China, Mongolia sign deal on alignment of BRI, Development Road program

China and Mongolia signed a cooperation plan on promoting the alignment of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Mongolia's Development Road program in Beijing on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga witnessed the signing after their talks. Battulga is in China for a state visit and attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) scheduled for April 25-27.

Xi called for more efforts to align the BRI with the Development Road program and promote the building of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

Proposed by Xi in 2013, the BRI comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.

Under the BRI, China, Mongolia and Russia signed an agreement in 2016 to build an economic corridor linking the three neighbors and boost transportation connectivity and economic cooperation in border regions.

The Chinese and Mongolian governments signed a memorandum of understanding on BRI cooperation during the first BRF in May 2017.

Xi told Battulga that the countries should hold various events on people-to-people and cultural exchanges this year to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties.

Mongolia firmly adheres to the one-China principle, Battulga said, adding that his country is willing to enhance the synergy between the Development Road program and the BRI.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with the Mongolian president on Wednesday.

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Xi: Boost ties with Mongolia

Chinese President calls for enhanced bilateral strategic communication, teamwork

China and Mongolia should enhance strategic communication and respect each other's core interests and major concerns, President Xi Jinping said on Thursday.

Xi made the remark while meeting with Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Battulga is on a five-day visit to China that started on Wednesday. He also is attending the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

With the two presidents as witnesses, China and Mongolia signed cooperation documents to connect the Belt and Road Initiative with the Mongolia-proposed Path of Development Initiative. Xi hosted a ceremony to welcome Battulga before their talks.

Hailing Mongolia as a good neighbor, friend and partner of China, Xi said that the bilateral relationship has entered a fast track.

China will continue to support Mongolia's efforts to promote economic development and improve the people's livelihood, Xi said.

The two countries should uphold the right political direction, push forward cooperation in all areas and become each other's strategic partner with mutual respect and trust, he said.

Xi said the two countries should maintain high-level exchanges and respect each other's core interests and major concerns.

He also called for greater effort to advance practical cooperation in jointly building the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

China and Mongolia should streamline their trading structure and explore their cooperation potential, Xi said, adding that the two countries should enhance border exchanges and jointly build a prosperous border to facilitate trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries should enhance communication and coordination in global and regional affairs and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, Xi said.

Battulga reaffirmed Mongolia's commitment to the one-China policy, saying that Taiwan and Tibet are China's territory and matters related to Taiwan and Tibet are China's domestic affairs.

It's a priority of Mongolia's diplomacy to develop a long-term friendly neighborhood and enhance cooperation with China, he said.

Mongolia would like to work with China to draw a blueprint for bilateral relations and connect the Path of Development Initiative with the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

The two countries should enhance cooperation in such areas as trade, electricity, agriculture and animal husbandry, infrastructure construction and airlines, he said.

Mongolia appreciates China's role in maintaining the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, Battulga said, adding that Mongolia would like to enhance coordination with China on regional affairs.

Source:Xinhua

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Chinese, Mongolian presidents hold talks

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday held talks with his Mongolian counterpart Khaltmaa Battulga, who is in Beijing on a state visit to China and to attend the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

China will uphold the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and continue to actively support Mongolia's economic development and improvement of people's livelihood, Xi said.

China and Mongolia should head towards the correct political direction, and make comprehensive plans to promote all-round cooperation as strategic partners of mutual respect and trust, cooperative partners of mutual benefit and reciprocity, friendly partners with frequent exchanges, and partners of mutual assistance at the multilateral level, he said.

The two sides should strengthen political guidance and strategic communication, maintain exchanges at the high level and in all fields, and respect each other's core interests and major concerns, Xi said.

The two sides should actively promote the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Mongolia's Development Road program, achieve more tangible progress in building the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor, strengthen exchanges in border areas and ports, and provide more convenience for trade and people-to-people exchanges, he said.

Xi also proposed to organize people-to-people and cultural events to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mongolia this year.

It is Mongolia's firm and prior diplomatic policy to develop the long-term, good-neighborly, friendly, mutually-beneficial and cooperative partnership with China, Battulga said.

Mongolia firmly adheres to the one-China policy, Battulga said, adding that both Taiwan and Tibet are part of China, and the matters involving Taiwan and Tibet are China's internal affairs.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Mongolia is willing to work with China to map out the future direction and objectives of bilateral ties, he said.

Mongolia will promote the alignment of its Development Road program and the BRI and jointly advance the development of the Mongolia-China-Russia economic corridor with China, he said.

Battulga also noted that Mongolia appreciates China's important role in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and is willing to strengthen coordination with China in regional affairs.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents including a plan to align the BRI with the Development Road program.

Before the talks, Xi held a welcoming ceremony for Battulga.

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BRI offers great opportunities for landlocked countries, Mongolian minister says

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China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is providing great economic opportunities for landlocked countries like Mongolia, Mongolian Minister of Road and Transport Development Byambasuren Enkh-Amgalan has said.

The initiative, a reference to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient the Silk Road and beyond.

"The BRI provides huge economic opportunities for landlocked countries like our country by mitigating their disadvantages of geographical position," Enkh-Amgalan told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Enkh-Amgalan is accompanying President Khaltmaa Battulga on a state visit to China and participating in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on April 24-28.

"Thus, Mongolia has actively participated in the BRI construction from the onset in order to accelerate its economic development by reducing the disadvantages associated with the lack of access to the sea," he noted.

The Mongolian government has adopted a national program called "Development Road," with the aim of intensifying the country's development in a wide range of areas, such as road and transport, energy, telecommunications, mining and tourism, and enhancing infrastructure connectivity with foreign countries, especially with neighboring countries to lower transport costs and facilitate trade, the minister said.

The government has been striving to accelerate the integration of the Development Road program with the BRI, he said.

"The China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor is an important part of the BRI, and intensifying this trilateral economic corridor is now more important for us," he said, stressing that the three sides have agreed to implement three major projects, including reforming the central railway corridor and building a highway connecting Asia and Europe through the territory of Mongolia.

The Mongolian minister expressed confidence that building the tripartite economic corridor under the BRI will contribute greatly to regional development and prosperity.

Moreover, the number of China-Europe freight trains traveling through Mongolia has been dramatically increasing in recent years, making great contributions to the Mongolian economy, Enkh-Amgalan said.

Mongolia will further support the freight rail service by creating favorable conditions for freight trains to travel through Mongolian territory without any obstacles, he added.

There were only 10 China-Europe freight trains traveling through Mongolia in 2014 and the number reached around 900 last year, according to the minister.

Source:Xinhua

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Third Ethnic Mongolian Writer Held in China's Inner Mongolia

Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia have detained a third ethnic Mongolian writer and social media host after he protested the detention of fellow author and activist, O. Sechenbaatar.

Tsogjil, 40, who hosted a number of discussion groups on the social media platform WeChat, was detained on April 16 in the regional capital Hohhot, a New York-based rights group reported.

He had been preparing to file an official complaint to the regional government on behalf of ethnic Mongolian herders, the Southern Mongolian Human Rights and Information Center (SMHRIC) said on its website.

"That same day, Tsogjil was brought back to his homeplace of Heshigten Banner and placed under criminal detention," it said.

He is being charged with "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," and is currently being held in the Heshigten Banner Detention Center.

"Around 8:00 p.m., Tsogjil was taken away by five plainclothes [officers] from a taxi he hired upon his arrival at a hotel in Hohhot where he was to stay," the group quoted Narnaa, a herder involved in a complaint over environmental destruction on traditional grazing lands near the Dalainuur Nature Reserve, as saying.

“In order not to put fellow herders at risk of arrest and detention, Tsogjil traveled alone to Hohhot with a great deal of first-hand materials about environmental destruction and rights violations in our communities near the Dalainuur National Nature Reserve," she said.

O. Sechenbaatar, 68, was detained along with a herder named Baldan at a protest near Lake Dalainuur in the region's Heshigten Banner, the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center
(SMHRIC) said in a report on its website.

Sechenbaatar has been placed under criminal detention on suspicion of "obstructing officials in the course of their duty," it said. He is currently also being held at the Heshigten Banner Detention Center.

Defending land rights

According to SMHRIC, Tsogjil had been active in advocating for local communities' rights to use their native language and access their land, water, and other resources, as well as maintaining their ethnic identity.

He has created and hosted at least five WeChat discussion groups with a total membership of nearly 2,500 people, of which majority are Mongolian herders and grassroots activists, the group said.

Last week, he used one of his WeChat groups to rally herding communities to a protest outside the Heshigten Banner government, calling for the release of recently detained writer O. Sechenbaatar.

"O.Sechenbaatar went into jail for defending our land and rights. We all must wake up and take up the fight to protect our homeland," Tsogjil wrote.

"The authorities can arrest one of us, a few of us, but cannot arrest all of us," he said via WeChat.

He said local herding communities are being targeted for grazing bans in the name of environmental protection of the Dalainuur wetlands, which they have unofficially stewarded for generations.

More than 100 protest

Meanwhile, more than 100 herders from Urad Middle Banner's Chuanjing village staged a protest outside the banner government buildings on Monday after being denied permission to petition the head of the regional government on a recent trip to their area, RFA has learned.

"The herders all went to the banner government to demand sheepfold subsidies and subsidies for border residents at 11.00 a.m. today," one participant told RFA. "There were more than 100 herders and more than 100 police officers there."

The herders say the local government has failed to pay out the promised subsidies.

Police officers linked arms to prevent the herders from getting into the building, while a government official told them this wasn't the right time and place to resolve the issue, according to video footage of the standoff seen by RFA.

Ethnic Mongolian rights activist Xinna said some of the police were clad in riot gear.

"It got pretty heated, what with the herders, the police, and the riot police," Xinna told RFA. "I heard that more than 10 people were detained in the afternoon. I don't know if they have been released or not."

Calls to the Urad Middle Banner government offices rang unanswered during office hours on Monday.

Sechenbaatar is the author of several books, including Spring Blossoms, Autumn of Tsunkh, Story of A Bald Thief, Heshigten Folklore, and Collection of Southern Mongolian Folklore Arts.

A former teacher at the Darhan-uul High School, he has also published hundreds of essays, poems, and lyrics in Mongolian language journals and magazines.

Sechenbaatar also hosted a number of WeChat groups to provide local Mongolian herders with a venue to discuss the pressing issues in their communities, including mining, environmental destruction, pollution, and herders’ protests, SMHRIC said.

Documenting violence

Earlier this month, ethnic Mongolian author Lhamjab A. Borjigin, 75, stood trial on charges of "separatism" and "sabotaging national unity" at the Shiliinhot Municipal People’s Court.

For his book China's Cultural Revolution, published in 2006, Lhamjab gathered oral testimonies of survivors of violence against ethnic Mongolians during the Cultural Revolution, a task that took him 20 years.

The book accuses the ruling Chinese Communist Party of state-sponsored genocide in the region, detailing torture techniques and detentions in a brutal campaign that claimed the lives of at least 27,900 people and imprisoned and tortured 346,000.

Lhamjab published the book unofficially, at his own expense, after state-run Chinese publishing houses refused to publish it.

"Lhamjab Borjigin may be the one standing before the court, but it is clearly his research and historical writings that the authorities are seeking to put on trial," PEN America's Summer Lopez, senior director for free expression programs, said in a statement on the group's website.

"As an organization of writers of conscience, we are deeply troubled to think that Lhamjab is facing the prospect of state-sanctioned punishment for producing a work of both literary and academic value," she said.

"We have said before that historical documentation is no crime, and we again urge the authorities to drop these charges and to release Lhamjab from custody."

Ethnic Mongolians, who make up almost 20 percent of Inner Mongolia's population of 23 million, increasingly complain of widespread environmental destruction and unfair development policies in the region.

Clashes common

Clashes between the authorities or Chinese state-backed mining or forestry companies and herding communities are common in the region, which borders the independent country of Mongolia.

But those who complain about the loss of their grazing lands are frequently targeted for harassment, beatings, and detention by the authorities.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wong Lok-to for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Source:Radio Free Asia

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US Senators reintroduce bill to raise trade with Mongolia

US Senators Ben Cardin and Dan Sullivan recently reintroduced a legislation to improve US trade relations and economic ties with Mongolia. Mongolia contributes to US national security goals in Asia and in the Middle East and the Mongolia Third Neighbour Trade Act will facilitate job and economic growth that can help both the nations, said Senator Cardin. 

Congressman Ted Yoho and Congresswoman Dina Titus have introduced a companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Mongolia produces more than one-third of the world’s raw cashmere. Most of it is exported to China and the United States buys nearly all of its cashmere products from China. 

The act will allow for duty-free entry of Mongolian cashmere into the United States for items that do not compete directly with any US products, according to a press release from Senator Cardin. 

A stronger bilateral trade relationship would benefit Mongolia and the United States by eliminating the shadow of unfair trade practices by China that likely have hampered the emergence of a Mongolian garment industry, the release said. 

“Our bill also will help bring stability, employment and economic empowerment to the women of Mongolia who comprise most of the country’s garment industry,” said Senator Cardin. 

“It is estimated that this simple act will create upwards of 40,000 jobs primarily for women who make up ninety percent of the garment industry in Mongolia,” said Congressman Ted Yoho. (DS)

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Mongolia to urge N.Korea to continue talks

The foreign minister of Mongolia, which has longstanding ties with North Korea, says he will urge the country to hold talks with the United States and Japan and to refrain from further provocative acts.

Damdin Tsogtbaatar, who is on a trip to the US, spoke to NHK over the phone on Saturday.

He stressed Ulan Bator 's friendly ties with Pyongyang and revealed that a Mongolian delegation is visiting North Korea to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Asked about the second US-North Korea summit which broke down in Hanoi, he said it was part of an ongoing process and urged observers not be disappointed. He added that Mongolia will continue to offer support and help set the stage for dialogue.

Tsogtbaatar also expressed concern over recent reports in North Korea's state media claiming the country has tested what it calls a "new type of tactical guided weapon." He described it as a provocative act that would have a negative impact on the current situation.

On the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North, Tsogtbaatar said his country has supported dialogue between Japan and North Korea and will continue its cooperation.

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Russian automaker to start selling Lada cars in Mongolia by 2020

The company is going to capture 15% of the Mongolian primary car market in a short term

BEIJING, April 19. /TASS/. The Russian automobile producer AutoVAZ will start selling Lada Xray Cross, Largus, Lada 4x4 and Granta models on the primary market in Mongolia, press service of the Russian embassy in Ulaanbaatar told TASS on Friday, citing a source in the company.

Sales will be implemented in accordance with the agreement made by the company with Mongolia’s Russo Motors, which will deal with promotion of the Russian car brand in Mongolia.

AutoVAZ is going to capture 15% of the Mongolian primary car market in a short term, the company said in a press release. The Russian automaker expects to be successful because its cars "are prepared for extreme weather conditions and challenging roads in Mongolia," AutoVAZ noted.

The Russian company will also provide repair services and support delivers of all required auto parts to the country.

AutoVAZ is the largest carmaker in Russia, which produced over 560,000 automobiles in 2018.

Source:Tass news agency of Russia

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Liaison offices for customs clearance established in Tianjin and Mongolia

TIANJIN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Liaison offices for port customs clearance were established in northern China's Tianjin Municipality and Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator, according to an ongoing trade fair in Tianjin.

The offices aim to promote economic and trade cooperation between Tianjin and Mongolia, and were established Thursday.

The two sides also signed projects totaling 80 million yuan (11.93 million U.S. dollars) at China Tianjin International Fair for Investment and Trade, according to China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The offices will help expand bilateral trade between Tianjin and Mongolia and promote the development of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, said T. Duuren, CEO of Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Chu Bin, president of Tianjin Port (Group) Co. Ltd., said that about 90 percent of goods from Mongolia by rail are transported via Tianjin port, and rail transport between Tianjin and Mongolia has been growing rapidly in recent years.

In 2018, the trade volume between Tianjin and Mongolia reached 1.45 billion yuan, up 6 percent year on year. The bilateral trade volume also saw a 28 percent increase to 200 million yuan in the first two months of this year, according to the MOC.

China Tianjin International Fair for Investment and Trade opened in Tianjin on Thursday and will last until April 22, focusing on opening-up, cooperation and high-quality development.

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Mongolian foreign affairs delegation in Pyongyang for talks: KCNA

U.S. ally Mongolia seen as potential mediator in ongoing denuclearization negotiations

A delegation from the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday for a series of high-level meetings, the DPRK’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Led by State Secretary Damdinsuren Davaasuren, the delegation met with foreign minister Ri Yong Ho and vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Ri Su Yong in separate meetings Thursday.

Details of the topics of discussion have yet to be released by either side.

Davaasuren became State Secretary in 2016, a role within the Mongolian MOFA which assists the foreign minister and deputy foreign minister.

He speaks Korean in addition to English and Russian, according to his profile on the MOFA website, and studied international business in South Korea in the late 1990s.

The most recent high-level contacts between the two countries came in December last year, when DPRK foreign minister Ri Yong Ho led a delegation to Ulaanbaatar to celebrate 70 years of bilateral ties.

In those talks with Mongolian foreign minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar, the two sides discussed “brisk exchange and cooperation in various fields” that year and “exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations and international and regional issues,” KCNA reported.

Earlier this week, Tsogtbaatar was seen attending a cultural event at a North Korean restaurant in Ulaanbaatar hosted by the DPRK ambassador O Sung Ho, according to a Facebook post from the Corporate Union of Mongolian Shamans.

China’s Xinhua also reported in early April that O Sung Ho, in a meeting with Mongolian Parliament Speaker Gombojav Zandanshatar, said “the DPRK attaches great importance to DPRK-Mongolia relations.”

“A further expansion of friendly relations and cooperation between our two countries is a foreign-policy priority for the DPRK,” O reportedly added.

Zandanshatar, in turn, said “the Mongolian parliament will pay special attention to further developing traditional friendly relations between our two countries,” and that Ulaanbaatar is “willing to further enhance parliamentary cooperation with the DPRK.”

The two countries’ relations have remained friendly over the past decades, from an era where the two shared similar political systems and similarly precarious positions between Beijing and Moscow.

There was even speculation over winter that Mongolia could be a candidate for the second U.S.-DPRK summit — which eventually took place in Vietnam — with President Khaltmaagiin Battulga in October officially invitingNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit the country.

Writing for NK News in December, analyst on Russian foreign policy in East Asia for the Sino-NK research group Anthony Rinna cautioned that “the bilateral DPRK-Mongolia relationship will not likely be of any major consequence in and of itself.”

“The future of Mongolia-North Korea relations, rather, will likely be most pronounced in a multilateral format, whether in economics or security,” Rinna wrote at the time.

The meetings in Pyongyang this week come as North Korea and Russia are preparing the first summitbetween Kim Jong Un and President Vladimir Putin in the latter half of April.

A location has yet to be confirmed for the summit, though it is widely expected to take place in Vladivostok.

While the U.S. watches for how enhancing Pyongyang-Moscow ties may affect ongoing denuclearization negotiations, Washington may also be hoping Ulaanbaatar furthers its role as mediator with the discussions this week.  

Last September, during a visit to Washington by Mongolian Prime Minister Khurelsukh, the U.S. and Mongolia released a joint statement declaring that “both sides also reaffirmed the essential importance to regional and global security of the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK.”

The two “pledged to continue cooperation and information sharing to ensure the full implementation of all UN Security Council resolutions,” and the U.S. “thanked Mongolia for its assistance in this regard and urged continued support for the efforts of the international community.”

Source:nknews.org

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Mongolia's exports of copper concentrates up 7 pct in Q1

ULAN BATOR, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's exports of copper concentrates increased 7 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, local media reported Thursday.

Mongolia exported a total of 361,400 tons of copper concentrates in the January-March period, the daily newspaper Zasgiin Gazriin Medee quoted the country's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry as saying.

The resource-rich country earned 503.7 million U.S. dollars from the export of copper concentrates in the period, up 9 percent from the same period last year, the ministry added.

Mining is the most important sector of Mongolia's economy as the Asian country is rich in natural resources such as gold, silver, iron, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, and fluorspar.

The mining industry made up 72 percent of the industrial output, 87 percent of total exports, 24 percent of the gross domestic product and 75 percent of foreign investment in 2018, according to the country's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.

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Mongolia approves national program to promote SME growth

ULAN BATOR, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Mongolian government has approved a national program to promote the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local media reported Thursday, citing the government's press office.

"SMEs make a huge contribution to every country's socio-economic development. The majority of our country's enterprises are SMEs, and promoting these enterprises are of great significance to economic development," the press office said in a statement.

The two-stage development program, which covers a period from 2019 to 2022, plans to allocate funds to SMEs issued from the country's annual state and local budgets as well as foreign aid and loans.

It is expected to help SMEs modernize, improve the efficiency and competitiveness of products, and produce more import substitutes.

Official data shows that SMEs contribute to 17.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). The program aims to raise the contribution to 21 percent and to creat at least 30,000 new jobs across the country.

According to official data, more than 78,000 out of 155,000 total registered enterprises were operating in the country as of the end of 2017, of which over 60,000 were SMEs.

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Hakuho seeks Japanese nationality to manage stable

Hakuho wins the Emperor's Cup in March. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Yokozuna Hakuho said he has applied for Japanese nationality, which would enable him to get around an unwritten “no foreigners” rule and remain in Japan’s sumo world after his retirement from the ring.

The 34-year-old Mongolian, whose real name is Munkhbat Davaajargal, told reporters in Tokyo on April 17 that he has started the process of obtaining Japanese nationality.

“All that is left to do is wait for the results,” Hakuho said.

To become a stablemaster in the Japan Sumo Association (JSA), a retired wrestler must obtain the “toshiyori myoseki” (sumo elder name) qualification based on his performances in the dohyo.

Hakuho has expressed a desire to become a stablemaster as “ichidai toshiyori,” an honor bestowed on yokozuna who have made remarkable achievements in sumo, without acquiring Japanese nationality.

However, the JSA requires Japanese nationality for both toshiyori myoseki and ichidai toshiyori.

The JSA has taken a negative view on toshiyori with foreign nationality since the time Kitanoumi was JSA chairman. Kitanoumi was a dominant yokozuna in the 1970s and is considered one of the greatest grand champions.

“Sumo is Japanese culture. Sumo wrestlers inherit it. Therefore, if stablemasters who instruct them are foreigners, they cannot give proper instructions,” a JSA official said.

The sumo world for years has been dominated by foreign-born wrestlers, particularly those from Mongolia. The JSA official said if it grants toshiyori to retired wrestlers based only on their performances, there would be an excessive number of foreign stablemasters.

The honor of ichidai toshiyori allows a retired sumo wrestler to open a stable under his ring name. The stable and name exist for as long as he is the stablemaster.

Only three yokozuna have received the honor--Taiho, Kitanoumi and Takanohana.

While there are no clear-cut standards to qualify for ichidai toshiyori, one rule of thumb is winning at least 20 Emperor’s Cups.

Hakuho has easily got that covered.

With 42 trophies under his belt, Hakuho is also committed to promoting the sport and giving instructions. He organizes sumo competitions for elementary and junior high school students, which have attracted more than 1,000 children from home and abroad.

But saddled lately by injuries, Hakuho apparently started to think seriously about his post-retirement life.

Hakuho wanted to retain his Mongolian nationality, but he changed his mind after his father, Munkhbat, reportedly told his son to pursue his own path, regardless of the nationality he holds.

Munkhbat won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1968 Summer Games in Mexico City, the first Olympic medal for Mongolia. He also competed in sumo wrestling.

He died in April last year.

(Staff Writer Takahiro Takezono contributed to this article.)

Source:asahi.com

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CLOSED-DOOR TRIAL OF MONGOLIAN HISTORIAN LHAMJAB BORJIGIN A “CONTINUED ATTACK ON HISTORICAL INQUIRY”

April 16, 2019

NEW YORK—The one-day, closed door trial of Mongolian writer and historian Lhamjab A. Borjigin for criminal charges related to his writing represents a continued attack on freedom of expression and historical inquiry in Southern Mongolia, PEN America said today.

On April 4, Lhamjab Borjigin underwent a one-day, three-hour trial for the criminal charges of “national separatism,” “sabotaging national unity,” and “illegal publication and distribution” before a court in Southern Mongolia, a region of northern China also known as Inner Mongolia. The court has not yet delivered a verdict.

The charges against Lhamjab are presumed to be related to his 2006 book “China’s Cultural Revolution,” which Lhamjab self-published and which compiles the oral testimony of survivors of the Cultural Revolution within Inner Mongolia. An audio version of the book has recently become highly popular among Mongolian listeners, both in Inner Mongolia and in the neighboring country of Mongolia. Lhamjab was originally detained in July of 2018, and informed then that prosecutors intended to bring criminal charges against him. According to Lhamjab himself—who commented on his case to the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Center via a recorded audio statement—he was denied a lawyer during his one-day trial, and his family was not allowed to attend. Lhamjab also reportedly commented that his trial was “unjust . . . not only against me but also against our entire Southern Mongolians who have been subjected to a series of mass killings and political persecution but are not even allowed to speak of these atrocities.”

“Lhamjab Borjigin may be the one standing before the court, but it is clearly his research and historical writings that the authorities are seeking to put on trial,” said Summer Lopez, Senior Director for Free Expression Programs at PEN America. “As an organization of writers of conscience, we are deeply troubled to think that Lhamjab is facing the prospect of state-sanctioned punishment for producing a work of both literary and academic value. We have said before that historical documentation is no crime, and we again urge the authorities to drop these charges and to release Lhamjab from custody.”

Southern Mongolia has seen tensions between its ethnic Mongolian population and authorities over issues including land usage and Mongolian linguistic and cultural identity. Lhamjab is not the only Mongolian writer who has reportedly run afoul with the authorities over his expressive rights this month. Only a few days after Lhamjab’s trial, on April 12, Mongolian writer and teacher O. Sechenbaatar was reportedly detained at a protest over land access and placed under criminal detention, with criminal charges expected.

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PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect open expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. pen.org

CONTACT: Anoosh Gasparian, External Relations Manager: agasparian@pen.org

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Petro Matad signs rig contracts for four-well campaign in Mongolia

Mongolian oil explorer Petro Matad said it had signed contracts with DQE International for two rigs for its upcoming 2019 four-well drilling programme.

The fully-funded programme remained on track for completion in 2019, the company said.

The Heron 1 and Red Deer 1 wells were expected to spud in July, while the spudding of Gazelle 1 would follow completion of drilling at Heron 1.

The rig contracts allowed for possibility of immediate appraisal of any discovery, the company said.

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Mongolia's industrial output up 17.5 pct in Q1

ULAN BATOR, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's industrial output rose 17.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, according to data released by the country's National Statistics Office on Monday.

The industrial output amounted to 3.8 trillion Mongolian tugriks (about 1.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of 2019, the statistical agency said.

The output of the main mining products, the key driver of industrial production growth, increased by 21.3 percent year on year, the agency said in a statement.

Raw coal production rose by 64.9 percent, and iron ore production rose 1.4 percent year on year in the first quarter.

Mining is the main economic sector of the landlocked Asian country. The sector made up 72 percent of the industrial output, 87 percent of total exports, 24 percent of the gross domestic product and 75 percent of foreign investment in 2018, according to the country's Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry.

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Mongolia coal exports surge 15 pct in Q1 after China Australia ban

ULAANBAATAR, April 15 (Reuters) - Mongolia’s coal exports rose 15 percent on the year to 7.8 million tonnes in the first quarter, according to official data published on Monday, with the country benefiting from customs delays impeding imports from Australia during the period.

Landlocked Mongolia is heavily dependent on demand for coal and copper from China, its southern neighbour and the buyer of more than 90 percent of its exports.

China has sharply reduced purchases of Australian coal after clearing times through China’s customs doubled to more than 40 days amid growing tensions between Beijing and Canberra over issues ranging from cyber security to Beijing’s influence in Pacific island nations.

Naranbaatar Lundeg, an economist and member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, said the problems faced importing coal from Australia had “opened up opportunities” for Mongolian suppliers.

“This might continue until May, due to the parliamentary elections in Australia,” he said.

Mongolia’s export earnings from coal over the first three months of the year reached $644 million, up 25 percent compared to a year earlier, the country’s statistics office said.

The rise in coal exports helped drive up Mongolia’s total industrial output from coal mining by 64.9 percent over the period.

Mongolia’s industrial output rose 17.5 percent over the first quarter, while the total value of the country’s exports rose 19.5 percent, the statistics office said.

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China Tries Ethnic Mongolian Historian For Genocide Book, in Secret

Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia have tried an ethnic Mongolian writer in secret on "separatism" charges, a rights group said on Friday.

Lhamjab A. Borjigin, 75, stood trial on April 4 on charges of "separatism" and "sabotaging national unity," the New York-based Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC) reported.

"The trial started at 9:00 a.m. on April 4 and ended around 12:00 p.m. at the Shiliinhot Municipal People’s Court," the group quoted a recorded audio message from Lhamjab as saying.

"None of my family members were allowed to attend," he said. "I was denied the right to bring my lawyer to defend myself."

A native of Heshigten Banner, a county-like division in Inner Mongolia, and a member of the state-backed Shiliingol League Literary Association, Lhamjab has been a prominent voice in ethnic Mongolian culture in China, as well as documenting the region's oral history.

He specializes in survivor testimonies of the political violence and social chaos of the Cultural Revolution, publishing his book "China's Cultural Revolution" in 2006.

Lhamjab said he had refused to speak Chinese during the courtproceedings, and had "reluctantly" been allowed to bring an interpreter into the courtroom.

"It was a typical closed-door trial," Lhamjab said. "Only eight people, namely three judges, three procurators, myself and my interpreter were present in the small courtroom with the door tightly closed."

Lhamjab has rejected the charges pending against him, saying that he only wrote the historical truth.

Case directly ordered by regional government

The court has yet to announce its verdict in the case, which was brought under direct orders from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regiongovernment, according to Lhamjab.

"When the [prosecutors] accused me of engaging in ‘national separatism,’ ‘sabotaging national unity’ and ‘illegal publication and illegal distribution,’ I defended myself by asking whether those who committed the genocide in [Inner] Mongolia or the ones like myself who talked about this genocide should be considered [to be] ‘sabotaging national unity'," he said.

"The [prosecutors] candidly told me that it is not up to them," Lhamjab said. "It was because the Autonomous Region Public Security Bureau and State Security Bureau are pressuring them to prosecute me on these charges.”

Lhamjab said he had maintained his innocence throughout the trial, andrefused to plead guilty to any of the charges.

"I am determined to appeal to the highest court because this is an unjust trial not only against me but also against our entire Southern Mongolians who have been subjected to a series of mass killing and political persecution but are not even allowed to speak of these atrocities.”

For his book, Lhamjab gathered oral testimonies of survivors of violence against ethnic Mongolians during the Cultural Revolution, a task that took him 20 years.

The book accuses the ruling Chinese Communist Party of state-sponsoredgenocide in the region, detailing torture techniques and detentions in a brutal campaign that claimed the lives of at least 27,900 people andimprisoned and tortured 346,000.

Lhamjab published the book unofficially, at his own expense, after state-run Chinese publishing houses refused to publish it.

"The book became popular among Mongolians not only in [Inner]Mongolia, but also in the [neighboring] independent country of Mongolia," SMHRIC said.

Destroying nomadic civilization

Last year, an abridged audio version of the book went viral among ethnic Mongolians on Chinese social media platforms, especially WeChat, the group said.

The authorities began confiscating copies of the book and placed Lhamjab under house arrest on July 11, 2018.

The writers' group PEN America has called on Beijing to drop the charges and release Lhamjab.

Ethnic Mongolians in exile have repeatedly also called on Chineseauthorities to end human rights violations, systematic andinstitutionalized discrimination against ethnic Mongolians within China's borders, as well as longstanding policies aimed at ending their traditional, nomadic way of life.

In a submission to the International Convention on the Elimination ofRacial Discrimination (CERD), which is currently reviewing Beijing's record, SMHRIC called on the Chinese government to release all ethnic Mongolian prisoners of conscience, including members of herding communities who have been "arbitrarily arrested, detained, and imprisoned for defending their grazing land from illegal appropriation."

The group is calling for the immediate withdrawal of all "extractiveindustries, tourist companies and power plants that not only occupy and appropriate large tracts of Mongolian grazing lands, but also devastate the ecosystem, deplete the underground water and pollute the air and water."

It is also campaigning against the Chinese authorities’ "massivepropaganda campaign to justify their destruction of nomadic civilization and ... the natural environment."

Chinese government policies, the group said, are "based on deep-seateddiscrimination that characterizes Mongolian pastoralism as 'backward,archaic, unscientific and uncivilized' way of life and advertises the Chinese way of life as 'advanced, civilized and scientific'."

The authorities should also prosecute "hate crimes and hate speech byChinese individuals, private or public entities and government bodiesagainst Mongolian language, customs, tradition, way of life and identity," it said.

Reported by Wu Jing for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

Source:Radio Free Asia

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