Lessons from the Shenyang incident
TADOKORO Takehiko / Trustee of Toho Gakuen
June 14, 2002
When the five North Koreans who sought asylum at the Japanese Consulate-General in Shenyang were still being detained by Chinese authorities, I wrote an article for a weekly magazine entitled "The Deplorable Lack of Humanitarian Sensibility of the Japanese and Chinese Authorities." Judging from the video produced with the cooperation of an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), it is evident that the assertion made by the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman that they "detained unidentified individuals who forced their way into the Consulate to protect consular staff" doesn't hold up to the truth. From the outset, it was obvious that the five were North Koreans seeking asylum. Meanwhile, the Japanese Consulate protested afterwards against an "infringement of inviolability," but one of the consular staff was captured on video kindly picking up a cap dropped by a Chinese policeman in his struggle to subdue a woman, while the Consulate reportedly also thanked the Chinese side, making their words and deeds similarly suspect. Furthermore, it was later revealed that a staff had turned down a letter written in English requesting asylum presented by a North Korean man who ran into the Consulate. Neither the Japanese nor Chinese side showed any sense of sympathy for the refugees who are in a weak position.
Nevertheless, Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami wasn't completely wrong to have given orders to turn back suspicious individuals trying to enter the Consulate. Generally speaking, he did the right thing. No consulate in the world - regardless of country - welcomes suspicious individuals amid the possibility of terrorism. In Ambassador Anami’s case, it was unfortunate that his comments were made immediately prior to the incident.
How should such a situation be dealt with? Security is important, sovereignty is important and the human rights of visitors to the Consulate are also important. Consular staff employed overseas on people's tax money mustn't give up thinking at this point, but instead endeavor to seek the best course of action from an overall viewpoint by being constantly alert to these issues. In doing so, they must constantly seek relevant information. Why are there North Korean refugees - cited at 50,000 or over 100,000 - in North-Eastern China, and why are a considerable number of such refugees seeking an opportunity to escape to a third country where they will be treated as refugees? What's going on inside North Korea? Had they been more focused on these points, they wouldn't have responded in such a sorry way as demonstrated on video.
I'm no expert on North Korea, but I have visited the country three times since my first visit in 1975 to the winter of 1994. In 1982, I was dined by then President Kim Il Sung at his palace in Pyongyang, and couldn't help but sigh at the overwhelming gap that existed between the top and bottom ranks of society. By 1994, after the death of Kim Il Sung, the impoverishment of rural regions suffering from crop failure had reached tragic proportions.
The causes involved are sometimes structural and difficult to resolve. While the 'Sunshine Policy'adopted by South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is understandable, I can't fully approve because there is an element of postponing the problem. The starting point is to understand the predicament of those who must abandon their home country at the risk of losing their lives, and to sympathize with them.
The video brought reality into sharp focus, providing us with the opportunity to contemplate various issues facing us.
The writer is a Trustee of Toho Gakuen and former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Asahi Newspaper.
Nevertheless, Japanese Ambassador to China Koreshige Anami wasn't completely wrong to have given orders to turn back suspicious individuals trying to enter the Consulate. Generally speaking, he did the right thing. No consulate in the world - regardless of country - welcomes suspicious individuals amid the possibility of terrorism. In Ambassador Anami’s case, it was unfortunate that his comments were made immediately prior to the incident.
How should such a situation be dealt with? Security is important, sovereignty is important and the human rights of visitors to the Consulate are also important. Consular staff employed overseas on people's tax money mustn't give up thinking at this point, but instead endeavor to seek the best course of action from an overall viewpoint by being constantly alert to these issues. In doing so, they must constantly seek relevant information. Why are there North Korean refugees - cited at 50,000 or over 100,000 - in North-Eastern China, and why are a considerable number of such refugees seeking an opportunity to escape to a third country where they will be treated as refugees? What's going on inside North Korea? Had they been more focused on these points, they wouldn't have responded in such a sorry way as demonstrated on video.
I'm no expert on North Korea, but I have visited the country three times since my first visit in 1975 to the winter of 1994. In 1982, I was dined by then President Kim Il Sung at his palace in Pyongyang, and couldn't help but sigh at the overwhelming gap that existed between the top and bottom ranks of society. By 1994, after the death of Kim Il Sung, the impoverishment of rural regions suffering from crop failure had reached tragic proportions.
The causes involved are sometimes structural and difficult to resolve. While the 'Sunshine Policy'adopted by South Korean President Kim Dae Jung is understandable, I can't fully approve because there is an element of postponing the problem. The starting point is to understand the predicament of those who must abandon their home country at the risk of losing their lives, and to sympathize with them.
The video brought reality into sharp focus, providing us with the opportunity to contemplate various issues facing us.
The writer is a Trustee of Toho Gakuen and former Beijing Bureau Chief of the Asahi Newspaper.
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
瀋陽事件の教訓
田所 竹彦 / 桐朋学園理事
2002年 6月 14日
日本の瀋陽総領事館に亡命を求めた北朝鮮の五人がまだ中国側に拘束されていた時、私はある雑誌（『週間金曜日』）に頼まれて「日中当局の恐るべき人権感覚」という原稿を書いた。非政府組織（NGO）の協力で撮影されたビデオを見れば、「総領事館に侵入した身元不明の人間を連行したのは、総領事館の人員の安全を守るため」という中国外務省報道局長の主張が事実に合わないことは一目瞭然だ。五人が北朝鮮からの亡命希望者であることは初めから明白なのだ。一方、総領事館側はあとで「不可侵権の侵害」と抗議したが、女性を力ずくで取り押さえようとして落とした中国警官の帽子を日本の館員が拾ってやったり、謝意を伝えたり、こちらの言動も全くしまらない。総領事館内に駆け込んだ男性が渡した亡命希望の英文の手紙を館員が突っ返したことも、あとで明らかになった。日中双方とも、弱い立場の難民に対する同情の念が感じられない。
だからといって、公館に入ろうとする不審者を追い返せといった阿南大使の指示が全く間違っているとは、私は思わない。一般論としては、その通りなのだ。テロの危険もあるなかで、不審者を「どうぞ」といって入れてくれるような在外公館は、どの国のものであれ存在しない。阿南発言のばあいは、事件の直前に行われた点が不運だった。
では、どうすればいいのか。警備も大事、主権も大事、公館を訪ねてくる人たちの人権も大事。ここで思考停止に陥ることなく、これらの問題に常にアラートであり続け、総合的に判断してより良い対策を探る努力が、税金を使って在外勤務する館員たちに求められている。そのためには、日頃の勉強も大切だ。中国東北になぜ五万人とも十万以上ともいわれる北朝鮮からの難民がいて、その相当数が難民としての待遇を受けられる中国以外への脱出の機会をねらっているのか。北の実態はどうなっているのか。こうしたことに目が向けば、ビデオに写し出されたような無惨な対応は生まれなかったろう。
私は朝鮮問題研究者ではないが、七五年に北朝鮮を訪問していらい、九四年冬まで三度あの国を訪問している。八二年の時は、金日成主席に平壌の宮殿でご馳走になり、社会主義を掲げる国に存在するあまりの上下格差に溜め息が出た。金日成死後の九四年になると、凶作にあえぐ農村の疲弊はさらに悲惨なものになっていた。
それらの原因には構造的なものもあって、対策も簡単ではない。金大中大統領の“太陽政策”も分からぬではないが、やや問題の先延ばしの要素があって、私は全面的には賛成しがたい。死の危険を冒しても故国を捨てざるをえない人びとの立場を理解し、同情することが出発点だと思う。
事件の実態を鋭く描き出したビデオが契機となって、今回の事件はさまざまな問題を考えるチャンスを私たちに与えた。
（筆者は桐朋学園理事、元朝日新聞北京支局長）
だからといって、公館に入ろうとする不審者を追い返せといった阿南大使の指示が全く間違っているとは、私は思わない。一般論としては、その通りなのだ。テロの危険もあるなかで、不審者を「どうぞ」といって入れてくれるような在外公館は、どの国のものであれ存在しない。阿南発言のばあいは、事件の直前に行われた点が不運だった。
では、どうすればいいのか。警備も大事、主権も大事、公館を訪ねてくる人たちの人権も大事。ここで思考停止に陥ることなく、これらの問題に常にアラートであり続け、総合的に判断してより良い対策を探る努力が、税金を使って在外勤務する館員たちに求められている。そのためには、日頃の勉強も大切だ。中国東北になぜ五万人とも十万以上ともいわれる北朝鮮からの難民がいて、その相当数が難民としての待遇を受けられる中国以外への脱出の機会をねらっているのか。北の実態はどうなっているのか。こうしたことに目が向けば、ビデオに写し出されたような無惨な対応は生まれなかったろう。
私は朝鮮問題研究者ではないが、七五年に北朝鮮を訪問していらい、九四年冬まで三度あの国を訪問している。八二年の時は、金日成主席に平壌の宮殿でご馳走になり、社会主義を掲げる国に存在するあまりの上下格差に溜め息が出た。金日成死後の九四年になると、凶作にあえぐ農村の疲弊はさらに悲惨なものになっていた。
それらの原因には構造的なものもあって、対策も簡単ではない。金大中大統領の“太陽政策”も分からぬではないが、やや問題の先延ばしの要素があって、私は全面的には賛成しがたい。死の危険を冒しても故国を捨てざるをえない人びとの立場を理解し、同情することが出発点だと思う。
事件の実態を鋭く描き出したビデオが契機となって、今回の事件はさまざまな問題を考えるチャンスを私たちに与えた。
（筆者は桐朋学園理事、元朝日新聞北京支局長）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟