VZCZCXRO2686
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHBJ #0150 0200907
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 200907Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7685
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
UNCLAS BEIJING 000150
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: PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: GOOGLE, HAITI, U.S. POLICY
--------------------
Editorial Quotes
--------------------
1. GOOGLE
"China should enhance the building of its information sovereignty"
The China Radio International sponsored newspaper World News Journal
(Shijie Xinwenbao)(01/20)(pg 2): "Information freedom without
supervision can only be realized in smaller countries. If this
happens in China, it will probably indicate fatal danger. The
Google incident occurred at the perfect time. It serves as a
reminder to the majority of Chinese people of this danger. In the
whole process of this incident, Google was the initiator and the
U.S. government was an active supporter. Meanwhile, the U.S. media
is leading Western media to force China to give in. However Google
has overestimated its influence in China, where it is only a search
engine, and one that is far behind Baidu.com. The incident has
warned China that China should definitely not let its information
control fall into the United States' hands. If any of China's
information sovereignty is missing, it will be used as weapons
against China. Another incident at the same time was also worthy of
our vigilance. As of January 13, the U.S. upgrade of its GPS system
has greatly influenced China Telecom's CDMA signals. This means
that the U.S. military has the ability to cut off China's civilian
and military systems which rely on their GPS system. This is a huge
information security concern for China. No matter the Google
incident or the GPS system issue, both of them show that China
should enhance its information sovereignty."
2. HAITI
"Many countries speculate that the U.S. 'occupies Haiti'"
The official Communist Party international news publication Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(01/20)(pg 16): "The world's opinions,
especially those at the two sides across the Atlantic Ocean, are
having a fierce debate over the good and bad concerning
international aid. The U.S. has denied the emerging criticism that
it's occupying Haiti. Professor Lu Minghua at Nan Jing University
said that the U.S.'s influence in Haiti is so large that no other
strength could restrict it, thus the U.S. is most vulnerable to
suspicion. Its activities in Haiti have gone far beyond the scope
of disaster relief. The U.S. allocation of a number of troops made
it more like a military action, through which the U.S. could
announce its presence and deter left-wing forces in Latin America.
The U.S. may not have any intention to occupy Haiti, from a
practical point of view, but it did not bother to explain this to
European countries. The U.S. is used to giving orders on issues
that it believes fall 'under its own roof' and thinks it doesn't
need to explain this to others. Xu Shicheng, a researcher at China
Academy of Social Science, said that the U.S.' disaster relief
activities in Haiti are very necessary, but it is also obligatory
for the United States to explain its real intention to the world."
3. U.S. POLICY
"Why has Obama's first year been anticlimactic?"
The Shanghai-based Shanghai Media Group (SMG) publication, China
Business News (Diyi Caijing)(01/20)(pg A2): "In his first year in
office, Obama's 50% support rate has surprised many people who were
initially optimistic about his administration's ruling [ability to
lead]. Despite his endeavors to save the market and the positive
diplomatic changes he has made, it is indeed difficult for Obama, an
inexperienced young politician, to take over such a big mess. Obama
seems to have been rather ill-prepared for the troublesome situation
at home and abroad. The lack of clear judgment and a calm ruling
mindset has also caused Obama to be too hasty when making decisions.
His medical reform plan is proof of this. Besides, being too eager
to change has made his economic stimulus plan lacking the necessary
details. In a sense, his ruling has been too flexible which has
brought him a lot of trouble. In political life, flexibility is
often a double-edged sword. While a flexible way of doing things
can help coordinate complex relations and even break some diplomatic
difficulties, being too flexible may be confusing or may reduce the
sense of trust, which is not conducive for building mutual trust
relationships with other leaders or systematically implementing his
'New Deal.' In the mean time, it is important to maintain a good
Sino-U.S. relationship. In many ways, it is essential for the U.S.
to strengthen its cooperation with China. The Obama administration
needs to maintain a clear mind on issues like economic and trade
frictions, and arms sales to Taiwan, and should not run the risk of
losing the majority because of the minority."
HUNTSMAN