China should seriously review its relations with South Korea

By China Watcher

There have been a rising trends in anti-China and hostile actions taken by the South Korean government and its people against the Chinese especially over the past few years.

The election of Mr. Lee Myung-Bak as South Korea’s President from the conservative party, early this year, has resulted in a swing in South Korean political environment from a pro-China, anti-USA to pro-USA and anti-China attitude.

Historically, the Koreans and the Chinese are in disputes over the claims on the Goguyo kingdom which may have far reaching consequences over territorial matters in the Province of Jilin neighboring present day North Korea. This issue came to a boiling point two years ago when the Chinese academicians completed a North East Research project and concluded that the Goguyo and Balhae are part of Chinese history. Politicians and historical groups in South Korea were unhappy with the findings and claimed that the Chinese government twisted historical facts and viewed these actions as “aggressive or bullying” tactics used on the Koreans.

Formal diplomatic relations between Beijing and Seoul were only established on August 24, 1992, about 16 years ago. During the Cold War, there were no official relations between the two countries. China has close diplomatic relations with North Korea whereas South Korea has relations with Taiwan.

China and South Korean relations were more complicated with nearly 2 million Chinese citizens of ethnic Koreans residing in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China's Jilin Province who has family relations with Koreans from the North and South.

Over the weekend, in which Seoul was one of the legs of the torch run, there were protests by both the pro-China camps supporting the torch relay and the Korean activists staging against China’s human rights record. According to media reports, there were scuffle between the two camps resulting in some Koreans activists being attacked by the Chinese students. I agree that the Chinese students’ aggressive behavior is unacceptable with no respect for domestic laws but I also believe that there are two sides to a coin - for any reaction there must be a cause or incitement. The Chinese students must have been provoked or taunted with derogatory words from the Koreans activists. Where were the police personnel and how come they are not present to keep the different camps apart during the torch run?

The Prime Minister of South Korean lodged a diplomatic complaint with the Chinese Embassy and the Chinese representative had “regretted” towards the behavior of its students at the torch run. Yesterday, the Korean PM was not satisfied and told the media that the Korean government will take “legal and diplomatic measures” as the illegal protests of these Chinese foreigners are hurtful to national pride. I still cannot comprehend what he was trying to say but I could assure you that that the gesture was unfriendly towards the Chinese people. I could also gather from the few words he said that the “peaceful” protests by the Koreans are allowed but foreigners actions are deemed illegal. Perhaps he was trying to deflect angry one sided public opinions over the issue.

South Korea needs China to revive the 6-party talks on nuclear disarmament of North Korea which is at the final stage. On the economic side, the Koreans are also aware that the Chinese has grown to become a very important trading partner and there is huge vastly untapped huge market for Korean goods. The Chinese obviously needed Korean investments in high technology production which is not forthcoming given the Chinese threat as a reliable competitor in all common economic activities in the near future.

The new South Korean President early visits to US and Japan ignoring China after he was inaugurated clearly indicated where his political direction and affiliation will be, though I have noted that he is supportive of the efforts to improve bilateral links between his country and China in a message to the Chinese President in February this year.

China should not place too much hope on improving Sino-Korean relations under the current South Korean Administration and as such, relations and diplomatic expectations have to be toned down in this present context.

Dalai Lama should not push his luck too far

By China Watcher

The Dalai Lama should be thankful that he was offered the continuation of a dialogue, to be scheduled within the next few days, with the Chinese government over the Tibet issue arising from the many pleas and requests from foreign governments and his representatives for talks.

As a political figure more than a historical spiritual head, he warned that the talks would be pointless if Beijing was not “serious” in finding a solution to the demands of the Tibetan cliques and monks. He added that if the central government is only using the “talk” to placate world’s opinion without any commitment then there is no use of having a meeting.

There were six earlier rounds but it has resulted in a dead end over the Dalai Lama excessive demands of wanting Greater Tibet autonomy (partial Tibetan governing structure in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan etc) as against the Tibet region alone. The diverging demands were the reason for the failure of the earlier talks.

First, it was the Dalai Lama who is requesting for a dialogue and not the Chinese government. He claimed that the Tibetan monks at the few monasteries inside Tibet have been oppressed and as such, he told the Western media that he is seeking for a dialogue to end the widespread discontentment and “killings” of Tibetans. So, why is he trying to play “politics” to warn the Chinese government on its commitment towards the “talk” when he was the one who asked for it in the first place? The Dalai Lama must understand that the dialogue is a given window of opportunity, however small it is, to make good whatever representations he has to make to the Chinese government and not to jeopardize it. There is a saying “Opportunity only knocks once or twice in many years”.

Second, the Chinese government felt that it should give the talk another chance since there were requests coming from certain world’s political figures and internal Chinese advisors, academicians and other appointees from the non Communist organizations in the ruling administration. I always believe that the Chinese government will listen to the voices in the political stratum of the Chinese governing structure more than the pressures from protests and disruptions launched by the Tibetan exiles and its mainly Western sympathizers and media.

Third, if there is no talk then there is only one other possibility, that is, the use of an armed rebellion to overthrow the governing Chinese Communist Party in Tibet. Do you think this is possible? The Dalai Lama is seen as a peaceful person in the eyes of a Westerner and one who purely advocates non violence, and what will then be his position if he does not agree in having a dialogue with the Chinese government?

Personally, I do not trust the Dalai Lama who is more a political than a religious figure. I have stated this many times in my earlier articles that if he is a genuine human rights fighter for his people, he should clearly make his declaration at the United Nation not to advocate or support independence and clarified that Tibet is an inalienable part of China.

Unfortunately, he has only mentioned his stance to the Western media and the political personalities he met which I am not mistaken is confined to not seeking independence but with “partial” autonomy within China. He has failed to declare that Tibet and Taiwan are an inalienable part as required by the Chinese government. His dwindling influence and his hold over the independence seeking Tibetan political organizations are matters which may influence the direction of the talk.

France makes reconciliation efforts but German’s attitude stinks

By China Watcher

The French government arranged three high level meetings with the Chinese leaders in an attempt to soothe tensions and to ward off declining bilateral relationship between the two countries. Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, has met up with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to discuss ways to repair ruptured relations, which will not be in the common interest of both countries, if the current situation persists. Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said Friday his country wanted to be the best friend of China in Europe and hoped to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Raffarin told the media that France always cherishes good relationship with China and hope that there will be more exchanges to enhance Europe-China all round strategic partnership. He also carried an important message from the French President that he viewed China “as a friend” and will continue former French President, Jacques Chirac’s friendly policy towards China. The important point to note here is that the current French President is of the opinion that Tibet is a part of China and is a domestic issue for China.

A few days ago, the French Senate President, Poncelet, met up with the Chinese President to convey a comforting message from the French President over the diplomatic tensions arising from the thousand of anti-France protesters held outside the many China’s branches of giant hypermarket, Carrefour, over the weekend from 19 to 21^st of April 2008. I noted from his message that the French government will help the Chinese young people to know France better. But we also hope that he will let the majority of the French people know that relationship is both ways and they need to understand the history, changes and development of Tibet over the past 50 years and the actual situation in the Tibet autonomous region.

The French President’s diplomatic advisor Jean-David Levitte is expected in China by the end of the month. The French government has sought to downplay a Paris Mayor’s decision to make exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, an honorary citizen of the capital.

The three political meetings and the fast reactions of the Federal government indicated that they were serious in restoring the troubled Sino-France relations back to its normal level following the tensions created by the disruptions of the torch run in Paris and the criticisms of China handling of the Tibetan riots using human rights infringements as the central theme.

On the Chinese side, the Commerce Ministry has cautioned against a boycott of Carrefour, a strong employer which hires 40,000 Chinese workers and obtained 95 percent of the hypermarket goods from China. Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said that while the demonstrations against Carrefour had been "encouraging and touching”, the Ministry however do not agree with some people's “radical actions”.

The French rush to mend ties with Beijing was a commendable effort but German newspapers were critical of the move which they commented has compromised the high standards of the French in its commitment to champion the role as one of the human rights proponents. I am questioning the devious roles of these German papers who it seemed does not encourage the building of friendly ties with China and in fact, is trying to drive a wedge between the French and Chinese government. I would like to take the pleasure to tell the editorial staff of these papers to mind their own business and if they wanted to promote their own human right agenda, then I dare them to inform the German government to break off relations with China, since China, according to them, is the greatest offender of human rights in the world. Would the German government listen to these shallow and narrow perspectives of these so-called interested media groups?

Yes, the French government is giving in to commercial interests and I think the French President’s emergency actions are pragmatic given the current political and social environment. In the aftermath of this unexpected event, the French President is now smarter as he wanted to secure a general consensus from other European partners in the European Union concerning the boycotting of the opening ceremony of the Summer Games in August. At least this time around, he would not be left alone. Many EU countries are not in favor of a boycott of the Games, which will not serve its purpose. I am keen to know what will be the German government stance on this matter. On the whole, the signals coming from Germany is nothing more than pleasing the majority German people whose attitude I can only conclude as hostile, cold and unfriendly.

I am very certain the Chinese Foreign Ministry do have a proper mechanism to monitor whether any foreign government actions are helpful towards improving bilateral relationship. And I can bet you that Chinese people do sincerely want to develop good relationship and create cultural bonds with all countries throughout the world. But respect must be earned and every loyal Chinese do not like outsiders or foreigners to impose its civil values on them or worse still, using such pretences as a way to interfere in the affairs of an independent and sovereign country.

China has already admitted that its human rights is far from ideal and it has already agreed to engage in specially held dialogues with the US and other European countries to address these issues, separately from the Olympics Games. The Olympics is a world sporting event and it should not be used for political reasons like the independence of Tibet and calling for more human rights in China.

IOC President in an interview with a British daily commented that we owe China to give them more time and the expectations of how quickly China can change were being overstated. Europe took 200 years to evolve to its current civil society and over the last 60 years, China has gradually adopted an open system with lot of changes to its societies with a local flavor. He stated that there is only one approach in dealing with the Chinese people as reflected in its rich history, to cultivate respect, be quiet and firm and hold discussions even though it may takes many hours, weeks or years. He also cautioned against putting more pressures on China which may result in the closure of China to the world that will not be of benefit to anyone. On a more humorous note, he said that Tibet will not be front page news but in the subsequent lesser pages if the Olympic Games is not given to China.

I agree with the many pragmatic China’s specialists that China will have more political freedom in the future but it will be at its own time frame and not by any Western’s expectation that China can be changed to a society based on a one-vote system with democratic based values just by hosting the prestigious world sporting gala.

Canberra shows how a proper torch run is conducted, lessons for London, Paris and San Francisco.

By China Watcher

Australia had to be commended for staging the Olympic torch event as part of a carnival in Canberra. About 10,000 pro-Chinese participants came out in full force along the tree-lined avenues swarming with a sea of red flags. It was a wonderful sight to behold and the atmosphere was ringing with patriotic songs and chanting “One China” and “Tibet will be a part of China”.

The whole ceremony opened with Chinese and Australian dances and songs that lasted for nearly three hours. There were hot-air balloons on display and a firework demonstration as well.

The much smaller pro-Tibetan sympathizers converged near the Parliament House and were trying to make some noise but it was easily drowned out. The internet plays a part in getting the Chinese students, workers, expatriates to come out in full support of the torch relay. Anyone who carried a Free Tibet banner is taunted and ridiculed by the larger Chinese crowd where there were no physical assaults or abuses. It was peaceful on both sides without any controversial episode.

Overall, the torch run was largely incident free with the police being given the orders to hauled and handcuff anyone who breach the protective human barricades for the torchbearers to run. Police officers were given the go-ahead to seize eggs, projectiles or fire extinguishers which can be used to disrupt the torch. Extra security officers were on standby in minibuses and vans. Due to the presence of Tibetan sympathizers near the Parliament House, extra layers of security were present to keep these troublemakers out.

There were about 80 runners taking part in the torch relay and it culminated in the lighting of the cauldron by an Olympian legend, Ian Thorpe, with loud cheers from the crowd who came to the Commonwealth Park to witness the historical event.

Police Chief Mike Phelan told reporters that they were determined to allow the torch to complete its full route as planned. Officials claimed a victory because it largely avoided the chaotic protest scenes that marred the portions held in Europe and the United States.

Jeremy Lasek, a spokesman for the Australian Capital Territory, commented that the relay was a success and he proudly added that Aussies show how a run should be conducted.

I wholeheartedly agreed with him. It is a shame for London, Paris and San Francisco.

The Western world in Chinese Eyes

By China Watcher

In my previous article on European opinions towards China, there were a high percentage of European respondents who think that China actions are a threat to global stability.

From the other end, let us review a poll by Horizon Research Consultancy Group, an independent company, on how Chinese opinions are like towards these few Western countries – France, Britain, Germany and Canada.

The Horizon survey was conducted via telephone between April 18 and 20 on respondents in the age-group from 16 to 65 in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

France which was liked by most Chinese before the survey suffered most with as many as 60% of the Chinese respondents registering a growing dislike for the country and its people. The respondents claimed that the French’s attitude toward the Beijing Olympics had severely dented their impression of the country. The survey also suggested that Canada, Britain and Germany also dropped in the rating, with 64.8 percent, 57.2 percent and 58.1 percent saying they had more negative feelings now.

The poll results clearly reveal simmering resentment among the Chinese toward France following a series of hostile gestures, including disruptions and police non actions to the Olympic torch relay in Paris on April 7.

It is wrong for the Western media to comment that the Chinese were only getting news from its state-controlled media as the Chinese are quite resourceful in its quest for information through the growing contacts with the world and through the Internet. When it comes to the Olympic torch relay and the Tibet issue, 76.9 percent of the respondents said they had access to Western media.

Many of them believe that the state of declining people to people relationship with France and other Western countries are due in large to the bias and prejudicial reporting of the Western media in their own countries. A large portion of the news was one sided and unbalanced with no opinions coming from the Chinese side – both in China and abroad.

Over in the past few days, I noticed a slight improvement in the reporting with some leeway given to the massive pro-China rallies supporting the torch run, Previously the pro-China rallies were either go unreported (as demonstrated by the torch relay in San Francisco) or it is consigned to a small column which represents only 5-10% of the full report. Some of these reports were as usual focusing more on the protest and the comments from the pro-Tibetan activists and human rights groups (about 70% of the content reporting on the torch run) rather than the actual torch run event like who participated, what it represents, the importance of the event towards the cities development etc.

According to the survey, it was deduced that a majority of the respondents, or 82.5 percent, opposed linking the Olympics with Tibet or human rights. Further, Chinese people's enthusiasm for the Olympics has not been dampened by the recent turn of events.

Paris Mayor defied the Chinese people objections by granting the Dalai Lama honorary citizen

By China Watcher

In a sign to challenge the popular stance of the Chinese people relating to the huge protests over China staging of the Olympics, Paris’s Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, from the Socialist party, has granted the Dalai Lama’s honorary citizenship.

I do not question the right of any cities to grant honorary citizenship to political or social celebrities throughout the world but the timing was bad. It was done at a time when there were massive anti-French protests throughout China over the veiled support given to the Tibetan Independence cause. The poor crowd control during the torch run in Paris early this month raised my suspicions of the incompetent security force and the police who may have been involved in encouraging the unacceptable acts of disrupting the torchbearers from completing their tasks.

The mayor claimed that by bestowing the honor to the spiritual leader it is defending the most basis right to dignity, freedom and simple life. But the mayor is also interfering in the internal affairs of China and has also defied the majority of the Chinese people who has expressed its support of the Chinese government to stage the Olympics. Furthermore, the Dalai Lama led protests throughout the world, at times violent, has re-ignited the patriotic feelings of the Chinese people – both in China and in 153 countries throughout the world.

It was also in Paris, last month that a couple was badly treated in a reputable departmental store because they were of Chinese origin. Paris also has its own problems of racial discontentment and treatment of its African blacks but there was no honor given to any black activists. It is obviously a case of double standards and the widely acceptable behavior permeating in French societies that to resent anything Chinese is good.

The awarding of the honor at the height of the many pro-China rallies held in Chinese cities is insensitive and it is regarded as an act against the Chinese people.

Chinese people throughout the world should speak out loudly on this matter and if possible, support a boycott to visit the French capital, at present or in the future.

Anti-China protests are alienating the Chinese youth to despise the West

By China Watcher

If you happened to view the anti-French protests in China on the Internet and the news clips, you would have noticed that the majority of the people who participated are Chinese youths who are below the age of 30.

Even on the many Chinese forums and bulletins across China used by most educated young netizens, in which the Western governments and its people were unable to understand the extent of it because of the language barrier, were filled with anti-Western sentiments, some bordering on deep anger and hatred which may takes one or two generations to nullify these negative effects. The younger generation of today will be the future leaders of the country and it does not appear rosy for world peace, given the potential of China being a superpower in the future. Many Westerners still believe in a white supremacy world and are quite reluctant to accept an Asian power like China, with a totally different government style and cultures, in which they have to contend with.

It was only a few years ago when Sino-French relation was on a good footing with the launching of the China’s year and followed by the France’s year in each other country. The China’s year in France was a particular memorable event with the Eiffel Tower draped in distinct red color cloth.

With the election of President Nicolas Sarkozy, the relations became lukewarm and, now it is widely regarded as unfriendly and strained. The predecessor, Jacques Chirac is a good friend to the Chinese government and its people. Similarly in Germany with the coming to power of the obnoxious female Chancellor from the Christian Democrat, Sino-German relations took a sharp dive of which it has yet to recover. Her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder has managed to bring Sino-German relations to a new level with many lucrative business deals. I am afraid her principled stand on human rights and the meeting with the Tibetan spiritual leader will carry her opinions no further than the doorsteps of her Chancellery and, it will do more damage than good when dealing with China.

To salvage the damages done to the relationship, two special French envoys will arrive in Beijing this week to deliver messages from a present and past President of France to the Chinese leaders.

There are little signs that this protests in China will abate with new protests in cities such as Haikou (Hainan), Harbin, Xian, Jinan, Dalian following Saturday’s protests in Beijing, Qingdao, Wuhan, Hefei and Kunming. Though the Chinese government has quietly allowed the protests, they have also told the crowd to express their patriotic feelings in a rational and effective way but the bias Western media, once again, spurn it differently by mentioning that the Chinese government was afraid that the anti-Western protests will turn to become popular protests against the central government on issues like inflation, corruption and unemployment. Maybe it could happen in the West but not in China. Furthermore, the issues on hand are Tibetan independence, Olympics pressures and western interference on Chinese matters under the guise of human rights.

Meanwhile as reported in a small section of a foreign daily, there were about 5,000 people gathered in front of the Hollywood offices of CNN over the weekend to protest disparaging remarks about China made by one of the channels commentators. Police said the protesters who turned up unannounced were peaceful unlike the Tibetan protests against the torchbearers.

To date, the Western media and the activists have not denied that they are acting in concert to orchestrate the demonisation and bashing of China that began two years ago leading up to the Olympics in August 2008. The list of anti-China bashing news are endless - Darfur issue, the poor quality of Chinese goods, the pollution in Beijing, the three Gorges Dam, the African resources exploitation, the Dalai Lama, Xinjiang “terrorists”, the Taiwan independence, the military threat and even the treatment of its law offenders are not being spared. The use of the Dalai Lama and its secessionist groups in the guise of human rights was the ultimate push that broke a camel back, resulting in rampant anti-Western, anti-CNN and BBC protests held in China and other major cities throughout the world. Some of these participants are overseas Chinese that the West claimed were “brainwashed” or indoctrinated with patriotic education. This is clearly another spurn by the media doctor from the West.

One Chinese youth in the forum summed up the majority of the crowd’s anger, “I will mobilize my friends and we will fight back with a renew fervor that the West will remember forever that we are one race that will not be easily bullied”.

Sad but true, these profound resentments are quite real and the West ignorance or continued “assault” of their values on others will result in the development of a World which is not peaceful but also deeply divided in the future.

Protesters not welcome here, say vast majority of Hong Kong people

An extract from a section of an article by Bonnie Chen is given below:

Keep politics out of the Olympics and your hands off the torch! Thats the overwhelming message to would-be demonstrators on the Hong Kong leg of the controversy-plagued relay.

More than 93 percent of people in a Chinese University survey said they hoped the Hong Kong torch relay would be peaceful.

More than two-thirds, or 70 percent, disagreed with calls for the Games to be treated as an opportunity to press Beijing to improve human rights or to discuss the Tibet issue.

Eighty-nine percent disagreed with appeals to boycott the Games opening ceremony as a means to put pressure on China.

Ninety-two percent agreed the Beijing Olympics is a precious occasion for the Chinese people.

Nearly 60 percent felt China's international image had improved along with organizing the Olympics.

In addition, 12.9 percent said they would be watching the relay, with 37.7 percent saying they would like to so do. The survey involved 1,020 people.

China, Russia hold talks on strategic stability in Beijing

By China Watcher

In a sign of the development of strong mutual relations between the two great powers, a consultation between China and Russia on strategic stability was held in Beijing on 18 April 2008.

The two nations exchanged views on the current international security situation, non-proliferation, hot regional issues and multilateral arms control.

According to China Daily, the two nations agreed that it is of vital importance for world peace and security to safeguard global strategic stability, boost mutual trust among nations and resolve international disputes by peaceful means. In a joint statement, it also call for support for the arms control process under the multilateral framework and settlement of issues concerning the non-proliferation process as matters of great significance.

I believe the common stance of the two nations is to promote a multi-polar world which is not dominated by a single powerful nation and also, to ensure that their nations will continue to develop according to its own pace free from interference from the US and its allies.

Are European opinions on China important at the world stage?

By China Watcher

In a devious attempt by the Financial Times, a Harris survey on Tuesday revealed an average of 35 percent of sampling participants in Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Italy believed that China is the biggest threat to global stability. The United States, which invaded and occupied Iraq and tortured its “terrorist” detainees, registered only 29 percent. Surprisingly, both the Western labeled “twin of evils”, Iran and North Korea, are lower on the list.

According to the Times, the Harris survey interviewed a total of 5,381 voters which comprises of Britain (1,122), France (1,114), Germany (1,028), Spain (1,012) and Italy (1,105) (“BISGF” countries) between March 27 and April 8 for the poll.

First, I would like to comment about the timing of the poll which was conducted after the Tibetan protests and followed by the unrelenting China bashing news by the Western media and its international networks from the day of the protest until this very day. With the many negative commentaries in their domestic dailies, using the translated version of the bias and prejudicial news from foreign international agencies like Reuters, AFP, Bloomberg and BBC, it is of no surprise that the scores are much higher than what were shown earlier. This is another of the US and its Western allies willful and concerted attempt to discredit China using the media to do the work and it will continue until they have succeeded to eliminate the “China Threat” or the “Yellow Peril”.

Second, when we mentioned about Europeans, we are not talking about just Britain, France, Germany, Spain or Italy. Europe is made up of 48 entities, big and small independent nations and the handful of countries mentioned above is definitely not exclusive European’s opinion as claimed by the press. Britain and France are on the permanent Security Council, not because of its sheer population size or magnitude of its economy but more because there were deemed convenient “powers’ during the Second World War. Germany has made a series of attempts to get onto the UN’s Permanent Membership status but they have not been successful. Thankfully they have not succeeded with this kind of anti-China attitude. France is a weakened force and its influence is dwindling on the world stage. Maybe in Europe their opinion is still relevant but at the world stage I am not even bothered. Same explanation applies to both Italy and Spain.

Let us be fair, I do notice that Spanish residents do have a more favorable reflection on China. Poorer European nations like Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary which do not have competing businesses with China tend to have a more favorable opinion on China than the BISGF countries.

Third, I would like to know the terminology of “global stability”. Does this mean that if a country has vast differences in cultural and societal standards, a different style of government and opinions that contradict the Western based democratic standards they are then deemed a threat to global security and stability?

Europeans on the whole are rated “advanced” societies with generally a high standard of living with its own brand of human rights relative to the other parts of the world which the world look up to for progress. But the whole continent in terms of inhabitants constituted only 11 percent of the world’s population. It is the second smallest continent. When trade is concerned the European countries as a unified bloc, the European Union, is important because it is currently China’s largest trading partner in terms of dollars’ value.

Taking away the trade relationship from the mathematical equation, are European opinions based on the BISGF countries still important for China at the United Nations and at the world stage?

Growing trading relations between China and EU is certainly one of the most important and valuable developments in this century. It will be a significant opportunity cost for these European governments to sacrifice for the sake of human rights and the perceived unacceptable treatment of the Tibetans.

On Tuesday, the EU Trade Commissioner is more pragmatic in calling for dialogues to resolve the differences rather than protests in a speech at the China-Britain Business Council in London. He commented that the confrontations in connection with the Olympics and Tibet will not be able to serve European interest but it will actually jeopardize Europeans effort to sustain a constructive economic relationship with a growing China. According to the EU Commission, Europe in 2006 had a trade deficit of $194 billion with China and Chinese exports to the EU are growing at about 27 percent annually over the last five years.

The various political organizations and its activists are actually leading their governments into a “sink hole” where they may find it difficult to extricate if they blindly support the defiance calls of these hypocrites. The ordinary Europeans’ interest will be harmed in the long run if the anti-Chinese trend persists. If global economic sanctions on Iran and Myammar do not even work, these Western leaders must be living in a fantasy world to think that protests will be effective against a huge country like China. In reality, the activists’ actions to shame and humiliate China has actually hardened China’s position on the subject.

As a measure to ward off the concerted attacks from these active anti-Chinese political organizations from the West, I believe China will need to find alternatives by gradually diversifying its trading dependence on BISGF by working more with emerging Third World countries in the future. Fortunately, the world is not made up of only the US and Europe.

Racist remarks from CNN against the Chinese people

By China Watcher

In Situation Room aired on April 9, 2008, Jack Cafferty, a news commentator, charged the Chinese people with a highly despicable assault by saying, "They (Chinese) are basically the same bunch goons and thugs they have been in the past fifty years."

I believe his hatred for the Chinese people is deep as he said it unrelenting and unapologetically. This is clearly unacceptable in a Western and developed country which has a Constitution that disallowed racist and seditious remarks to be made to a specific group or individual based on his creed and religion. I also do not believe that when he said those words, he was referring to the Chinese government as prior to this, he talked about "junks" coming from China - products made by Chinese people not the government. Criticizing the government is tantamount to assailing the Chinese people because what the government is defending are the rights of the Chinese people to do fair business throughout the world and to stage the Olympics.

The massive pro-China rallies in Vancouver, Madrid, Ottawa, San Francisco and Sydney could have actually ignited his suppressed anti-Chinese stance to make such unwarranted and uncalled statement.

I hope that he does not represent the majority of the US citizens, particularly the Caucasian whites.

If you are against this racist statement, please do visit the site:

http://www.petitiononline.com/cnncaff/petition.html, to offer your support.

China and Taiwan negotiations back on track

By China Watcher

The meeting on late Saturday in Hainan Island, a province in Southern China, between the Vice President-elect Vincent Siew of Taiwan and Chinese President Hu Jintao was called “a gradual thawing of ice” after nearly a decade of deep frozen ties between the DPP’s President and the mainland leaders.

The strong elections showing in March 2008 by the Taiwan’s candidate from the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), Ma Ying-Jeou, now the President-designate has given the Taiwanese people a measure of hope in improving economic relations and possibly, a discussion on the sensitive subject of reunification in the distant future.

Mr.Ma Ying-jeou will take office in Taipei on May 20, 2008.

What is important here is that negotiations are back on track and the people from both sides of the straits can look forward to a lessening of tensions brought about by the DPP’s President over the past 8 years. Negotiations are expected to be tough as both governments on each side of the straits would not like to be seen giving out too many concessions at too fast a pace to pacify its stakeholders.

I believe high on the agenda will be the enhancement of tourisms and the implementation of direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan. At present, there are no direct flights between the two governments as it had to transit to a third “country”, mainly though Hong Kong.

This meeting though is just a warm hand shake to exchange pleasantries but it is also an indication of warmer relation in the making. Peace talk and confidence building measures to reduce tensions will be the next item on the agenda but it will only be discussed after economic and cultural exchanges and direct linkages are introduced.

The easing of Taiwan's visas for Chinese tourists from mainland will provide an added boost to the weak and lackadaisical Taiwan’s tourism sector. The introduction of direct flights will reduce the time and costs of making trips to the mainland for the many Taiwanese investors and businessmen. Chinese investors will also be encouraged to invest in Taiwan to ensure that there is healthy flow of capital on both sides of the straits. More agricultural products will also be able to make it to the mainland if direct economic and trade ties are further improved.

I am confident that the next meeting of representatives will be an official discussion to enhance direct links and normal trade ties between the two sides. Weekend direct chartered flights will commence in the middle of the year and followed by commercial flights which may happen just before the Lunar Spring Festival in 2009. Political unification talks can be set aside for the future generations to settle where there would be a higher level of confidence among the people from both sides. There is no constraint of time as long as each side is willing to discuss under an environment promoting the current status quo – not going for independence but eventual unification when the time is ripe.

I believe Hong Kong’s impending direct elections between 2017 and 2020 will serve as an impetus for political changes on the mainland. By then, the discussion on the unification timeline will hopefully be less sensitive and the reality of a unified China will not be just a dream.

Chinese government has protest activists to thank for

By China Watcher

The series of activists’ protests supported silently by the Western governments following the Olympic Torch runs especially in London, Paris and San Francisco have in fact created a repercussion which is exactly the opposite of what it was intended to do. Singapore has stated that the negative consequences will be well beyond the spectrum of East-West relations even after the Olympic dusts have settled in late August 2008.

Activists’ demands

These Tibetan exiles and human rights activists, as reported by the Western media, have been using the Olympics protests to pressure the Chinese government to accede to its 3 demands, that is, firstly, to correctly handle the Tibetan violence, secondly to improve human rights in China by Western standards and lastly, to do more to alleviate the sufferings of the tribal people residing in the Darfur region in Sudan.

These activists are a bunch of interested bystanders who are out to create its own agenda to try to resolve the world’s problems. Obviously, they would not be so influential and strong if the Western governments and media are not solidly behind them. I am not at all convinced that the uprisings and the torch runs protest were all that noble and non violent.

Thankful to the protests activists

Any person who thought that the many protests will cause discomfort and uneasiness among the Chinese leaders would be mistaken. Some Western journalists have happily commented that the torch runs were a PR disaster for China but I would like to think differently. In fact, the Chinese government will owe the organizers of riots and protests the valuable gratitude for creating the opportunity for them to rally the huge Chinese population to its side. To date, the majority of the Chinese is supportive of the government stance and is of the opinion that Tibet is forever a part of China. Perhaps only a handful of the unhappy dissidents and political exiles in the US are supportive of the Western bigger agenda.

The massive pro-government rally at the torch runs and the many comments of Chinese participants on the Internet bulletins and forums – both domestic and overseas – only reaffirmed my firm position on this matter. I also agreed wholeheartedly with the Singapore Prime Minister that these protests will have a wider repercussion well beyond the Olympics due to the virulent attacks of the West by the Chinese youths on the Net, a breeding ground to the possibility of the formation of anti-Western groups in the future.
Torch runs in Argentina and Tanzania

Meanwhile the torch relays in Buenos Aires and Dar es Salaam have concluded without the chaotic and unruly behaviors of the activists in snatching and extinguishing the torch from disabled torchbearers and the prevention of the buses from reaching its destinations. The difficult stretches of the global tour of the torch relay could be over except in India and Japan where the activists are quite active. But I am confident the governments of these countries are unlikely to allow any disruptions to the torch compared to those sympathetic Western countries, of which I believe they may have an underlying agenda.

Not attending will hurt athletes more

According to an Olympic official, world leaders who intend to snub China by boycotting the opening ceremony over its controversial restoration of order in Tibet will only hurt their own athletes rather than the mood of the Games. IOC President commented that the attendance of the Heads of State or representatives will provide the morale boost to their respective contingents when they come marching into the main Olympic Stadium accompanied by their national flags.

China will take a dim view of any leader who did not attend the ceremony because of political differences and relationship will likewise be strained accordingly. Only the French President has linked his attendance to the initiation of a dialogue between the Chinese government and Tibetan representatives. Most Western leaders were smart enough to say that the non attendance at the opening ceremony was planned long before the Tibetan riots.

Olympics Invitations

I have just found out that it is not the Chinese government who issues the invitation to heads of state or governments to attend but it comes jointly from the IOC and the Beijing Organizing Committee through their respective National Olympic Committees. As such, the boycott of the Olympics whether is partial or full is also a snub of the IOC and its own sports associations.

In reality as demonstrated in past Olympics attendance, it may not be the heads of state but most likely a country’s representative will attend the Olympics event. So I do not understand why those Western media will need to make big hue and cry over this attendance matter. The non attendance of the political figures will not affect the quality and success of the Games as the most important factors are the athletes’ performance and the wide support of the sports fans throughout the world.

At this juncture, the public opinion is on the side of not boycotting the Games even in Western countries.

Human rights issue

As for the lack of perceived human rights in China in the West, politicians or elected representatives are present to resolve it either through the UN or with the ongoing bilateral dialogue sessions. Yesterday, a spoke person from the White House said that in the correct perspective that the only way to resolve the human rights issue in China is through dialogue and not through protests or boycotts.

List of friendly nations – The Grading System

By China Watcher

If the US has the right to grade sovereign countries based on its own human rights standards and other copyright-compliant related activities, I think it is only fair that China should be allowed to set up its list of friendly nations.

For the statistical minded, I have actually designed a very simple point-based system to grade the countries in accordance to the following 12 criteria mentioned below:

Criteria	Excellent	Good	Satisfactorily	Not Satisfactory
Government Relations	8	6	4	2
People to People Relations	4	3	2	1
Lawmakers Relations	4	3	2	1
Trading activities based the nature of goods	8	6	4	2
Common societal values	8	6	4	2
Actions at the UN	4	3	2	1
Military cooperation	4	3	2	1
Trade Issues, legal cases at WTO	4	3	2	1
Regional Cooperation (Science & Technology)	4	3	2	1
Two-way Investments	4	3	2	1
No Territorial or historical arguments	4	3	2	1
Local Media support	4	2	2	1

Note: 1. Government relations, societal values, trading activities are given twice the weights due to its relative importance in a diplomatic relationship.

2. Points on the higher scale is favorable whereas at the lower end it is not so.

Maximum number of points = 60 (15 X 4)

Legend:

Types	Points	Remarks
Tier 1	Above 48	Countries which sincerely wanted to develop friendly ties with China. Excellent government ties. Provide all round support on issues relating to China.
Tier 2	35-48	Countries which have promoted good and stable ties with China but it also have values that are in conflict with China. Does not allow these differences to obstruct the development of business relations.
Tier 3	Below 35	Countries have sound and normal relations. Respectable trading partner but there are also outstanding trade issues with China. Willing to impose own values on other independent nations.

Take for example the US:

Criteria	Points
Government Relations	6
People to People Relations	2
Lawmakers Relations	1
Trading activities based on volume	6
Common social values	2
Actions at the UN	2
Military cooperation	2
Trade Issues, Legal Cases at WTO	2
Regional Cooperation (Science and Technology)	2
Two-way Investment	2
No Territorial or historical arguments	4
Local Media support	1
Total	32

Hence, US will be categorized as a Tier 3 friendly nation with regards to its relations with China.

Russia

Criteria	Points
Government Relations	8
People to People Relations	3
Lawmakers Relations	4
Trading activities based on volume	6
Common social values	6
Actions at the UN	4
Military cooperation	3
Trade Issues, Legal Cases at WTO	4
Regional Cooperation (Science and Technology)	3
Two-way Investment	3
No Territorial or historical arguments	3
Local Media support	3
Total	50

Russia will be graded as Tier 1 friendly nation to China.

France

Criteria	Excellent
Government Relations	6
People to People Relations	2
Lawmakers Relations	1
Trading activities based on volume	6
Common societal values	2
Actions at the UN	1
Military cooperation	1
Trade Issues, Legal Cases at WTO	2
Regional Cooperation (Science and Technology)	2
Two-way Investment	2
No Territorial or historical arguments	4
Local Media support	1
Total	30

France will be graded as Tier 3 under list of friendly nations to China.

Australia

Criteria	Excellent
Government Relations	6
People to People Relations	3
Lawmakers Relations	2
Trading activities based on volume	8
Common societal values	4
Actions at the UN	2
Military cooperation	2
Trade Issues, Legal Cases at WTO	3
Regional Cooperation (Science and Technology)	2
Two-way Investment	3
No Territorial or historical arguments	4
Local Media support	2
Total	41

Australia will be graded as Tier 2 under list of friendly nations to China.

I would continue to add more countries on the left side of the blog page.

Please provide me with feedbacks, so that I can further improve the grading system.

Thanks for reading.