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Further Criticism of the War Mentality

After Wu Jianmin, China’s former Ambassador to France, criticized the idea of having a war against some countries, Yuan Nansheng, the Party Secretary and Vice President of the Foreign Affairs College [a Beijing university for diplomats] and former Consul General of China’s Consulate in Los Angles, published an article to further support the criticism of China’s "angry youth" (referring to people who are ignorant but impulsive) who can jeopardize China’s diplomacy.

Yuan’s article was published in the magazine Sharing the Same Boat. Phoenix republished the article. In his article, Yuan listed several examples throughout China’s history that showed how certain people, who were ignorant of their country’s real situation, out of narrow or extreme nationalism, promoted war with other nations. In the end, they ruined the possibility of reaching a diplomatic solution and brought disaster to their country.

"On the one hand, [we] should realize that this ‘angry youth’ phenomenon represents a certain public opinion that can be used as a diplomatic card; on the other hand, [we] should prevent it from restricting the space of our diplomatic options and blocking us from reaching a reasonable and necessary [diplomatic] compromise."

Source: Phoenix, April 13, 2016
http://news.ifeng.com/a/20160413/48447703_0.shtml