lives, have their roots in a clash of cultures that is at least 1,400 years old. In 657, the western Turks surrendered to the army of the Tang dynasty and the area of what is now Xinjiang became part of China, with the name 'Protectorate Pacifying the West'. Pacification, however, has never made it much past the talking stage. The conflict between Uighurs and Han Chinese over Xinjiang is similar to that of the Arabs and Jews over Palestine, an intractable struggle over history, religion, blood and ownership of the land. The Uighurs themselves arrived in the region from the Mongolian plains in the middle of the ninth century and established control over much of it until the Mongol conquest in the early 13th century. After the Mongol empire collapse, the region split into warring kingdoms, one of them called Uighurstan. In the 17th century, the Mongolian Dzungars established an empire over much of the region. In 1759, a Qing general recaptured the region for the emperor. Fearful of the Dzungars, he ordered their extermination, killing more than one million people, in an ethnic genocide. During the decline of the Qing and early Republic period, there were frequent rebellions, as Uighurs and other groups sought to exploit the weakness of the central government. In the early 20th century, the Ottoman Empire sent teachers and imams to Xinjiang, whose elite sent their children to study in Turkey. The Uighurs of Kashgar proclaimed the first East Turkistan Republic on November 12, 1933; it lasted only three months before a Chinese warlord named Sheng Shicai took over Xinjiang and ruled it for 10 years. Uighurs called him 'a butcher'. They gave the same name to Wang Zhen, the man who did more than any other in history to bind Xinjiang to China. In 1944, with support from the Soviet Union, the Uighurs proclaimed the second East Turkistan Republic in three districts of northern Xinjiang. It lasted five years, until Wang's Communist army conquered the region. From October 1949, as Communist Party chief and military commander of the region, for each Chinese soldier killed, Wang ordered the execution of five men in the village where the killing took place. In 1954, Wang set up the Production and Engineering Corps, in Chinese Bingtuan or military group'. They were demobilized soldiers who became militia farmers, similar to the Jews who migrated to Palestine before and after the establishment of Israel. They now number more than 2.5 million and produce much of the region's cotton, tomato, fruit and other farm crops. They have also developed mining and mine-related industry and have a dozen listed companies. The corps has its own education system, including two universities, a newspaper and television stations. By 1964, thanks to Wang's policies, the Han percentage of Xinjiang's population had quadrupled from six percent, or 300,000, in 1949 to 32.7 percent in 1964. In 1949, the Uighur proportion was 75 percent. Wang's brutality was too much even for Mao Zedong, who fired him from his post in Xinjiang in 1956. But Wang remained a senior figure in the Communist party and army and an advocate of military force in Beijing in May 1989. He remains a hero among the Han in Xinjiang. his ashes were scattered over the Tianshan Mountains north of Urumqi after his death in March 1993. In the 2000 census, Han accounted for 41 percent of the region's population against 45.2 percent for the Uighurs. If the current rate of migration continues, the Han will become the majority within 20 years or sooner A research paper published by the Bingtuan in August 2003 said that study of the Uighur language was useless. "Our long-term aim is to Sinicise the local population. We must first destroy the Uighur language. We must encourage large-scale migration." The report stated. It advocated the Israeli example and establishment of large Bingtuan settlements in the five areas of Xinjiang where the Uighurs account for more than 50 percent of the population, including Hetian and Kashgar, where support for the ETR is strongest. "The Bingtuan method is to choose places where no-one is living, to avoid giving Uighurs the idea that we are stealing their land. Introducing water will improve the local economy and living standards of Uighurs and block the growth of terrorism." During the 1950s and 1960s, Han migration was compulsory or nearly compulsory. Soldiers stationed in Xinjiang were ordered to settle there, families with the 'wrong class background' were ordered to send a member there and political prisoners were sent there to work. Since the 1990s, the migration has been driven by economic incentives. Xinjiang's nominal gross domestic product in 2008 was 420 billion yuan, against 220 billion in 2004, thanks in part to large government investments in industry and infrastructure and incentives to new settlers. China's dramatic economic growth has driven up prices of the farm, oil and mineral products which are the mainstay of the economy. Its oil, gas and petrochemical sectors are booming. Ironically, while Han settlers arrive, the Uighurs are going, or being sent, to cities in the east to work. The program began in 2000; in 2002, the number of migrant workers was less than 300,000 and has reached nearly 1.5 million now. Residents of Kashgar, one of areas affected, say that families who refuse to allow their children to go will be fined up to six months of their income. The program has both economic and political objectives – to provide work and skills to the unemployed and income to their families and to remove possible recruits for violence and put them into a 100 percent Han setting. It was violence between these migrant workers and their Han colleagues in a factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong, that sparked the recent violence in Urumqi. Directing these policies is Wang Lequan, the Communist party chief of Xinjiang and head of the Bingtuan since December 1995 and working there since 1991. It is by far the longest tenure of any provincial or regional chief in China. He has been a member of the Politburo since November 2002, a result of Beijing's fear of Islamic terrorism after 9/11. One major obstacle to 'Sinicization' is the very low rate of marriages between Han and Uighurs. Families on both sides fiercely oppose such unions because of differences of religion, language, diet, customs and family ties. By contrast, Han marriages with Hui and Kazakh people are common. Like the Palestinians, the Uighurs are largely helpless to oppose the long-term strategy of Beijing. The World Uighur Congress, based in Munich, says: "Han Chinese are colonists who want to replace us with their own people and assimilate those of us who remain, wiping out our culture." Wang Lixiong, one of the few Han intellectuals to publicly support the Tibetan and Uighur causes, said that Beijing's policy of 'stability' was every day losing the hearts of local people. "Xinjiang may become the next Middle East or Chechnya. Conflict in the future will become more and more intense. The policies are turning one race against the other. In this vicious circle, the contradictions are intensifying and push the two sides further and further apart and could cause changes that are irreversible." Source: Asian Sentinel  Read More →

By Eric Ellis from The Age SINGAPOREANS aren’t usually given to open criticism of the Lee family that has ruled them for half a century. Rightly or wrongly, some presume that in their tightly controlled island state, walls have ears, and one never knows who is listening. But this time it’s different. Singaporeans are deeply displeased with their Prime Minister’s wife, Ho Ching. She has run Temasek Holdings, the state-owned fund, since 2002, and has presided over a spectacular series of misjudgments that have lost Singaporeans billions. There was the murky $3 billion deal she made in Bangkok in 2006, to buy then Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra out of his telco. Ho’s massive plunges into European and American banks ended in tears last year when Temasek lost a third of its $100 billion portfolio. In Australia, Ho lost Temasek’s entire $400 million stake she’d plunged into Eddie Groves’ ABC Learning Centres, among other missteps. So much for her much-lauded ‘‘Superwoman’’ smarts and vision when the state appointed her, even though her pre-Temasek record at Temasek-owned arms supplier Singapore Technologies was hardly Sorosesque. Today, Singaporeans are sick of Ho and have been for some time. They want her out of Temasek, lest she create any more financial havoc for them. Except she’s not going. In a February ‘‘transition’’ — not a sacking, as Temasek spun furiously — Ho was supposed to hand over Temasek to Chip Goodyear, the 51-year-old American (and North Melbourne supporter) who pointed BHP-Billiton at China for four years and made billions. The big idea was that Goodyear would fix the mess Ho made in banking and tilt Singapore into the booming China and India growth stories, which meant placing Temasek at the middle of big regional resources plays. But that, too, has ended in tears, when Temasek last week cited ‘‘strategic differences,’’ announcing it was "mutually agreed" Goodyear would not become CEO. It seems clear that after five months hanging around the Temasek office, Goodyear has been paid millions for his life-long silence. But only a few days earlier, Goodyear was doing the rounds of Temasek satellites mapping out his vision. One CEO I spoke to expressed shock, saying he had been on the ‘‘same page’’ as Goodyear and was looking forward to working with him. The implication was clear: Goodyear was a genuine businessperson whereas Ho was not. That was mid-July. A week later, Chip was chopped. Temasek’s board met the weekend before last, then announced Goodyear was gone. So what happened? The Government-controlled Straits Times said Goodyear’s proposals to shake up Temasek were viewed as "too risky" by the board. Too risky? Ho’s bad bets in banks lost Temasek around $30 billion. What could be riskier than that? More likely is the take doing the rounds of Singapore’s banking and business communities. Local insiders, under few illusions that little happens at Temasek without Government say-so, say the Government has been spooked by the arrest in China of Rio-Tinto executive Stern Hu. Temasek hired Goodyear because they wanted him to do for it what he had done at BHP, expertly play China, which is far more politically important for an Asian nation such as tiny Chinese-dominated Singapore than it is for a global mining giant. But after the Chinese Government arrested Hu and sent a message it was taking back control of its resources management, it wouldn’t do now, they say, for a foreigner who knows so much about Chinese resources to front mostly Singapore Inc’s ambitions in China. The handling of Goodyear has deeply embarrassed Singapore and seems to give lie to the fiction that Temasek operates transparently and separately from Government policy. And knowing how deep runs the anger among its readers that Ho has squandered a big chunk of their nest egg, even the normally lap-dog Straits Times was moved to ask how ‘‘private sector’’ can Temasek really be, commenting: ‘‘Like it or not, Temasek cannot get away from the fact that it is inextricably linked to the Singapore Government’’. It’s shaken up the arcane world of sovereign wealth funds too, where Temasek liked to portray itself as the model for emerging wealthy states. Delegations from around the world made pilgrimages to Singapore to see how it was done, how their state’s strategic jewels can be packaged and managed into an investment vehicle that maintained the illusion it was somehow separated from the Government. Journalists describing Temasek as "Government-controlled" invited a welter of complaints to their editors from Temasek’s spinners who demanded it be benignly referenced as an "Asian investment company" with no references to the Government whatsoever, and certainly not to describe the family connections of Ho’s. Failure to comply would mean an outlet would be blackballed by Temasek, which in Singapore ultimately suggests a libel suit no media company has ever won there. East Timor decided the Temasek model wasn’t for them, and chose a Norwegian-inspired transparent route for its now $6 billion petroleum royalties pile. In many respects, it’s actually a model for Temasek. Certainly, the East Timorese fund made more money than Temasek has recently — it invested in boring US treasury bonds while Ho was plunging billions into Merrill Lynch. Unsurprisingly, Temasek’s model appeals more to the more authoritarian and less democratic of states, such as Kazakhstan which, like Singapore, is run along family lines. Now Singapore Inc is in a pickle. It said it wants to internationalise Temasek, and appointing the much-respected Goodyear was a huge – and widely welcomed – statement. Now it’s stuck with the bumbling Ho, for at least another year, which simply deepens the market’s conviction that dealing with Temasek is akin to de facto dealing with the Government. Temasek says it is continuing its international search for a new boss. But after Goodyear’s bad year at Temasek, why would anyone want to go there? Source: The Age  Read More →

MANILA (Reuters) - Corazon Aquino of the Philippines, whose ouster of one of the 20th Century's most corrupt dictators made her a global icon of democracy, died on Saturday after a 16-month battle against colon cancer. She was 76. Her family announced she died in the early hours of Saturday, shortly after a private mass was held in her hospital room. All five children were at her bedside when the end came. "Our mother peacefully passed away at 3:18 a.m. of cardio-respiratory arrest," her son, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., told reporters. "She would have wanted us to thank each and every one of you for all the prayers and your continuous love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country." Aquino, known as Cory to millions of Filipinos, was president from 1986 to 1992. But she is remembered, more than two decades after the fact, as the slim woman in yellow who led the "People Power" revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos. The tumultuous events of those weeks in 1986, which came to a head when up to 1 million people waving rosaries and flowers stopped Marcos' tanks advancing toward Aquino-backed army rebels, became a fairy-tale revolution that gripped the world. When a bewildered Marcos and his wife Imelda fled the nation, it set a stirring precedent for dissidents everywhere, from South Africa to South America to Pakistan. Aquino was hailed as a modern-day Joan of Arc. As news of Aquino's death spread, hundreds of people began visiting her home and the EDSA shrine where her 1986 revolution culminated, leaving flowers and lighting candles. Many tied yellow ribbons to their cars, and on trees near her home. Aquino was a reluctant leader at the start. She shed the housewife's apron only after her politician husband Benigno was assassinated at Manila's international airport in 1983 on his return from exile in the United States. Accusing Marcos of ordering the murder, Aquino led protest marches, but was hesitant when elections were called in 1986. "What on earth do I know about being president?," she said before taking up the challenge to run against Marcos. Both candidates claimed victory in the election, but Marcos fled into exile when the army turned against him. LESS SUCCESSFUL  Aquino's presidency was less successful than the revolution, with a series of coup attempts by the military keeping the administration hamstrung. She was lauded for her courage, but rarely seemed able to get on top of ruling the country. The specter of army intervention haunted her entire rule. Natural disasters, including Mount Pinatubo's huge volcanic eruption in 1991, severely battered the economy. A devout Catholic, Aquino often turned to her faith to steer her through difficult times.  "There was never any moment that I doubted God would help ... If it was time to die, so be it," she said when rebel mortars pounded the presidential palace in 1987. There was also no doubting her courage. "I have not always won but ... I never shirked a fight," she said in 1992 before handing power over to her successor, Fidel Ramos. But she did oversee the writing of a new constitution, which among other things limited a president's time in office to one six-year term. Born on January 25, 1933 into one of the country's richest families, the Cojuangcos, Aquino grew up in a world of wealth and politics, being the daughter of a three-time congressman. She married Benigno, one of the country's most promising politicians, and they had four daughters and a son before he was thrown into prison by Marcos and then forced into exile. Aquino seemed frail in later years, but was still game for a fight when she thought it necessary. She brought half a million people onto the street in the 1990s when her successor Ramos flirted with the idea of trying to extend his term in office. She was involved in protests that ended the presidency of Joseph Estrada in 2001, and has supported the campaign to remove current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo after her one-time ally was accused of corruption and election fraud. Arroyo, who is in the United States on a visit, announced a 10-day period of national mourning and said in a message: "Today the Philippines lost a national treasure. She helped lead our nation to a brighter day." Aquino's family has opted against a state funeral and plan to bury her beside Benigno after a private ceremony on Wednesday, her son said. U.S. President Barack Obama said: "Her courage, determination, and moral leadership are an inspiration to us all and exemplify the best in the Filipino nation." Her arch-foe Imelda Marcos, who returned to the Philippines after her husband died in exile, said: "Now that Cory is with the Lord, let us all unite and pray for her and for the Filipino people."  Source: Reuters  Read More →