Skip to content

US-China Relations - 148. page

China Asks the U.S. to Stop Being a Self-styled Human Rights Preacher

Following the U.S. State Department’s April 8 release of the 2010 Annual Human Rights Report, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei responded in a press briefing, “The U.S. should reflect more on its own human rights issues, stop acting like a ‘Human Rights Preacher,’ and stop using its Human Rights Report to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries.” Hong also touted the Chinese government’s protection of human rights.

Source: China News Service, April 9, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/04-09/2961757.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Guangming Daily: Obama’s Speech is Worrisome to Humankind

Guangming Daily is a Chinese official newspaper geared toward intellectuals. Joining Beijing’s recent media campaign against the Western forces’ strikes on Libya, Guangming’s website published an article criticizing President Obama’s March 28 speech given at National Defense University. In provocative tones, the article, titled “Obama’s Speech is Worrisome to Humankind,” asks the Obama administration, “Who authorized you to play such a special role in global security? Does this special role mean using military force to bombard a sovereign country and kill innocent civilians?”

The author condemns the speech as “showing the ugly face of U.S. hegemony.” “The U.S. practice is extremely despicable, according to either the international community’s acknowledged rules or the common sense of human rights.”

Source: The Guangming Daily website, March 29, 2011
http://guancha.gmw.cn/2011-03/29/content_1769282.htm.

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Mission in Libya: The U.S.’s Low Profile Leadership

A recent China Review News article analyzed the style the U.S. has demonstrated in the Libyan mission, calling its new strategy “low profile leadership.” Although the U.S. did not decide the timing, lead the attacks, articulate the goal of the mission, or ask for an increase in its military budget, the article disagreed with the opinion that this shows a decline in U.S. power. Instead the author believed this was just a change in leadership style, with the goal of improving the U.S. image, lowering “the cost of managing the world,” and leaving more room for diplomacy.
Source: China Review News, March 25, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/3/9/4/101639494.html?coluid=5&kindid=24&docid=101639494&mdate=0325142517
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People’s Daily: U.S. Funding of BBC Widely Questioned

People’s Daily recently published an article saying that the U.S. government plans to give funding to the BBC for the “fight against Internet censorship in Iran and China” and “spreading the value of freedom and democracy.” The funding, estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, is supposed to be used for exploring anti-censorship technology, developing software, and “educating local Internet users on circumventing Internet and television censorship.” The article suggested that this is not the first time for the U.S. government to give funding to the BBC. The plan reportedly triggered “anger” from media sponsored by the U.S. government, such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. The U.S. State Department responded that the decision hadn’t been made yet. The article also mentioned that British media has widely criticized the BBC for overpaying its employees with taxpayer money.
Source: People’s Daily, March 24, 2011 
http://finance.people.com.cn/GB/14226532.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Youth Online: In the Eyes of the Hegemonies, There Is Only a Crime against Western Interests

A commentary on China Youth Online condemns Western countries’ military actions as “destroying oil pipe lines, killing civilians, and leaving Libya’s situation even more unstable. Peace loving people around the world profoundly realize that, in the eyes of the hegemonies, there is only a ‘crime against Western interests.’” It concludes, “Although Libya declared a cease fire immediately and expressed willingness to have a dialogue, the Western countries nonetheless conspired to pass the United Nations’ ‘no fly zone resolution’ and immediately started military intervention. Surpassing the United Nations’ authorization and arbitrarily interfering in other country’s internal affairs completely violates the UN Charter. Although they wave the banner of ‘protecting human rights and civilians,’ these are only excuses for consolidating their economic and political interests. Although these ‘hegemonic bullies’ discussed the ‘crimes’ of Qaddafi, to Western interests it is simply a ‘crime of obstruction.’”
[Ed: China Youth Online is a website under the Central Committee of the Chinese Youth League, the Chinese Communist organization for youth between the ages of 14 and 28.]

Source: China Youth Online, March 24, 2011
http://news.youth.cn/sz/201103/t20110324_1525317.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua: Air Strikes in Libya Are Disturbing; War Cannot Bring Stability

Xinhua published an editorial commenting on the U.S. and European nations’ recent air strikes in Libya saying, “Conflicts should be resolved through peaceful means. Wars cannot end violence or quickly bring about stability; rather, it will but aggravate human disasters.” The Xinhua editorial cited examples of the U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Today, the two countries are still politically unstable with the local population suffering from continued violence and disasters. The international reputation and image of the instigator of the wars has also been tarnished. It shows that any action that lacks fairness and justice may bring unintended consequences to the initiator.”

Source: Xinhua, March 21, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/observation/2011-03/21/c_121213681_3.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Obama’s Nomination of Gary Locke Is a Trick

A Professor from Tongji University in Shanghai published an article in Global Times commenting on Obama’s nomination of Gary Locke as the next U.S. ambassador to China. He believes that it is a terrific American trick. “Americans never cared about whether they understood Chinese issues or not. … Gary Locke said that the China-U.S. relationship is ‘one of the most important and most complicated diplomatic, economic, and strategic relationships the U.S. has.’ In layman’s language it means: politically, the two countries are competitors, or even enemies, whereas economically they are interdependent. Obama ascribed (the appointment) to two points: ‘striving to solve the global security issue’ and ‘creating opportunities for American corporations and American labor.’ How to solve ‘global security issue?’ Specifically, Chinese should stay within the confines delimited by the Americans. Don’t get into the Taiwan issue, support North Korea, or mess around in the South China Sea. As for ‘expanding opportunities for Americans,’ it is … to let 1.3 billion hardworking Chinese support 200 million Americans’ comfortable and noble lifestyle. In Americans’ minds, this is the essence of the China-U.S. relationship.” 

Source: Global Times, March 18, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-03/1570898.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Scholar Cautions against Chinese Media’s Warm Reception toward Locke Nomination

A scholar with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in a Global Times article that the Chinese media should not give too much feverish attention to Obama’s nomination of Gary Locke as the upcoming U.S. ambassador to China. The article argues that “the nomination may be regarded as a friendly gesture to China, but Locke is a third generation immigrant, born and raised in the U.S. He represents the interests of the U.S. We should never have a wrong perception. Of course, he has been influenced by the Chinese culture; it’s easier for him to understand how Chinese deal with people and handle issues. Seeing such a familiar Chinese face, we should still keep a ‘sober’ mind.” The author enumerated several past ambassadors who were very familiar with China, but in the end, it was U.S. interests that determined China-U.S. relations. 

Source: Global Times, carried by Xinhua, March 11, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-03/11/c_121175320.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations