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This week: Asia Society's annual
presentation of world leaders on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly concludes after several insightful, impactful
programs; and the People's Republic of China turns 70.
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UNGA WEEK
Indian,
Pakistani Leaders Discuss Kashmir's Uncertain Future
India’s
eight-week-long
occupation of Kashmir, a region disputed by India and
Pakistan, dominated separate discussions led by leaders of both
countries last week at Asia Society New York. On August 5, the Indian
government revoked
Article 370 of the constitution, a clause that had
guaranteed autonomy for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since then
India has overseen
a lockdown of the region: Tens of thousands of troops have
enforced a curfew for Kashmir’s 8 million residents and have restricted
telephone and internet access.
Last Tuesday, Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
characterized Delhi’s policy shift as an attempt to lift Kashmiris out
of poverty and better integrate them with the rest of India.
“A lot of the changes that you’ve seen in India have passed Kashmir
by,” he said in a
conversation with Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd.
“So what was meant to actually help Kashmir ended up, in a way,
[hurting it]. The bridge became a barrier.”
On Thursday at Asia Society, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan
described India’s revocation of Article 370 as an illegal move
depriving Kashmiris of their right to self-determination. He also
criticized Delhi’s action from a strategic point of view.
“The government has boxed itself in by taking this step,” he said. “I
don’t think they’ve thought through what they’ve done.”
During a
conversation with Asia Society President and CEO Josette Sheeran,
Khan expressed concern for what might happen after India’s military
ends its occupation of Kashmir — a move, he said, that could have
repercussions extending far beyond the territory.
“I fear that once the curfew is lifted, things will go from bad to
worse,” he said. “It will not only impact those in Kashmir — but there
are 180 million Muslims in India. This will have a huge impact there.”
Click here to watch
the complete video of Khan’s appearance at Asia Society, and
here to watch the
complete video of Jaishankar’s conversation with Rudd.
Photo: Tauseef
Mustafa/Getty Images
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UNGA WEEK
Afghanistan's
Winding Road to Peace
Eighteen
years after a U.S. invasion removed the Taliban from power following
the September 11 attacks, Afghanistan is still troubled by terrorist
violence, instability, and poverty. But Hamdullah Mohib, the country’s
youthful national security advisor, is optimistic about the future.
“My source of inspiration comes from visiting our troops and people in
the provinces and talking to them,” he said in a
conversation with Josette
Sheeran at Asia Society New York. “Every time I visit,
I get more hopeful.”
Peace talks between the Taliban — which now
controls more territory than at any time since 2001 — and
the Afghan government have not yielded peace. Last month, U.S.
President Donald
Trump announced
the cancellation of a planned summit between the two sides
at Camp David following a Taliban attack on U.S. soldiers. Mohib
attributed the cancellation to “domestic reasons” in the United States
and added that “it’s not about what America wants at this stage, it’s
about what Afghanistan wants.”
“If the Taliban want to live in our country, and be included in any
arrangement in the future, they have to talk to the Afghan government,”
he said.
Watch the
complete video of Mohib’s speech and his conversation with
Sheeran.
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UNGA WEEK
Southeast
Asian Leaders Balance U.S. and China
For
the Southeast Asian officials who spoke at Asia Society New York last
week, questions of how the region was handling its position
between the U.S. and China dominated conversation.
Last Tuesday, Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr.
said that there was a “tremendous puzzle” in that President Rodrigo Duterte,
who has frequently espoused anti-American rhetoric, retained 80 percent
support in a country where 90 percent of the population “are nuts about
the United States.” When his candidates swept midterm elections, Locsin
said, it wasn’t “a mandate for China.”
“It’s a mandate for the president, it’s a mandate for his war on drugs,
it’s a mandate for the other things he’s done domestically,” Locsin
said. “It’s not a mandate for China. It’s very clear the people are
pro-America. And so is the army.”
A day later, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted
there was no need for Thailand to choose sides — but urged the U.S. and
China to overcome their ongoing trade dispute. “The economic issues
have an effect on people in many countries, so my hope is that there’s
an amicable means of solving trade tensions,” said Prayut.
Watch the
complete video of Locsin’s remarks at Asia Society here, and
don’t miss Prime Minister Prayut’s conversation
with Asia Society Executive Vice President Tom Nagorski
here.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
A Confident
People's Republic of China Turns 70
On
Tuesday, the People’s Republic of China celebrated the 70th anniversary
of its founding with a
ceremony in Beijing that featured a military parade,
cultural performances, and a speech from President Xi Jinping.
The event presented a confident nation, more prosperous and powerful
than ever during its seven-decade history. The recent crisis in Hong
Kong — where protests in response to the festivities in Beijing resulted
in violence — was left unmentioned.
Yangyang Cheng,
a Chinese scientist and writer living in the United States, wrote an extraordinary
open letter to China for ChinaFile
that describes the powerful hold that her birth country has on her even
after many years away:
The
following spring, I went to one of your consulates to renew my
passport. When your officer handed me the maroon-covered booklet, the
third I’d had and the first from outside you, I felt a surge of
gratitude. In the weeks between booking my appointment and getting the
document, I had been consumed by an inexplicable fear that something
might go wrong, that you had discovered the times I criticized you in
public and would refuse to acknowledge me, that I would become
stateless, a lost soul on foreign soil. For all my disappointment in
you and estrangement from you, my personhood relies on your
confirmation. My movement in this world is simultaneously constrained
by you, and made possible through your existence and my existence
within it.
“No,
I do not feel American,” I told the reporter. “Because I am not
American. Citizenship is not a feeling.”
Photo: China
Collection/Getty Images
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UPCOMING EVENTS
Asia
Society’s sixth annual Asia Game Changer Awards return on Thursday,
October 24, in a ceremony honoring a remarkable all-female class. Click
here to learn more.
On October 3, Asia Society Australia launches its brand-new center in
Melbourne with Hawker Ball, a night of celebration featuring speeches,
dance, and music. Details
here.
Asia Society Texas presents the Indian Film Festival of Houston 2019, a
screening of six films held on October 4 and 5 that includes an opening
reception. Details
here.
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JOIN & SUPPORT
Asia Society relies on the generosity
of its friends and members to support its mission of strengthening
relationships and promoting understanding among the people, leaders,
and institutions of Asia and the United States.
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