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
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from