Beijing Shows
'Courage' By Vetoing Syria Resolution at U.N.
Is China's
decision to veto and oppose any action at the United Nations that would punish
Syria for killing members of the opposition and innocent civilians 'worthy of
merit'? According to this editorial from the state-run Global Times, Beijing
should congratulate itself for standing its ground against the U.S. and Britain,
an act that demonstrates China's coming of age as a world power unafraid of
defending its interests.
On Thursday, China voted
against a U.N. General Assembly resolution on Syria, days after it vetoed a Security
Council resolution pressing for regime change in Damascus.
The country's courage in expressing
itself and calmly standing its ground is worthy of merit. Some Western media
ridiculed certain nations for these choices, including China and Russia. China's
influence on global politics is rising. The West would be well advised to
reduce its expectations that China will in future abstain. Like it or not,
China's position must now be taken into serious consideration.
Politics serve to secure
national interests on the global stage. Due to their obvious dominance over
public opinion, the Western powers are privileged to interpret interests and
ethics any way they like. Consequently, the twelve countries
that voted against them at the U.N. General Assembly have been labeled
"unethical." China shouldn't be fooled by such hypocrisy.
In
November, the U.S. and Israel were the only nations opposed to a draft U.N. General
Assembly resolution on Cuba. At that point, the U.S. was far more isolated than
the 12 nations that objected to Thursday's resolution. Despite its near monopoly
over the planet's most resource-rich areas and its leverage in directing world
development, Washington has failed to win over global public opinion.
China must be confident and
proactive about implementing its diplomatic strategy. China's vote,
representing one-fifth of the entire world population, deserves its due
respect.
It is wrong [for any nation]
to blindly vote on the side of the West. Calls for China to vote with
"universal values" are frequently heard online.
To do so encourages Western
values that contradict the rise of China and eventually, these values infiltrate
global affairs and consequently weaken China. As the nation rises, so will the
pressure it faces, since China seems like an easy target for some Western
media.
The root cause of Chinese
unease when faced with Western accusations is a lack of confidence. Greater confidence
flows from looking at facts from a historical perspective.
We must halt the traditional stereotyped
view of China as a player more than willing to make concessions in order to
avoid trouble. The rest of the world should be advised to look at China as a nation
that doesn't welcome unnecessary trouble, but that never shuns directly dealing
with difficulties.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
We are a peace-loving nation
that hasn't been involved in a military conflict for over two decades. In sharp
contrast, over the same period, countries like the U.S. and Britain have
engaged in numerous wars. Now they think themselves situated to lecture us on
justice? Surely, they cannot ignore the irony.
