US-China Relations - 135. page

On May 14, Beijing Daily’s official blog published a commentary that criticized U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke for acting like a common man. Locke sits in an economy class seat when he takes a flight and buys coffee with a coupon. Such acts, according to the Chinese authorities, "create conflict." The commentary demanded that Locke publicize his personal assets. Within three days, the U.S. Embassy posted all of Locke’s assets including his annual salary and benefits, along with the assets of President Obama and Vice President Biden.  

The announcement has caused heated discussions in China. Many Chinese Internet users asked Beijing Daily to make the same demand of Chinese Communist Party officials. However, Beijing Daily’s official blog has since deleted all related topics and comments.

Source: NTDTV, May 19, 2012
http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2012/05/19/atext703365.html

On May 19, 2012, Xinhua issued a report that consisted of 59-characters (including the title) on the news that Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng had left China for New York. It was a major headline globally and almost all of the world’s primary news agencies reported it in full, including pictures or videos. Xinhua’s report is no longer searchable on its official site. China Review News (CRN) republished Xinhua’s full report, saying: “A citizen from Yinan County, Shandong Province named Chen Guangcheng followed the standard legal process to apply for visiting the United States to study.”

Source: China Review News, May 19, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/1/4/0/102114069.html?coluid=0&kindid=0&docid=102114069

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that China opposes the Department of Defense annual report to the U.S. Congress titled, "Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2012." The spokesperson claimed it made irresponsible remarks and tried to “spread the China military threat theory.” “We ask the U.S. to respect the truth, change its mentality, and stop republishing this kind of report year after year.” 

Source: People’s Daily, May 19, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/17932389.html

Beijing Daily’s official microblogging (Weibo) re-posted a blog by “Woodbell 魏志奇” about U.S. Ambassador Locke. The blog said, “Locke lives in the official U.S. Ambassador’s residence that cost hundreds of millions of dollars. He travels in a bullet proof limousine. The the U.S. taxpayers pay his family’s expenses, including maids. How can such luxury be considered a simple life? Ambassador Locke, why haven’t you disclosed these [facts]? Disclosing only coffee [Locke attempted to buy coffee with a coupon at the airport on his way to Beijing] and economy class [Locke used economy class when he travelled to China with his family and travels inside China using economy class] is done only for show! It is futile to package Locke as a commoner.” Beijing Daily added its comment, “Locke, please disclose your assets.”

Chinese netizens found out that Locke’s assets were already available on the Internet. They then urged Beijing Daily to issue a commentary asking Chinese officials to disclose their personal assets.

Source: China Review News, May 15, 2012
http://www.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1021/0/8/3/102108302.html?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=102108302&mdate=0515092247

People’s Daily published a report about the recent announcement that the United States made about upgrading its tactical nuclear weapons. The report stated that the U.S. military has placed its advanced weapons in the Asian Pacific region, one after the other, in an attempt to make the Western Pacific a major war zone.

The report quoted Chinese Major General Yin Zhuo’s comment on the matter. Yin said, “The U.S. has always been keeping its absolute leading position in the application of nuclear weapons. … To the U.S., a nuclear war is not an improbable choice. Rather, it’s a possible choice. Therefore, we should not have any illusion about [the U.S. initiating a nuclear war]. We must have a completely safe plan in place.” Yin also said, “The nuclear threat of the U.S. to China has always been there. Of course, the strategic environment has changed greatly; the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in politics and the economy have increased. Even so, when we deal with the U.S., we must keep in mind and be very clear that some of the U.S. nuclear weapons are targeting us.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 15, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/17905382.html

On May 14, 2012, Xinhua reported that Herman Cain, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and former Republican Presidential candidate, commented on the Federal Reserve System. Cain said, "the present U.S. monetary system is an abysmal failure by any objective measure." He expressed the belief that the Fed is manipulating the dollar and that the United States should roll back to the Gold Standard. Cain wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal saying that “it is not the people of the Fed, but the actual structure, that needs reform. Our liberty and prosperity depend on it.” For the last 40 years in Washington, regulate has meant manipulate, with the Federal Reserve raising and lowering interest rates and buying and selling assets at its own discretion. Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has lowered the interest rate to 0.25%. All the Fed’s recent rounds of “Quantitative Easing (QE)” efforts have cast a negative image on the Federal Reserve inside and outside of the United States.

Sources: Xinhua, May 14, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-05/15/c_123128015.htm

Wall Street Journal, May 13, 2012
"Herman Cain: We Need a Dollar as Good as Gold," 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304577395891113592150.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

On May 8, 2012, China Review News published an editorial article that commented that the U.S. government’s cautious, low-key handling of the Chen Guangcheng case was a sign that U.S. national power is weakening as China’s national power is increasing.

“Marked by the U.S. handling of the Chen Guangcheng case, human rights issues will have little impact on Sino-US relations. Compared to the most tangible national interests, the ideological importance is, after all, of secondary consideration. While American public opinion is still very emotional on such issues, the U.S. government, as the ‘legal representative’ of the country, is much more rational and pragmatic for the sake of its national interests.”

Source: China Review News, May 8, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1020/9/9/1/102099135.html?coluid=136&kindid=4711&docid=102099135&mdate=0508001936

When the annual China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue ended on May 4, 2012, China’s State Councilor, Dai Bingguo, proclaimed: “Human rights issues should not disturb state-to-state relations, and they should not be used as an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.”

(Editor’s note: On April 22, 2012, China’s blind human rights activist, Chen Guangcheng, escaped from house arrest and made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, where he stayed for 6 days. Prior to the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and after China’s foreign minister promised safety to Chen while he was in China, Chen was escorted out of the U.S. Embassy. Chen and his family are now in a hospital in Beijing surrounded by police guards who will not allow Chen’s relatives, friends and supporters to visit him. A Chinese lawyer who tried to visit him last week was severely beaten.)

Source: Xinhua, May 5, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-05/05/c_123080741.htm