Topic:
Country: China
Delegate Name: Lee Gerring
Delegate: Lee Gerring
Committee: SPECPOL
Topic: De-escalation of Sectarian Conflict
Country: People’s Republic of China
School: Williamston High School
Sectarian conflict is an arising and pressing issue among all countries. Sectarianism can arise from a connection to a political, cultural, or religious identity, and often a combination. At some points, sectarian conflict can occur if a group believes that its shared identity is under threat, or if a group believes that the success of its shared identity is dependent on converting others to the same set of beliefs. However, with an issue like sectarian conflict, it’s difficult to navigate as most groups perpetrating these acts are acting separately from the state’s government. This makes the influence of the United Nations become very limited. Another factor making it harder to regulate is the fact that the UN is against intervening with matters that are domestically related, however, some of these conflicts that might be happening domestically can still have international ramifications creating more and more issues all over the world.
The People’s Republic of China has a not-very-secret history with an issue like this. Ever since Mao Zedong had control in 1949, the country’s leadership has long sought to control religious groups. Currently, only five religious communities are considered lawful, these include Buddhists, Daoists, Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants, provided they are officially registered with the government. On the surface, the reasoning from China is simple: you must first be loyal to the state before any other deity. In the mid-eighteenth century, China had been intent on dominating and controlling Xinjiang, and the Qianlong emperor was committed to removing the Zunghar, nomadic people of Mongol origin. Another containment and civilizing mission was undertaken toward the end of the nineteenth century, an attempt to turn this Muslim region into a place of ancestor worship of sorts A more recent example of state violence against religion is the internment camps in Xinjiang where more than a million Uyghur, Kazakh, and Hui Muslims have been detained since 2017. Xinjiang is a police state with iris scans, GPS tracking systems in all vehicles, DNA collections from medical check-ups, and constant arrests being made all due to religion.
Now it’s known that the People’s Republic of China can not really justify their actions, they don’t have to. The Chinese Communist Party officials will point to China’s constitution, where in Article 36 they offer protection of freedom of religious belief under the idea that the state shall protect “normal” religious activities. When the state deems religious activities as “not normal, ” that allows for intervention. It is also important to note that there are no current actions being put in place within China to resist this sectarian conflict, and as of now there is no plan to create one. The Chinese Communist Party is an officially atheist form of government. Like the emperors before him, President Xi Jinping as head of the Communist Party sees citizenry as the utmost loyalty to the country and nationalism as a form of state worship. So as a result any guidelines put in place are seen as a threat to China’s more independent nature when it comes to domestic issues.
Sources:
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. “Religion, Nationalism, and State Violence in China.” Berkley Center For Religion, Peace and World Affairs, 22 Mar. 2022, berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/religion-nationalism-and-state-violence-in-china.
“The State of Religion in China.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 25 Sept. 2020, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/religion-china.
Delegate: Lee Gerring
Committee: SPECPOL
Topic: De-escalation of Sectarian Conflict
Country: People’s Republic of China
School: Williamston High School
Sectarian conflict is an arising and pressing issue among all countries. Sectarianism can arise from a connection to a political, cultural, or religious identity, and often a combination. At some points, sectarian conflict can occur if a group believes that its shared identity is under threat, or if a group believes that the success of its shared identity is dependent on converting others to the same set of beliefs. However, with an issue like sectarian conflict, it’s difficult to navigate as most groups perpetrating these acts are acting separately from the state’s government. This makes the influence of the United Nations become very limited. Another factor making it harder to regulate is the fact that the UN is against intervening with matters that are domestically related, however, some of these conflicts that might be happening domestically can still have international ramifications creating more and more issues all over the world.
The People’s Republic of China has a not-very-secret history with an issue like this. Ever since Mao Zedong had control in 1949, the country’s leadership has long sought to control religious groups. Currently, only five religious communities are considered lawful, these include Buddhists, Daoists, Muslims, Catholics, and Protestants, provided they are officially registered with the government. On the surface, the reasoning from China is simple: you must first be loyal to the state before any other deity. In the mid-eighteenth century, China had been intent on dominating and controlling Xinjiang, and the Qianlong emperor was committed to removing the Zunghar, nomadic people of Mongol origin. Another containment and civilizing mission was undertaken toward the end of the nineteenth century, an attempt to turn this Muslim region into a place of ancestor worship of sorts A more recent example of state violence against religion is the internment camps in Xinjiang where more than a million Uyghur, Kazakh, and Hui Muslims have been detained since 2017. Xinjiang is a police state with iris scans, GPS tracking systems in all vehicles, DNA collections from medical check-ups, and constant arrests being made all due to religion.
Now it’s known that the People’s Republic of China can not really justify their actions, they don’t have to. The Chinese Communist Party officials will point to China’s constitution, where in Article 36 they offer protection of freedom of religious belief under the idea that the state shall protect “normal” religious activities. When the state deems religious activities as “not normal, ” that allows for intervention. It is also important to note that there are no current actions being put in place within China to resist this sectarian conflict, and as of now there is no plan to create one. The Chinese Communist Party is an officially atheist form of government. Like the emperors before him, President Xi Jinping as head of the Communist Party sees citizenry as the utmost loyalty to the country and nationalism as a form of state worship. So as a result any guidelines put in place are seen as a threat to China’s more independent nature when it comes to domestic issues.
Sources:
Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. “Religion, Nationalism, and State Violence in China.” Berkley Center For Religion, Peace and World Affairs, 22 Mar. 2022, berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/responses/religion-nationalism-and-state-violence-in-china.
“The State of Religion in China.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, 25 Sept. 2020, www.cfr.org/backgrounder/religion-china.
