The Communist Party of China (CPC), which observed its 90^th anniversary on July 1, has developed China into one of the world’s leading nations, with a foundation built on enormous military and economic power. Beyond that, however, the big question is whether the CPC has truly made the Chinese people happy.

　　　China’s economy has resulted in a grossly uneven distribution of wealth, in which only 0.4 percent of China’s more than 1.3 billion 窶凪€骭€ or just 5 million of its citizens accounts for 70 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the disparity steadily increasing each year. While squashing freedom of speech and human rights under its stringent one-party rule, the CPC is implementing the toughest oppression of its own citizens since the Tiananmen incident in 1989, as it fears the ripple effects of the “Jasmine Revolution” in the Middle East. Actually, China’s internal order has barely been maintained this year by an infusion of US$95 billion (7.740 trillion yen) which exceeds its national defense budget, enforcing tough surveillance and suppression of the Chinese people.

　　　The CPC’s crackdown, especially against various ethnic groups, has been horrendous. The picture emerging through news reports from Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Uyghur is that of a truly hideous ethnic cleansing scheme pursued by the CPC. Its ruthless suppression against the indigenous races in these regions constitutes a serious crime against humanity, for which the CPC will absolutely be subject to the judgment of history. It was against such a backdrop that a series of demonstrations occurred in Inner Mongolia in May.

　　　A rapid mine development project is now under way in Inner Mongolia. A huge number of Han Chinese workers are entering pastoral lands at will, excavating coal as they like, and carrying it out on large coal transport trucks. Numerous such vehicles run wild over road-less pastoral lands belonging to native herders, creating serious environmental destruction. On May 10, a Han Chinese truck driver ran over a protesting native herder, dragging him under the wheels for 145 meters and crushing him to death. The driver allegedly snapped: “Killing one lousy Mongolian is no big deal.” The incident, which touched off a series of rare demonstrations in Inner Mongolia, stunned the world. Following a relatively small-scale demonstration on May 23, some 2,000 demonstrators窶凪€杜ost of them middle and high school students窶覇ncircled the Xilingol League government building which houses the CPC’s regional office in Xilinhot on May 25, demanding the truck driver be brought to justice and a funeral be held for the victim.

　　　Khereid Khuvisgalt, an Inner Mongolian undergraduate studying at the pedagogy research department, Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, of national Tohoku University has lived in Japan the past 11 years. He admits having been “genuinely surprised” by the succession of demonstrations instigated by his fellow countrymen in Inner Mongolia since May.

　　　Sounding more than a little excited, Khuvisgalt had this to say: “The cruel treatment of the Inner Mongolians by the Han Chinese constitutes a blatant case of ethnic cleansing. Having been shattered by the unspeakable suppression of our people by China, as an inner Mongolian national, I had long been compelled to believe that we may sadly have lost all our vigor to resist the Han Chinese. Obviously, these recent incidents prove that is not quite the case.”

　　　Professor Yang Haiying of Shizuoka University, author of the voluminous “Cultural Revolution in Inner Mongolia -€ Basic Data on Mongolian Genocide” (hereafter, “Basic Data”), also admits having lost almost all expectations of Inner Mongolians ever demonstrating against the autocratic rule by China. To understand the background that has led the Inner Mongolians -€ a tenacious race who never cease to love their motherland -€ to give up hope for the future, one must view the history of the CPC’s oppression over the years.

　　　The real depth of meaning and significance attached to the demonstrations, including one that involved as many as 2,000 Inner Mongolians, becomes clear when one comes to grips with the facts about the repression and massacres they have been subjected to, as well as the region’s population composition.

　　　From the 1960s through the 1970s, while the proletarian cultural revolution ran rampant across China, a total of 346,000 Inner Mongolians were arrested as “anti-party, anti-state rebels” and “ethnic secessionists” belonging to the Inner Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, according to reports by the Chinese government. Although the Chinese government said 27,900 Inner Mongolians died at the time, some believe between 50,000 and 100,000 were actually killed. Also, at least 120,000 Inner Mongolians still suffer from various severe disorders traceable to the torture they were subjected to while in prison. Comments Prof. Yang: “In view of the severity of the repression against us, we must assume that every Inner Mongolian household has at least one victim of the Chinese repression, dead or alive.”

　　　The tragedy of Inner Mongolia continued on after the cultural revolution. Beginning in 1969, when a decision was made to divide the villages of Hulunbuir, Jirim, and Juu Udan in the eastern sector of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and incorporate them into the neighboring provinces of Heilongjian, Jilin, and Liaoning, a ruthless CPC policy went into effect to divide and rule the Inner Mongolians.

　　　Han Chinese call this approach “sand-mixing”窶髏€ a “cleansing” technique used elsewhere as well窶髏€ mixing members of a racial minority into a community inhabited predominantly by Han Chinese who outnumber them 10, or 20, to 1 as a means of plotting their eventual extinction.

　　　The tricks they employ are shrewd. While numerically overwhelming the ethnic minority, Han Chinese methodically sweep away the elite class who are qualified to be future leaders. In the case of Inner Mongolia, a document entitled “Material on the Inner Mongolian Reactionary Party” was known to have existed as of February 15, 1968. It allegedly constituted a detailed summary of information pertaining to 109 anti-CPC groups and their members across Inner Mongolia. (“Basic Data”)

　　　All Inner Mongolians, who in some form or other had a hand in movements promoting “ethnic self determination and indigenous regional culture,” became purge targets. It is evident that the Chinese government was methodically and meticulously plotting an annihilation of the Mongol elite class.

Tilling Mongolian Fields at Will

　　　The cruel Chinese oppression of Inner Mongolia that began in the 1960s was further intensified in the 80s in a series of new schemes under a new government policy. One such scheme was a large-scale migration of Han Chinese farmers to Inner Mongolia, as specified in document no. 28, which the Chinese government delivered to a committee of the Inner Mongolian Communist Party. Comments Khuvisgalt:

　　　“Han Chinese enter Inner Mongolia at will, and plow our land as they see fit. Because nomad Mongolians migrate over a wide expanse of grasslands, Han Chinese can steal most of their land whenever they want to, before the nomads realize what is happening. Between nomadism and farming, the latter definitely inflicts incomparably negative repercussions on the land. The glasslands have been utterly ruined following the influx of Han Chinese farmers, with the base of Mongolian livelihood mercilessly destroyed.”

　　　Inner Mongolians again went ahead with a massive resistance movement, vowing not to allow a further influx of Han Chinese into their country. For three months between September and November of 1981, students across the nation boycotted classes. Prof. Yang was a high school student at the time while Khuvisgalt was in junior high. But the resistance movement was mercilessly suppressed under orders from Deng Xiaoping, resulting in more torture and numerous deaths yet again.

　　　There are reportedly some 50 types of torture the Chinese used against the Inner Mongolians, each extremely cruel and gruesome in its own way. One of them is introduced in “Basic Data” as “a rope made of woven coarse horsetail hair, used as a saw to destroy the lower part of a woman’s body.”

　　　Thinking of those hapless Mongolian women who must have perished after numerous hours or days or weeks in anguish, unable to endure the unimaginable pains inflicted by sawing torture, one genuinely feels anger flare up at China, which can only be termed as a nation run by devils. Such a record of cruelty must by all means continue to be handed down as an ethnic memory, painful though it obviously must be. However, the CPC has apparently ruled it “unlawful” for Mongolians to leave written records of their tortured past. Obviously, they are out to cover up any records of their outrageous ethnic oppression. (“Basic Data”)

　　　Having been subjected to such extreme suppression for over decades, who can criticize the Inner Mongolians for any reluctance to defy the Chinese? How, then, will the CPC try to handle Mongolians who have become “docile”?

　　　The answer is plain and simple: They will continue to oppress them to the hilt -€ to the point where they will deliver the coup de grace and totally wipe them off the face of the earth. A typical example is the ongoing detention of prominent ethnic Inner Mongolian activist Hada.

Possibility of Continued Liquidation

　　　Khuvisgalt says he met Hada, who then was a leader of national liberation movement, while studying at the Inner Mongolian Teacher’s College for Nationalities in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. At the time, Hada owned and operated the Mongolian Academic Bookstore with his wife Xinna near the main gate of the college.

　　　In 1992, Hada and his wife set up the Southern (Inner) Mongolian Democracy Alliance (hereafter, “the Democratic Alliance”), an organization of Mongol intellectuals initially aiming at establishing a higher degree of autonomy for Inner Mongolia.

　　　But in December 1996, the CPC arrested a number of major members of the Democratic Alliance, starting with Hada, and forced closure of his book store. A year later, Hada was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a secret trial.

　　　The following is a report provided by Enghebatu Togochog, who heads the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center in New York:

　　　“Obviously, Hada was tortured daily and kept in solitary confinement over long periods of time. From 1998 to 2001, he was administered a dementia-inducing agent and has since been suffering from severe mental problems.

　　　“While Chinese authorities are believed to have reduced the amount of the agent from around 2001, the Chinese government came up with yet another ploy when the international community began voicing strong objections against this inhumane treatment of Hada. They arrested Hada’s son for having been ‘involved in a robbery,’ sending him to prison for two years.

　　　“On December 10 last year, just before Hada finished serving out his sentence, his wife Xinna and his son were both arrested. Although the Chinese government releases photographs of the Hada family on the Internet once in a while, their whereabouts remain unknown. This is undeniable proof of how the Chinese government -€ thorough surveillance and suppression -€ is dead set on wiping a potential leader of Inner Mongolia off the face of the earth.”

　　　The crisis for the Mongolians is analogous to the one faced by the Tibetans. Lhakpa Tshoko, representative of the Tokyo Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama 14^th, points out that China has made a decision to forbid all foreigners and Tibetans living outside the Tibet Autonomous Region to enter Tibet from July through September this year. Anticipating what might happen during such a three-month blockade, Lhapak has understandably become increasingly apprehensive.

　　　Today, Tibetan society is at a critical historical crossroads. Last May, the Dalai Lama, who had long held the position of the religious and political leader of Tibet, delegated his political power — of his own will and through the due democratic process of Tibetan society窶髏€ to Losbang Sangay, the new prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile. The Dalai Lama has thus announced his retirement from politics.

　　　Tshoko had this to say about the Dalai Lama: “His Holiness the Dalai Lama has now become the protector and symbol of Tibet and all its people under a new constitution. With this significant change having taken place, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has finally and fully returned to the position of a purely religious leader -€ like those leaders before the Dalai Lama the 4^th (Yonten Gyatso, 1598-1617).”

　　　The new development must have been grossly disappointing to China, which had obviously been expecting to put the puppet of their own choosing in place after the death of the incumbent leader, thereby seizing hold of the power and authority that duly belong to the Dalai Lama. “The Chinese should know their expectations are no longer realistic,” points out Tshoko. “The politics of Tibetan society are now managed by Mr. Sangay, who has been elected democratically. He is just 43 years old, born to Tibetan parents who defected to India, got a Fulbright scholarship to study in the US, and obtained a doctorate from Harvard University. He is a fine man who fully understands the religion of Tibet and the hearts of the Tibetans.”

　　　The hopes of the new prime minister are the same as those of the Dalai Lama the 14^th -€ to preserve the religion, language, and culture of Tibet which represent the core of Tibetan identity. He has been careful not to mention independence, which he knows will rub the Chinese the wrong way. So, there really is no reason why they should reject him.

　　　And yet, the Chinese have from the beginning refused to deal with Mr. Sangay. The only plausible reason for such rejection is that China is as eager to wipe out the Tibetans as it is the Mongolians. It was for that purpose that the Chinese had long intended to select its own Dalai Lama the 15^th, who would be a Chinese puppet and erase Tibetan identity, thereby putting an end to their Tibet problem once and for all.

　　　But a 43-year-old next-generation leader has come dashing to center stage right in front of the Chinese leadership, who had been eagerly awaiting the death of the 76-year-old Dalai Lama the 14^th, and the situation has changed altogether. Tshoko suspects the Chinese will now reject all calls for negotiations, and mete out a comprehensive policy of suppression through sheer violence.

　　　Eradication of the Tibetan religion is China’s primary objective. To implement effective suppression, China naturally is expected to go after monks as they represent a leadership group.

　　　On March 16, in the Aba district of Sichuan Province, a young priest named Phuntsog attempted to burn himself to death protesting the vicious suppression of Tibetans by the Chinese authorities. Police extinguished the flames, and then beat the priest severely. He died shortly afterwards.

　　　Armed police have since besieged the Kirti Monastery to which Phuntsog belonged, where his colleagues numbering some 2,500 live. Police have banned local citizens from bringing in food and drink for the priests. The situation has created a concern that the priests will suffer death from starvation en mass.

　　　It is under such circumstances that the afore-mentioned three-month blockade of the Autonomous Region of Tibet will be enforced. After the widespread resistance movements of 2008, Chinese authorities refused to admit any foreigners into Tibet. At the time, there remained the undeniable possibility that leaders of Tibetan society would continue to be killed in the absence of effective surveillance on the part of foreign nations. In this vein, there is no assurance whatsoever that the same tragedy will not take place in Tibet this time.

Even China Cannot Afford to Not Change

　　　Utilizing military power, violence, intrigue, deception -€ in short, all resources available -€ the Chinese government is firmly committed to pushing on towards repressing its various ethnic groups.

　　　However, the latest communication revolution has made national resistance movements possible around the world as a means of coping with such grave obstacles as one-party rule, the suppression of freedom of speech, and the denial of human rights. In Inner Mongolia, the Chinese truck driver who ran over and killed a local resident was quickly sentenced to death in May, but resistance by the good people of Inner Mongolia lasted through June.

　　　Mankind’s history is slowly but dynamically changing course towards a world where leaders will have no choice than to accept a democratic system as the inevitable replacement for autocratic one-party rule. Even China cannot hope to remain an exception.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 468 in the July 14, 2011 issue of The Weekly Shincho)