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 W ith the 18th Communist Party congress just around thecorner, the government isdoing everything in its powerto create a picture of harmony 

to welcome the country’s incoming leaders. Butthe almost non-stop outbreak of mass proteststhis year is severely testing its “stability mainte-nance” efforts.

Last month, the residents of Shifang ,Sichuan and Qidong , Jiangsu ,took to the streets in separate protests. Bothopposed a development project they said would pol lute th e environ ment, an d bothforced the authorities to scrap their plans.

The Global Times  was quick to criticise the“Shifang/Qidong model” of protest, saying inan editorial that it would incite people to notonly distrust the government but also takeradical action for personal gain. This would be“disastrous for the country’s stability”, thegovernment mouthpiece said.

 While the Qidong protest was under way,small business owners in Shenyang ,Liao-ning , were also expressing their discon-tent, albeit silently. They did not gather in thestreets, but kept their doors and windows shut,turning parts of the city of 8 million people intoavirtual ghost town. Within days, photos begancirculating on the internet of Shenyang’s eerily empty streets in sunny weather.

Store owners said Shenyang authorities hadlaunched an anti-piracy campaign on the pre-text of preparing for the National Games next year. Officials from the commerce, tax, health,public security and other departments joinedhands in an enforcement exercise aimed atfinding any excuse to impose fines, confiscategoods and even make arrests, they said. To storeowners, this was no anti-piracy campaign, butthe abuse of government power.

The bullies did not expect business ownersto fight back with a mass shutdown. Caught out,the government scrambled to respond. On theone hand, it flooded media outlets with denialsthat there was any such campaign, claiming it was a rumour. On the other hand, it postednotices locally that announced a “suspensionto the crackdown on pirated goods”, and saidthat “after an emergency meeting at the city government, all departments have decided tohalt inspections of stores. All businesses shouldreturn to normal.” The reassurances seemed tobe working, as reports said stores were gradual-ly reopening for business.

On the whole, these different types of pro-tests have succeeded in their own way. The so-called Shifang and Qidong type of rallies can beseen as an extension of the Wukan pro-tests in Guangdong last year, and together they showed that the use of the police force to vio-lently suppress mass protests is no longer effec-tive. Shenyang’s silent protest was also a slap inthe face of government power.

 While all this was happening, a deadly rain-storm swept across Beijing on July 21. As in thepast, the government quickly took control of allmedia coverage of the disaster in order to coverup as much as it could, and tried to portray itself as taking charge. And, as in the past, it launcheddonation drives for disaster relief, even thoughit has never published any details about thefunds raised in these drives, and anyone whotried to challenge this would be shut up.

But times have changed. People today areable to complain through the internet. They demanded publication of the names of thevictims and derided the government’s fund-raising efforts in foul language. The outcome was: for the first time, a list of the victims’ name was read out one by one by the news anchor onCCTV.

These people’s victories would have beenunthinkable just years ago.

Mass protests are not new. Violent unresterupted in Taishi ,Guangdong, in 2005,in Wengan , Guizhou , in 2008, and

Shishou in Hunan in 2009. Althoughthese protests were effective in some ways, theprotesters paid a high price. Officials took theirrevenge soon after the clashes, arresting andimprisoning some of them.

 And consider the Sichuan earthquakein 2008. The government at the time exploitedpeople’s generosity and got away with raising huge amounts of money without disclosing how it had been used. And, thus far, it hasrefused to reveal the number of students killedor their names.

So what has happened in the past few years?First, the people are getting sick of gov-

ernment corruption. They have becomethoroughly disappointed with their leaders andhave resolved to fight back. Lessons learnt fromthe environmental protests in Xiamen ,Panyu and Dalian have built uppeople’s experience and courage. The firedisaster in Shanghai and the train crash in Wenzhou also pushed the people to takemeaningful action in new ways, and they mourned the victims in memorials despitegovernment disapproval.

The Wukan unrest was a turning point. Likethe child who bluntly pointed out the lie of theemperor’s new clothes, the protest exposed therot in the government’s “stability mainte-nance” system.

Second, the country’s economy has shownsigns of a slowdown and this will put a strain onsociety. For a while, even after many people saw 

through the lies of the government’s corruptideology, rapid economic growth was able todivert attention from questions about thelegitimacy of the regime. With a slowdown, thequestions will resurface.

 At the same time, local governments whichare highly dependent on land revenues havebecome increasingly desperate. In the face of the protests and funding shortfalls, they are in afix.

Third, there are signs of an internal split onthe use of violence to maintain stability. In Wukan, officials let slip that the local govern-ment had to pay armed police a daily rate tokeep them at their post. And it was clear in theShifang and Qidong protests that the armedpolice were less than enthusiastic. Apart fromthe lack of funds, these internal conflicts appearto be plaguing the government from thebottom to the top.

Lastly, China’s social media might havefailed to bring about a “jasmine revolution” inthe country, but it has played an important rolein many protests. Those people who braved thethreats of the government, who broke thechains of traditional media, who made full useof the new media and even contacted foreignreporters on their own initiative, are accumu-lating rare and valuable experience.

Chang Ping is a current affairs commentatorwriting on politics, society and culture.This commentary is translated from Chinese

Growing discord

The Wukan protestexposed the rot in thegovernment’s ‘stabilitymaintenance’ system

Chang Ping says the flaws of the Chinese g

overnment’s

‘stability maintenance’ machinery have been mercilessly

exposed by the recent successes of the people’s

demonstrations against official excesses There is a simple, compelling logic to the callfrom the Malaysian foreign minister at the weekend for Asean claimants to the South

China Sea to settle their own claims before raising them with China.

 As the region is fast learning, however, there islittle that is simple or logical when it comes to theSouth China Sea – the strategic and oil-rich waterway that is now the scene of intensifying rivalries thatmany analysts fear are lurching towardsconfrontation.

On the surface, it raises more questions thananswers. Among the biggest is the likely reaction of Beijing. If China has stuck fast to its long-helddemand that rival territorial claims in the SouthChina Sea must be settled through one-on-onenegotiations with Beijing, even as it continuesbroader discussions with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, it is hardly likely to welcome any freshsign that the grouping is ganging up against it.

 As recently as three years ago, China hadeffectively silenced Asean on the South China Sea.Since members, backed by resurgent US interests,raised formal concerns about China’s assertiveness in2010, Beijing has worked discreetly but forcefully toundermine any fresh Asean unity on the issue.

The fruit of that effort, of course, was displayed inPhnom Penh last month when the annual meeting of  Asean foreign ministers ended without even a routinecommuniqué amid rancour over South China Seareferences and Chinese back-room manoeuvring.

Potential unity, then, among the four members with rival claims – Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippinesand Vietnam – could prove another target.

The region got a taste of Beijing’s sensitivities back in May 2009 when Malaysia and Vietnam produced a joint submission to the UN to delineate theircontinental shelves. China protested immediately,attaching to its note a map that included the so-callednine-dotted line – the controversial markings that lay claim to virtually the entire South China Sea. Malaysiaand Vietnam issued protests in return, along withIndonesia, whose waters are close to the southernlimits of the line.

Then there is the prospect of protracteddiscussions among the Asean claimants themselves.Setting border limits is one thing, giving up bases onthe Spratly Islands quite another. China and Vietnamclaim the Spratlys in whole, and Brunei, Malaysia andthe Philippines in part. All but Brunei have military bases dotted across the archipelago.

 Vietnam, with by far the most holdings (27), hasthe most to lose, having also never formally outlinedthe eastern reaches of its South China Sea claim. Thatsaid, Hanoi would find it more politically palatable tocompromise with its Asean partners than with itsgiant and long-feared northern neighbour, China.

Strangely, the call from Anifah Aman comes amida chill over the effort for China and Asean to hammerout a code of conduct to govern tensions until thebroader disputes can be solved. This was supposed tobe finished this year, but Beijing is showing littleappetite, warning of “provocations” at sea from rivalclaimants. If Asean cannot even complete this task,the prospect of even thornier territorial discussionslooks grim.

Greg Torode is the Post’s chief Asia correspondent.greg.torode@scmp.com

United stand? Greg Torode considers

whether the call for Asean

claimants to the South

China Sea to settle their

own disputes first will in fact work

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 A11

Leaders of the Muslim worldare putting pressure onMyanmar over the treatment

of Rohingya Muslims in thecountry and calling for urgentaction by the government.

 AUN special human rightsrapporteur had earlier raisedconcerns about reports of extrajudicial killings and tortureafter clashes between RakhineBuddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

 Adelegation from theOrganisation of Islamic Co-operation led by Turkey’s foreignminister, Ahmet Davutoglu, visitedMyanmar and urged PresidentThein Sein to look into the matter.

Saudi Arabia went further,accusing Myanmar of ethniccleansing. The country’s cabineturged the “internationalcommunity to take up itsresponsibilities by providing needed protection and quality of life to Muslims in Myanmar”.

Meanwhile, protestersbelonging to various Islamicorganisations have rallied in frontof Myanmar embassies in theregion to voice similar sentiments.

 While the concerns raised by these countries and Muslimleaders are understandable, whatis puzzling is their inability topersuade Bangladesh, a fellow Muslim country, to adopt a morehumanitarian approach to thefleeing Rohingya refugees.

Bangladesh has turned away boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya fleeing the violence inMyanmar and the government hasstopped three international

charities, including Britain’sMuslim Aid, from helping them.Dhaka fears that help from theseagencies might act as a magnateand draw more refugees.

 About 30,000 Rohingya areregistered refugees living in twoBangladeshi camps run by the UN.But Dhaka says their actualnumber is 10 times that figure. With Bangladesh not allowing theUN High Commissioner forRefugees to register them asrefugees, most remain as statelessillegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, Myanmar classifiesthe Rohingya as Bengali Muslims who entered from Bangladesh, and

does not recognise them ascitizens of Myanmar.Shunned by both Myanmar

and Bangladesh, many Rohingyatake to rickety boats and try toreach safer shores of othercountries to escape their plight. In2010, this paper highlighted theinhuman treatment Rohingyaboatpeople received from Thaiofficials who towed their boats outto the deep seas and set themadrift, resulting in many deaths.

Decades of discrimination havemade the United Nations labelRohingya as one of the world’smost persecuted minorities.

Countries like Saudi Arabia andTurkey should be lauded for taking up their causes. But viewing their woes with a religious tint will nothelp their cause; it will only enhance animosity against them inmainly Buddhist Myanmar.

Hari Kumar is a Post journalist

 Muslim pressure over  Rohingya may backfire 

Hari Kumar says the focus should be on fellow

Islamic nation Bangladesh, not Myanmar

If you take a quick look at thepopular Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, you’ll notice a lot of 

anger: “London, we have notoffended you. Why do you treat usso badly?”; “China has been wronged. Where is the justice?”; “In2008, the Chinese people showedsuch friendliness towards theOlympians and the visitors. Why isChina getting such cold treatment inLondon?”

These are the reactions to a string of controversies involving Chineseathletes: 16-year-old Ye Shiwen

 was smeared with doubtabout whether she had takenperformance-enhancing drugs after

 winning a gold medal in swimming;Chinese women track cyclists GuoShuang and Gong Jinjie set two world records but were given only asilver medal instead of the gold they felt they deserved; and, a judgeawarded the gold medal to aBrazilian gymnast ahead of Chen Yibing, known as the “king of rings”in China and the favourite for thetitle.

Such controversies led many Chinese to believe that there was aconspiracy against China at theLondon Olympics.

I agree that China got a bad pressand it didn’t deserve that. Partly,China has become the victim of itsown sporting success, which hasextended into fields traditionally dominated by Westerners –swimming, for example. There isperhaps some jealousy, or at leastdiscomfort, in the West aboutChina’s achievements.

So, people instinctively regard

super performers like Ye as “cheats”or the product of the ruthless state-sports model copied from the SovietUnion. Under such a system, thegovernment invests huge amountsof money and resources in a few  who have the potential to winOlympic gold.

I don’t approve of the system,and it would seem I am not the only Chinese to feel this way: on Sina Weibo, between the bursts of anger,there have been plenty of postsquestioning whether it is worthspending millions on sports elites just to dazzle the Olympic world,and whether it is worth the suffering endured by the athletes, not only the

relentless training but also theemotional cost – children oftendon’t see their families for years.

Still, there is no justification tolash out at the Chinese Olympiansbecause of disapproval of thesystem. Every Chinese goldmedallist won his or her glory on theback of blood and sweat. And many are very talented; China does after allhave a huge pool to choose from.

There may be another, deep-rooted reason to explain China’sunfavourable treatment in London.Its rapid rise in the world hasaroused uneasiness and even fearamong people in the West. The badpress, in some ways, is a reflection of such negative feelings towards thecountry.

This has touched a nerve. InChina, people take the Olympicsmore seriously than most nations.Many associate China’s Olympicglory with its rise in the world and itsrising national strength. Remember,

 we used to be called the “Sick Manof Asia”.

 Afew days ago, theGlobal Times 

ran an article about how Chinesepeople shouldn’t be too gracious inthe face of unjust treatment at theOlympics, and encouraged peopleto voice their displeasure.

 As a Chinese who has lived in the West, I can understand both sides’perspective. I think China shouldmodify its sports model and take afar more relaxed approach towardsOlympic gold medals. We’ve provedour brilliance to the world and themedals have served their purpose asa social morale booster. If an athlete wins a silver medal, he should feel

proud – as long as he has done hisbest – instead of shame, as was thecase of weightlifter Wu Jingbiao.

Even though China finishedsecond overall in the medal table, itdoesn’t mean it is a big sporting nation. The ready availability of sports facilities in schools and theinclusion of all kinds of sports for themasses are far more significant.

 As for the West, it has to steelitself for a more powerful China inthe economic, military and sporting field.

Lijia Zhang is a Beijing-basedwriter, commentator and authorof Socialism is Great! A Worker’sMemoir of the New China

 Bad press aside, Chinese see need to revamp sport systemLijia Zhang says, however, it’s no excuse for bias shown to China’s Olympians

The feeling is growing stronger by the day thatSyrian President Bashar al-

 Assad’s regime is approaching atipping point. The internationalcommunity must think seriously about how to minimise thedangers inherent in Syria’sdomestic turmoil.

Lack of agreement within theUN Security Council hasprolonged the conflict. Whatbegan as a popular uprising inspired by the Arab spring hastaken on increasingly sectarianand radical tones.

In particular, there is a growing danger of Sunni retaliation against

the Alawite minority, whichcomprises 12 per cent of thepopulation, but controls thegovernment, the economy and thearmy. The Alawites, who overcamesecond-class citizenship only  when Assad’s Baath Party came topower in 1963, now believe theirsurvival is linked to the regime’s. If the Syrian opposition does nottake the Alawites’ concernsseriously, the country could be wracked by years of civil war.

The regional consequences arealready being felt: refugee flowsinto neighbouring Turkey, Jordanand Lebanon threaten to bring these countries directly into theconflict. Chaos could easily reachIraq, too, where the possible fall of the Syrian regime seems to berevitalising Sunni resistance toNouri al-Maliki’s predominantly Shiite government.

The outcome of the Syrianconflict will also affect the Middle

East’s alignment of power. A Sunnitakeover after Assad’s fall wouldmean a change of strategy withrespect to Iran and its LebaneseShiite ally, Hezbollah, whoseviability might be in danger, as aSunni government in Syria wouldmost likely cut off the conduit forarms flowing from Iran toLebanon.

That would doubtless affectIran’s position in the ongoing international talks on its nuclearprogramme. But, as long as theSyrian conflict continues, it will bedifficult to make any progress.

The Security Council’smembers agree on how to address

Iran’s nuclear programme, but noton steps to resolve the Syriaconflict, owing to fundamentaldisagreements between Russia(and China) and the rest. But theseare, in effect, parallel negotiations,closely dependent on each otherfor progress.

In order to reach an agreement,it is essential that Turkey, the Gulf states and the Arab League forge acommon position. Only in this way could they win the backing of sectors of the Syrian oppositionand bring their positions closer tothose of Syria’s minorities, whichcannot be left out. This would setin motion a process leading to atransition policy in Syria. Noalternative is more promising forSyria and the region.

Javier Solana, former secretary generalof Nato, is distinguished senior fellowin foreign policy at the BrookingsInstitution. Copyright: Project Syndicate

Common ground must be found over Syria Javier Solana warns of dangerous spillover effects

if the domestic sectarian conflict is not pacified

Tuesday, August 14, 2012 A11

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