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DeMoNo Posted 19 years ago
Letter Writing
Letter writing. Please help me in grammar, format, tone or style. Thanks!
July 5, 2007
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tanglin,Singapore 248163
Dear Sir
Eighteen years have elapsed since the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The immediate response after the tragedy adopted by the Singapore government to continue maintaining and promoting intimate relationship with the culprits of the atrocities, in contrast to the condemnation and economic sanctions by most developed countries, has brought tremendous detrimental effects to Singapore’s international prestige. Today, as China is engaged in another incidence of human rights abuse in the Darfur region of Sudan, I am writing to urge your excellent Administration to take a stance, which I expect to display more prudence and present Singapore as a nation that is not only economically prosperous, but also diplomatically active and morally responsible.
As a dictatorial regime with an appalling record of domestic human rights abuses, the Chinese government is now underwriting its second genocide abroad. The first was in Pol Pot's Cambodia, and the second is now raging unabated in Darfur. Villages have been razed, women and girls are systematically raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies targeted and destroyed. All these human sufferings are orchestrated by the Sudan government. However, so far the biggest obstacle to forceful action against the genocide is China. Chinese oil purchases have financed Sudan's pillage of Darfur, Chinese-made AK-47's have been the main weapons used to slaughter the innocent, and China has protected Sudan in the U.N. Security Council in order to keep the cooperative but genocidal regime in power.
About 60 percent of Sudan's oil flows to China, and Sudan predominantly depends on China for investment and technology. This close relationship, while being the major reason behind the continuous Chinese connivance and protection, also puts China in a unique position to exert pressure on the Sudan government. Hence, it is my conviction that the key to peace in Darfur is the support from China, the only country capable of ending the genocide by using its unmatched influence to convince Sudan to cooperate with international efforts to end the violence. Some heartening steps has already been taken, the most prominent of which was the resolution recently approved by the Senate of the United States, calling on China to use its “unique influence and economic leverage” to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur. It is now time for the Singapore government to join the international community and urge the Chinese government to take up a more constructive and responsible role as a global stakeholder instead of playing the knowing and willing accomplice of the genocide.
In my humble opinion, a number of policy options are currently available to the Singapore government. Diplomatic concern or dismay over China’s role in Darfur might be expressed by ambassadors or government officials in multilateral forums, state visits or other public occasions, thereby sending a strong official message to Beijing. Such a clear statement of Singapore’s stance is of paramount importance not only because Singapore is one of China’s major trading partners, but also because it demonstrates that the opposition against China’s role in Darfur is not merely the result of the West’s “obsession” with human rights, as so often misperceived by the Chinese government, but is also echoed in the rest of the world, even in regions with which China shares similar ethnic and cultural background. Besides being more vocal, the Singapore government may bring direct economic pressure to bear on targeted Chinese perpetrators, especially PetroChina, a Singapore-listed Chinese oil company that is one of the most notorious offenders in helping fund the genocide.
It is almost certain that harsh criticism against the Chinese government would strain the bilateral relationship and hurt Singapore’s commercial interest in the short run. Convinced that a democratic government should be ultimately accountable to its own electorates and expected to advance the interest of the people it represents, I still believe it is a noble act of statesmen to pursue international justice and peace, even if such a course of action will bring them challenges from the public and risk their career. Although the Singapore government has long differed from the West in its views on human rights and practiced interest-oriented pragmatism in foreign affairs, it is beyond doubt that what we are currently witnessing in Darfur is, by any measure, one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises in the human history, with far-reaching moral implication that transcends any concern over material wealth. Anything short of full commitment to ending the violence in Darfur, particularly nonchalant acquiescence due to vested interests, is hardly justifiable and potentially shameful.
From a long-term perspective, it is indeed in Singapore’s national interest to prompt China to reconsider its diplomatic strategies in vying for regional leadership of Africa as well as other parts of the world. Rapidly ascending in the international hierarchy, China has wielded significant influence in the Asia Pacific region. For the future peace, prosperity and progress of the Asia Pacific region, with which Singapore’s fate is closely related, China must learn to exercise caution and self-restraint when deploying its growing international power, and Darfur may well be its first lesson.
As the haunting memory of inaction over Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia is still lingering in the darkest corner of the collective consciousness of humanity, Darfur is another litmus test for how much we have learned. It definitely requires admirable moral courage and political will for a small city-state like Singapore to dissent from the foreign policies of a major global power like China, but the conscience of some Singaporean citizens, in a perturbed state ever since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, may come to rest if this time round, the government would actively take a firm stand against politically motivated violence. As a steadfast supporter of Singapore government, I have faith in your determination and competency to achieve this.
I truly appreciate your dedicated service to the nation on the diplomatic frontier and I look forward to your continued contribution to world peace.
Yours Sincerely
CCY
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Tanglin,Singapore 248163
Dear Sir
Eighteen years have elapsed since the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The immediate response after the tragedy adopted by the Singapore government to continue maintaining and promoting intimate relationship with the culprits of the atrocities, in contrast to the condemnation and economic sanctions by most developed countries, has brought tremendous detrimental effects to Singapore’s international prestige. Today, as China is engaged in another incidence of human rights abuse in the Darfur region of Sudan, I am writing to urge your excellent Administration to take a stance, which I expect to display more prudence and present Singapore as a nation that is not only economically prosperous, but also diplomatically active and morally responsible.
As a dictatorial regime with an appalling record of domestic human rights abuses, the Chinese government is now underwriting its second genocide abroad. The first was in Pol Pot's Cambodia, and the second is now raging unabated in Darfur. Villages have been razed, women and girls are systematically raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies targeted and destroyed. All these human sufferings are orchestrated by the Sudan government. However, so far the biggest obstacle to forceful action against the genocide is China. Chinese oil purchases have financed Sudan's pillage of Darfur, Chinese-made AK-47's have been the main weapons used to slaughter the innocent, and China has protected Sudan in the U.N. Security Council in order to keep the cooperative but genocidal regime in power.
About 60 percent of Sudan's oil flows to China, and Sudan predominantly depends on China for investment and technology. This close relationship, while being the major reason behind the continuous Chinese connivance and protection, also puts China in a unique position to exert pressure on the Sudan government. Hence, it is my conviction that the key to peace in Darfur is the support from China, the only country capable of ending the genocide by using its unmatched influence to convince Sudan to cooperate with international efforts to end the violence. Some heartening steps has already been taken, the most prominent of which was the resolution recently approved by the Senate of the United States, calling on China to use its “unique influence and economic leverage” to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur. It is now time for the Singapore government to join the international community and urge the Chinese government to take up a more constructive and responsible role as a global stakeholder instead of playing the knowing and willing accomplice of the genocide.
In my humble opinion, a number of policy options are currently available to the Singapore government. Diplomatic concern or dismay over China’s role in Darfur might be expressed by ambassadors or government officials in multilateral forums, state visits or other public occasions, thereby sending a strong official message to Beijing. Such a clear statement of Singapore’s stance is of paramount importance not only because Singapore is one of China’s major trading partners, but also because it demonstrates that the opposition against China’s role in Darfur is not merely the result of the West’s “obsession” with human rights, as so often misperceived by the Chinese government, but is also echoed in the rest of the world, even in regions with which China shares similar ethnic and cultural background. Besides being more vocal, the Singapore government may bring direct economic pressure to bear on targeted Chinese perpetrators, especially PetroChina, a Singapore-listed Chinese oil company that is one of the most notorious offenders in helping fund the genocide.
It is almost certain that harsh criticism against the Chinese government would strain the bilateral relationship and hurt Singapore’s commercial interest in the short run. Convinced that a democratic government should be ultimately accountable to its own electorates and expected to advance the interest of the people it represents, I still believe it is a noble act of statesmen to pursue international justice and peace, even if such a course of action will bring them challenges from the public and risk their career. Although the Singapore government has long differed from the West in its views on human rights and practiced interest-oriented pragmatism in foreign affairs, it is beyond doubt that what we are currently witnessing in Darfur is, by any measure, one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises in the human history, with far-reaching moral implication that transcends any concern over material wealth. Anything short of full commitment to ending the violence in Darfur, particularly nonchalant acquiescence due to vested interests, is hardly justifiable and potentially shameful.
From a long-term perspective, it is indeed in Singapore’s national interest to prompt China to reconsider its diplomatic strategies in vying for regional leadership of Africa as well as other parts of the world. Rapidly ascending in the international hierarchy, China has wielded significant influence in the Asia Pacific region. For the future peace, prosperity and progress of the Asia Pacific region, with which Singapore’s fate is closely related, China must learn to exercise caution and self-restraint when deploying its growing international power, and Darfur may well be its first lesson.
As the haunting memory of inaction over Cambodia, Rwanda and Bosnia is still lingering in the darkest corner of the collective consciousness of humanity, Darfur is another litmus test for how much we have learned. It definitely requires admirable moral courage and political will for a small city-state like Singapore to dissent from the foreign policies of a major global power like China, but the conscience of some Singaporean citizens, in a perturbed state ever since the Tiananmen Square Massacre, may come to rest if this time round, the government would actively take a firm stand against politically motivated violence. As a steadfast supporter of Singapore government, I have faith in your determination and competency to achieve this.
I truly appreciate your dedicated service to the nation on the diplomatic frontier and I look forward to your continued contribution to world peace.
Yours Sincerely
CCY
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