China’s ambassador to Britain said yesterday that the protests against the Olympic torch relay illustrated a growing gulf in understanding between China and the West.
Fu Ying (傅瑩), writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, hit out at the “violent” British demonstrators who tried to grab the torch on its chaotic passage through London this month and accused the Western media of “demonizing” her country.
“Standing in the middle, I am concerned that mutual perceptions between the people of China and the West are quickly drifting in opposite directions,” she wrote. “I cannot help asking why, when it comes to China, the generalized accusations can easily be accepted without people questioning what exactly and specifically they mean; why any story or figures can stay on the news for days without factual support.”
PHOTO: EPA
MISINFORMED
The ambassador said the demonstrators who disrupted the relay in protest over China’s crackdown in Tibet were misinformed.
“Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet. For the Chinese people, Tibet is a loved land and information about it is ample. Four million tourists visit Tibet every year,” she wrote. “There may be complicated problems of religion mixing with politics [in Tibet], but people are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed.”
She said protests against the torch run had prompted younger Chinese to “begin a collective rethinking about the West.”
“Many who had romantic views about the West are very disappointed at the media’s attempt to demonize China,” Fu wrote.
She said the world’s media should make more of an effort to understand China and she called on Western journalists operating there to show more “respect,” although she said media wishing to report “bad stories” would not be stopped.
UNDERSTANDING
“The world has waited for China to join it. Now China has to have the patience to wait for the world to understand China,” she wrote.
The Olympic torch arrived on Saturday in Tanzania to start a drastically curtailed African leg after the early stages in London and Paris were hit by protests and the third stage in San Francisco was shortened at the last minute.
Also See: Monks seized for bombing in Tibet
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
A group affiliated with indicted Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) is to be dissolved for monitoring Chinese immigrants in Taiwan, a source said yesterday. Xu, the secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Marriage and Family Service Alliance, was indicted on March 24 on charges of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法). The alliance “illegally monitored" Chinese immigrants living in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Ministry of the Interior is expected to dissolve the organization in the coming days under provisions of the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法), the source said. Xu, who married a Taiwanese in 1993 and became a Republic
RSS