Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao Tuesday said that the Washington Times and some other American media are extremely irresponsible in saying that Chinese state media have issued stories in support of terrorism. Chinese government opposes any form of terrorism. Some non-governmental publications related to the attacks came out in China after 911 Incident-- all containing strong objections to terrorists.
Some American media, including the Washington Times, after the September 11 terror attacks in the U.S., have reported that Chinese official media -- via large numbers of books, magazines and websites -- highly praised the terrorist attacks as rightful actions against arrogant countries.
When asked to comment on the reports at Tuesday's press conference, Zhu Bangzao, spokesman for Chinese Foreign Ministry, said, "We have noticed that at times recently, these American media claimed that Chinese media blamed the terror attacks on the hegemony of the United States," adding that these false reports have left an indelible impression on the American public and those overseas Chinese.
Chinese government opposes any form of terrorism
"It is known widely that the Chinese government opposes any form of terrorism, and this stance has been made clear many times by Chinese leaders and the Foreign Ministry," according to Zhu.
China willing to promote Sino-US dialogues and cooperation
Zhu noted that China is willing to promote dialogues and cooperation with the U.S. and the international community, to jointly crack down on any terrorist violence.
About the disc "Attacks on the U.S."
Some non-governmental publications (books, magazines and CD-ROMs) related to the attacks did come out in China after the 9.11 incident,-- but all containing strong objections to terrorists, Zhu emphasized.
As regards the e-publication named "Attacks on the U.S." which was mentioned by some American media including the Washington Times, Zhu said he had seen it. The disc contents are all about condemning terrorism, saying that "terrorists have only themselves to blame for their actions," and that "it's useless for terrorists to attack in such bloody ways." Such information directly contradicts the reports by some U.S. media, Zhu said.
In the evolution of Chinese-US relations and people-to-people exchanges, news media plays an extremely important part and its guiding role cannot be belittled. Presently, the Chinese people's understanding of the United States can be regarded as quite comprehensive and objective, this is attributed to the large amount of comprehensive and all-directional reports on the United States provided by Chinese media.
Whereas the American people's impression of China is rather dim, twisted and even completely wrong, because US media reports on China are often based on a narrow field of vision and on preconceived notions. Due to ideology, a mindset of pride and other factors, some US journalists often look upon China through colored glasses. As a result, it is unavoidable that China in the eyes of the American people, is often changed not only in color, but also in form. With regard to such a result, certain US journalists cannot shirk their responsibility.
It is hoped that American journalists and media can take off colored spectacles, seek truth from facts and tell the American people about China as it stands.
(Xinhua News Agency November 14,2001)
