Xi Jinping: “Immeasurable Splendor, many Tribulations”

The following is an excerpt from Xi Jinping’s acceptance speech on March 13 after his “re-election” as State Chairman of the PRC.

It starts with some pseudo-history: Xi doesn’t explicitly place “semi-colonialism” and “semi-feudalism” into the same number of years or centuries, but whoever would like to take away the impression that everything that went wrong in China was the fault of foreign imperialists is free to do so.

^{Oh-so honored}

This has become part of building narratives in Chinese propaganda; Xi took a similar approach when “retelling” the history of the Korean War. in 2020. The guise of innocence in international relations isn’t as much about openly lying, but to leave any aspects out of the stories that might be inconvenient.

Main Link:

Speech at the first session of the 14th National People’s Congress (在第十四届全国人民代表大会第一次会议上的讲话)

Delegates!
各位代表：

This assembly has elected me Chairman of the PRC for another term. I would like to express my sincere thanks for the trust all delegates and all the country’s nationalities have placed in me!
这次大会选举我继续担任中华人民共和国主席，我对各位代表和全国各族人民的信任，表示衷心感谢！
This is my third term at the sublime position as State Chairman. The people’s trust is my main motivation for further progress, and also a heavy responsibility to sholder. I will faithfully fulfill my duties as assigned by the constitution, with the needs of the state as my mission, the people’s interests as the criteria, I will work with devotion, wholeheartedly and respectfully, and never betray the great trust of the delegates and all the country’s nationalities!
这是我第三次担任国家主席这一崇高职务。人民的信任，是我前进的最大动力，也是我肩上沉甸甸的责任。我将忠实履行宪法赋予的职责，以国家需要为使命，以人民利益为准绳，恪尽职守，竭诚奉献，绝不辜负各位代表和全国各族人民的重托！

Delegates!
各位代表！

In it’s 5,000 years of civilizational history, the Chinese nation has created immeasurable splendor, and also been through many tribulations. During modernity¹⁾, China, step by step, became a semicolonial and semifeudal society, suffering from the great powers’ bullying and humiliation, being partitioned, undergoing the chaos of war, and the bitterness of the people being in terrible situations. The Communist Party of China has, after its foundation, tightly united and led all nationalities and people of the country, gone through a century of struggle, wiped out the national humiliation, the Chinese people has become master of its own destiny, the Chinese people have welcomed the huge leap²⁾ from standing up to getting rich, from getting rich to becoming strong. The Chinese nation has taken an irreversible historical turn.
具有五千多年文明史的中华民族，在历史上创造了无数辉煌，也经历过许多磨难。近代以后，中国逐步成为半殖民地半封建社会，饱受列强欺凌、四分五裂、战乱频繁、生灵涂炭之苦。中国共产党成立之后，紧紧团结带领全国各族人民，经过百年奋斗，洗雪民族耻辱，中国人民成为自己命运的主人，中华民族迎来了从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃，中华民族伟大复兴进入了不可逆转的历史进程。

From now on to this mid-century, comprehensively building a strong, modern socialist country and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the entire party’s, the entire country’s and the entire people’s central duty. The relay baton of building a strong country and of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people has been assigned to us by history. In accordance with the party’s 20th National Congress’s srategic arrangements, we will coordinate and promote the general concept of the “Integration of the Five Dimensions”, coordinate the concept of the “Four Comprehensives”, accelerate the construction of Chinese-style modernization, unite and struggle, pioneer and innovate, and make contributions on the new journey that live up to the era, to history, to the people’s achievements, so as to promote the construction of a strong country and to the national rejuvenation!
从现在起到本世纪中叶，全面建成社会主义现代化强国、全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，是全党全国人民的中心任务。强国建设、民族复兴的接力棒，历史地落在我们这一代人身上。我们要按照党的二十大的战略部署，坚持统筹推进“五位一体”总体布局、协调推进“四个全面”战略布局，加快推进中国式现代化建设，团结奋斗，开拓创新，在新征程上作出无负时代、无负历史、无负人民的业绩，为推进强国建设、民族复兴作出我们这一代人的应有贡献！

[…]

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Notes

1)	Seems this could be translated as after modernity, but that wouldn’t make sense to me because 近代 – among Chinese, and not among Americans or Taiwanese – usually refers to the times from around 1912 and 1949. Among the latter, it would be from the late Ming dynasty to 1912.
2)	not to be confused with the “great leap forward” (see “Gasps of Admiration”, Xi’s “Resisting U.S., aiding Korea” commemorative speech, 2020)

Li Zhanshu: “Russia made an important Choice and acted firmly”

Meeting Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko
Xinwen Lianbo, Sept 11, 2022

Li Zhanshu’s talk isn’t exactly going viral on Chinese mass media, and appears to be only just beginning to catch attention on Twitter . The current Chairman of the Standing Committee of the “National People’s Congress” (China’s rubberstamp parliament), told Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and leaders of Russian parliament factions that

We see that the United States and its NATO allies are expanding their presence near the Russian borders, seriously threatening national security and the lives of Russian citizens. We fully understand the necessity of all the measures taken by Russia aimed at protecting its key interests, we are providing our assistance,

and

On the Ukrainian issue, we see how they have put Russia in an impossible situation. And in this case, Russia made an important choice and responded firmly

A transcript (and a much-shared video) on Twitter in Chinese:

对俄罗斯在核心利益和重大关切问题，中方对俄罗斯也是表示理解和充分的支持。就像现在的乌克兰问题，美国和北约直接逼到俄罗斯的家门口，涉及到俄罗斯的国家安全和人民的生命安全，在这种情况下，俄罗斯采取认为适合应当的一些措施，中方是表示理解的，并且从不同方面给予策应。

栗战书：“对俄罗斯在核心利益和重大关切问题，中方对俄罗斯也是表示理解和充分的支持。就像现在的乌克兰问题，美国和北约直接逼到俄罗斯的家门口，涉及到俄罗斯的国家安全和人民的生命安全，在这种情况下，俄罗斯采取认为适合应当的一些措施，中方是表示理解的，并且从不同方面给予策应。”） https://t.co/MGaeCh9GUZ

— Wen 💙💛 (@wenyunchao) September 14, 2022

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The translator adds a disclaimer, saying he doesn’t understand Li’s Shanxi accent too well, but that this is about what he said.

Central Asia: Russia’s Restive “Bulk” of Allies

Links within blockquotes added during translation.

In another bid to prove his president’s claim to the global public that you can’t isolate Russia, Russian foreign minister Lavrov wrote in a signed article for Rossiyskaya Gazeta that Russia could see its trade with Central Asia growing dynamically despite “the turbulent geopolitical situation”, and that “the bulk” of Central Asian countries were Russia’s allies.

There’s probably a need to emphasize that, although the Russian government-owned Rossiyskaya Gazeta may not be an ideal communication channel to the Central Asian public.

That was long ago: a QSL card
from Radio Tashkent, December 1985

But then, security issues aren’t only Russia’s issue. Its allied “bulk” is worried about Moscow’s miltary rampage in Ukraine, and China’s relations with Central Asia may become affected, too.

“Due to its size and geography, China’s role [in Central Asia] will grow [following the war], but the SCO won’t have many success stories to point to”,

RFA/RL quotes Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

“Beijing is also now seen as a supporter of Russia and as a country that isn’t doing much to restrain Moscow when many [SCO members] are seeing it as a potential threat.”

Pengpai News (“The Paper”, Shanghai), by no means a natural critic of Russia, suggested in an article on April 25 that

Since Russia started its “special military operation” againly been upped further, and their immediate and long-term political and economic effects are slowly emerging. In the five Central Asian countries that once belonged to the Soviet region, the Russian-Ukrainian state of affairs has given rise to worries, with their approach becoming more and more subtle.

在刚刚经历过“一月政变”的哈萨克斯坦，从总统托卡耶夫到外交部长和国防部长都在公开表态中与莫斯科保持了一定的距离。哈官方承诺不会成为帮助俄罗斯规避西方制裁的工具，并接待了专程到访的美国副国务卿，两国还宣布拟扩大高水平战略伙伴关系。

Kazakhstan’s regime, despite Russian military dispatches to quell demonstrations against the Tokayev regime only weeks earlier,

officially promised not to become a tool that would help Russia in evading the West’s sanctions, and received a US deputy secretary of state’s special visit. The two countries announced that they would broaden their high-level strategic partnership.

哈官方承诺不会成为帮助俄罗斯规避西方制裁的工具，并接待了专程到访的美国副国务卿，两国还宣布拟扩大高水平战略伙伴关系。

Timur Suleimenov, first deputy chief of Kazakhstan’s Executive Office, is quoted by Pengpai News as saying that his country, while a member of the Eurasian Economic Union,

we are also a member of the international community. We do not want America and the European Union to impose secondary sanctions on Kazakhstan, therefore we have to prove to our European partners that Kazakhstan will not become a tool for Russia to evade America’s and the EU’s sanctions. We will abide by the sanctions.”

“虽然我们和俄罗斯、白俄罗斯一样，是欧亚经济联盟成员，但我们也是国际社会的一员，我们不希望美国和欧盟对哈萨克斯坦实施二级制裁，因此我们必须向欧洲的伙伴证明，哈萨克斯坦不会成为俄罗斯规避美国和欧盟制裁的工具。我们将遵守制裁。”

Kazakhstan’s president, having just been protected from his own people by Russian troops,

presented, in his State of the Nation address on March 16, an entire set of reform plans, and acknowledged frankly that the Russian-Ukrainian state of affairs had made the importance of national independence obvious. He promised to carry out comprehensive political reform.

托卡耶夫在最近一次于3月16日所作的国情咨文中拿出了一整套改革方案，他坦言眼前的俄乌局势凸显了国家独立重要性，并承诺进行全面政治改革。

Uzbekistan is quoted as even telling Russia to stop its “aggressive” behavior (停止“侵略”行为). To find a peaceful solution, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister Abdulaziz Kamilov is quoted,

“We support the search for a peaceful solution to this state of affairs, and a solution to this conflict by political and diplomatic means”. For this, “(Russia) must first end military activity and its invasion.”

“我们支持寻求和平解决这一局势，并通过政治和外交手段解决这一冲突”。为此，“（俄罗斯）首先必须结束军事活动和侵略”。

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan who are more dependent on Russia, and who have Russian military bases within their borders, kept “prudently silent” after the launch of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. To offset the return of many of its migrant workers from Russia, however, Kyrgyzstan negotiated with South Korea and Turkey, apparently to find work for its citizens there, and asked Turkey to ease visa restrictions on migrant workers.

The fallout, according to Pengpai News, is there: Both Kazakhtan and Uzbekistan are drawing closer to America. Even Russians flee to Uzbekistan, the Pengpai article says, to avoid military service in Russia. And Uzbek nationals have been warned by their government that they could face five years in prison if they serve in Russia’s military.

Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Iran, “thanks to a Friendly Attitude and Unique Wisdom”

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif signed an agreement on a strategic partnership for the duration of 25 years, a deal that, the BBC believes, could give Iran more leverage with the US. While Iran is an important trading partner with even more potential for China, Zarif’s bow to Wang Yi (which apparently isn’t reciprocated) might indicate who needs who more urgently.

Washington reportedly evaluates if a $400 billion investment deal also signed by the two sides “will trigger sanctions under American law”. A day after the signing ceremony, Iran’s foreign radio reported that “major American papers and news outlets have warned about decline in the United States’ power and sphere of influence”.

The following is a translation of a commentary by a People’s University scholar in the Beijing Daily (北京日报), published on April 2 local time and UTC. Links within blockquotes added during translation.

SETV (Fujian) coverage – click photo for details

Main Link:
With the Sino-Iranian 25-years comprehensive cooperation agreement, the “road of Mideast diplomacy with Chinese characteristics” is becoming ever broader (中伊25年全面合作协议，“中国特色中东外交之路”越走越宽)

In the past few days, a Sino-Iranian comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement for the duration of 25 years has been officially signed. This is the first time that Iran has signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with any foreign country, and an important milestone in Sino-Iranian relations.

近日，为期25年的中伊全面合作协议正式签署。这是伊朗首次与外国签署全面战略合作协议，也是中伊关系的重要里程碑。

In 2016, China and Iran established a comprehensive strategic partnership. At the time they also jointly confirmed their intention of achieving this kind of comprehensive cooperation agreement. For five years, there have been high-level exchanges of opinion, a strengthening consensus, and finally the achievements as mentioned above. In the author’s view, the two countries’ movement into the same direction is also a microcosm of China’s Mideast diplomacy. Thanks to a friendly attitude and unique wisdom, we have opened a “road of Mideast diplomacy with Chinese characteristics” within the complicated international relations.

2016年，中伊建立全面战略伙伴关系，当时便共同确认了达成这项全面合作协议的意向。五年间，两国高层多次交换意见、强化共识，最终促成了上述硕果。在笔者看来，中伊两国长期的相向而行，也是中国中东外交的一个缩影。凭借友好态度与独特智慧，我们在中东纷繁复杂的国际关系中开辟了一条“中国特色中东外交之路”。

China has always upheld the spirit of the “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence”, which has won it the wide-spread recognition of Mideast countries. When China recovered its legitimate seat at the United Nations in 1971, the overwhelming majority of Mideast countries firmly supported China’s legitimate claim. After the “One Belt one Road” initiative had been proposed, the Middle Eastern countries responded positively. During this period, China established comprehensive strategic partnership relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, as well as strategic partnerships with Qatar and Jordan, and an innovative comprehensive strategic partnership with Israel. It can be said that China’s Mideastern “friendship circle” keeps widening.

中国在外交中一直秉持“和平共处五项原则”精神，赢得了中东国家的广泛认可。1971年中国恢复联合国合法席位时，绝大多数中东国家都坚定支持了中国的合法诉求。“一带一路”倡议提出后，中东国家更是积极响应。在此期间，中国与伊朗、沙特阿拉伯、埃及、阿拉伯联合酋长国建立了全面战略伙伴关系，与卡塔尔、约旦建立了战略伙伴关系，与以色列建立了创新全面伙伴关系。可以说，中国的中东“朋友圈”越来越大。

As everyone knows, the Middle East region is located centrally within the Eurasian continent, with numerous countries, complex situations, thickets of contradictions, and traditional interference by foreign powers. Big-power games and internal clashes have kept the Mideast region in war and chaos for a long time, with the economy developing only slowly. Therefore, Mideast countries have a skeptical attitude towards many foreign powers. Why does China have such a good reputation? In its diplomacy, China advocates tolerance and setting mutual example rather than civilizational concepts of bipolar antagonism. China and Mideastern countries, including Iran, have different civilizational backgrounds and political and economic environments, but we have never looked at this as something “other”, but looked at them as those who once established splendid civilizations, and which went through thick and thin with New China, who kept watch and defended one another as good partners. This concept of “goodwill, sincerity and tolerance” as well as China’s diplomatic practice of “non-aligned partnership” has led the politically and geographically troubled Mideastern countries to relax precautions and to develop still deeper and closer development with China.

众所周知，中东地区位于亚欧大陆中心位置，国家众多，形势复杂，矛盾丛生，长期以来频频遭受域外大国的干预。大国博弈和内部冲突让中东地区长期战乱，经济发展缓慢。因此，中东国家对很多域外大国都带有怀疑态度。为什么中国能够做到有口皆碑？正在于我们在外交中倡导包容互鉴而非二元对立的文明观念。中国与包括伊朗在内的中东国家有着不同的文化背景和政治经济环境，但我们从未将其视为“异类”，而是看作曾创立过辉煌文明，又与新中国甘苦与共、守望相助的好伙伴。这种“亲诚惠容”的理念，以及中国“结伴不结盟”的外交实践，让深陷政治地理困境的中东国家可以放下戒备，与中国开展更加深入密切的合作。

The official signing of the agreement is only a beginning, and the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Iran continues to grow stronger. From a wider perspective, China’s Mideast diplomacy also merits expectations: The “One Belt one Road” initiative is advancing steadily, China’s talks on free-trade agreements with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and with Israel are unfolding, Notable achievements have been made in China’s vaccine cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Iran and other countries, China plays a growing role in the Syria issue, the Palestine-Israel issue and other Mideast hot spots … We have reason to believe that the “road of Mideast diplomacy with Chinese characteristics” is becoming ever broader.

合作协议正式签署只是一个开始，中伊两国全面战略伙伴关系还在不断加强。以更大视野来看，中国的中东外交也值得期待：“一带一路”倡议稳步推进，中国与海合会六国、以色列的自由贸易协定谈判正在开展，中国与阿联酋、巴林、伊朗等国的疫苗合作取得显著成就，中国正在叙利亚问题、巴以问题等中东热点问题中发挥越来越大的作用……我们有理由相信，“中国特色中东外交之路”将越走越宽。

(The author, Li Kunze, is a doctor at the People’s University’s¹⁾ School of International Studies.)

（作者李坤泽系中国人民大学国际关系学院博士）

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Notes

¹⁾ aka Renmin University
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Related

Promising profits, Febr 19, 2018
The Persian paradox, Foarp, Jan 27, 2012
Trusted brothers, Nov 8 2009
Wu Sike corrects biased views, Aug 17, 2009

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The Paper: Youth Day Activities in Weihai, Shandong Province

The following are extracts from an article published by The Paper (澎湃) , Shanghai, on Youth Day activities in Huancui District, Shandong Province. According to Chinese historiography, the transfer of Qingdao to Japan (rather than to China) after WW1 gave rise to the “May-4th Movement”. Therefore, a May-4 related activity in Shandong Province is probably relevant for media elsewhere in China.

Links within blockquotes added during translation.

Revolutionary deeds shall be rewarded

Main Link: On May-4 Youth Day, Weihai City youngsters greet youthfulness with their struggles!

Middle school Youth League Committees in Huancui District extensively launched online league lessons with the May-4th spirit as an important topic, organized student members’ studies of on-hand disease prevention heroes’ advanced achievements, to follow the role models’ examples, to arouse the membership school children’s patriotic feelings and sense of responsibility, encourage numerous students to inherit and to enhance the Communist Youth League’s glorious tradition, and to perpetuate the student league members’ ideals and faith in following the party.

环翠区各中学团委广泛开展以“五四精神”为主要内容的线上团课，组织学生团员学习身边防疫英雄的先进事迹，引导学生团员向榜样看齐，激发学生团员的爱国之情和责任意识，激励广大学生团员继承和弘扬共青团的光荣传统，坚定学生团员跟党走的理想信念。

[…]

The cadres of the departments, organizations and organs directly under Huancui District [jurisdiction] integrated themselves into the launch of Youth Day activities. Huancui District Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Office and Huancui District Development and Reform Bureau launched “assault fortified positions and build a youthful volunteering industry” volunteer service activities including tree-planting and environment protection, fire-prevention propaganda, Haibei reward points  promotion and other content, helping in building a fine city.

环翠区直部门组织机关干部结合自身职能开展青年节活动。环翠区综合行政执法局、环翠区市场监督管理局、环翠区发展改革局开展“攻坚突破 筑梦青春 志愿同行”青年志愿服务活动，包括植树护绿、防火宣传、公筷文明宣传、海贝积分推广等内容，助力精致城市建设。环翠区机关事务服务中心组织开展了“弘扬‘五四’精神，展青春风采”主题活动，讲述在防疫过程中，干部职工冲锋在前、无私奉献的奋斗故事，传递正能量。

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Related

Cargo cult, Wikipedia (acc May 4, 2020)
Open the Skies, May 5, 2013

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Have a Guess why WHO Director-General Tedros thinks he’s right

First off, I want you to know that I have signed this petition, and that I would like to encourage you to sign it, too. My main reason to ask for Dr. Tedros’ resignation is that he supports a policy of locking more than 20 million Taiwanese people out of the World Health Organization (WHO). That scandal didn’t start with his tenure, and has been WHO policy for a long time, but it is now exacting a price in terms of global health. Taiwan could share its eperience in a so far successful fight against COVID-19. Taiwan could also contribute financially. Taiwan seems to have warned the WHO on December 31, in an email query to the organization. And the WHO leadership appears to be unwilling to take this into account and make a wiser decision than in the past.

I don’t feel a personal dislike for Tedros, and I think that many “social media” remarks about him are inappropriate, and actually false assertions.

Bloody hell, Mr. Ghebreyesus! These are busy times for you, of course, but you really need to work on your curtsies! pic.twitter.com/jcRoletFln

— JR's China Blog (@JRsChinaBlog1) March 25, 2020

But every public official must be accountable to the people he serves, or claims to serve. That’s why I believe that the WHO’s director general should clear the way for a successor with a more inclusive policy than his.

It doesn’t help when people insult each other. Above all, character assassination blinds for the more likely facts and factors in political processes. Both sides are wrong when accusing each other of “politicizing” issues. WHO is inevitably about politics, because it depends on the funding of governments with very different interests, and different economic capabilities to contribute to the WHO’s work. The demands of the world’s poorest, as elementary and obvious as they may be, are also political. And China’s cover-up approach is political, too. Everything is politics – that’s no suitable swearword to use for either WHO officials, or their critics.

It is true however that when you look at the mere numbers – in million US-$ -, China’s influence on the WHO doesn’t seem to make sense:

member state	fees1)	voluntary2)	total
USA	57.9	401.1	459.0
China	28.7	16.9	45.6
Japan	20.5	46.7	67.2
Germany	14.6	89.9	104.5
United Kingdom	10.9	163.7	174.6

Then why the WHO’s understatement when China covered up their SARS-2 cases, why the blind eyes to Taiwan’s warning query in December 31 (not to mention the WHO’s discrimination of Taiwan in general), and why the WHO director-general’s generally meek interaction with Beijing?

• Trump is toying with the idea of reducing America’s contributions. Any WHO director general has to plan ahead, especially when the organizations main stakeholder becomes unreliable.
• Tedros is probably convinced that he is doing the right thing by chumming up to China. Losing people to disease is unacceptable for him, and that much is credible. There is no way that WHO can enforce transparency on the ground – be it in China, be it in any other countries, though smaller countries may be more susceptible to pressure. And conceited leaders (like China’s) are more susceptible to flattery. (That, of course, doesn’t make it right to help them downplay a crisis, neither knowingly nor unknowingly. But it may become a more understandable approach, when you keep in mind that understanding something isn’t the same thing as condoning it.)
• Then there is a – supposed – trend. While Taiwan would probably contribute as much today as does China, it could be different in future. That’s what most in the global political class expect to happen. They may have to think again – China is regularly overestimated. While questionable statistics have often help its image among foreigners, forgery will backfire when it does damage to the faithful foreigners’ home countries. (Never mind a million “extremist” inmates in Chinese internment camps – that’s far, far away.)

It makes no sense to demonize Tedros. He isn’t much different from most national or business leaders when it comes to dealing with China. The difference of course is that national leaders are usually held accountable, sometimes more, sometimes less, but more so than heads of international institutions. That’s why African politicians do criticize China for the way Africans have been treated in Guangzhou, while Tedros, who had shortly before tried to mobilize African public opinion in his favor and against “Taiwanese racism” remains oddly silent now.

But of course, it makes no sense to defend Tedros’ policies, either.

I would still prefer some civility in the effort to make him go. One doesn’t need to hate or disdain a man who oppose him. Rather, you can oppose him more effectively when you try to understand him and his supporters.
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Notes

¹⁾ Source for obligatory contributions
²⁾ Source for voluntary contributions
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One Territory, two Statements

Apolitical, too? Erdogan in talks hosted by Xi Jinping, July 2019 (CCTV coverage)

Erdogan said that connected by the ancient Silk Road, Turkish-Chinese friendship had a long history and was now strengthened further. Close Turkish-Chinese relations were significant for regional peace and prosperity. Turkey made efforts for the development of relations with China, and for deepening cooperation. Turkey staunchly persued the one-China policy, the happiness of all Xinjiang nationalities in China’s development was also a fact, and Turkey would never allow anyone to incite disharmony in Turkish-Chinese relations. Turkey resolutely opposed extremism, wanted to enhance mutual trust and strengthen security cooperation. Potential for Turkish-Chinese cooperation was huge, Turkey resolutely upheld the construction of “one belt, one road”, and hoped that the two sides would strengthen cooperation on trade, investment, financial, energy, car building, infrastructure, 5G mobile communication, smart cities, etc., and enhance exchanges in the fields of education, culture, research, etc..

埃尔多安表示，通过千年古丝绸之路连接起来的土中友好源远流长，今天得到进一步加强。密切的土中关系对地区和平繁荣有重要意义。土耳其致力于发展对华关系，深化对华合作。土方坚定奉行一个中国政策，中国新疆地区各民族居民在中国发展繁荣中幸福地生活是个事实，土方不允许任何人挑拨土中关系。土耳其坚定反对极端主义，愿同中方增进政治互信，加强安全合作。土中合作潜力巨大，土方坚定支持“一带一路”建设，希望双方在“一带一路”框架内加强贸易、投资、金融、能源、汽车制造、基础设施、第五代移动通信、智慧城市等领域合作，增进在教育、文化、科研等领域交流。

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan‘s statement in July this year, according to the Chinese government’s website

Mesut Özil‘s statement this month, according to “The Guardian”:

His Instagram message read: “East Turkistan, the bleeding wound of the Ummah, resisting against the persecutors trying to separate them from their religion. They burn their Qurans. They shut down their mosques. They ban their schools. They kill their holy men. The men are forced into camps and their families are forced to live with Chinese men. The women are forced to marry Chinese men.

“But Muslims are silent. They won’t make a noise. They have abandoned them. Don’t they know that giving consent for persecution is persecution itself?”

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Related

Beijing invites fact finding mission, July 9, 2019

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Prague committed betrayal, but it was us, because we were faster

According to Guanchazhe, an online news portal in Shanghai quoting from a press conference at China’s embassy in Prague, it was Prague’s city council.

Prague unilaterally ended city friendship agreement¹⁾ with Beijing, our embassy’s reaction

布拉格单方面终止同北京市友城协议，我大使馆回应

Question: on October 7, the Prague municipal committee²⁾ decided to end the city friendship agreement it had signed with Beijing. Could you please tell us if the Chinese embassy to the Czech Republic has a comment about this?

问：10月7日，布拉格市委会决定终止布拉格市同北京市签署的友城协议。请问中国驻捷克大使馆对此有何评论？

Answer: We have taken note of Prague’s municipal committee’s decision to unilaterally end the city friendship agreement it had signed with Beijing and to pass this on to the the city assembly for consideration. This kind of behavior can even be called treachery, desctruction of Sino-Czech relations and of the atmosphere of the two countries’ local exchange and cooperation. Beijing city has already filed solemn protest to Prague.

答：我们注意到，布拉格市委会日前决定单方面终止该市同北京市签署的友城协议并提交市议会审议。这种行为可谓背信弃义，破坏中捷关系和两国地方交流合作氛围。北京市已就此向布拉格市提出严正抗议。

Concerning this, I would like to emphasize that the one-China principle is a matter of Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity, touches upon China’s core interests, is the foundation and a prerequisite for all of China’s external exchange and cooperation, and also an accepted international relations’ norm and the international community’s general consensus. The Czech government has consistently supported the one-China principle. China wants to continue the work with the Czech government and all walks of life, for the promotion of exchange and cooperation on all levels between China and the Czech Republic, including the strengthening of the two countries’ local friendly exchange and cooperation.

在此我要强调，一个中国原则事关中国主权和领土完整，涉及中方核心利益，是中方开展一切对外交流合作的基础和前提，也是公认的国际关系准则和国际社会普遍共识。捷克政府一贯坚持一个中国原则。中方愿同捷克政府和社会各界一道，持续推进中捷各层级各领域交流合作，包括加强两国地方友好交流合作。

We urge the Prague municipal authorities to correct their course soon, in tune with the great trend of the era and the advancing tide of history, and to get back onto the correct track of promoting the development of bilateral relations. Otherwise, their own interests will be harmed in the end.

我们敦促布拉格市政当局早日改弦更张，顺应时代发展大势和历史进步潮流，回到促进双方关系发展的正确轨道上来，否则最终损害的将是他们自己的利益。

Guanchazhe published the above Q and A on Wednesday.

But according to Beijing News (新京报), a paper from Beijing, republished here by sina.com on Thursday, it was Beijing’s foreign affair’s office (waiban) that took the decision.

Ever since November 2018, the new Prague authorities’ main officials and others, in disregard of accepted international relations’ norm and the international community’s general consensus, despite China’s solemn position and strong opposition, has again and again taken wrong measures and made improper remarks concerning Taiwan, Tibet and other Chinese core interests.

2018年11月以来，捷克布拉格市新一届市政当局主要官员等人，无视国际关系基本准则和国际社会共识，不顾中方严正立场和强烈反对，屡屡在台湾、涉藏等涉及中方核心利益的重大问题上采取错误行动并发表不当言论。

According to Beijing News, Beijing city’s waiban published its statement on October 9, suggesting that it was Beijing that ended the sister partnership.

We hope that the related personnel²⁾ will soon become aware of the mistake and remove the negative effects by practical actions.

希望布拉格市有关人员早日认识错误，以实际行动消除负面影响。

The paper also notes that the two cities had signed the agreement in March 2016. China Radio International quoted then Prague mayor, Adriana Krnacova, as referring to the partnership as a big opportunity to make educational exchanges, for students to travel back and forth and learn from each other.

According to the South China Morning Post, Prague’s city council had voted to end the agreement after current mayor Zdenek Hrib’s unsuccessful efforts to get Beijing to remove a “one China” pledge from the agreement.

Hrib had never been in Beijing’s good books. Probably, the bid to remove the “one-China” clause from the agreement, and a visit to Taiwan, including a meeting with the country’s president Tsai Ing-wen, were major acts of wrong measures and improper remarks by that piece of personnel from Prague.

Either way, a sinologist from Prague, commenting on Radio Prague International on Thursday, didn’t come across as terribly worried about the consequences, while foreign minister Tomáš Petříček was quoted as saying that said threats had no place in diplomacy.

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¹⁾ usually referred to as a sister city relationship in Western media
²⁾ What is referred to as “municipal committee” by Beijing News (in accordance with Chinese local government structures) is actually Prague’s city council
³⁾ 有关人员

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