Tom Paine 1949
Diamond Member
- Mar 15, 2020
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The Trump Administration’s decision to force China to close its Houston consulate in 72 hours is an incredible provocation, which will lead to retaliation. China may close the small U.S. Wuhan consulate, but it also has the option of escalating by ordering the immediate closing of the huge U.S. consulates in Hong Kong and Macao. This would prove a decisive move against the U.S. Trump Administration’s dangerous machinations, and could be “reasonably” justified by American spying and its open support for frequent violent demonstrations in Hong Kong. It would also be devastating for Hong Kong movements for “free speech” and “democracy,” as also for the provocative waving of U.S. and British flags there and calls for “independence” ... all of which have hurt Hong Kong’s future prospects under the “One Nation, Two Systems” agreement that still is to last another 23 years, but which the U.S. is treating as essentially already ended by China’s passage of a national security law.
Here is an article that presents a slightly less-than-official Chinese English-language media response in The Global Times:
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The US unreasonably asked China to close its consulate in Houston, giving staff there only 72 hours to leave the country. US insanity is shocking. In addition to the embassies, China and the US have five consulates in each other's country (not including the US consulate in Hong Kong and Macao), according to the principle of reciprocity. The US is suddenly demanding the closing of one of the Chinese consulates, and normally, this resets the two sides' principle of reciprocity.
Isn't the US deliberately destroying the China-U.S. relations?... Once a country starts it, it is easy for the other to retaliate. It hardly benefits the country that instigates such dispute. Thus, it is difficult to explain the mind-set of the US.
Based on what the Global Times learns, the US has no justification to close the Chinese consulate in Houston.... The US State Department declared that the US closed the consulate to "protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information." This is a lame excuse.
China and the US share one of the largest bilateral trades worldwide, and personnel exchanges were very active under normal circumstances. The two sides need to set up multiple consulates to manage such exchanges. The COVID-19 has led to a huge decline in China-US personnel exchanges. By closing the Chinese consulate in Houston, is the US declaring that it no longer hopes to improve its epidemic situation and restore personnel exchanges between China and the US?
That's why we say the latest US move is crazy. Many people believe that this is another way the Trump administration creates China-US tensions and helps his reelection efforts. The US is trying to blame everything on China and to make US voters, who do not understand China well, believe in Washington's words. The November presidential election is driving Washington mad....
There are many countermeasures that China can take. Analysts generally believe that the international diplomatic community will not be surprised if China closes one of the US consulates in China.... The size of Chinese consulates in the US is not larger than the needs of daily routine work. None of these consulates has thousands of diplomats and employees, like the US consulate in Hong Kong and Macao. It is not a secret that the US regards its consulate in Hong Kong and Macao as a fortress to attack China.
The US has opened a diplomatic battlefield ... The US presidential election is costing ... Mankind [which] desires peace, stability and development, has to pay for it ....
US presidential election driving Washington mad: Global Times editorial - Global Times
Here is an article that presents a slightly less-than-official Chinese English-language media response in The Global Times:
***
The US unreasonably asked China to close its consulate in Houston, giving staff there only 72 hours to leave the country. US insanity is shocking. In addition to the embassies, China and the US have five consulates in each other's country (not including the US consulate in Hong Kong and Macao), according to the principle of reciprocity. The US is suddenly demanding the closing of one of the Chinese consulates, and normally, this resets the two sides' principle of reciprocity.
Isn't the US deliberately destroying the China-U.S. relations?... Once a country starts it, it is easy for the other to retaliate. It hardly benefits the country that instigates such dispute. Thus, it is difficult to explain the mind-set of the US.
Based on what the Global Times learns, the US has no justification to close the Chinese consulate in Houston.... The US State Department declared that the US closed the consulate to "protect American intellectual property and Americans' private information." This is a lame excuse.
China and the US share one of the largest bilateral trades worldwide, and personnel exchanges were very active under normal circumstances. The two sides need to set up multiple consulates to manage such exchanges. The COVID-19 has led to a huge decline in China-US personnel exchanges. By closing the Chinese consulate in Houston, is the US declaring that it no longer hopes to improve its epidemic situation and restore personnel exchanges between China and the US?
That's why we say the latest US move is crazy. Many people believe that this is another way the Trump administration creates China-US tensions and helps his reelection efforts. The US is trying to blame everything on China and to make US voters, who do not understand China well, believe in Washington's words. The November presidential election is driving Washington mad....
There are many countermeasures that China can take. Analysts generally believe that the international diplomatic community will not be surprised if China closes one of the US consulates in China.... The size of Chinese consulates in the US is not larger than the needs of daily routine work. None of these consulates has thousands of diplomats and employees, like the US consulate in Hong Kong and Macao. It is not a secret that the US regards its consulate in Hong Kong and Macao as a fortress to attack China.
The US has opened a diplomatic battlefield ... The US presidential election is costing ... Mankind [which] desires peace, stability and development, has to pay for it ....
US presidential election driving Washington mad: Global Times editorial - Global Times
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