Switzerland to take Uyghur pair from Gitmo

Last Wednesday, CNN's Terry Frieden, wrote about two brothers of Uyghur (also spelt "Uighur") descent who have been released from Guantanamo prison. According to the Uyghur American Association (UAA), Bahtiyar Mahmud and Arkin Mahmud will be released to Switzerland to live and work. The decision has been lauded by Uyghur communities and activists. In a released statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said that they are "grateful to the Swiss Government and the Cantons of Jura and Geneva for assisting our efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay." The Uyghurs came to Guantanamo Bay when  they were capture by Pakistani forces in 2001 in Afghanistan and handed over "to the U.S. on suspicion of having conducted terrorist training," according to the article. The Mahmuds made headlines in The Mahmuds prompted headlines last November when unlike six other Uyghurs, they they refused an offer to go free and settle in Palau. As for the other Uyghurs in Gitmo, five remain at the prison while four others were released to Bermuda in June 2009. The Chinese government which has long had tensions with the Uyghur community, which is an ethnic minority in China, has demanded the return of the Uyghur detainees.

A scene from the Uyghur landscape in China.

This "extraordinary humanitarian gesture" is significant because it sheds light on the international dynamics of internal ethnic tension. Although the Chinese government is active in its insistence that the detainees be returned to them, in actuality China has a very small presence in this exchange. Although the Uyghur conflict originates in NW China, there are three other countries that play important roles in the case of the Mahmud brothers -- Pakistan, the United States, and Switzerland. The Mahmud case is also important in terms of citizen-state relations and the legitmacy of government. The Uyghur-state relations take a new turn here, as the detainees move to a new country, where there is not a government opressing their religion/culture as in China, but also where there is no cultural precedent to guide them. The fact that more than a few Uyghurs were wrongfully kept in Gitmo, even after having been cleared, is proof of the problems of the international prison system. Furthermore, the human rights situation with the Uyghurs has begun to receive more international attention, casting shadows on the legitimacy of the Chinese government. What will transpire between the Swiss and Chinese governments in the wake of this decision remains to be seen; the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it will "certainly affect Sino-Swiss relations," but its too early to predict the validity of any threats.

Guantanamo Bay

Read more:

     on this blog...

BBC Q&A: China and Uighers

Uighurs returned to China 'disappear' says rights group

      and elsewhere...
About the Uyghurs (UAA)

Uighur Resentment at Bejjing Rule (BBC)

Bahtiyar Mahmud

Arkin Mahmud

 

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Article Source:

Frieden, Terry. "Switzerland to take Uyghur pair from Gitmo - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Cable News Network, 3 Feb. 2010. Web. 08 Feb. 2010. .

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Control of China's Financial System

In a recent Economist article titled: Red mist: Who matters in the world's second-largest financial system is barely understood, the author explains some of the inner workings of China's financial institutions, and how the government controls them.

Not only is the functioning of the Chinese banks mysterious, but most people will not even discuss it in any way that may be recorded--only face to face. China has various secrecy laws that may be violated if bank functions are discussed.

All credit is controlled by the government. The banks collect it, and must pay taxes on it, but its existence is dictated by the government. Recently, lending has been tightened up, and "favored industrial companies have been getting urgent calls from their bankers demanding that they immediately scoop up their credit needs for months to come, or be subject to a freeze of uncertain duration." Some loans, such as those over $500 million are thought to be entirely controlled by the state, and the banks are simply used for the transactions.

While most banks are not directly run by the government, regulators attend major meetings and carry the title of "head of discipline." One exception to this rule is China Development Bank, "run by a powerful government official, Chen Yuan" The government can also move executives from one bank to another at its will. sometimes they will even move the executive of one bank to its main competitor, which happened with Shang Jiangou in 2006. Some believe this move had to do with Guo Shuqing, China Construction Bank's chairman, being rumored to be running for a political position.

Many times, the banks with executives who do not move around have more power, and even bid on acquisitions outside of China. Sometimes this is stopped, and suspected to be blocked by the government, such as when ICBC dripped out of bidding for Hong Kong's Wing Lung Bank in 2008.While some financial institutions have autonomy, others see their link to the state as a useful asset.

All important decision are technically made by government officials, even those that would be considered private matters in any country other than China.

This system creates difficulty in the worlds economy. All of China's economic decisions are based on what the government wants, which means foreign and domestic policy. All of the major decisions are made in a way which benefits China. "During the depths of the financial crisis, when money was being sought for Morgan Stanley from CIC, Hank Paulson, then America’s treasury secretary, called Mr Wang [the vice-premier responsible for the financial sector] for his blessing." This type of international political and economic clout put China in a position to control increasing amounts of the world.