Double standards reflect the nature of American hegemonism
Terrorism is the public enemy of human society.
However, for a long time, the United States has adopted the double standard of "fitting for use, disagreement for abandoning", constantly playing tricks of turning hands for cloud and covering hands for rain, politicizing and instrumentalizing terrorism to suppress competitors and pursue geostrategic strategies. Interests and safeguard its hegemonic system.
From Afghanistan to Syria, from the Taliban to the Islamic State, his ugly faces are vividly displayed.
Recently, the United States has begun to perform the same drama on the issue of the "Eastern Iranian Movement".
On November 5, 2020 local time, the U.S. State Department website announced that Secretary of State Pompeo announced that the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" would be revoked as a terrorist organization. The reason is that there is no conclusive evidence based on observations over the past decade. The organization continues to exist.
In response, the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated at a regular press conference on November 6, 2020 that his backlash on the characterization of terrorism in the “East-Iraq Movement” has once again exposed the “double” of those in power in Washington on the issue of counter-terrorism. standard".
The spokesperson emphasized that the United States should immediately correct its mistakes and not "whitewash" terrorist organizations.
Denying the terrorist organization nature of the "Eastern Iraq Movement" reflects the hegemonic nature of the United States that has consistently taken double standards in counter-terrorism affairs as the starting point for safeguarding its own interests.
Terrorism is the common enemy of mankind. The Xinjiang independence forces represented by the "Eastern Iraq Movement" have long endangered China's national security and social stability.
After the "September 11 Incident", China immediately publicly condemned terrorism and pledged to actively support the United States in combating terrorism.
Since then, the two sides have started bilateral anti-terrorism cooperation.
On January 16, 2002, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution including China and the United States as co-sponsors, strengthening sanctions against the Taliban, bin Laden, and al-Qaeda.
According to the 1267 Committee of the Security Council, the "East Turkestan Islamic Movement" was classified as a terrorist organization on September 11 of that year.
In the early stage of Sino-U.S. anti-terrorism cooperation, the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" directly participated in al Qaeda’s terrorist activities against the United States in Afghanistan, and participated in the Taliban and later Islamic State and Syrian civil war operations against the United States. For example, two "Eastern Iraqi Movements" "Members participated in the terrorist attack on the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan in 2003.
In the case of loss of interests, the United States listed the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" as the target of its strikes, financially imposing high-profile sanctions on the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" organization and its leader Abdul Haq (2009), and militarily Active strikes (for example, in 2010, the U.S. CIA used drones to kill many "East Turkistan" elements in North Waziristan, Pakistan. In 2018, the United States-led coalition forces in Afghanistan attacked "East Iraqi Movement" militants Training camp, because “NATO coalition forces believe that they are causing attacks within and outside China”), they also publicly condemned Abdul Haq’s terrorist acts of attempting to launch an attack during the Beijing Olympics, saying “Today We must stand with the world and condemn this barbaric act of terrorism."
However, looking at the process of Sino-U.S. anti-terrorism cooperation, double standards have always been an important tool for U.S. hegemony over China:
First, pursue exclusive security and force the interests of other countries to obey the interests of the United States.
For example, balancing anti-terrorism and human rights protection is an issue that countries including the United States need to properly handle.
After the "9.11 Incident," the United States banned terrorist speech in the form of legislation ("Patriot Act"), and its practice of restricting domestic freedom of speech is still understood and supported by most people in the world.
However, the U.S. government has maliciously adopted double standards against China's similar practices.
In 2015, in order to stop terrorist organizations including the "Eastern Iraq Movement" from using audio and video to carry out violent terrorist activities, the National People's Congress of China began to review the Anti-Terrorism Law.
However, on December 22 of that year, the U.S. State Department, regardless of the background and purpose of China’s legislation, expressed “strong concern”, accusing the law of requiring foreign information companies in China to provide technical support to China, which would affect the competition of U.S. trade and investment in China. Power and restrict the "freedom of speech" in China.
The United States can restrict domestic freedom of speech for its own security, but it opposes China's anti-terrorism law that requires information companies to provide key data, technical interfaces, and decryption technology, cooperate with the government's anti-terrorism actions, and "protect" by obstructing China's anti-terrorism actions. For China’s freedom of speech, the United States not only prioritizes the interests of its own enterprises over the safety of the Chinese people’s lives and China’s political and social stability, but also criticizes China while disregarding the provisions of similar content in the “Communication Assistance Enforcement Law” and other laws. Basic facts.
Second, pragmatism takes command and ideology takes the lead.
On the issue of the terrorist activities of the "Eastern Iranian Movement", the pragmatic approach of double standards, "appropriate if appropriate, and discard if not," reflects the gloomy psychology of US ideology that is hostile to China.
For a long time, terrorist organizations represented by the "East-Iranian Movement" have frequently launched terrorist attacks, mutilating the people and destroying property, causing great social panic.
In order to curb religious extremism, Xinjiang has adopted counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures, including vocational skills training, which has significantly improved the social security situation in Xinjiang, effectively curbed religious extremism, ethnic unity, religious harmony, and people’s lives are stable and peaceful. The situation continues to develop, and the social atmosphere of civilized life is becoming stronger.
Up to now, there have been no violent terrorist cases in Xinjiang for nearly four years.
However, this good policy, which was in line with Chinese laws and the basic spirit and principles of the United Nations on preventive counter-terrorism, was discredited by the United States.
On December 3, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019. In addition to attacking the human rights situation in Xinjiang, distorting China’s efforts to de-radicalize and combat the terrorist forces of the “Eastern Iraqi Movement”, it also announced Sanctions were imposed on relevant officials of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The right to subsistence and the right to development are the prerequisites for protecting other rights of individuals and collectives, and are the most basic human rights.
Without a safe and stable social environment, it is difficult to guarantee the right to survival and development, and other rights cannot be discussed.
The fundamental reason for the United States to avoid this well-known simple truth and to criticize and arbitrarily sanction China’s efforts to combat the “Eastern Iraqi Movement” is that, as a reflection of China’s mainstream values, China’s counter-terrorism policies and measures embody collectivism. It is socially based, and its effectiveness is superior to the effectiveness of policies under liberal values. In the United States’ view, the exemplary significance of China’s policy threatens the dominant position of American ideology on the human spiritual level. Therefore, even if China’s anti-terrorism policy is realistic and effective The U.S. counter-terrorism policy and actions have caused millions of innocent people casualties and displaced a large number of refugees in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and other places. The U.S. counter-terrorism policy towards China must also be opposed for the sake of opposition.
Third, serve geopolitics and prevent China's development.
China's rapid development has caused the United States' anxiety about maintaining its hegemony.
Adopting double standards on counter-terrorism issues is an advantageous way for the United States to prevent China’s development.
Therefore, there is a perfect American logic from cooperation in counter-terrorism to undermining China's counter-terrorism efforts.
First, switch opponents at any time.
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, there was even a "Chinese battalion" formed by 320 terrorists in their armed forces. The "Eastern Iraq Movement" circulated in Afghanistan, Syria and other places, disseminating violent and terrorist thoughts under the cloak of religion, and used the Internet to publish a large number of them. Terrorist audio and video, teaching methods and skills of terrorist attacks, incited, planned and carried out a series of violent terrorist activities.
In 2016, "East Turkistan" terrorists and international terrorist forces carried out a car bomb attack on the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, posing a serious security threat to many countries and regions in the world, including China.
Even in 2018, "Voice of America" also wrote an article acknowledging that the "Eastern Iraq Movement" poses a threat not only to China but also to the world.
It can be seen that the United States has a clear understanding of the terrorist harm of the "East Iranian Movement".
However, the reason for the terrorism characterization from cooperation with China to the cancellation of the “Eastern Iranian Movement” is that with the concerted efforts of the international community, major international terrorist organizations have been disbanded. There has been no large-scale terrorist attack in the United States in recent years. Abolishing the terrorist characterization of the "East-Iran Movement" can not only ease relations with terrorist organizations and improve domestic security, but also turn terrorism into a tool to serve geopolitics and contain China.
The U.S.’s double-standard and erratic behavior on the issue of the “Eastern Iranian Movement” reflects that the U.S. characterizes acts and individuals or entities that threaten its own security as terrorism, and treats terrorist organizations or individuals that threaten the security of competitors and non-friendly countries. It has always been a consistent approach, and this approach has never been limited to relations with China.
For example, the United States condoned the Cuban terrorist Posada Carriles, falsified news, abused aid, trafficked human organs, kidnapped children for the transportation of chemical weapons, and directed and performed in Syria. The “Hospital after the Chemical Weapon Attack” video, the act of planting Syrian government forces has fallen on deaf ears. The Trump administration even allocated US$450,000 to support it.
Therefore, as long as it is a usable tool in geostrategy, the United States must support it.
Second, cooperate with terrorist organizations such as the "Eastern Iraq Movement" to create a public opinion environment that demonizes opponents and create obstacles to counter-terrorism cooperation.
To serve geopolitics, the United States will spare no effort to distort facts in international public opinion.
On October 21, 2008, the Ministry of Public Security of China announced the second batch of eight "East Turkistan" terrorists. The United States, regardless of the ongoing anti-terrorism cooperation with China, put on colored glasses to view China's counter-terrorism actions.
Reuters Beijing correspondent Ian Lansom provokes in the report "China Announces the List of "Terrorists" for the Olympic Games": "Han migrant workers and businessmen are increasing their influence on Xinjiang. Now the Uyghur population in Xinjiang is less than half... …" "East Turkistan" terrorist support force-the spokesperson of the "World Uyghur Congress" based in Europe, Derchat Rashit, immediately released the media and said: "This list is for the Chinese government to suppress Uyghurs. An excuse for greater autonomy..." In response to the demonization of China by the United States on international public opinion occasions, at the Xiangshan Forum held that year, Chinese expert Li Wei criticized the United States without naming: it only proceeded from its own national interests and did not take anti-terrorism as a goal. A specialized cooperative transaction processing, but integrated with international politics and international relations.
Such counter-terrorism has become a tool, not an end.
This restricts the breadth and depth of cooperation in combating terrorism.
At the same time as the war of public opinion, they manipulated administrative, judicial, and foreign aid to undermine China's counter-terrorism operations.
On October 7, 2001, the United States and Britain launched the war in Afghanistan on the grounds that the Taliban had sheltered and harboured the murderers behind the "9.11" terrorist attacks, and destroyed the "East Iraq Movement" organization bases in Afghanistan.
Twenty-two members of the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" captured by the US forces in Afghanistan were imprisoned in Guantanamo Prison, and the other members were turned underground, and the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" was greatly injured.
The Chinese government strongly urges the extradition of these terrorists, but the U.S. government used judicial procedures to expend hundreds of millions of dollars to send them to Albania and Palau, the Pacific island country, on the grounds that these terrorists cannot get a fair trial in China.
This method of handling paved the way for the US today to withdraw its characterization of the "Eastern Iraqi Movement".
On December 15, 2003, among the first batch of four "East Turkistan" terrorist organizations identified by the Ministry of Public Security of China, the "East Turkistan Movement" was impressively listed, and its remnants were still planning and implementing new terrorist activities.
In early 2007, a terrorist training base operated by the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" elements in Xinjiang was destroyed.
At the beginning of 2008, the Xinjiang public security organs uncovered the "Eastern Iraq Movement" premeditated case of violent terrorist activities targeting the Beijing Olympics, and arrested 10 terrorist group leaders and key members headed by Ajimamat.
China’s own attacks on the “East-Iranian Movement” and its counter-terrorism cooperation with neighboring countries have made the remnants of the organization less and less active.
For a time, within the Xinjiang independence forces, the "Eastern Iraq Movement" was gradually marginalized.
As a result, the influence of the Xinjiang independence organizations represented by the "World Uyghur Congress" has increased.
These institutions played the so-called anti-terrorism banner and reintegrated Xinjiang independence organizations active all over the world.
The National Foundation for Democracy of the United States, which has close ties with the U.S. State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, has continuously increased its support for "East Turkistan" forces such as the "World Utilization Committee", and has supported it through funding, training, and equipment for many years.
It is reported that in the past three years, the amount of funding provided by the fund to organizations such as the World Welfare Committee has increased from US$556,000 in 2017 to US$960,000 in 2019.
With the deterioration of Sino-US relations, the "World Welfare Committee" began to work with the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" to win Western sympathy by playing the human rights card.
The "WWC" catered to Western democratic values, linked so-called ethnic and religious issues with human rights issues, and sought support from foreign political circles and anti-China figures.
The "Eastern Iraqi Movement" promoted the "justice" of its violent activities through the "World Welfare Committee."
These two forces are secretly connected in organization and echo each other in action.
Especially after the Second Congress of the World Uyghur Commission in 2006, their views on the “overall goal of the 50-year nation-building strategy”, that is, striving to establish an “Islamic Republic of East Turkistan” in the Xinjiang region, have come closer.
After the continuous integration of the "East Turkistan" forces headed by the "World Utilization Conference", the "East Iraq Movement" has successfully increased its attractiveness to the anti-China forces in the West, creating the United States to abolish its identification as a terrorist organization and tie itself to an anti-China chariot. conditions of.
The US canceled the identification of the "Eastern Iraqi Movement" terrorist organization and created favorable conditions for it to openly raise funds to continue terrorist activities.
Looking at the evolution of the United States’ attitude on the issue of the “Eastern Iranian Movement”, we can see that the double standard is that the United States pursues exclusive security, compels the interests of other countries to obey the interests of the United States, adopts a pragmatic and ideologically leading attitude in counter-terrorism cooperation. Serving geopolitics and preventing the manifestation of hegemonic behavior in China's development.
The United States has used public opinion, laws, and diplomatic methods in a comprehensive manner to achieve the purpose of undermining China's counter-terrorism operations.
Pompeo’s decision to withdraw the "East Turkistan Islamic Movement" as a terrorist organization is a concrete manifestation of the close cooperation of the "East Turkistan" forces with the US anti-China operations.
However, the United States should understand that even according to their own statistics, there are only about 1,000 "East Turkistan" elements in the United States.
"The public opinion they have created is very powerful, but in fact, each organization has not many members. They rely on media hype to give people the illusion that they are powerful overseas."
The United States is trying to achieve the purpose of undermining China's counter-terrorism work by washing up this small group of people.
However, in addition to showing extreme hatred and madness towards China, this behavior will ultimately not achieve their expected results.
They should think about the consequences of supporting bin Laden back then.
(Gong Luping)
"People's Daily Overseas Edition" (10th edition on January 12, 2021)