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6 DESPATCHES DELHI THE HINDU Magazine
Sunday, March 3, 2019

WASHINGTON BEIJING
Fighting discriminatory China’s bid to woo

internments in the U.S. the ‘swing’ kingdom

February 19 is observed China unrolled the red
as the Day of carpet for the visiting
Remembrance by many Crown Prince of Saudi
in the U.S., as it marks the Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, who
incarceration of thousands of Japanese­ was in Beijing in February on a high­
American citizens and Permanent profile visit.
Residents during the Second World The harsh winter chill in the
War. This year, three Democratic Chinese capital had not abated, but
Members of Congress — Tammy there were visible signs that the spring
Duckworth, Mazie Hirono (in picture) was breaking out in ties between
and Mark Takano (California) — re­ Beijing and Riyadh.
introduced a 2017 Bill in the House of There was plenty to breed hope
Representatives in time for the among the mandarins in Beijing that
anniversary. c Saudi Arabia — a swing state in the Arab
Part of what has motivated the world — could be persuaded to widen c
legislation is President Donald Trump’s Three Members of Congress have its distance from the United States, and Beijing’s Xinjiang policy got a
“divisive policies and rhetoric that introduced legislation that aims become part of an emerging multipolar boost when the Saudi Crown
demonise the Muslim community and to prevent internments based world. Prince expressed support for
other marginalised groups”, according solely on factors like ethnicity, For starters, Saudi Arabia, under
to Congresswoman Hirono. “We race, national origin and religion the direction of the Crown Prince — China’s right to act against
cannot allow what my parents, widely seen as the de facto ruler from separatism and extremism
grandparents and 1,15,000 other the House of Saud — had already
Japanese Americans underwent during them had lost their businesses and embarked on an “Act East” policy. It recognised terrorist group, continues
the Second World War to ever happen their property and had to rebuild their meant that the oil­rich nation was to erupt. Human rights groups have
again in our country,” Ms. Takano had lives from scratch. In 1980, the federal doctrinally on course to balancing its also cited mass internment of the
said in February. and bipartisan Commission on ties between the West and the East. alleged dissenters in “re­education”
In December 1941, the Japanese Wartime Relocation and Internment of camps in the Xinjiang Uygur
bombed Pearl Harbor, pulling the U.S. Civilians was set up to investigate the Riyadh’s soft power Autonomous Region.
into the War. Within hours, fallout of ‘9066’ and the internment of The Chinese, in their extraordinary So, when the Crown Prince arrived
U.S. citizens and permanent residents
effort to woo the Crown Prince, were
approximately 3,000 Japanese citizens, of the internment.Download Indian Library App from Pakistan and India — visits meant
#70929
who were being watched by the FBI, as well as Alaskan natives, who were aware that Riyadh pulled considerable to demonstrate his “Look East”
started being rounded up. They were also detained during the War. The weight in the Arab world and beyond. impulses — the Chinese were keen to
sent to camps set up by the Commission unanimously found that This was not only because of Riyadh’s have him on­board their Xinjiang
Department of Justice across the the internments were unnecessary and economic heft. It was also because of narrative.
country. Some 1,500 Japanese that the causes for the events were its unique soft power. If MBS, as the Crown Prince is
residents of Hawaii (1% of the islands’ “race prejudice, war hysteria and a Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the widely known, could agree that
Japanese population) were taken into failure of political leadership”. The two holy mosques of Islam. Millions of restiveness in Xinjiang was not a
internment camps on the mainland. findings culminated in the Civil Muslims land at Jeddah Airport, en human rights problem, but an
Liberties Act, signed into law by route for the annual Haj pilgrimage, expression of violent ethnic
Roosevelt’s order President Ronald Reagan in 1988, woven through great Islamic cities of separatism, that would energise
Then came February 19, 1942, when resulting in an offer of $20,000 and a Mecca, and the nearby Medina. China’s global public relations
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed formal apology letter to the survivors Saudi Arabia’s word thus echoed, campaign significantly. It would also
Executive Order 9066, despite notable with some natural deference, among help dent the scathing recent
opposition from his own Last June, when the Supreme Court millions residing in all the five diplomatic assault on China by Turkey
administration. The order, couched in upheld Mr. Trump’s ‘travel ban’ on continents, including the parchlands of on the alleged repression of its Turkic
fairly generic terms, gave the War individuals from certain Muslim­ Xinjiang in China. brethren in Xinjiang.
Secretary powers to demarcate areas majority countries, Justice Sonia Xinjiang has been critical to China’s Prince Mohammed responded well
from which individuals could be Sotomayor, in her dissenting opinion, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a giant to China’s ardent urgings. Chinese
excluded. Its application, however, was drew a comparison to Korematsu v U.S. connectivity project, on account of its media cited his unqualified support for
specific and resulted in some 1,10,000 Chief Justice John Roberts, despite prized strategic location. It is also the the “One­China” policy. In non­
issei and nisei, Japanese immigrants taking issue with what he thought was gateway to Central Asia — a critical diplomatic language, it meant a
and their American children, an inappropriate reference to piece of geography that opens out rejection of all demands for a separate
respectively, from the West Coast being Korematsu, added: “The dissent’s towards Russia and Europe, with spurs state in Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan.
forcibly moved to internment camps. reference to Korematsu, however, leading into Iran to the south and the “We respect and support China’s
Most of those held captive were affords this Court the opportunity to vast grasslands of Mongolia to the rights to take counterterrorism and
American citizens. make express what is already obvious: north. de­extremism measures to safeguard
The process was driven by Gen. Korematsu was gravely wrong the day For decades, Xinjiang has been national security,” Xinhua quoted MBS
John DeWitt. It, however, did not go it was decided, has been overruled in restive, mainly due to the reluctance of as saying. The Saudi Royal also backed
unchallenged. Fred Korematsu, a the court of history, and to be clear the ethnic Uighurs — of Turkic origin — the BRI.
Japanese resident of California, refused ‘has no place in law under the to enmesh with China’s dominant Han China, in turn, was ready to merge
to move into the camps and was Constitution [a reference to the culture. China has used all the proven the BRI with Vision­2030 of the
arrested. His case went all the way to dissenting view in the original case]’.” tools — massive economic Kingdom — an initiative to diversify its
the Supreme Court, which confirmed, Yet, it is unclear whether Korematsu — development, modern secular economy.
6­3, that the internment order was and similar cases — have actually been education, psychological dissuasion Huawei — a telecom giant which is
valid. In fact, February’s Bill is titled, overturned. That is where the away from radicalism and use of facing a boycott campaign by the
‘Korematsu­Takai Civil Liberties Korematsu­Takai Bill comes in, seeking significant force. Donald Trump administration — made
Protection Act of 2019’ in honour of to codify protections and preventing Yet, the multi­pronged approach to a resounding statement during the visit
Korematsu and late Congressman from detention based solely on a align Xinjiang with the national that Saudi Arabia would be among the
Hawaii, Mark Takai, who had worked characteristic like ethnicity, race, mainstream has only yielded mixed first to receive its most advanced 5G
on the issue. national origin and religion. results. wireless technology.
After the war was over, “This Bill will establish a first line of Sporadic violence, China’s offer was greased with a
the camps began closing defence against any attempt to repeat speared by the East deal with Saudi Aramco to set up a $10
and by 1946, the internees mass curfews or mass detention of Turkistan Islamic billion refinery in the country’s
were released. Many of citizens,” said Ms. Duckworth. Movement, a UN­ northeast Rust Belt.

Sriram Lakshman is The Hindu’s Washington correspondent Atul Aneja is The Hindu’s Beijing correspondent