Hillary's China censure a fool's errand
Although the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday downplayed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's harsh comments on China's human rights record, her remarks did shock the Chinese public, particularly because the insult was uttered by America's top diplomat.
In an interview with the Atlantic magazine published Tuesday, Clinton said the Chinese government was "trying to stop history, which is a fool's errand."
This echoed her speech at the just-concluded China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue, in which she used "disappeared" to refer to the arrest of some Chinese lawyers and artists.
Although the Chinese government has made it clear that artist Ai Weiwei was arrested on charges of "economic crimes," Clinton's choice of words produced some misleading implications for her audience – Ai was abducted by somebody.
It is not rare for the US media to use whatever words they want in reporting about China's affairs. But it is unacceptable to hear Clinton, as the US secretary of state, insulting the Chinese delegates to their face.
Since the latest upheaval in the Middle East, some US politicians seem very optimistic over the prospect of Western-style democracy sweeping the world. They believe China will be next.
A sense of superiority has twisted the thinking of some US officials.
A sense of superiority has twisted the thinking of some US officials.
Pointing out China's problems is no surprise. But now they have begun to throw out insensitive words. We don't know if it was a slip-of-tongue by Clinton, or whether US officials believe they can hurl whatever insults they wish at China.
Clinton and other US officials may argue that they are criticizing China out of "sincere friendship," and that the Chinese may be oversensitive to criticism. But in the past, the US government has bristled over criticism by China.
Ye Xiaowen, former head of State Administration for Religious Affairs, published an article in a Chinese newspaper in 2007, criticizing then US president George W. Bush's military involvement in Iraq.
The US media reacted strongly, which resulted in the Chinese media outlet's withdrawal of the article from its website.
Chinese media is often labeled "nationalistic" when opinion-makers lash out at the US.
Nevertheless, we wish that senior American officials would learn some basic etiquette in their dealing with other countries.
As with relationships between ordinary people, the basic rules of politeness will help people communicate smoothly and not enrage each other with irresponsible slurs.
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