BBC News - China media: Japan tensions
Chinese media criticise Japan for escalating
territorial tensions and highlight new foreign
policy challenges arising from North Korea's
adamant attitude over nuclear tests. Japan protested to Beijing on Tuesday after it
said Chinese vessels put a radar lock on both a
Japanese navy ship and a helicopter last month. Global Times says the situation remains unclear since China has yet to make an official response
to Japan's "one-sided arguments" and "dubious
signals of war". It questions whether Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe's government is
exaggerating the incident to "sway public
opinion". "If the Abe administration's real intention is to
implant the idea of an imminent war in the minds
of the public, China also must send the same
message to the Chinese public. If this is not the
case, Japan should try to dispel the Chinese
public's doubts and remove the harmful side- effects of its actions," a bilingual Global Times
editorial concludes. A commentary in The Beijing News says the Abe cabinet may be using the incident to hype up a
"China threat" as a bargaining chip to persuade
the US to "relax restraints". Turning to North Korea, China Daily says rising regional tensions triggered by Pyongyang's plan
to hold a third nuclear test are "worrying" and
warns that diplomats may be unable to control
the situation. "As such, the nuclear stand-off on the Korean
Peninsula seems to have entered a vicious circle,
with contesting parties employing a tit-for-tat
strategy and refusing to back down." Turning to Taiwan, Global Times accuses Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su
Tseng-chang of "flattering" Japan after he called
for Taiwan and Tokyo to prevent "other
countries exploiting opportunities" in the Diaoyu
or Senkaku islands dispute, referring indirectly to
mainland China. The DPP hits back by blasting the mainland for
deploying over 1,000 missiles against Taiwan,
Taiwan's Apple Daily reports. On a lighter note, the recent tensions with Japan
appear to be boosting sales of "Tokyo Big Bang"
and "I love the Diaoyu Islands" fireworks in
Beijing, according to People's Net. Ming Pao says some shops are hanging banners with slogans like "Protest the Diaoyus, Safeguard
the Nation, arouse your patriotic fervour" to
attract customers. "Aircraft carrier show nation's
might" fireworks are also a big hit, it adds. Meanwhile, China and Russia are not among the
30 countries on North Korean leader Kim Jong-
un's Traditional New Year greeting card list
published by Rodong Sinmun, The Beijing News notes. Labour camps Back in China, Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's
calls for "expanding and deepening" the army's
combat readiness during his tour of the Lanzhou
Military Region earlier this week is the lead story
on China Central Television. Southwest Yunnan province has suspended
approvals of the controversial laojiao re-
education through labour system. Last month,
southern Guangdong province said it planned to
phase out the system within this year, which
allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial, China Daily reports. "The re-education system, established in the
1950s to rectify social order by detaining people
charged with minor offences, has come in for
public flak for being prone to abuse," Xinhua news agency notes. The Beijing News applauds Yunnan's decision and hopes that other parts of the country will
"accomplish this historic task as soon as
possible". Radio and television stations are banned from
airing adverts on giving luxury items like
watches, rare stamps and gold coins as "gifts to
superiors" and "gifts to leaders", China Daily reports. Beijing Morning Post commentator Tong Tong supports the ban and says such lavish gift-giving
fuels "incorrect values and "a bad social ethos". The government will introduce a "fifth-phase"
higher-quality standard for vehicle fuel, before
the end of the year, with a grace period until the
end of 2017, China Daily reports. Meanwhile, Shenzhen is restricting the number of
tax-free goods that its residents can buy when
visiting Hong Kong to help curb cross-border
trading, especially in baby milk powder, South China Morning Post reports.
Did you know how many money China spend for "propaganda purposes"!?
