Turkey’s domestic, international difficulties underlie anti-China protest

[steelseries779]

Turkey’s domestic, international difficulties underlie anti-China protest - Global Times

Relations between Turkey and China have been strained recently after a series of anti-China demonstrations were carried out by Turkish nationalists. Hundreds of protesters, claiming to be acting in solidarity with the Turkic Muslim Uyghurs, complained of China's treatment of its Uyghur community in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Protesters even attacked a group of Korean tourists in Istanbul's old city on Saturday, mistaking them for Chinese people. The incident followed distorted Turkish media reports of restrictions placed on Muslim Uyghurs worshiping and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

China has denied the accusations, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying that all people in Xinjiang enjoy the freedom of religious belief accorded to them by the Chinese Constitution. China has also warned its citizens traveling in Turkey to be careful of protests.

Turkey has no right to intervene in China's domestic affairs. The factors underlying anti-China protests are worth exploring. The protests reflect the international and domestic challenges Turkey is facing. Ankara, by exaggerating issues surrounding Xinjiang's Uyghurs, is attempting to divert public attention away from these problems.

Internationally, the Turkish government has been criticized for its stance on many conflicts in the Middle East, including its relations with Syria. Turkey has long been involved in the Syria crisis by providing political and even military support for Syria's opposition factions, which has damaged the relationship between Ankara and Damascus. The Turkish government has also failed to play an active role in fighting against the Islamic State.

The Turkish government is experiencing domestic difficulties as well. Admittedly, by developing friendly relationships with other countries, Turkey has previously enjoyed economic prosperity. However, this golden time has passed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now facing increasing criticism over his concentration of power. The Islamist bent of his governance has triggered dissatisfaction at home. Under such a situation, the Turkish government is trying to distract its citizens' attention from these problems with the issue of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

The Xinjiang issue is also seen by the Turkish government as a bargaining chip in its deals with China. Turkey is located along the Silk Road Economic Belt and Ankara has long been active in facilitating cooperation with China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy. The Turkish government, by taking advantage of issues with Xinjiang, wants to gain more economic benefits and have better chances when its chips are down. This is absolutely wrong. If the China-Turkey relationship deteriorates, the losses will outweigh the gains for Turkey.

Last but not least, many Turks, see themselves as sharing a common cultural and religious background with Uyghurs in China. Some extreme nationalists with Pan-Turkish sentiment stir up trouble whenever something happens to the Uyghurs.

The Turkish government has often taken an ambiguous attitude toward such nationalism. The government's passivity will encourage the expansion of Turkish nationalism and trigger even more violent protests. The government's ambiguous attitude has fueled the anti-China protests.

The deteriorating relationship between China and Turkey will do no good to either side and the government should condemn and curb anti-China protests carried out by the group of extreme nationalists.

The article was compiled by Global Times reporter Liu Jianxi based on an interview with Li Weijian, a research fellow with the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. liujianxi@globaltimes.com.cn

 

[tranquilium]

It is not just anti-China. The Turkish protest is anti-anyone who is perceived to be in the way of Turkish interest. For example:

Not exactly a smart choice of direction if you ask me, because the last country that managed to actually tick off all five of the UN permanent security council member is Gaddafi and Libya. We all know how that one ended.

In fact, anti-US and Russia sentiment is a lot worse than anti-Chinese because those two countries has power project directly at the Turkish doorstep.

 

[steelseries779]

Beijing dismisses protests about Uygur repatriation

Foreign Ministry criticizes politicization of issue related to illegal immigrants in Thailand

China said on Friday that Thailand's repatriation of more than 100 Uygurs to China is normal cooperation between countries as well as an international obligation, adding that China will not accept politicization of the issue by foreign governments and other parties.

"These repatriated Chinese minority citizens are illegal immigrants who have traveled to and stayed in Thailand through various channels," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular media briefing.

Illegal immigration using counterfeit passports violates law and disrupts the normal international order of exit and entry, she said.

Hua's comments came in response to a question regarding Thailand's repatriation of Uygurs on Wednesday, which sparked protests from some countries, including the United States and Turkey, and raised the concern of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

She said some foreign governments had ignored the facts and incorrectly termed these illegal immigrants "refugees", criticizing the law enforcement cooperation between China and Thailand and politicizing the issue.

"These serve as a connivance in illegal immigration and smuggling and a violation of relevant international treaties and law, which harm global joint efforts in combating illegal immigration. We will never accept it," Hua said.

She condemned recent violence against Chinese and Thai citizens and organizations in Turkey following Thailand's repatriation of the Uygurs.

"We highly value the Turkish government's promise to never allow anyone to engage in activities that sabotage China's interests on its territory, and we urge Turkey to take effective measures to protect the security and legitimate rights of embassies and personnel of China and other related countries," Hua said.

"We strongly protest some forces' attempts to interfere in China's internal affairs via ethnic and religious issues and to disrupt China's security and stability," she said. "These attempts are doomed to failure."

Repatriating the illegal immigrants shows that the Thai government exercised its sovereignty according to international and Thai domestic laws, said Dong Manyuan, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies.

"The international community should respect its decision," he said.

Wang Qingyun contributed to this story.

It is not just anti-China. The Turkish protest is anti-anyone who is perceived to be in the way of Turkish interest. For example:

Not exactly a smart choice of direction if you ask me, because the last country that managed to actually tick off all five of the UN permanent security council member is Gaddafi and Libya. We all know how that one ended.

In fact, anti-US and Russia sentiment is a lot worse than anti-Chinese because those two countries has power project directly at the Turkish doorstep.

Look, they don't like anyone, so everyone hates them.

 

[XiaoYaoZi]

The Turkey's import value from China is 24.9 billion dollars accounting for 10.3 per cent of the total imports of Turkey in 2014. In comparison Turkey's export value to China in 2014 is only 2.86 billion dollars(just a peanut), so Turkey had a 22 billion dollars trade deficit with china in 2014. All the factors underlying politics is the economic problems. Turkey want to find a bargaining chip, by exaggerating issues surrounding Xinjiang's Uyghurs, in deals with China government. Frankly, anyone trying to use a poor trick like this always get less than its loss.

 

[TaiShang]

Turkey is definitely helping terrorists directly by providing them with fake passports and then facilitating their access to terrorist organizations in Syria for training.

China should put pressure on these terrorist sympathizers, bring back the recruits, and severely punish them. You cannot simply reason with the terrorists.

***

Turkey cannot point finger at deportations
Source:Global Times Published: 2015-7-11 0:48:01

Thailand deported about 100 Chinese citizens back to China on Wednesday, most of whom are from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China. The move drew criticism from the Turkish and US governments, as well as some human rights groups. Pan-Turkish protestors even attacked the Thai consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Reports said more people were involved in this deportation. About 170 people were identified as Turkish citizens and were deported to Turkey. Some 50 people are still in detention in Thailand, with identification work underway.

Actually, many are clear that those "Turkish citizens" deported are mainly illegal immigrants from China. Turkish government officials have helped them change their nationality.

It is no surprise to see the US getting involved in the dispute. The criticism of "human rights violations" has been repeated numerous times. Arguing with them is meaningless.

Some Turkish people staged a protest last week after hearing rumors that Muslims in Xinjiang were forbidden to fast during Ramadan. The protest became violent when the participants attacked some Korean tourists whom they believed to be Chinese.

Some of the illegal immigrants from Xinjiang have criminal records for participating in terrorist activities. Part of them went further to the Islamic State through Turkey. Terrorists who sneak back to China took the same route. Cutting off the route is a legitimate action by China and Thailand, which concerns China's national security as well as international anti-terrorism.

In order to win votes, the Turkish politicians may pander to the extremists who smash foreign consulates. But if the fire of pan-Turkism is fanned up, the country itself may be the first to get burned.

China and Thailand's conventional handling of the illegal immigrants has become controversy in some news reports. But China and Thailand did not do anything wrong in this case. We understand why Turkish society is having trouble with this. China will uphold its principles. As for the US and some so-called human rights groups, China will just ignore them.

 

[djsjs]

Turkey should :
1 put the protesters into prisons
2 take the medias which cook false news to court
3 arrest the guys who help smuggling
4 Protect foreign tourists

 

[Beast]

Turkey is definitely helping terrorists directly by providing them with fake passports and then facilitating their access to terrorist organizations in Syria for training.

China should put pressure on these terrorist sympathizers, bring back the recruits, and severely punish them. You cannot simply reason with the terrorists.

***

Turkey cannot point finger at deportations
Source:Global Times Published: 2015-7-11 0:48:01

Thailand deported about 100 Chinese citizens back to China on Wednesday, most of whom are from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China. The move drew criticism from the Turkish and US governments, as well as some human rights groups. Pan-Turkish protestors even attacked the Thai consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Reports said more people were involved in this deportation. About 170 people were identified as Turkish citizens and were deported to Turkey. Some 50 people are still in detention in Thailand, with identification work underway.

Actually, many are clear that those "Turkish citizens" deported are mainly illegal immigrants from China. Turkish government officials have helped them change their nationality.

It is no surprise to see the US getting involved in the dispute. The criticism of "human rights violations" has been repeated numerous times. Arguing with them is meaningless.

Some Turkish people staged a protest last week after hearing rumors that Muslims in Xinjiang were forbidden to fast during Ramadan. The protest became violent when the participants attacked some Korean tourists whom they believed to be Chinese.

Some of the illegal immigrants from Xinjiang have criminal records for participating in terrorist activities. Part of them went further to the Islamic State through Turkey. Terrorists who sneak back to China took the same route. Cutting off the route is a legitimate action by China and Thailand, which concerns China's national security as well as international anti-terrorism.

In order to win votes, the Turkish politicians may pander to the extremists who smash foreign consulates. But if the fire of pan-Turkism is fanned up, the country itself may be the first to get burned.

China and Thailand's conventional handling of the illegal immigrants has become controversy in some news reports. But China and Thailand did not do anything wrong in this case. We understand why Turkish society is having trouble with this. China will uphold its principles. As for the US and some so-called human rights groups, China will just ignore them.

China can easily play back the same trick by providing huge fund to Kurdish separatist and keep fanning Kurdish nationalism. It's seems those turkish fanatic forget such basic factors. Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq are getting stronger. Soon turkey will face the wrath of their own foolish mistakes.

 

[anatolia]

why do chinese talk so much?plz shut up!

 

[Edison Chen]

I remember that in 2013 when I joined PDF, I posted a thread about Turkey's mistakes about Uyghurs issue and condemned them, a Chinese member (can't recall the name) jumped out and started to attack me for hurting China's relation with Muslim world.

Now I will keep quiet, and don't say anything.

 

[TaiShang]

China can easily play back the same trick by providing huge fund to Kurdish separatist and keep fanning Kurdish nationalism. It's seems those turkish fanatic forget such basic factors. Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq are getting stronger. Soon turkey will face the wrath of their own foolish mistakes.

Turkey is already a ticking bomb, all China needs to is advice its citizens not to travel there and keep the borders secure while continuing with even tougher anti-terrorism procedures.

 

[大汉奸柳传志]

why do chinese talk so much?plz shut up!

Why?You don‘t like other people pick on your country?

Guess what.The feeling is mutual.

 

[anatolia]

Why?You don‘t like other people pick on your country?

Guess what.The feeling is mutual.

okey great lets shut up together.

 

[Sommer]

Turkey should :
1 put the protesters into prisons
2 take the medias which cook false news to court
3 arrest the guys who help smuggling
4 Protect foreign tourists

They do put the protesters into prision, only if the turky goverment don't like them, like the communist protester in turkey.

 

[Jlaw]

The Turkey's import value from China is 24.9 billion dollars accounting for 10.3 per cent of the total imports of Turkey in 2014. In comparison Turkey's export value to China in 2014 is only 2.86 billion dollars(just a peanut), so Turkey had a 22 billion dollars trade deficit with china in 2014. All the factors underlying politics is the economic problems. Turkey want to find a bargaining chip, by exaggerating issues surrounding Xinjiang's Uyghurs, in deals with China government. Frankly, anyone trying to use a poor trick like this always get less than its loss.

So pissing off the country that export to you 10x more than they import from you is not very smart. Turks staging violent street protests, destroying embassies and hoping for economic boom is totally against human norms.

My honest belief is that Turkey is disintegrating so violence and anti-foreign demonstrations is just the norm. When wlll we see Kurdistan?

 

[TaiShang]

So pissing off the country that export to you 10x more than they import from you is not very smart. Turks staging violent street protests, destroying embassies and hoping for economic boom is totally against human norms.

My honest belief is that Turkey is disintegrating so violence and anti-foreign demonstrations is just the norm. When wlll we see Kurdistan?

Kurdistan? I guess that's becoming a reality and Turks can do jack about it because there is the US factor. When the US says "fly", "the" Turkey can only ask "how high?"

Their protests and all that is like a small country feeling sore about the big country and acting like a brat and the big country does not even recognize the existence of the little guy.