Are South Korean media fueling unfriendly mood towards China?
3.jpg (26.39 KB)
2010-7-29 11:20
Korea's demilitarised zone - PanmunjomChung Sang-un, a South Korean prisoner of war, escaped to China in December last year after 50 years of suffering under North Korea’s communist regime. Old and in bad health, he jumped into the Tuman River in a desperate attempt to reunite with his family. His hope for freedom was shattered after his arrest by a Chinese public security officer after just three days. After suffering in a foreign land, he is known to have been deported back to the North. Once again, the Chinese government’s inhumane act and the South’s diplomatic incompetence have cornered a South Korean POW into a deadly situation.
Seoul says it repeatedly contacted Beijing over Chung but it neither prevented his deportation nor properly protested. South Korea’s policy of “silent diplomacy” in expecting China’s good will turned out to be “inept diplomacy.” Why can’t the government openly request China’s cooperation and promote an aggressive international diplomacy in highlighting how inhumane the deportation of POWs is?
China has overtly interfered with the South’s internal affairs by opposing the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises in South Korean territorial waters and airspace. Yet the presidential office in Seoul allegedly opposed protesting Chung’s deportation to China. Is the government too fearful of upsetting Beijing? The 81-year-old POW became the victim of Seoul’s diplomacy of cowardliness. What does a nation exist for? Is keeping peace more important than national security?
Seoul must bring back its POWs still living in the North. The U.S. has been doing its best to find and repatriate the remains of American soldiers killed a century ago in World War I. The South Korean government estimates 560 of its POWs remain alive in the North, but has brought back none through its own efforts. Seoul thus has no right to talk about global leadership. (From Donga Ilbo)
Chinese experts point out the article on POW deportation from Donga Ilbo probably intends to express the dissatisfaction towards China's stance on the Cheonan issue and South Korea – US joint military drills in the Yellow Sea.
Though South Korean government states there are no conflicts or flaws between South Korea and China, South Korean media pose unfriendly to China. In the past month, "China is the guard of North Korea", "China is the obstacle to the unification of Korea"… such groundless accusation and dissatisfaction have emerged in South Korean media. Meanwhile, South Korean media also point out the Cheonan incident indicates China and South Korea are only economic strategic partners. The secure guarantee of South Korean diplomacy is still the South Korea-US alliance. 1.jpg (30.5 KB)
2010-7-29 11:20
Wreackage of Cheonan ship 2.jpg (23.54 KB)
2010-7-29 11:20
Crew members of South Korean destroyer Choi Young fires an anti-submarine torpedo during joint military drills on Tuesday, July 27, 2010.One Chinese Journalist in South Korea says China-South Korea relations develop soundly at the time of Roh Moo-hyun. However, in recent years, South Korean media's unfriendly reports about China have been gradually overshadowing China-South Korea relations.
According South Korean experts, the Cheonan incident drives South Korea's unfriendly mood towards China to the peak. However, different responses to this incident show different ways of thinking between China and South Korea. China likes to judge situation in a long-term angle, while South Korea tends to view things in a short-term angle.
One South Korean journalist says China's stance on North Korea meets its strategic interests in the Korean Peninsula. South Korean media should get more understanding of China and avoid inciting standards of morality and emotion.
One South Korean newspaper says China will bring South Korea more opportunities in economy in the future than now. South Korea should improve South Korea and China relations after the Cheonan incident.
According to Chinese experts on international relations, China and South Korea are gradually mutually independent, while there lacks trust in politics and military. Meanwhile, unfriendly mood in the folk is also easily ignited. The two sides should strive more to solve conflicts and build trust.Are South Korean media fueling unfriendly mood towards China? 
