IFC Participated in Panel Discussion “Mongolian Experience and Countermeasures in China”
On June 9, 2018, the “Mongolian Experience and Countermeasures in China” conference was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. The conference was organized by the “Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center” and co-organized by several other non-governmental organizations such as the Mongol American Cultural Association, Chinggis Khan Memorial Foundation, Mongol Heritage Foundation, and Buryat Association Inc. Over than 30 religious leaders, experts and scholars, human rights activists, and NGO executives from the United States, China, Japan, and Sweden attended the conference. Dr. QIU Jiajun, Director of Citizen Power Institute, participated and spoke at the conference on behalf of Dr. Yang Jianli, President of Initiatives for China/ Citizen Power. His Eminence Arjia Rinpoche—host of the Qinghai Ta’er Temple, director of the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center, and currently in exile in the United States—made a keynote speech. According to his own experience, Arjia Rinpoche explained how the Chinese Communist Party intentionally planned to suppress the activities of many ethnic minorities such as the Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uyghur ethnic groups. These efforts of suppression include a continuous elimination of the languages, scripts, writings, and religious beliefs of ethnic minorities; the arbitrary invasion of their pastures and water resources; the arbitrary infringement of their human rights and freedoms; the predatory mining of various mineral resources in ethnic minority communities and, as a result, the major ecological disasters.
Dolgion Hatgin, President of the Inner Mongolia People’s Party, additionally pointed out that more and more Mongolian traditional cultural heritages have been severely damaged under the influence of the Chinese Communist Party’s implicit “Hanization” policy. The recent “Bayangol Incident” and “Hada incident” proved that the Communist Party of China has systematically eradicated minority languages and cultures in countless areas through tactics such as reducing minority language courses, restricting or prohibiting publication of ethnic minority publications, suppressing ethnic minority websites, and silencing human rights activists.
Dr. Qiu Jiajun put forward five suggestions for a more effective protection of the Mongolian culture and their subsequent human rights: first, to take positive measures in building a Mongolian “self-help and self-guidance” internal activity mechanism; second, to learn and imitate the actions of the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala to build a professional, anti-communist pressure mechanism; third, to strengthen the unity and integrity of Mongolian civil society organizations and human rights activists to encourage a more honest dialogue with the Communist Party of China; fourth, to strengthen international cooperation with government and non-governmental organizations; fifth, to strengthen the construction of both public and private media outlets (to ensure a continuation of broadcasting Mongolian voices).
During the meeting, Dr. Qiu Jiajun announced that a number of think tanks, civil society organizations, and human rights activists have already proposed cooperation with the Citizen Power Institute, adding that the institute is always willing to cooperate with ethnic minorities, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, and think tanks to promote the joint development and progress of China’s human rights.