I recently had the great honor of inviting Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay of the Tibetan government-in-exile to Japan to participate in a symposium, entitled “Freedom in Asia and the Wave of Democratization.” The event, held on April 3, was sponsored by the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals (JINF), a Tokyo-headquartered private think tank which I head.
　　　In Part 1 of the symposium, Prime Minister Sangay took up grave matters affecting the Tibetans today, while in Part 2 Dolkun Isa, Secretary-General of the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), and Olohnuud Daichin, Chief Secretary of the Osaka-based Mongolian Liberal Union Party (MLUP), discussed the plight of the Uyghurs and Mongolians.
　　　During the session that lasted nearly four hours, specific cases of China’s extremely cruel suppression of various ethnic groups were revealed, vividly demonstrating afresh that the world is clearly divided into two camps -€ one, including Japan, which gives importance to such values as freedom, democracy, and constitutional government, and the other, including China, which untiringly sticks to values that are entirely the opposite.
　　　Unseasonable rainstorms raged across Japan that day, but the conference hall was virtually filled with eager men and women, young and old, who braved the rain to hear what the guests had to say about China’s suppression of human rights -€ hardly a hot subject, one would assume. This, first of all, was deeply touching to me.
　　　Not a small number of prominent politicians were present at the symposium, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; active members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Hirofumi Ryu, Takashi Nagao, and Hirotami Murakoshi; and members of the leading opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) such as Hakubun Shimomura, Katsunobu Kato, and Ms Eriko Yamatani.
　　　As I understand it, the pressure the Chinese government exerted on them
in connection with Prime Minister Sangay’s visit was not small by any standard, as expected.
　　　Immediately after his arrival in Tokyo, the Chinese government issued a comment expressing “strong displeasure over (Japan’s) giving Sangay a free hand” and demanding that “no support or facility be accorded the secessionist forces,” while persistently approaching the DPJ as well as the LDP headquarters about not contacting Prime Minister Sangay during his stay in Japan. As a result, the top three officials of each ministry -€ the minister, deputy minister, and parliamentary secretary -€ were conspicuously absent from the symposium. However, as I shall later explain, far more politicians than had previous been expected attended -€ proof that Japanese politics is belatedly but surely ready to seek new horizons.
　　　WUC Secretary-General Isa told the audience: “We are Uyghurs -€ natives of East Turkistan. The Chinese call our homeland the ‘Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.’ We Uyghurs are Muslims traditionally known for our extremely gentle character. However, since September 11, 2001, when the US suffered multiple terrorist attacks, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has arbitrarily defined us as fundamentalist Muslim terrorists. Such labeling was readily accepted by the US government. China has since then slaughtered many of our compatriots under a tenacious and extreme suppression without being subject to criticism from the international community.”

What Is Expected of Japan

　　　Nations of the Christian culture -€ particularly the US and European countries -€ are understood to generally hold a vague uneasiness towards the Islamic religion. The 9/11 attacks, happening against such a backdrop, gave the CPC a rare opportunity to justify its ruthless suppression of the Uyghurs. And as with other minorities, the Chinese have not been satisfied just with suppression. Like the Tibetans and Mongolians, the Uyghurs were quickly forced into a situation in which they had to give up their identity in order to survive, the Chinese controls on their religion, language, and culture being relentlessly tightened. In essence, this has been an ethnic cleansing of the Uyghurs. Isa further appealed to the audience as follows:
　　　“Every year, Uyghur women aged between 14 and 25 are taken away from their homes to big cities for work. These women are eventually forced to marry Chinese men. With Uyghur men being deprived of women of marriageable age, a Chinese plot to terminate the blood line of the Uyghurs is steadily taking shape as an effective means of ethnic cleansing.”
　　　Daichin, speaking in Japanese on behalf of his Mongolian compatriots, discussed his plight over the past eleven years since arriving in Japan. Life in prison awaits him the minute he returns to China. He remarked:
　　　“There are some 10,000 Mongolians now living in Japan, most of them afraid to speak up because they fear reprisals from the Chinese. Should they speak out, not only they themselves but also their families are bound to be subjected to severe punishment. Therefore, despite the fair number of Mongolians we have in Japan, we have thus far not been able to tell the Japanese people what brutal Chinese torture we have suffered, or how the Chinese have murdered our compatriots. But now, I am speaking up. The passport I carry has been issued by the Chinese government. If I am to be deported back to China today, I am not sure how long I will be alive. I strongly urge the Japanese government to take me, and many of my compatriots suffering like me, under its wing. For years, I have continued to apply for a permanent visa, but have been rejected time and again.”
　　　Some in the audience shed tears as they heard the young Uyghur speak imploringly. There was loud applause when he said Japan has a responsibility as a big power in Asia. His remarks obviously spelled out what is expected of Japan. The following day, an initial concrete step was taken.
　　　Notwithstanding the strong protest by the Chinese government which I have earlier referred to, a total of 91 Japanese parliamentarians -€ 61 parliamentarians and 30 proxies representing various parties -€ quickly formed an “Association of Interested Parliamentarians to Hear the Real State of Affairs in Tibet from Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay,” inviting him to the Diet Members’ Office Building in the center of the capital.
　　　It was an historic moment in which a thick wall of inertia surrounding Japanese politics was shattered at a stroke; for too long, Japanese politicians have kept silent about China’s modus operandi out of concern, bordering on fear, of Japan’s large and recalcitrant Asian neighbor. Although Japan since the end of the war has enjoyed the benefits of such values as freedom, democracy, and constitutional government to the maximum extent possible, most of its politicians have refused to be critical of China, no matter how mercilessly these values have been infringed upon by its neighbor on the other side of the Sea of Japan. The action taken by the 91 parliamentarians demonstrated their great determination to not hold their tongues so cowardly any longer.

A Critical Turning Point in the Annals of Japanese Diplomatic History

　　　In point of fact, virtually all of the Chinese claims justifying the suppression of various minority groups are false. For instance, they criticize His Holiness the 14th Dala Lama and Prime Minister Sangay as “secessionists,” warning the Japanese government against according them support or accommodations.
　　　The truth of the matter is, the Dalai Lama is not demanding the independence of Tibet. He simply is requesting that the Chinese government secure for the Tibetans an environment which guarantees smooth continuation of Tibetan Buddhism, the indigenous Tibetan language, and the Tibetan culture, as well as a high degree of autonomy. Prime Minister Sangay is in the same boat. The LDP’s Shimomura concluded the session with Sangay by commenting:
　　　“All they want is to live like the Tibetans are entitled -€ a very natural desire of a people who has the right to hand down their heritage -€ their religion, language, and culture -€ to their off-spring. I am positive that there is absolutely no parliamentarian in this country who is opposed to this very fundamental desire of the Tibetans as a proud race. Therefore, I wish to propose the following resolution as the unified will of Japanese parliamentarians committed to democracy, freedom, human rights, and constitutional government.”
　　　The DPJ’s Murakoshi then read “A Resolution Proposed by Interested Japanese Parliamentarians Concerned about the Suppression of the Tibetans,” declaring the association “strongly demands” that the Chinese government “terminate the suppression of the human rights of the Tibetan people immediately.”
　　　Most Japanese politicians have over the years dealt with the Tibetans, even including the Dalai Lama, halfheartedly. That is a thing of the past, however. Now, 91 of them have unanimously demanded that China stop the suppression of human rights. What a huge difference from the past! The first small but significant step forward has just been taken -€ a step worthy of a major democratic world power.
　　　Although Japanese politics have long been stagnant, there are some budding signs of a possible rejuvenation, such as this latest development. I was delighted, but to my great disappointment this significant turn of events was mostly ignored by the Japanese media. Still, that can in no way negate the importance of the fact that nearly 100 Japanese parliamentarians officially lodged a protest against China’s suppression of human rights for the first time in post-war Japan’s political history.
　　　The action taken by these 91 parliamentarians is a vital turning point which will go down in the annals of Japanese diplomatic history, eventually constituting a large step towards Japan’s rejuvenation. I wish to pay my deep respect to these parliamentarians, while simultaneously feeling proud that the JINF has played a small part in making the meeting possible between Prime Minister Sangay and the 91 parliamentarians.

(Translated from “Renaissance Japan” column no. 506 in the April 19, 2012 issue of The Weekly Shincho)