Gayoom Looks To China For Guidance

President Gayoom said on Sunday he would like China to instruct the Maldives on how to build a “harmonious society”, reports Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Speaking to a visiting delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Male’, Gayoom expressed a desire for China to help the Maldives in speeding up development and strengthening its economy.

During the delegation’s discussion, which was led by Liu Yandong, Vice Chairwoman of China’s top advisory body, Gayoom also said that his party, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) wanted to develop its relations with the CPC.

Yandong said the Chinese Government would be pleased to work with the Maldives in “pushing forward” the exchange and cooperation of the two countries.

Critics, however, have said that the way forward for the Maldives is not by modeling China. While the country has experienced unprecedented economic growth in recent years – its gross domestic product (GDP) growing at rate of six per cent annually – it has been slow to liberalise politically.

Similar to its Maldivian counterpart, the Chinese Government has received much criticism from international NGO’s over its human rights record. This fact has led some of Gayoom’s critics to believe that the President’s vision of a “harmonious society” is one in which the country becomes rich, but the government maintains a firm grip on power.

Not so says Maldivian Foreign Minister, Dr. Shaheed. “We have been on the record to make clear our mission of a liberal democracy,” he told Minivan News.

In a similar move as Gayoom’s “Roadmap” for reform, the Chinese government made an amendment to their Constitution in 2004, which said the “State respects and preserves human rights.” It was hoped the amendment would bring about a change in the way China treated its citizens, but subsequent violations of human rights demonstrated it had not worked.

The Chinese Government is also well known for its lack of tolerance of political dissent. Just as the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) claims it has been treated inhumanely by the Maldivian Government, oppositional figures in China say they are routinely arrested, imprisoned, and often left for long periods of time without trial. Incidents of torture, forced confessions and forced labour have also been widely reported.

Gayoom’s Roadmap has been drawn up to lead the Maldives away from its current wrongs. But by looking to China for guidance, some fear little will change. During Sunday’s meeting Liu Yandong thanked both Gayoom and the Maldivian Government for their support over the issues of Taiwan and human rights.

Liu Yandong also held talks with Ahmed Zahir, speaker of the People’s Majlis on Saturday.

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