MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, COCA-COLA'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 000727

DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C
HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007)
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH

SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS, COCA-COLA'S
ACQUISITION, AIG

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Editorial Quotes
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1. U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS

a. "Gates suddenly weakens the threat of China and Russia"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/20): "The U.S. Defense Secretary Gates has
suddenly suggested that there is no reason to send more war ships as
escorts in the South China Sea. The Pentagon has mentioned that
while China's challenge reached its climax a few days ago, the
Pentagon has reversed its opinions on the conflict. Chinese experts
indicate that in order to pacify the conflict in the South China
Sea, the Pentagon must blame itself for initiating the conflict.
The Pentagon controls far more overseas troupes than U.S. diplomats.
The belligerent nature of the U.S. Army is likely to irritate
existing diplomatic issues. After World War II, the Pentagon, and
the military industrial groups behind it, has had increasing
influence on U.S. foreign policy. Due to the large size of the
Department of Defense, the U.S. has always been looking for enemies
and has implemented hard-line policies. Gates' comments show that
currently, confrontations with China and Russia don't fit into the
interests of the U.S. Currently, the core issue of the Obama
administration is the financial crisis."

b. "The West should change its post-modern racialism"

The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(03/20): "Among Westerners, who pay attention
to the Tibet issue, some support Tibet because they are ignorant of
the truth and others support Tibet even though they are well
educated, professional, middle class citizens. These people pay
attention because they have a different value system and an altered
point of view. These people believe that in one country there should
be one nationality because multiple nationalities only suppress each
other. This is why they are sympathetic to the Tibetans. They
believe in Western democracy.

The Communist Party's governance is not democratic. These people
[middle class professionals] think that the issue in Tibet is an
issue concerning Tibetan democracy. The West's concept of human
rights emphasizes political rights and the freedom of the human
being. They think that the Tibetans, under the Communist Party's
control, don't have political rights and freedom. Furthermore, these
people [middle class professionals], who live in Western
modernization, are physically living in downtown but psychologically
are separate from one another other. Tibet is an ideal home for
these people.

These people's logic is: what they have possessed is the best and
what they want to possess is also the best. They want to pursue the
so-called ideal home for themselves, but have denied the rights of
the Tibetan people to pursue modernization. This is a typical
'post-modern racialism.' For China, more communication will work
with the first group of people [those who are ignorant], however,
for the other group [those who are middle class professionals],
China can only expect that they give up their prejudice themselves.
Sometimes prejudice is more terrible than ignorance."


2. COCA-COLA'S ACQUISITION

"Anti-monopoly decisions should focus on technical levels"

21 Century Business Herald (21Shiji Jingji Baodao) under Guangdong
21 century publishing company Ltd. (03/20): "Although the public
notice concerning this decision has five paragraphs, no specifics
were revealed. It reads more like a memo. No wonder people doubt
that this a government decision rather than a legal verdict. We
should obviously pay more attention to the technical level. We
should allow people to debate based on market information and
statistics rather than wondering whether this is trade
protectionism. China should gradually accumulate more accurate
statistics for their future use in anti-monopoly judgments.

China says no to Coca-Cola. It doesn't mean the Anti-monopoly law
started to take an effect. On the contrary, this is the first time.
China should be cautious in using the law in order to establish a
technical and legal example for the future. However, what people
have seen is just a vague conclusion report. On the contrary, it has
made overseas investors think that this is a political decision. The
decision is shocking, not in the way that the law is being
implemented, but in the direction of the government's policy."


3. AIG

"AIG Bonuses show the ethical risks of intervention"

BEIJING 00000727 002 OF 002



21 Century Business Herald (21Shiji Jingji Baodao) under Guangdong
21 century publishing company Ltd. (03/20): "The U.S. House of
Representatives are hoping to pass a tax bill that encourages AIG
employees to give back their bonuses. However, if they do not give
the money back and sue the government, the government is likely to
lose in the Supreme Court. We will soon see that as the bailout plan
expands, the government will sink deeper and deeper into the ethical
mire. The government is paying that ethical price for AIG, however,
the government is actually cashing the ethical check that it signed
for financial security. This check dates back to 1913 when the FED
began. The U.S. government should learn its lesson, to not sign this
type of check again and allow their people to take responsibility
for their own choices. This way the government will have ethical
peace."

PICCUTA