US-China Relations - 142. page

People’s Liberation Army Daily published a commentary on the upcoming U.S. arms sale to Taiwan. According to the commentary, if the U.S. proceeds with the arms sale to Taiwan, “it will seriously interfere with China’s internal affairs and will endanger China’s security and core interests.” It will further demonstrate the dual character of the U.S. position on major issues affecting China’s core interests. Such a dual character “has its root cause in its self-proclaimed global hegemony.” “On the one hand, it wants China to share responsibility and handle crises. On the other hand, it is afraid that China will challenge the U.S. It has thus been inconsistent to such an extent that it sells arms to Taiwan and sabotages its normal bilateral relationship with China. The white paper that China recently released indicated that any concerns the U.S. has about China amount to much ado about nothing.”

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily reprinted by Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China, September 12, 2011
http://www.mod.gov.cn/big5/opinion/2011-09/12/content_4297235.htm

Regarding the current situation involving the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, Huanqiu (the Chinese name for Global Times, a newspaper under Xinhua) surveyed the residents of seven cities from September 8-11, 2011. The results were that 84.1 percent of those surveyed oppose the U.S. selling advanced weapons to Taiwan; 76.1% support the Chinese government’s taking strong action to stop the U.S. arms sale; more than half support the government in retaliating by punishing the American companies involved in the arms sale.

Yuan Peng, an American expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the survey results demonstrate that the Chinese people are willing to cooperate if the government takes action on this issue; it is an expression of patriotic sentiment. If the U.S. does not change its decision, the Chinese people’s resentment toward the U.S. will not be satisfied with mere lip service.

Source: Huanqiu, September 14, 2011
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2011-09/2001813.html

Xinhua published a commentary claiming that the U.S. uses counter-terrorism as an excuse to attack China and has adopted a double standard in its actions.

The commentary stated that China has been responsible in cooperating with the U.S. in its counter-terrorism effort, but the U.S. does not treat China the same way. It brought up the recently published 2010 National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC) Report on Terrorism and said that Washington misinterpreted China’s efforts against the East Turkestan Organizations’ combat effort.

According to the commentary, when the U.S. looks at the “violent” incidents in Xinjiang, it sees the Uyghur’s human rights movement and “discredits” China for using “excessive military force” to suppress it. The article also objects to the U.S. sending the East Turkestan terrorists who are jailed at Guantanamo Bay to Albania rather than to China, out of fear for their safety. It claims that “the U.S. has adopted a double standard in its counter-terrorism effort, which exposes its sham side.”

Source: Xinhua, September 8, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-09/08/c_122006117.htm

Xinhua published an article strongly objecting to the Obama Administration’s decision to sell weapons to Taiwan. It delivered an even harsher criticism of the U.S. Congressional attempt to pass the “Taiwan Policy Act of 2011,” initiated by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The article calls the “Taiwan Policy Act of 2011” a "tumor" which will bring serious damage to US-China relations, but says that Washington does not have the courage to stop it. It warns “those hot headed Congressional representatives not to go too far.”

Source: Xinhua, September 9, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2011-09/09/c_122007693.htm

People’s Daily reported on an interview with (Li Wei) the director of the Anti-Terrorism Research Center at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations. The report was about the U.S. anti-terrorist efforts over the 10 years since “9.11.” It said that, regarding anti-terrorism itself, the U.S. has achieved progress in working on the “symptoms,” but this is just one side of the problem. More importantly, terrorist activities since 9.11 have continually occurred in new forms and with new features. For example, terrorist activities have become multi-centered and more spread out, terrorists’ re-organizing abilities have constantly improved, new terrorists have become younger, and their ways of attack have diversified. The American attack has resulted in younger people becoming terrorists, and in an increase in the Iraqi terrorist division. Therefore, considering the results, the side effects of U.S. anti-terrorism have far exceeded the achievements. In the 10 years of U.S. anti-terrorism, it is more loss than gain. 

The article concluded that, when the U.S. spreads its own country’s values to the world, it contradicts the idea of global multi-cultural values. Not only did this deep level problem remain unresolved after 9.11; the U.S.’ inappropriate actions have deepened and worsened it.

Source: People’s Daily, September 7, 2011
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/15609940.html

On August 25, 2011, Huanqiu, China’s official website, published an article written by Zhu Bingyuan, the chairman of the Marxist Research Institute at Soochow University, with the title “It Is More Difficult to Deal with a Friendly and Gentle America.” Regarding the U.S. Vice President Joe Biden eating soy bean sauce noodles in a small restaurant in China and U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke’s low-key arrival without assistants or guards, Zhu commented, “In fact, the Western politicians’ every move in public carries some level of political scheming. They don’t do it on a whim; they deliberate after repeated consideration.”

Zhu said that the diplomatic purpose of being "low-key" and "close to ordinary people" as demonstrated by Biden and Locke is to "show" their "democracy" and "common people" style in front of their creditor’s people so as to avoid a lot of public criticism and reshape the American image.

More examples of the U.S. “smart power” strategy include consolidating the South Korea, Japan alliance using the conflict between North and South Korea; stepping aside and letting France and Britain bomb Libya; and remaining neutral in the South China Sea dispute on the surface but supporting the Philippines and Vietnam to gain profit. Zhu calls on China to remain on high alert against the United States’ “smart power.”

Source: Huanqiu, August 25, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-08/1944782.html

Guangming Daily, one of China’s major official newspapers, published an article on August 16, 2011, titled “Be on Guard against the U.S. as Gary Locke Brings a ‘New Colonialism’ to China.” The article, which was removed from Guangming Daily, is still available on several other major official websites. It criticizes U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke and his family for intentionally carrying their own luggage to Beijing without any assistants, security guards, or a luxurious warm welcome filled with pomp, flowers, and applause so as to win the Chinese people’s heart and strengthen the forces inside China that support the United States and divide China ideologically.  “Gary Locke’s arrival demonstrates the climax of the new colonialism in the information age. The ideological conflict between China and the United States has broken out in a full scale.”

The article compares the new colonialism with a wolf wearing sheep’s clothing. “Though its appearance has changed, the predatory nature has never changed.” As for Gary Locke’s Chinese American identity, the article assumes that it must be the Unites States’ vile intention to use a Chinese to deal with China in order to incite political unrest in China.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 16, 2011
http://bbs1.people.com.cn/postDetail.do?boardId=2&view=1&id=111928793
http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/gjsdfx/201108/t20110816_102737.htm
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-08/1913897.html

Recently, based on Taiwan’s media reports, the U.S. has declined Taiwan’s request to purchase the F-16C/D fighter plane. In the past, both the U.S. and Taiwan were very passionate about arms sales. What has caused such a drastic change?

A Xinhua article believes that it is because of the U.S.’s strategic change in Asia. For a long time, Taiwan was a “trump card” for the U.S. in balancing Sino-U.S. relations. As the cross-strait relationship has moderated, the “trump card” has lost its shine. Therefore, in such a circumstance, the U.S. is unwilling to sell arms (to Taiwan).

The article further says that China’s scientific and technological advances in national defense are the fundamental reason for the U.S. to be low-key on arms sales to Taiwan. The article concludes that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan is an old issue for China. China always held an opposing attitude, which previously had little effect. Now, the impact of China’s scientific and technological advances in national defense has surpassed all past efforts. Therefore, in many international political affairs, strategic missions, and military issues, the role of scientific and technological advances in national defense will be very important.

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-08/05/c_121813828.htm