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Huanqiu Editorial: Today’s Oslo Seems Like the Headquarters for an Evil Cult

[Editor’s Note: In an angry editorial, Huanqiu, an official publication of the Communist Party Central Committee, attacked the Nobel Committee and Western media for awarding Liu Xiaobo the Nobel Peace Prize.

The article likens the ceremony in Oslo to an evil cult ritual and accuses the Committee of “altering the spirit of peace” and “replacing it with Western Fundamentalist ideas.” It claims that “1.3 billion Chinese people resent the Peace Prize nomination.”

The editorial drew many emotional comments that echoed its rhetoric. One reader wrote: “The ‘Nobel Peace Prize’ is a joke to fool people. A guy who invented dynamite to kill fellow human beings, and who made a fortune, created it. He (Nobel) just wanted to gain fame before his death. … The best way to handle this is to end all relations with Norway and a few other buffoon countries, except for official diplomacy, especially trade. (We should) stop importing their goods, refuse to sell them anything, and call for Chinese not to visit their countries for sightseeing and shopping.” [1]

The following is a translation of excerpts from the editorial.] [2]

Today a farce is taking place in Oslo: “The trial of China.” The Nobel Committee will present a “Nobel Peace Prize,” but the original spirit of peace has been altered and replaced by “Western Fundamentalist ideas.” A Chinese criminal inmate named Liu Xiaobo will receive a weird honor in Europe’s greatest extravaganza.

This type of farce is typical of an evil cult organization, not present-day, civilized Europe. Only the most paranoid minds could regard such an inferior drama as praiseworthy. Think about it! This ceremony that 1.3 billion Chinese people resent is making a handful of Norwegian “human rights’ extremists” cry.

A few actors in a crowded and noisy square put on tonight’s political show. They wanted to have a quiet night. They tried hard to ignore their surroundings and focus on their own thoughts, so they could truly believe the night was “quiet” indeed. That crowed square symbolized China’s 30 years of change. That is the most spectacular social development in the world. An “imaginary” night is what the Nobel Committee tried to create to demonstrate China’s darkness.

In a complex world full of divisions and unknowns, it is not hard for the Nobel Committee to find an excuse to attack China, but “China” is too big a topic for them to cover; the truth keeps coming out and is difficult to conceal. Only history can judge China. The Nobel Committee attempts to portray China using a few pieces of paper that they put on an empty chair reserved for Liu Xiaobo. That “China” could only be a superficial and fictitious China.

Recently, Western media have been regularly applauding the Nobel Committee. They are pleased to describe how China has “lost face” and “failed” in the world. However, a large number of developing countries boycotted the ceremony. That is proof that the West could not predict China’s moral power. Despite their strong influence, the Western media cannot dictate to the entire world what to believe.

China’s rise is not just an economic expansion. In the realm of the human spirit, China travels a different path from the West. The Nobel Committee refused to jump on the China express and enjoy the ride, and even claimed that China would lose its direction. Despite its poor judgment that has no vision, it even won some applause. We are very disappointed and surprised.

China will not fail, because its reform is still young. Compared to the conservative Western world, a China that seeks political reform will have a smaller chance of failing. While some in the West do not appreciate today’s China, that is hardly China’s tragedy. No matter what people say, China will move forward, but those who always oppose China will find themselves in a boat rowing upstream.

China will still be China tomorrow. Benefiting from today’s debate, China will only become more mature and more resilient. China will score more successes, which will prove the absurdity of their (the Nobel Committee’s) choice. Today’s Peace Prize ceremony is not an end. Rather, it is the beginning of another trial, history’s trial, of the Nobel Committee.

Endnotes:
[1] http://www.huanqiu.com/content_comment.php?tid=1331364&mid=1&cid=1152
[2] http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-12/1331364.html