BBC Monitoring Quotes From China, Taiwan Press 26 Jan 06

The following is a selection of quotes from editorials and commentaries carried in 26 January 2006 website editions of mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwan newspapers available to BBC Monitoring. Unless otherwise stated, the quotes are in Chinese. The figure in brackets after the quote indicates the date of publication on the website

“US stance against torture is unconvincing”

Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post in English: www.scmp.com “The punishment handed down by a US military jury for an officer who tortured an Iraqi general to death does not fit the crime. A fine and a reprimand, but no jail sentence, for Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer is, given the evidence, an affront to justice… Sadly, claims that a small minority of misguided soldiers are solely to blame for repugnant acts of abuse of terror suspects are sounding increasingly hollow…” (Editorial) (26)

“Can the US really not catch Bin-Ladin?”

Beijing’s Huanqiu Shibao (Global Times) dated 24 January; carried by Renmin Wang website on 26 January: www.people.com.cn “… If the US did not hesitate at any cost, it would not be unable to catch [Usamah] Bin-Ladin… For the US, Bin-Ladin’s existence seems to have become just like a driving force for the ‘counter-terrorism’ banner, with a hundred advantages and not one disadvantage, so why exert full effort to go and catch him?.. Obviously, the US went through an evaluation of the pros and cons of letting Bin-Ladin continue to roam free. If it catches Bin-Ladin, it will lose its objective and excuse for waging a ‘war on terror’, and the US’ use of ‘counter-terrorism’ to shape its ‘moral image’ will also lose its sheen…” (Wang Yiwei, associate professor, Institute for American Studies, Fudan University, Shanghai) (26)

Huanqiu Shibao: “… After the ’11 September’ incident, the US’ strategic course has been very clear, which is flaunting the ‘counter-terrorism’ banner, to first clear up Afghanistan, then take care of Iraq, and finally complete its ‘Middle East transformation plan’, and truly achieve and continue its global hegemony. Bin- Ladin is now also still alive, and occasionally comes out with some strong statements, which is precisely what the US is earnestly hoping for… Looking at the present situation, the ‘cat-and-mouse’ game between the US and Bin-Ladin will still continue to be played.” (Wang Yiwei; same commentary as above) (26)

Iran

Beijing’s Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily, Chinese Communist Party newspaper): www.peopledaily.com.cn “… In a situation where the current Iranian nuclear issue has taken a sudden turn, how the European Union [EU]will take its next step has become one of the focal points of people’s speculation. A precise forecast is very difficult, but looking at the past approach of the Europeans, it is not hard to guess several possibilities: One, it will brave the risk of confrontation, and firmly punish Iran together with the US; two, it will compromise once again with Iran, and allow it to ‘temporarily halt’ nuclear activities, and enable the Iranian nuclear issue to nominally ‘head off disaster’ once more; and three, it will put on a ‘sanctions show’, take small steps slowly diplomatically, to calmly win over the support of the majority of members of the international community, and seek an opportunity to soften or coerce the opposite side. By comparison, it looks as though the last possibility best serves the interests and position of the EU. Of course, the lead roles are played by the US and Iranian sides, and once the big curtain is opened, whether they will sing the EU’s tune is uncertain.” (Wu Baiyi, researcher, Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) (26)

“US should appreciate China’s peaceful path”

Beijing’s China Daily in English: www.chinadaily.net “… America’s China strategy still contains some areas of uncertainty: 1) The relatively rational and positive nature of the China strategy presented by [US Deputy Secretary of State Robert] Zoellick and others has not become a nationwide consensus and whether it will be a long-term strategy remains unclear. 2) The US acceptance of China’s peaceful development comes with a series of conditions. With this ‘conditional acceptance’ Washington is ready to label China ‘irresponsible’ whenever it deems the latter’s development not conducive to its interests or not in the way it wants. This is not fair to China at all… It has been gearing up its military alliance with Japan, enhancing its strategic partnership with India and upgrading the real status of its ‘unofficial’ ties with Taiwan. All these undertakings smell of China containment one way or another…” (Yuan Peng, vice-director, Institute of American Studies, China Institute of Contemporary International Relations) (26)

2. “…The future development of China-US relations will depend mainly on the orientation of America’s China strategy. China has, in theory and action as well as from the perspectives of history and actuality, shown its sincerity and determination in pursuing peaceful development. Now it all depends on whether the United States will understand correctly the strategic intent China has expressed and formulate a relatively long-term, stable and proactive China strategy accordingly.” (Yuan Peng; same commentary as above) (26)

“Political contest behind Russia-Britain ‘spy scandal’”

Beijing’s Guangming Ribao (Guangming Daily, Chinese Communist Party newspaper): www.gmw.com.cn “… Authoritative sources have pointed out that the measures by Russian security departments of placing espionage together with the funding of non-government organizations is quite thought-provoking, and the essence of the ‘spy scandal’ is an intense political contest between Russia and the West. First, Russia is using this move to counter-attack Western criticism concerning the [Russian President] Putin regime destroying democracy and a ‘civic society’… Obviously, Russia has exposed the true colours of the West spreading democracy and building a ‘civic society’ as being espionage in reality by broadcasting the video recording of the activities of British spies in Russia. Next, it is curbing the trend of Russian non-government organizations running rampant, and giving a lesson to the US, Britain and other countries attempting to start a ‘colour revolution’ in Russia… Furthermore, it is ‘killing the rooster to scare the monkeys’, so as to take the uncovering of a British intelligence agency as a breach to warn the US…” (Han Xianyang, reporter, Moscow)

“Be vigilant against Japan’s provocation on Taiwan issue”

Renmin Ribao overseas edition: “… [Japanese Prime Minister] Koizumi’s words and deeds since the New Year indicate that he will act wilfully and continue to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, and people will certainly not be surprised at this. What we should be vigilant about is Japan creating trouble over the Taiwan issue, causing Sino- Japanese relations to not merely suffer ‘one misfortune after another’, but even suffer a ‘snowstorm’ attack… Upon entering 2006, signs of Japan’s schemes to further create trouble on the Taiwan issue can already be seen. A Japanese newspaper has revealed that the Japanese government is planning to amend the ‘Emergency-at- Periphery Law’, and treat a ‘Taiwan emergency’ as a ‘Japanese emergency’… If it is put into effect, it will be Japan’s wildest provocation on the Taiwan issue in recent years. Other provocative actions are already being planned: ‘Taiwan independence’ element [former Taiwan president] Lee Teng-hui plans to visit Japan this May, and he has requested a visit to the Yasukuni Shrine during his time in Tokyo… We must be vigilant against Japan’s provocative actions on the Taiwan issue, and also warn Japan not to take risks on issues concerning China’s major strategic interests.” (Yu Qing) (26)

Yamaha

Huanqiu Shibao (24 January); carried by Renmin Wang on 26 January: “On the morning of 23 January, police in Fukuoka Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, joined forces with Nagoya customs to take sudden action, and carried out a raid on Yamaha Motor Co as well as more than 20 related places, and the reason was that this company ‘allegedly sold unmanned helicopters to China which could be converted to military applications’… The large-scale raid of the Yamaha Co in Japan this time, has caused a very big response in Japan, and has made people feel that this is like a new move to deliberately exaggerate the China ‘military threat theory’.” (Report) (26)

Taiwan: “Su must challenge Chen if he wants part in 2008 race”

Taipei’s The China Post in English: www.chinapost.com.tw “Whether Su Tseng-chang, the premier-designate who will be sworn in today along with his just formed cabinet, can bring Taiwan out of insistent political standoff and economic weakness will depend much on whether he can successfully meet the daunting challenges awaiting him – much of which will stem from the difficulty he is sure to confront in addressing relations with his boss, President Chen Shui- bian… Is it possible for the new premier to adopt a centre-left, moderate stance in performing his duties in order to gain greater popular support? He can’t. The premier derives his power from the president. Should he differ from the chief of state over major policies, he could risk being fired by him…” (Editorial) (26)

“Human role in spread of flu must be faced”

China Daily in English: “… Nine outbreaks of avian influenza in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region occurred near natural wetlands. It is no coincidence as wetlands are seasonal homes for migratory birds… Human activities related to farms and fisheries have been encroaching on the territories of wild birds. Even before the outbreaks of bird flu, experts warned the diminishing wetlands would bring about disasters for humans. We have been caught in a trap we set ourselves. Wetlands are a buffer zone between domestic fowl and migratory birds…” (Commentary) (26)

“Nation must rely on sustainable growth”

China Daily in English: “For the third consecutive year, the Chinese economy has grown at a rate of about 10 per cent, laying very solid foundations for pressing ahead with the 11th Five-Year Plan, from this year… But while applauding these big strides that China has made in achieving its quantitative economic goals, we should also focus on other challenges that must be overcome if a comprehensively well-off society is to be created… Strong economic growth is a precondition of realizing common prosperity for the people. Yet, to make it sustainable, the country still has a lot to do to upgrade its growth pattern and improve the way income is distributed.” (Commentary) (26)

Sources: As listed