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. China:
Govt Faces Intellectuals' Wrath For 'Kowtowing' To US
BEIJING - Discontent is growing, especially among the intellectuals,
over China's perceived weakness in the face of US war-mongering and
contempt for the United Nations. By David Hsieh 'The Chinese government is like the corrupt Qing Dynasty Empress
Dowager kowtowing to foreign might. It's shameful how the Chinese
government has behaved. 'Germany, France and Russia are showing some backbone. Where is China
in all this? And they call themselves socialist,' said a Beijing
university historian. Debate is just as heated on the Internet, although the scathing
criticism was directed mostly at the United States. 'Imperialism means war, imperialism means aggression. No matter how
ingenious the guise, it is still naked aggression,' said a posting on the
popular Chinese news portal Sina.com. The Chinese authorities have sought to avoid media hype over the issue,
fearing that extensive coverage would fuel resentment against Washington. It is reminiscent of the anti-US sentiments following the accidental
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade in 1999 and the spy plane
collision off the coast of Hainan in 2001. News reports on the Iraqi crisis were relegated to the less prominent
pages of the most influential party flagship newspapers such as the
People's Daily. But this has not stopped the more popular newspapers, such as the
Beijing Youth Daily, from devoting pages to the issue. Analysts warn that popular resentment against China's foreign policy
weaknesses often spills over into outrage against official corruption and
government abuse. 'Foreign policy weakness can easily be linked to corruption and
ineptitude at home. 'There is a view that the Chinese government can never get it right,
domestically or externally,' said an executive of the Chinese subsidiary
of a leading foreign pollster. There are also concerns that the Chinese economy would be bogged down
by a prolonged war. 'If the war drags on, it does not bode well for the world and China's
economy,' an official from Shandong's Jinan city government told The
Straits Times. But for the average Chinese, how to get on with their daily lives is
still their immediate concern. School teacher Lu Ruifeng of Yangquan, Shanxi province, said: 'People
tune in to the latest developments but the war is too far from the
immediate concerns of ordinary people. 'Most don't connect the war directly to their pockets. There are too
many problems in China as it is.' The Straits Times 
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