China's diplomatic push in Asia sees mixed results: study by Staff Writers Beijing (AFP) Dec 10, 2019 China has spent billions of dollars to project soft power in Asia but it has struggled to win the hearts and minds of ordinary citizens in parts of the region, a study said Tuesday. President Xi Jinping doubled China's foreign affairs budget in six years from 30 billion to 60 billion yuan ($8.5 billion) to bolster its global diplomacy, according to the AidData research lab at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. "Public diplomacy is a critical ingredient in Beijing's toolkit to neutralise potential threats, overcome internal disadvantages, and outmanoeuvre regional competitors," said the report, carried out with the Asia Society Policy Institute and the China Power Project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The "toolkit to influence South and Central Asia" includes huge infrastructure investments, state-backed media operations, twin cities, military diplomacy and Confucius Institutes, which teach students about Chinese language and culture. The report found that 95 percent of China's financial diplomacy goes to infrastructure and only five percent goes to other areas such as humanitarian assistance or debt relief. Two nations captured half of Beijing's investment in the region: Pakistan and Kazakhstan, both key countries in Xi's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure programme. Beijing has also ramped up cultural events, scholarships and student exchanges, and almost every country in South and Central Asia now has at least one form of Chinese state-owned media, including television, radio and print media. China has organised 61 exchange trips for South and Central Asian journalists between 2004 and 2017. The report said Beijing aimed to both expand China's broadcasting operations and cultivate relationships with journalists, promote pro-China coverage and "suppress negative criticism." But none of the public diplomacy tools had led to a closer voting alignment with Beijing at the United Nations, according to the report. Across South Asia, Beijing's "inroads with ordinary citizens" were "superficial at best" and largely shaped by potential economic prospects "as opposed to deeper appreciation for Chinese culture and language." In neighbouring Kazakhstan -- the "buckle" in China's Belt and Road project -- there is "strong Sinophobia" among Kazakh elites. Political leaders have tolerated Uighur organisations in Kazakhstan despite having signed agreements with Beijing to help it contain separatist movements, according to the report. Upwards of one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities, including ethnic Kazakhs, are believed to be held in re-education camps in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang. Kazakhstan is home to 75 percent of the Uighurs living in the region, and local activists have encouraged former detainees and citizens with relatives in Xinjiang to speak out. "If Beijing is to maintain stability at home...it will likely need to not only convince political elites but the Kazakh public, who may be predisposed to support the interests of their Uighur brothers in Xinjiang," the report said.
Hong Kongers mark half a year of protest with mammoth rally Hong Kong (AFP) Dec 8, 2019 Democracy protesters took part in the largest mass rally through Hong Kong's streets in months on Sunday in a forceful display of support for the movement, with a leading activist warning the city's pro-Beijing leaders they had a "last chance" to end the political crisis. Organisers estimated some 800,000 people snaked for hours through the financial hub's main island as the protests marked six months, a vivid illustration of the hostility that still seethes towards the government after half a year ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |