Chinese ambassador attacks Western media
By Melissa Kite, Deputy Political Editor, and David Eimer in Beijing
Last Updated: 2:39am BST 14/04/2008
The Chinese ambassador to London has denounced "violent" British demonstrators who attacked the Olympic torch relay - and hit out at the western media for "demonising" China.
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Fu Ying claims that Chinese Olympic athletes were so shocked by the protests at the relay in London that they questioned whether Britain could really have been the land that produced Shakespeare and Dickens.
 |
|
In her article, Madam Fu says: "Many who had romantic views about the West are very disappointed at the media’s attempt to demonise China. We all know demonisation feeds a counter reaction.
"Many complain about China not allowing enough access to the media. In China, the view is that the Western media needs to make an effort to earn respect."
The unprecedented attack comes after international concern about the crackdown in Tibet, with Tibetan exile groups saying Chinese security forces killed dozens of protesters during violent clashes.
Protests during the Olympic torch relay by activists critical of China’s actions have taken place all over the world ahead of the Beijing Games in August.
Voicing her own disappointment that the relay in London last weekend was marred by demonstrations, Madam Fu said: "On the bus to the airport, I was with some young girls from the Beijing team, including an Olympic Gold Medalist Miss Qiao. They were convinced that the people here were against them. One girl remarked she couldn’t believe this land nourished Shakespeare and Dickens. Another asked: where is the 'gentlemenship’?"
Dismissing criticism of China’s actions in Tibet, she said: "Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet. People are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed. That has been the main objective of China for centuries."
Gordon Brown has confirmed that he will not attend the Beijing opening ceremony, although he denied it was a protest or change of plan and said he will go to the closing ceremony instead. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also informed China that he will not attend the opening ceremony.
China’s President Hu Jintao defended the suppression of the protests in Tibet yesterday and appeared to rule out any possibility of holding talks with the Dalai Lama.
 |
|
In his first comments on the protests, President Hu denied that they had anything to do with human rights, or with Beijing’s restrictions on religious freedom in Tibet.
Instead, he blamed the Dalai Lama for orchestrating the largest uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet for 20 years.
He said that China was ready to meet with the Dalai Lama, but only if the Tibetan spiritual leader stopped trying to "split the motherland", "incite violence" and "ruin the Beijing Olympics".
Interviewed on US television late on Friday, the Dalai Lama reiterated his opposition to a boycott of the Beijing Games and told China, "We are not against you. And I’m not seeking separation".