Monday 21 March 2011
China displays a bold face to world
In the past few weeks, the world has witnessed a more confident and decisive China, evidenced by its large-scale operations to protect its citizens abroad, from the evacuation of 35,860 workers from strife-torn Libya three weeks ago, to the withdrawal of thousands of Chinese nationals from the worst-hit disaster zones in Japan last week.
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China displays a bold face to world
Ed Zhang in Beijing
21 March 2011
In the past few weeks, the world has witnessed a more confident and decisive China, evidenced by its large-scale operations to protect its citizens abroad, from the evacuation of 35,860 workers from strife-torn Libya three weeks ago, to the withdrawal of thousands of Chinese nationals from the worst-hit disaster zones in Japan last week.
In yet another swift move, the State Council made a surprise announcement on Wednesday that it was suspending approvals of new nuclear power plants and conducting a comprehensive safety check of operating ones in response to the news about possible meltdown at the Japanese Fukushima No1 nuclear power plant. Days earlier, senior industry officials had insisted that China’s ambitious nuclear power programme would not change despite mounting public concerns.
These moves, sometimes completed way ahead of those by most other nations, would surely help improve China’s international image at a time when many foreigners were concerned about its economic rise and ambitions, analysts said.
The prompt evacuation also aims to rally popular support for China’s political system, which also faces widespread discontent over corruption and widening income gaps.
Chartered airliners have been busy carrying more Chinese nationals home from Japan after being gathered by embassy staff working virtually round the clock.
China’s record in international crisis management had been far from praiseworthy, said Hu Xingdou, a professor of economics and Chinese issues at Beijing Institute of Technology, citing the anti-Chinese movements in Indonesia in the mid 1960s and 1998. But now China is behaving much more responsibly towards its people.
“This also marks progress in human rights,” Hu said.
One Western observer said the prompt, orderly evacuation of nearly 40,000 Chinese from Libya was “a masterful demonstration that China had entered the big leagues as far as global logistics are concerned”.
Some mainland analysts have seen those moves as a reflection of a new governmental focus.
Mao Shoulong, professor of political science at Renmin University’s School of Public Administration, said: “Those moves reflect the ‘people first’ policy, as the government attaches greater importance to people’s lives, which has won praise everywhere.”
For Jin Canrong, professor of the university’s School of International Relations, the “people first” focus is a response to the demands of the rising urban middle class, who are highly educated and have a high propensity for networking.
With its rising economic strength, the government can be expected to play a more active part in international affairs, other analysts said.
They said that because of its thirst for energy and raw materials to fuel economic growth, Beijing was investing billions of US dollars each year, often in troubled foreign countries. As a result, the mainland is forced to become more proactive in protecting its interests and investments.
But Wang Yizhou, professor of international relations at Peking University, said the actions also derived from social pressure.
The glare of the traditional media and internet users has forced mainland leaders to try to be responsive in order to enhance their legitimacy and credibility.
But Beijing learned this lesson the hard way. In 2003, as President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao were coming to power, the country was caught by severe acute respiratory syndrome. To ease international and domestic concerns, they sacked two ministerial-level officials for withholding vital information and reacting poorly.
Since then, the leadership has started to build up its crisis management system. China has been hit by all kinds of disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and food scares. The leaders have learned to be more responsive and open, said Tom Melcher, a China-based entrepreneur.
But Wang of Peking University said it still remained an open question whether such impressive crisis management would become standard or just reflected the priorities of the government under Hu and Wen, who will leave office in two years.
Additional reporting by Laura Zhou
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