Human lives more precious than hubris

Spinmeisters for the Chinese regime talk endlessly about the massive investments that China has made in Nepal. What they forget to mention is that much of this is for the use of the PLA. On October 1 1949, when Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman Mao Zedong announced the birth of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the GDP of the new state was less than half that of India, and remained a laggard under the tumultuous years of the rule of Mao. Where he made up was in almost doubling the physical size of China by adding Xinjiang, Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and Tibet almost unopposed. Instead of reacting through force when Tibet—the source of much of the waters of India—was captured, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru welcomed the move. Mao took control of Aksai Chin in Ladakh without Government of India appearing to notice. It was only in October 1961 that Government of India saw its illusions about Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai shattered by the invasion of People's Liberation Army (PLA) forces into the NorthEast Frontier Agency (NEFA) and further east. The General placed in charge by Nehru to defend the frontier against the PLA instead escaped to Delhi on the pretence that he was unwell. At that time the PLA had almost no air force, yet the Indian Air Force (IAF) was not deployed to overcome the invaders. However, once Paramount Leader of the CCP, Deng Xiaoping took charge in the 1980s, he adopted a policy of outward peace while at the same time building up the capabilities of the PLA, including the PLA Navy (PLAN) and Air Force (PLAAF). Deng secured the support of the US in boosting his economy in exchange for backing Washington against Moscow during Cold War 1.0 between the US and the Soviet Union. The economy of the PRC prospered, and soon the country was twice the size of its Indian counterpart. By the time CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping took charge of the country in 2012, China was the second largest economy in the world, far ahead of any European competitor or Japan. Ironically, it had been Japan and South Korea that were huge investors into China, a country intrinsically hostile to both. The ascent of China led to a feeling of hubris in Xi Jinping, who abandoned all talk of 'peaceful rise' and became combative, claiming vast territories belonging to nearby states as 'sovereign PRC territory'. At the same time, Xi launched a campaign to completely efface Tibetan culture and language from Tibet. Systematically, Tibetan girls were married to Han Chinese men, while Tibetan men were given Han wives. The Tibetan language was replaced by the Chinese language throughout schools and other institutions. Even shop signboards in Tibetan became rare, being replaced by boards in Mandarin. By now, nearly half the population of Tibet is Han, and that segment is growing rapidly. Culturally, the Tibetan emphasis on respecting nature was replaced by the CCP doctrine that nature could be kept on a leash by men. The engineers who dominated the Standing Committee of the CCP built more and more dams across Tibet, affecting the ecology. River waters were made to flow eastwards rather than southwards through hydel schemes, and in such interference with natural flows lies the source of the floods that took away so many lives a week ago in Nepal. The economy of Nepal is dependent substantially on tourism, and the inward flow of tourists has almost stopped after the disaster. Spinmeisters for the Chinese regime talk endlessly about the massive investments that China has made in Nepal. What they forget to mention is that much of this is for the use of the PLA. The roads that have been cut into the mountains are designed to accommodate tanks and other heavy weaponry. A chain of airfields and army encampments have been built just across the NepalTibet border, further affecting the ecology. The whole of Tibet has for long been a gift to the world, supplying it with cooling during this era of global warming. Now the very permafrost of the Tibetan plateau is at risk, covered as it is with road and rail lines and settlements of those relocating from the east of China. In order to convert nature and wealth of bounty into electricity, hydel plants have come up. Such is the tragedy of Tibet, whose people were taught by their Buddhist faith to revere nature rather than ravage it. In contrast, the engineers that comprise the higher ranks of the CCP regard Nature as a servant, needing to be brought to heel to serve their human masters. The breaking away from an ace mountain of a glacier was no isolated incident but is instead typical of what is taking place elsewhere in Tibet. Small wonder that foreign correspondents are not permitted to enter the affected parts of Tibet, to report the facts rather than the line peddled by the infowarriors of the CCP. No surprise, such opacity. When SARS spread in China, CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao was candid, giving information daily so that the epidemic could be controlled, which it was. In contrast, when Covid-19 originated through a lab leak in the Wuhan Institute of Virology, facts were kept hidden. Even as inward and outward flights from the affected areas were halted, flights to foreign countries continued to be permitted, thereby spreading Covid-19 worldwide. Transparency in the giving of information benefits not just a single country but the international community as a whole. In contrast, lack of transparency is deadly, preventing swift action and snuffing out lives. SARS was far less deadly in its magnitude than Covid-19, and the lack of transparency about the virus was the culprit. In like fashion, concealing the magnitude of water flows and projects results in a lack of preparedness downstream about an impending disaster. Upriver projects need to be revealed in their magnitude to downstream populations, and this was not done. The tragedy of the Himalayan floods should be used to ensure a set of parameters to make sure that downstream populations get warned in time for them to relocate. Projects that go against the imperatives of respecting nature should be stopped. And avoid building roads for tanks, a relic of past wars useless against a single drone. BRICS is to meet shortly, and in the 18th Summit, held under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, protocols need to be exchanged that accept that 'united we stand, divided we fall' in an official conference statement. The people of Nepal are not to blame for the Himalayan floods, and deserve from their northern neighbour candidness and cooperation rather than an overbearing attitude uncaring of the effect of actions of one country on another.