{"id":248658,"date":"2026-08-28T00:18:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:48:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=248658"},"modified":"2026-08-28T00:18:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T18:48:46","slug":"democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

By A. Jathindra<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

A. Jathindra<\/p><\/div>\n

China today represents not only a strategic challenge to the USled, rulesbased international order but also a profound test for democracy itself. For many smaller nations, Beijing\u2019s rapid transformation from poverty to sustained economic growth has become a source of admiration. The danger, however, lies in this economic respect evolving into an endorsement of China\u2019s governance model. In this sense, China stands as both a “near peer” competitor to the United States and a rival to the Westernled democratic ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka once openly expressed interest in adopting governance lessons from China during Mahinda Rajapaksa\u2019s tenure \u2014 a telling indication of how Beijing\u2019s influence extends beyond economics. Even within Sri Lanka\u2019s business community, debates over governance mirror the political divisions shaping the nation\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

At a panel hosted by the Sri Lanka\u2013Korea Business Council, Aroshi Nanayakkara \u2014 CEO of a global consulting firm and former chairperson of the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors \u2014 openly challenged<\/span><\/a><\/span> Sri Lanka\u2019s governance model. She asked whether a system defined by short electoral cycles and changing mandates can truly deliver the longterm vision needed for economic transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to challenge: is democracy the right way to go? Every five years when you have a new president and a whole new parliament, how are you going to maintain that vision for a country?\u201d Nanayakkara asked.<\/p>\n

This sentiment finds echoes in Sri Lanka\u2019s political sphere. Tilvin Silva, the powerful general secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), has argued that longterm governments are essential for national transformation. In his view, countries such as Singapore and China required 10 to 20 years to reshape their societies. \u201cIt takes years to change the entire society. We need to protect the government until we achieve the objectives of forming the government. We cannot finish the work within five years,\u201d Silva declared<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Such statements illustrate how China\u2019s governance model is influencing democratic nations that traditionally uphold liberal principles. Beijing\u2019s example challenges Western notions of human rights and democracy by demonstrating that economic development can occur without them.<\/p>\n

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union posed an ideological challenge to the United States. China\u2019s approach is subtler. While it remains the oneparty communist state, Beijing does not export ideology in the traditional sense. Instead, it indirectly inspires smaller nations through its economic success, offering an alternative governance model. This is China\u2019s quiet tactic.<\/p>\n

Officially, China champions a foreign policy of noninterference. In practice, however, Beijing frequently involves itself in the internal affairs of smaller states. Nepal offers a vivid example. In July, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Maoming intervened<\/span><\/a> <\/span>to halt an academic conference on Tibetan studies scheduled at Kathmandu University in collaboration with the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS). The university withdrew as host after government instructions \u201cnot to proceed,\u201d following Chinese concerns that the event might provide a platform for critics of Beijing\u2019s rule over Tibet.<\/p>\n

More than 700 scholars from 39 countries had already booked flights and hotels for the conference, including participants from Chinese institutions. The seminar was set to cover Tibetan history, language, religion, philosophy, art, and culture. Yet China\u2019s pressure prevailed, underscoring how its \u201cOne China Policy\u201d can override sovereign decisions in smaller states.<\/p>\n

Nepal\u2019s situation is further complicated by its Tibetan refugee population. Once a major transit route for Tibetans traveling to India \u2014 home to the Dalai Lama in exile \u2014 Nepal remains highly sensitive to Beijing\u2019s demands. In July, the government permitted Tibetan refugees to celebrate the Dalai Lama\u2019s birthday but banned the Tibetan anthem, rallies, slogans, and statements from the exile administration. Similarly, Sri Lanka rejected<\/span><\/a><\/span> the Dalai Lama\u2019s request to worship at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy and at the Mahabodhi tree in Anuradhapura, fearing Chinese hostility. These examples raise a pressing question: is this truly China\u2019s policy of noninterference?<\/p>\n

The contradictions are striking. While Beijing forced Nepal to cancel a Tibetan studies conference, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK LAW)<\/span><\/span><\/a> has simultaneously permitted collaboration with the U.S.-based Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam \u2014 a group advocating for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka. According to the university\u2019s announcement, the project will examine ongoing political and legal discourses surrounding the development of an independent Tamil state within the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It aims to provide an objective academic assessment of the legal challenges facing the creation of such a state. This duality illustrates how China manipulates its principle of noninterference: stepping into the internal affairs of nations when its strategic interests demand it, yet turning a blind eye to other movements when they align with its longterm \u201cwolf warrior\u201d ambitions.<\/p>\n

China\u2019s growing influence in small countries thus extends far beyond trade and infrastructure. It shapes debates on governance, challenges democratic norms, and pressures sovereign states to align with Beijing\u2019s priorities. For nations like Sri Lanka and Nepal, the dilemma is stark: economic partnership with China brings development opportunities, but it also risks eroding democratic values and independent decisionmaking.<\/p>\n

As China continues to expand its global footprint, small democracies face a critical test. Will they safeguard their democratic institutions and human rights traditions, or will they drift toward governance models inspired by Beijing\u2019s success?<\/p>\n

The answer will determine not only their political futures but also the resilience of democracy in the developing world.<\/p>\n

*A. Jathindra is a geopolitical analyst and the founding director of the Trinco Centre for Strategic Studies, an independent think tank based in the port city of Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. <\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2529,"featured_media":245636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-editorial"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[…]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"355\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"A. Jathindra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"A. Jathindra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"A. Jathindra\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599\"},\"headline\":\"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":946,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"Opinion\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/\",\"name\":\"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg\",\"width\":630,\"height\":355},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599\",\"name\":\"A. Jathindra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"A. Jathindra\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colombotelegraph.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ajat\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[…]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":630,"height":355,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"A. Jathindra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"A. Jathindra","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/"},"author":{"name":"A. Jathindra","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599"},"headline":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge","datePublished":"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/"},"wordCount":946,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","articleSection":["Colombo Telegraph","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/","name":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-27T18:48:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","width":630,"height":355},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/democracy-under-strain-beijings-quiet-challenge\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Democracy Under Strain: Beijing\u2019s Quiet Challenge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b9b8bc43f62af93b7145c43dc9679599","name":"A. Jathindra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d82435438040552dd2c7d8a047036dc6f39eae2ccbe537483471bd8b7778f99a?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"A. Jathindra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/ajat\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Tilvin-Silva-in-China.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2529"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248659,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248658\/revisions\/248659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}