[他山之石]Olympics near, China bends on Darfur
After years of blocking tougher sanctions against Sudan, Beijing moves to stem criticism that it isn't doing enough to help end the conflict.By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 8, 2008
BEIJING -- When filmmaker Steven Spielberg announced last month that he was withdrawing as an artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympics over violence in Darfur, the reaction in Beijing was righteous indignation.
Organizers accused him of violating the Olympic spirit by injecting politics into the Games, while the state-run media unleashed a torrent of insults, calling him naive, vain and childish.
Now China is taking a new tack.
After its initial outburst, the Foreign Ministry has launched something of a charm offensive to convince the international community that it does indeed care about human rights. In recent weeks, Beijing has been pushing the Sudanese government to accept a peacekeeping force in its troubled Darfur region. A senior Chinese diplomat who had just returned from a trip to Sudan was trotted out Friday for a rare briefing with foreign correspondents on China's role in Sudan.
"We are using our relationship with the Sudanese government to exert leverage," said Liu Guijin at the briefing. "China has done many positive things which have been recognized by the international community."
The 62-year-old diplomat, one of the most seasoned Africa hands in the Chinese diplomatic corps, conveyed the same message in a recent swing through London and Paris on his way home from Sudan. His job appears partly to be damage control as human rights advocates around the world threaten to organize a boycott of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing because of China's close ties with the Sudanese government.
China's relationship with Sudan as that country deals with the Darfur crisis is being keenly watched as a test case of how China handles itself on the world stage, especially with regard to human rights.
"I think the Chinese, as they become a great power, are realizing that foreign policy is not simply about economics, but about world leadership. There is a gradual evolution as they step into that role," said Andrew S. Natsios, a Georgetown University professor who until recently was President Bush's special envoy on Darfur.
Natsios said the Chinese had been unfairly criticized over Darfur when in fact they have been active behind the scenes in getting the Sudanese government to make concessions.
"The Chinese don't go on moral crusades the way America does. But when you engage with them in a rational, reasonable way, they can be very helpful," Natsios said.
Despite China's efforts to defuse the crisis, the criticism is likely to continue in the run-up to the Olympics, which are set to begin Aug. 8.
"These Olympics are a geopolitical debutante ball for China. They are to highlight China's ascension onto the stage of world power, and that makes it quite reasonable for human rights advocates to highlight what they are doing around the world," Allyn Brooks-LaSure, spokesman for the Washington-based organization Save Darfur, said in a telephone interview Friday.
China developed a close relationship with Sudan in the 1990s, buying up to two-thirds of its oil output. Since 2003, when fighting broke out in Darfur, China has used its U.N. Security Council presence to block tougher sanctions against Sudan and has ignored an arms embargo. Weapons sold by China are believed to have ended up in the hands of government-backed militias that have been terrorizing villagers in Darfur.
In May, Liu was appointed special envoy on the Darfur issue. He has since made four trips to Sudan, and met with various principals in the conflict.
Armed with a dossier of reports, Liu reeled off China's accomplishments at the 70-minute briefing Friday for the foreign media. He said a team of 140 engineers had dug wells and built infrastructure for refugees in Darfur. He cited studies showing that the United States sells far more weapons to developing countries, although he did not dispute that China continues to supply arms to the Sudanese government.
Asked whether "genocide" was occurring in Darfur, Liu responded, "I don't like to debate with people what words should be used to describe what has happened, which has caused the displacement of millions of people and cost tens of thousands of lives."
He also said that rebel groups should be held as responsible as the Sudanese government for the violence and that the international community should pressure them as well to accept a cease-fire.
In his travels, Liu has met with human rights groups, and he spent an hour with Spielberg in September.
"I respect Mr. Spielberg as an individual. He was very polite and appreciative of what I was talking about," Liu said. "Later, when he resigned, it was a very big surprise to me."
In his resignation statement, Spielberg said, "While China's representatives have conveyed to me that they are working to end the terrible tragedy in Darfur, the grim realities of the suffering continue unabated."
His resignation coincided with an open letter signed by dozens of prominent politicians, artists, writers and athletes urging China to do more on Darfur. The signatories included eight Nobel Peace Prize winners.
barbara.demick@latimes.com
Link：
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/africa/la-fg-darfur8mar08,1,1830779.story?ctrack=1&cset=true Finally I find an article which is somehow neutrallywritten about China-effect upon Darfurs Issue on the foreigen well-known news-media.
But I have to add something more what are always reported by some medien wrongly.
How many procents in total did USA sell weapon to Sudan in past??37%
How many procents in total did China sell weapon to Sudan in past?? 6,7%
The Share of the oil company in one oil field of south Sudan is , China only 48%,the others belong to the other nations.And 50% percents Oil prodution must be controlled by Sudan. And the most Oil buyer is Japan.
The data above was quoted from a recent press reference in London thatthe Chinese officer LiuGujin faced BBC and the other western press. Great!!
Let's know more details and more truth. Everyday I spend some time on receiving News through reading articles or watching TV. I always wonder the authenticity,completeness,tendentiousness about every Information that the medium try to express.
From the other way to think, how should the medium do so that they can persuade us.
For example,We can see some political Interviews on TV. Some ordinary foreign citizens oder some special persons are interviewers.During the interview on TV-Channel the sound from those foreign citizens is sometimes translated dub stead of original voice. Maybe I can't kown Arabic or Japanes at all.But I like to hear the orignial voice with translated subtitles.because the latter seems more persuasible than the former. Because I alway know the Report by CNN or BBC about some political interviews or sensitve Issue make ugly report with translated voice or compiled picture. Here is several examples CNN exclusive about Chinese Hacker last year and BBC report about the Talk from Liu GuJin about Darfur Issue last week.
How can we judge the truth of interview. Through original voice at least.
[ 本帖最后由 一颗松树 于 2008-3-10 16:13 编辑 ]
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