Mongolia, a country with a relatively small population of three million people who maintain very close relations, has a vibrant LGBTQ+ community. Yet, for them, living an openly queer life can be so challenging that many consider exile the only viable solution.

As several reports indicate, queer Mongolians who step out of a hidden, often underground life and come out to their families, or publicly at work and in public spaces face rejection, abuse, verbal and physical violence in a vast majority of cases. To unpack the reasons for homophobia and transphobia, Global Voices spoke to Otgonbaatar Tsedendemberel, who is a co-founder and former executive director of the LGBT Center of Mongolia. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at Doctoral School of Sociology of Corvinus University of Budapest in Hungary, exploring the notion of shame and how it characterizes the lived experiences of contemporary Mongolian queers. The interview has been edited for clarity.

Filip Noubel (FN): What are the roots of homophobia and transphobia in Mongolia? What factors contribute to it?

Otgonbaatar Tsedendemberel (OT): The root causes of hatred against LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia are a mix of different factors. Making it a taboo topic during socialism led to lack of knowledge and understanding of sexuality; also, the patriarchy perpetuating strict gender norms and roles alienates LGBTQ+ people as it condemns them for not conforming to the stereotypical masculine and feminine binary. Finally, nationalists and conservatives view the community as a threat to national security in the context of reproduction and accuse it of ‘perversion’ and ‘unnaturalness.’ Given that one third of the population lives under the poverty line, that there is a corrupt government and consequent deteriorating educational and health systems, understanding and respecting LGBTQ+ Mongolians is not a priority, sadly. Whereas Buddhist teachings preach tolerance and sympathy towards individual beings, and shamanism implies and practices two-spiritedness, such concepts are not fully embraced by the public in terms of accepting sexual and gender minorities. On a positive note, religion is not used as a weapon to demonize queer Mongolians.

FN: Most if not all Mongolian queers seem to experience shame due to rejection, and also erasure or invisibility. Can you describe the legal status of queer people in Mongolia and the availability of supportive and safer spaces?

OT: In my opinion, consciously or subconsciously, most Mongolian queers experience some level of shame of being born and living as belonging to sexual and gender minorities. The Mongolian Constitution implicitly protects queer Mongolians, and our Criminal Code prohibits hate crime and speech against LGBTQ+ people. The younger generation, civil society, and human rights NGOs discussing minority issues, intersectionality, feminism, and other controversial issues, and most importantly the hard work of Ulaanbaatar's LGBT Center, have been driving forces in advancing queer rights. Pride has been held since 2013.

Promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion through queer art and literature not only by media, but also by queer community members does help improve public awareness. Although there are some progressive media outlets, art projects, and emerging queer literature that shed light on acceptance and understanding of queer Mongolians, certain mainstream media, plays, movies, and other insensitive, old-fashioned artists still portray LGBTQ+ roles as subjects and objects of joke, slapstick, and outright insult. All of this turns into a source of shaming in return.

FN: In your recent academic research, you point out that both families who reject LGBTQ+ members and queer people seem to consider exile a “solution.” Why?

OT: Through this research and interviews with Mongolian queer diaspora, I realized how many of us have left Mongolia to seek better lives free from discrimination, hatred and violence. First, laws can’t protect us. Even if laws have SOGIESC-friendly [friendly to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics] provisions, judges are not doing their jobs to implement them. I heard from a respondent that a judge shamed her for bringing her family member to court for physical assault and violence because of her sexuality. In addition, going through these procedures is expensive for victims. That is why most queer Mongolians do not bother to report cases to the police and to go to court.

Secondly, relatives and others from intimate circles directly and indirectly insult and verbally abuse queers so that their family members are in the difficult position of living, with the fact that there is someone labeled as ‘pervert’ in the family. For the sake of safety and the ability to live free from all these problems, Mongolian queers are in both forced and self-imposed ‘exile.’ Mongolia's population is small — a little over 3 million people — and about half lives in the capital city Ulaanbaatar, thus there is hardly any degree of separation. As a result, people know no boundaries and limits when it comes to privacy. Once you are out, your laundry will be done openly; and it is unbearable for most queers to put up with it.

FN: Do you see a change in acceptance of queer Mongolians within Mongolia among certain groups — youth, artists, global Mongolians?

OT: In the past ten years, it has been changing a lot for the better. We have an androgynous-then-transgender model, who struts her stuff for major fashion shows, which indicates open-mindedness, tolerance, and inclusivity of the fashion industry of Mongolia. Playtime Festival, an annual summer music festival, featured a solo drag show last year. Most Mongolian expats are exposed to foreign societies with progressive understanding of and respect for LGBTQ+ people all around the world, so they tend to understand and sympathize with queer Mongolians at home.

Nevertheless, there is a long road towards truly genuine social and gender justice for LGBTQ+ Mongolians. Naturally, we should dismantle patriarchal norms and systemic barriers that prevent Mongolian queers to be and live as they are. More importantly, it is an attitudinal issue that Mongolians should learn about and get accustomed to sexual diversity, gender equality, and sexual and gender fluidity from their early years through comprehensive sexuality education at schools and through honest and enabling dialogues at home with empathetic and kind-hearted parents, friends, siblings, caregivers, and guardians.

BY Filip Noubel

Mongolia is intensifying plans to upgrade public toilets at tourism destinations nationwide to bolster its travel sector and prevent soil pollution, the country's Ministry of Environment and Tourism said Wednesday.

Over 900 pit latrines or traditional wooden toilets in tourism areas across the country have been removed, the ministry said in a statement.

More than 1,600 pit latrines remain in tourist spots across the country's 21 provinces, the ministry said, adding that these pit latrines will be removed or replaced by modern standard toilets as soon as possible.

The Mongolian government has been taking measures to revive the pandemic-hit tourism sector. The country has declared 2023, 2024 and 2025 as "Years to Visit Mongolia" under the official motto "Welcome to Mongolia." It has set a goal of welcoming at least 1 million foreign tourists in the coming years.

The proportion of new energy has exceeded 20% of total power generation in northern China's Inner Mongolia for the first time, local official statistics showed.

In the first two months, Inner Mongolia's new energy generation totaled 22.68 TWh, an increase of 28.2% year on year, accounting for 20.6% of the total generation, reaching the highest level in history.

Wind generation was 20.03 TWh during this period, up 32.8% year on year, the main driver behind the growth of new energy generation in the region.

As of the end of February, the region's installed capacity of new energy has reached 63.8 GW, an increase of 9.62 GW from a year earlier and accounting for 36.6% of the region's total installed capacity, an increase of 1.5 percentage points year on year.

Wind, solar, garbage incineration, and biomass power generation installed capacity increased by 7.62 GW, 1.95 GW, 18 MW and 35 MW respectively.

Inner Mongolia is undergoing significant development in new energy sources, with the central government having put in place a three-phase plan to create a "giant wind and solar base" in the region with a total capacity of 450 GW. Currently, the first batch of projects, totaling 95 GW, is underway.

Mongolian Bankers’ Association held a press conference on March 28. “Consumer goods prices are cheaper in Mongolia than in other countries. It could be a leverage for our country to improve competitive advantages.”, N. Sosorburam, Economic Researcher, informed at the press conference.

The real rate of return on deposits was negative during the pandemic, leading people to withdraw their deposits and choose other types of investments, like cryptocurrencies and real estate. With the tendency for interest rates of deposits to increase this year, people are getting interested in traditional and risk-free deposits again.

The foreign trade balance increased by 60 percent last year, compared to 2021. Exports, which were declining in 2022 due to difficulties in transport logistics, started increasing from the middle of that year. As a result, we have gained profitable trade balance. Imports are increasing as well. Overall, a recovery of the mining sector is playing an important role in economic growth.

As of the end of 2022, the performance indicators of the banking sector have shown comparatively sustainable growth. Total assets in the banking sector have reached MNT 3.4 trillion, an increase of 9 percent, compared to the same period last year. In particular, the financial indicators of five systematically influential banks have shown signs of improvement, and two of them have listed their IPOs.

Due to the uncertainty of the domestic and external economic environment, the Central bank raised the policy interest rate to 13 percent in 2022. The increase in the policy interest rate has resulted in slowdown in the loan growth of the banking sector. Although loan growth in the banking sector has slowed, it remains the main engine supporting the economy.

According to the Executive Director of the Mongolian Bankers’ Association L. Amar, banks have enough equity to sustain the recovery of main economic sectors.

At the press conference, G. Bumchimeg, Executive Director of the Banking and Finance Academy, presented the outcomes of the “Customer Satisfaction Survey”, which was conducted by the Academy in order to identify how reputable the banks are among the customers and their level of trust in banks.

The survey showed that the satisfaction level of bank customers in our country is at the same level as other developing countries. Moreover, the survey has laid bare the need to keep customers informed on banks’ products and services and improve their financial literacy.

In a bid to address long-standing challenges related to corruption, bureaucracy, and lack of clear guidelines for land use, Mongolia is gearing up to revamp its land regulatory system.

With a whopping 70% of the country's land dedicated to livestock grazing, reforms in this area carry significant political weight, as they directly impact the lives of herders in rural areas, a critical voting bloc for politicians seeking reelection in 2024.

The proposed reforms aim to modernize Mongolia's land regulatory system through digitalization, streamlining land acquisition and permit issuance through an electronic system.

This move is expected to make land management more transparent and effective.

Additionally, the reforms seek to create a centralized and professionalized system for land allocation through the creation of a Land Professional Organization. The organization would be responsible for managing the allocation of land through open auctions and project selection principles.

However, the reforms have encountered opposition from various groups, with some expressing concern about land acquisition by foreigners and the potential for exploitation. Others have criticized the proposed 5-year tenure for privileged farming households, stating that it is too short to generate meaningful results.

Similarly, the privatization of pastures has also generated controversy, with critics worried about the impact on herdsmen in drought-affected areas.

As Mongolia prepares to navigate these reforms, it is crucial to strike a balance between protecting the environment and local communities, while also promoting economic growth and investment. By doing so, Mongolia can achieve its goal of creating a transparent and efficient land regulatory system that benefits all stakeholders.

BY:

Amar Adiya is Editor-in-Chief of Mongolia Weekly, an English newsletter on political analysis and business intelligence every week. He is also a regional director at Washington-based strategic advisory firm BowerGroupAsia and helps Fortune 500 companies understand and shape policies in the Asia Pacific region.

Aranjin Resources (TSXV:ARJN) will consider potential partnerships with China as it moves to advance its copper assets in Mongolia.

“China, today, is the largest consumer of the vast majority of raw materials on the planet. And of course, our proximity to that country is one that cannot be ignored,” said Ali Haji, president and CEO of Aranjin Resources, which is based in Toronto.

Aranjin Resources owns two copper assets in Mongolia: the Sharga copper project and the Bayan Undur copper project, located in the provinces of Gobi-Altai and Bayankhongor, respectively.

Haji cited Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, which currently ships concentrate to China, where it's melted into copper cathode. “So yes, absolutely, we would look at China as a potential partner to either offtake the various commodities that we have through our assets, or ultimately help us develop our assets as well,” Haji said.

Commenting on the Canadian government’s recent order for Chinese companies to divest from Canadian critical minerals projects, Haji said it’s important to consider jurisdiction when it comes to critical metals.

“If your assets were in Canada, then of course they should be protected. However, you cannot stop, essentially, a consumption machine like China,” he said. “Until you can shift the manufacturing hub of the world from China, China is going to continue to require those resources. And Mongolia has a fantastic relationship with the Chinese.”

Watch the full interview with Ali Haji, president and CEO of Aranjin Resources, above.

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Hong Kong CNN For the past decade, China has lent massive sums to governments across Asia, Africa and Europe, growing its global influence through its Belt and Road infrastructure megaproject and becoming one of the world’s biggest creditors.

Now, a new study says Beijing has also become a major emergency rescue lender to those same countries, many of which are struggling to repay their debts.

Between 2008 and 2021, China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 countries that are “almost exclusively” Belt and Road project debtors, including Argentina, Pakistan, Kenya and Turkey, according to the study published Tuesday by researchers from the World Bank, Harvard Kennedy School, Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the US-based research lab AidData.

Though China’s bailouts are still smaller than those provided by the United States or the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which regularly makes emergency loans to countries in crisis, it has become a key player for many developing countries.

Beijing’s rise as an international crisis manager looks familiar: The US has taken a similar strategy for nearly a century, offering bailouts for high-debt countries such as those in Latin America during the 1980s debt crisis, the report said.

“We see historical parallels to the era when the US started its rise as a global financial power, especially in the 1930s and after World War 2,” it said.

But there are differences, too.

For one, China’s loans are far more secretive, with most of its operations and transactions concealed from public view. It reflects the world’s financial system becoming “less institutionalized, less transparent, and more piecemeal,” the study said.

China’s central bank also doesn’t disclose data on loans or currency swap agreements with other foreign central banks; China’s state-owned banks and enterprises do not publish detailed information about their lending to other countries.

The research team instead relied on annual reports and financial statements of other countries that have agreements with Chinese banks, news reports, press releases and other documents to compile their dataset.

“Much more research is needed to measure the impacts of China’s rescue loans – in particular, the large swap lines administered by the PBOC (People’s Bank of China),” said Brad Parks, a co-author of the study, in a blog post by AidData. “Beijing has created a new global system for cross-border rescue lending, but it has done so in an opaque and uncoordinated way.”

China’s loans

In 2010, less than 5% of China’s overseas lending portfolio supported countries in debt distress, according to the report.

By 2022, that figure had soared to 60% – reflecting Beijing’s ramping up of rescue operations and stepping away from the infrastructure investments that had characterized its Belt and Road campaign in the early 2010s, it said.

Most of the loans were made in the last five years of the study, from 2016 to 2021.

Of the $240 billion in total bailout loans, $170 billion came from the PBOC’s swap line network – meaning agreements between central banks to exchange currencies. The other $70 billion was lent by Chinese state-owned banks and enterprises, including oil and gas companies.

Most of the countries drawing from China’s swap lines were deep in financial crisis, with problems exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the report found.

For instance, Argentina defaulted in 2014 and 2020 after struggling for decades with its national debt. Meanwhile, Pakistan saw its currency crash as foreign exchange reserves dwindled.

Sri Lanka is facing an economic and political crisis. Here's what you need to know

Sri Lanka also borrowed money from China in 2021 – before its economic and political crisis boiled over the following year, with basic goods like fuel and medicine rationed and crowds taking to the streets in violent protests.

But China’s bailouts don’t come cheap. The PBOC requires an interest rate of 5%, compared to 2% for IMF rescue loans, the study said.

And most of the loans are extended to middle-income countries considered more important to China’s banking sector, whereas low-income countries get little to no new money and are offered debt restructuring instead.

“Beijing is ultimately trying to rescue its own banks. That’s why it has gotten into the risky business of international bailout lending,” said study co-author Carmen Reinhart in the AidData post.

Belt and Road Initiative

For a decade, Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects each year: paving highways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, constructing ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa and providing power and telecoms infrastructure for people from Latin America to Southeast Asia.

First announced in 2013 under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the initiative has been seen as an extension of the country’s sharp ascent to global power.

As of March 2021, 139 countries had signed up to the initiative, accounting for 40% of global GDP, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank. BRI has reached nearly $1 trillion in Chinese investment, according to China’s foreign ministry.

Are the wheels coming off China's Belt and Road megaproject?

But funding shortfalls and political pushback have stalled certain projects, while others have been marred by environmental incidents, corruption scandals and labor violations.

There is also public concern in some countries over issues like excess debt and China’s influence. Accusations that Belt and Road is a broad “debt trap” designed to take control of local infrastructure, while largely dismissed by economists, have sullied the initiative’s reputation.

CNN has reached out to PBOC for comment.

In January, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang rejected the accusations of China creating a “debt trap” in Africa, a major recipient of Belt and Road investments.

In a statement citing Qin, the ministry claimed “China has always been committed to helping Africa ease its debt burden,” and pointed to Beijing’s debt relief agreements with a number of African nations.

Qin defended BRI again earlier this month, calling it a “public good.”

“China should be the last one to be accused of the so-called debt trap,” he said, blaming US interest hikes for worsening debt in developing countries.