Utrikesdagen 11/6 2008

China ambassador put to the test

Publicerad 2008-06-11 20:51

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Dagens Nyheter organised its international day on Wednesday and the event was opened by Ming Ming Cheng, China's ambassador in Sweden, which made the happening unique in some respects.

Chinese leaders rarely meet with the public and, as Dagens Nyheter's China correspondent Torbjörn Petersson later pointed out, an audience asking spontaneous questions is unheard of to those in power, who usually want questions from journalists in advance.

Ming Ming Cheng, based in the West for several years and with a past as China's vice ambassador in Washington D.C., mostly answered questions on human rights. Amnesty's press secretary Elisabeth Löfgren brought up the re-education through labour" camps that China runs since the 1950's.

"I believe the system will be abandoned in the end. There is an active public which is critical against them (the camps), but I don't know when it will happen," said Cheng.

Representatives of Amnesty rarely get to ask questions to the Chinese in power as the organisation is forbidden into the country.

"It's good that the ambassador came here today, but the answers were very vague and diplomatic," said Löfgren, who pointed to the thousands of people driven away from areas where Olympic arenas have been built.

"Beggars and prostitutes as well as dissidents have been apprehended and these people don't get a trial, they're just put into the camps for three to four years," said Löfgren.

Some of the questions revolved around the Tibet case, which has been brought to the fore after China was awarded the Olympics. Ming Ming Chen underlined that the Olympics are important to China and that the Chinese are very proud of the arrangement.

According to Cheng, the Tibet riots were unprovoked and had nothing to do with the Olympic torch's journey through Tibet.

"People have the right to express their opinions, but it shocks me to see a handicapped girl carrying the torch getting attacked by Tibetan activists. It's not fair to China," said Cheng.

China is often criticised for opting not to get involved in the matters of other countries. The international community is especially upset with the Chinese regime's economic ties to Sudan and its oil production.

Cheng says China can help Sudan economically while at the same time co-operating with the African Union and the EU, who are trying to bring peace to the Darfur area.

China also has a large influence over Burma and the military regime that runs the country. Many experts think China can affect Burma in a positive way.

"We hope that the problems in Burma will be solved through dialogue within the country, but it's important that we feel that stability remains. Things should not be rushed and to us a gradual development is important," says Cheng, who fears for a stream of refugees from the area.

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