Source: The Guardian                         Date: 27 August, 2010

As a regular visitor to Mongolia since 1993 and a resident in Ulaanbaatar over the past 18 months, I find the skewed depiction of life here (published originally in The Guardia, UK, and reproduced in the newswire of August 6 as “Anti-Chinese sentiment fuels rise of Mongolian ultra-nationalism”) to be demeaning and unfair to Mongolians.

Certainly Mongolian society faces challenges. Yes, there is a small handful of malcontents who make up these rightwing fringe groups. Their influence, however, has been steadily on the wane for years. Yes, Mongolians are worried about China's economic might. Their past as a former colony of China and the present circumstances of their cultural cousins in Tibet give rise to justifiable concerns about the long-term intentions of their southern neighbor.

Yes, there is a strain of prejudice against China, as shown in a hip-hop track Don't Go Too Far, You Chinks with its distasteful chorus "shoot 'em all". This hateful song, however, is not "widely played in bars and clubs" as the article suggests. Mongolians find it repugnant. Yes, Mongolians are a proud people. They have to be; there are precious few foreign Mongolophiles around who sing the praises of their culture and history.

However, the description of rising xenophobia on the mean streets of Ulaanbaatar simply does not gel with my own experiences of an open and hospitable people who are keen to adopt international business standards, who share our values of free speech and participatory democracy, and who are anxious to be seen as members of the international community.

Mongolia is the unsung success story of Asian human rights. The country made a bloodless transition to democracy in 1990 and has never made any move to repudiate participatory politics. Attendances at Buddhist temples, churches and mosques reflect the complete revival of religious freedom. The good, the bad and the ugly of Ulaanbaatar's daily newspapers reflect the national commitment to freedom of expression. Mongolian business people wish to abide by international standards of conduct and are proud of a commercial environment where foreign investment is warmly welcomed. Mongolians have every right to feel proud about their country and often say that they are "the easternmost extension of Europe". In terms of our higher values, they are.

(This riposte is by Mr. Michael Aldrich, partner, Hogan Lovells and advisor to GTs Advocates.)