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East Asia

I just do not accept that argument. One can do both, and what is more, one must find a way of doing both. That brings me to the arms embargo. At one stage we seriously considered lifting it, and that was simply wrong. Although I understand the point made by one witness who told us that it was symbolic, I accept the logical argument that the new European Union code would have been stronger. We must be careful when we deal with a country that takes symbolism and pride seriously, because we would have sent out the wrong message. I shall not repeat what other Members have said. I agree with almost everything that has been said, although I am not quite as pessimistic about Taiwan. I should like the Minister to think about four areas. First, the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation is mentioned in the Committee’s report, and its membership is interesting. It comprises China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. The United States, and Japan at some stage, sought observer status, but it was denied them. I am not entirely convinced that we are paying sufficient attention to an organisation about which I have questions as I have travelled the world in the past four years. It was only during my last visit to Beijing that I thought that the pieces of the jigsaw came together. The organisation has a dual function: to deal with potential terrorists and secessionists, particularly Islamic secessionists, and to ensure the security of the energy supply. A brief look at the map and at the amount of money that China is prepared to put into that organisation shows that it is far more important than we currently accept. Secondly, Tibet was on one level very much what I expected. However, the biggest danger to Tibet is that China will undertake a simple cultural takeover in two ways: through population movement and ideology. The most telling anecdote we heard was when we visited a monastery. The monastery’s head spent two years training in Beijing—so, a Tibetan Buddhist monk went to train in Beijing. When I asked whether anybody from the rest of the China ever went to Tibet to receive training in Buddhism, we were told, ““No.”” That very simply shows the flow of information. The new railway will also bring fundamental change. We did not in Tibet see anything that we were not meant to see; we were somewhat sheltered by not seeing the large areas where the Chinese army is housed. I also find troubling the tree-planting schemes in Tibet. Although something needs to be done about the desertification of the mountain ranges, on seeing valleys where there are suddenly millions of willow trees, I was slightly worried about whether anybody had thought through the environmental impact of such large-scale reafforestation with a single crop. In other areas of China, dam building is an environmental disaster waiting to happen, because the undertaking is somewhat untested. Thirdly, Taiwan was a most pleasant surprise. I had no idea what to expect, but I found three things incredibly encouraging. The country has now passed my test of democracy: it functions not with the first election, but when one removes a Government for the first time via the ballot box. We met a bunch of politicians who were arguing fiercely with one another, they had an extraordinary sense of humour, and I thought, ““They are there.”” If the Minister has not visited Taiwan, I recommend that he does, because it has extraordinarily good food. I had not realised that in the Tai history of Taiwan, Taiwan had only ever been under full Chinese occupation for 40 years. Before that, it was Portuguese. There has been huge global influence, and there is a vibrancy to it. The reason why I am less pessimistic about Taiwan is because of two statistics. First, the Taiwanese claim that one in 10 manufacturing jobs in mainland China depends on Taiwanese investment. And secondly, a common currency is being tested in parts of Taiwan, so that everything is in place for the peaceful flow of people from Taiwan to the mainland. The Beijing Government still have much to do on direct access and on flights, however. The question struck me about whether the British Government are doing enough work on university exchanges with the young people of Taiwan. What can we do through universities? We focus so much on China and perceive Taiwan as being a problem all the time, but we may need to do more on that. I know that this is not within the Minister’s bailiwick but, for the record, I hope that the Vatican does not withdraw its representation from Taiwan in favour of basing it in Beijing. That would be very bad. Finally, the most lasting lesson I got from my visit, having revisited certain places, is that we ought to throw away the maps of the world we are used to—the ones with Europe in the centre—and acquire maps with India and China in the centre. We shall then begin to see the way the world will go in the 21st century. It will not be a battle between the United States and Europe. The best that Europe can hope for will be to be a bit-part player among the huge emerging economic forces in that part of the world. I very much hope that China moves the way India has and becomes a true democracy through that process.