Tool of oppression
Liu Che-ting’s (劉哲廷) op-ed, (“Silence can be a very powerful tool,” June 28, page 8) on Chang Man-chuan’s (張曼娟) posts about her trip to Xinjiang strikes at a disturbing truth: Aesthetic beauty, stripped of context, can become a tool of erasure.
Some say that Chang’s reflections on her travels are personal, apolitical and should not be criticized.
Had Adolf Hitler’s regime survived and turned Auschwitz into a scenic tourist destination — complete with gardens, museums, hearty meals and polite staff — would we accept a famous writer visiting and praising its atmosphere, without a single word about the atrocities that occurred there?
Of course not. To do so would not be neutral; it would be a subtle, dangerous form of denial, smoothing over unspeakable horror with the brushstrokes of everyday charm. That is exactly what influential voices risk when they depict Xinjiang as a land of flavor and hospitality, while remaining silent on the cultural genocide, surveillance and internment still haunting the region.
Writers have every right to travel and reflect, but with public influence comes responsibility. In authoritarian regimes, silence is not just absence — it is often harnessed to serve the regime’s goals. A glowing description, devoid of political reality, becomes a postcard propaganda could not write better.
Not all scenery deserves praise, and not all silence is poetic. Sometimes, silence helps tyrants speak.
John Cheng
Taichung
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