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Scholz's visit to China: a warm sunshine in a chilling environment

   On November 4, German Social Democratic Chancellor Scholz led a large political and business delegation to visit China, and received high-level welcome and reception from the Chinese side. Scholz also became the first leader of a world power and a Western country to visit China after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

   During the 11-hour short visit, Scholz had exchanges with the Chinese side on Sino-German economic and trade issues, Chinese human rights issues, the Taiwan issue, the international situation, especially the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and made it public. Ci's own position and opinions on the above issues.

    Regarding Scholz's visit to China, it has aroused different comments internationally. Groups and individuals in China, Taiwan, Taiwan and Taiwan have different reactions due to their different identities and positions. Mainland Chinese officials spoke highly of Scholz's visit to China, believing that it will be beneficial to the economic and trade exchanges between China and Germany and China and Europe, and will bring the practical cooperation between the two sides to a new level. The EU countries and the EU Central Committee have also given positive comments on this.

    But there are also fierce critics. Whether it is the United States or Europe, political forces that are hostile to the CCP and China, or at least remain vigilant, have been committed to the "decoupling" of Europe and the United States from China, and naturally oppose Scholz's active engagement with China. Some other forces do not agree with "decoupling", but believe that China's human rights issues, especially those in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, should be paid close attention to, and oppose Scholz's "compromise".

   On the other hand, political opponents in Taiwan, the mainland and Hong Kong who live overseas generally strongly criticized Scholz's visit to China, believing that it was an appeasement of the CCP, which would encourage "authoritarian totalitarian rule" and human rights violations in mainland China, leading to Human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang continue to deteriorate, and Taiwan is increasingly bullied and threatened by the mainland. They even compared Scholz's visit to China to Chamberlain's compromise with Hitler before World War II, and lashed out at Scholz and even the SPD government. In their view, the best way to deal with China is to completely "decouple" from China, cut off all kinds of economic, trade, diplomatic, and political exchanges, and fully sanction China, aid Taiwan, and even create an anti-China encirclement network with Japan, South Korea, India and other countries. .

    Obviously, at least in the circle of public opinion related to China issues, the voices of opposition, sarcasm, and bad-mouthing Scholz's visit to China are louder and harsher, while the voices of praise are relatively weak and weak. This is largely due to the weakness and obsoleteness of mainland China in terms of international public opinion and propaganda, rather than the merits of the matter itself.

    First of all, Germany needs to maintain friendly relations and close exchanges with China, whether it is for the national interests of Germany, or the interests of Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the world. Today's world is highly globalized, and countries in the world, especially major economies, are interdependent. As the world's second largest economy, the largest population, and the largest manufacturing country, China is a veritable "world factory" and "world market" and an indispensable part and key link in the process of globalization. Under such circumstances, regardless of whether Europe and the United States should "decouple" from China or whether to implement "decoupling", it is impossible to truly "decouple" in reality.

   "The Economist" once published a cartoon during the "China-US trade war" during the Trump era. The dragon-like body is getting tighter and tighter. This vividly depicts the close and inseparable economic and social ties and personnel exchanges between China and the United States. Although specifically speaking, some areas do freeze relationships and stop communication, but overall it is impossible to "decouple". Compared with the tense Sino-US relations, the relatively moderate Sino-European and Sino-German relations are even less likely to be severed.

   What's more, as a sovereign country, Germany's diplomacy must of course prioritize its own interests, taking into account European interests and world interests, and it is impossible to give up the main interests of its own for some relatively minor or other concerns. maintain. With the Russo-Ukraine war hitting Germany's economy and energy supply and the country facing difficulties, Germany of course needs to consider the current national crisis first, rather than other non-urgent issues and extraterritorial affairs.

    Second, with regard to human rights issues, no matter the human rights issues in mainland China, Hong Kong issues, or Xinjiang issues, contact, dialogue, and cooperation are more conducive to solving problems and improving human rights than severing ties, stern condemnation, and full-scale confrontation.

    The issue of political system and human rights in mainland China is indeed a very important issue. Whether it is out of their own interests or out of sympathy and responsibility for the Chinese people, developed countries in Europe and the United States really need to actively pay attention to China's human rights situation and political operations, and promote China's democracy and the rule of law, the advancement of civil rights, and the improvement of people's livelihood.

   The specific promotion methods, whether it is human rights dialogue, linking economy and trade with human rights, or guiding China to further integrate into the world and accept universal values, must be based on contact and cooperation with the current Chinese government. In the more than 40 years since China's reform and opening up, compared with the civil rights and people's livelihood before the reform, the people's rights and people's livelihood have been greatly improved. The great progress in science, education, culture and health is due to the mutual embrace with the world. The ideological and cultural influence of "European style and beautiful rain", the prosperity of foreign trade, and the frequent exchanges of Chinese and foreign personnel (especially the large number of young Chinese students studying abroad and returning), have benefited China and the Chinese people a lot. On the basis of material abundance, cultural and educational prosperity, and the improvement of national quality, can a more general awakening of human rights, as well as the yearning and pursuit of democracy and the rule of law, emerge. Democracy based on such a foundation will be more stable and freedom will be more orderly. This is also the logic and root cause of the "Panda Huggers" represented by the Clinton administration who chose to cooperate with China.

   Although China's development and changes over the past few decades have been quite twists and turns, and the fate of democracy and the rule of law is ill-fated, there have also been many disturbing changes in Chinese politics in recent years. But even so, the series of contacts and cooperation between the international community and the China led by the Communist Party of China will far outweigh the disadvantages for China and the Chinese people, as well as for the world. Even though some of China’s political situations in recent years are worrisome, this is precisely what requires the international community, especially developed countries in Europe and the United States, to increase contacts with China and participate in China’s economy and society, so as to prevent China from becoming closed and isolated, and even risking war, so that China will not break away from it. A sunny avenue of internal reform and opening to the outside world.

   The same is true in essence for Hong Kong issues and Xinjiang issues. A simple blockade and sanctions cannot have much substantive impact on a huge country like China, and criticizing relevant human rights issues with a hostile attitude will not bring about improvements in the human rights of relevant regions and groups of people. On the contrary, if we can link various economic and cultural exchanges with human rights issues through diplomatic contacts, and use a variety of means, at least some human rights crises can be alleviated, and the situation of disadvantaged groups and individuals can be improved. Problem solving paves the way.

   It is not only the most beneficial, but also the most feasible in reality to solve China's human rights issues through contact, dialogue, and cooperation. Many of those who advocate overthrowing the current Chinese regime, no matter what the merits are, are simply not feasible in reality, or the cost is so high that all parties are discouraged. Under such circumstances, on the premise of recognizing the CCP's governance over China, it is "the least bad choice" to find ways to curb the intensification and spread of China's human rights crisis, Xu Tu's improvement.

   Third, the situation in the Taiwan Strait and other international disputes and conflicts, as well as various world issues, also require the participation of mainland China, and its interests and concerns need to be respected and understood.

   Russia's successive defeats in the Russo-Ukraine War encouraged many Taiwanese and other liberal democrats to believe that a mainland military "invasion" could be defeated in the Taiwan Strait. But they ignore that the Russia-Ukraine war has brought huge casualties, and it has not ended so far. This has caused huge damage to Ukraine, with many soldiers and civilians killed and disabled, and many Russian soldiers and civilians who were forced to participate in the war died. Obviously, war is not a good thing, and peace is the most precious thing. As far as the Taiwan Strait issue is concerned, it is still necessary to avoid wars, rather than intentionally fueling the fire and creating unnecessary conflicts. If a war does break out, it is obviously unknown whether Europe and the United States will still have enough strength to support Taiwan when they are already involved in a war between Russia and Ukraine.

    From a legal point of view, Taiwan is not an internationally recognized country, and the Chinese mainland and its regime certainly have the right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. Under such circumstances, it is not appropriate for the international community to step in and support one of the parties. Even out of the value of "defending democracy", it should not too much infringe the modern international norms of supremacy of sovereignty. For Taiwan, maintaining peace is also very important. If a war breaks out, even if supporters such as Taiwan and the United States win, the lives on both sides of the strait, including Taiwan, will be devastated, and the economy and people's livelihood will be greatly damaged. Such a tragic result must be avoided by every means. Scholz's visit and dialogue can ease the tension between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to a certain extent in the past few years and allow the Taiwan Strait to continue to maintain peace.

   The protracted Russian-Ukrainian war and the damage to Europe and the world also require China to do something, at least not to support Russia's aggression, so as to achieve peace as soon as possible. This also requires dialogue and cooperation with China. During this visit, Scholz received China's statement against the use of nuclear weapons in the Russia-Ukraine War, which is a major victory (although the symbol is greater than the reality).

   However, the new crown epidemic has not yet completely ended, the harm of the climate crisis has become more and more obvious, and problems such as global terrorism, poverty, and transnational crimes are also very serious. Solving these problems is inseparable from China's cooperation and participation.

   Based on the above reasons, Scholz's visit to China and his actions, whether in terms of the actual benefits to Germany, Europe, China, and the world, or the improvement of human rights in China, the alleviation of human rights crises in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, peace in the Taiwan Strait, and other issues that require China's participation The settlement of international affairs is obviously beneficial.

   In recent years, neither the situation in mainland China nor the world has been optimistic. From the end of the Cold War to the beginning of the 21st century, globalization made great strides, world democracy and human rights advanced rapidly; China’s economy also developed rapidly, institutional reforms and civic enlightenment achieved, and public opinion was relatively relaxed. In recent years, conservative populism has emerged around the world, isolationism has returned, strongman politics and extremist policies are rampant in various countries; China's various reforms have stagnated, the economy has been weak, public opinion has been tightened, and the atmosphere of public opinion is harsh and extreme. And the recent drastic city closure measures have caused a lot of pain and tragedy in China. China is becoming more and more closed, and the people of the country are isolated and helpless.

   Under such circumstances, Scholz's visit brought a lot of hope and warmth to China in trouble. As an economic and manufacturing powerhouse, Germany has brought a large number of orders to China, the "world's factory", which will be very helpful in stimulating the Chinese economy after the epidemic. And it promised to provide Chinese foreigners with the BioNTECH vaccine developed in Germany, and plans to gradually allow Chinese citizens to obtain and vaccinate it, which is also conducive to China's epidemic prevention and national health. For Germany, exporting high-value-added products such as aircraft and vaccines to China has also improved its struggling economy.

     The human rights concerns that Scholz clearly raised and emphasized during his meetings with Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang are not merely verbal, but are potentially linked to Sino-German economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and diplomatic friendship. Now that China has received the "big gift" of Scholz's visit to China, of course it will do something about related issues, at least it will not make the situation worse. Since 1999, China and Germany have started a long-term human rights dialogue, which has played a major role in the improvement of human rights in China. Scholz's visit to China is also a continuation and expansion of the dialogue on human rights.

   As for Hong Kong and Xinjiang issues, Scholz’s concerns may not be able to achieve immediate results, but the international community can add a path of observation, dialogue, and participation with China on these two regions and people’s human rights issues, which is obviously better than tough hostility. way of doing nothing. The same is true for the Taiwan issue. Adding fuel to the flames is not as good as mediating. Assuming a standpoint outside of mainland China, even if the dialogue and reconciliation fails, there will be no loss to all parties, and it will not make the Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet issues worse.

    As the climate crisis becomes more serious and both China and Germany experience severe floods and extreme high temperature disasters caused by climate warming, the Scholz government needs to cooperate with China to fight the climate crisis, prompting China, the world's largest carbon emitter, to Fulfill the promise of "carbon neutrality" and protect the life, health and environmental safety of the people of the two countries.

     Therefore, although the policies of the Scholz government and the previous Merkel government (and even the earlier Schroeder government) are close to and cooperative with China, although they have been criticized, they are the most conducive to improving human rights in China and alleviating Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan issues. .

    China is not only a big country in the world today, an important pole under the pattern of "one superpower and many powers", but also has a long and splendid history of civilization, which has played a huge role in promoting the material prosperity and spiritual progress of the world from ancient times to the present. Since modern times, the Chinese nation has suffered many hardships and suffered several brutal foreign invasions and internal sabotages, which not only caused trauma to the Chinese people, but also a great misfortune to the world. Therefore, the Chinese nation deserves respect, and the Chinese people deserve sympathy. All countries in the world have the responsibility to help China improve human rights and national rejuvenation. China's continued peaceful rise is also beneficial to world civilization.

    Germany experienced the trauma of the two world wars and the Cold War. Whether it was dominated by the Nazis or divided by the United States and the Soviet Union, it has suffered deeply (of course it is also the perpetrator to a certain extent). Fortunately, Germany's post-war reflections were also extremely profound. The German people fully realized the evil consequences of war, violence, beggar-thy-neighbor, and human rights abuses, and also deeply realized the value of peace, cooperation, promoting human rights, and respecting diversity. It is on this basis of history and cognition that Germany actively reconciled with France, created the European Community, and promoted European unity; recognized the criminal history of the Nazis, actively compensated the Jews, held accountable war criminals, and enacted laws that strictly prohibit denying history and glorifying Nazis , Suppressing extreme nationalism and promoting multiple ethnic groups and cultures; the new century accepts millions of refugees with open arms, and will respect diversity and protect human rights. And the separation and reunification of the two Germanys also made Germans understand that blood is thicker than water, and the spiritual connection between the same pronunciation and the same text cannot and should not be erased due to institutional differences.

   Taking it into account, Germany naturally has sympathy for the glorious, great and troubled China, and is uneasy about being ravaged by the Nazi ally Japan in World War II. Moreover, Germany suffered and accepted great punishment during and after World War II, and also through self-renovation to clean up the Nazi remnants, compensate the victims (Jews, Poles, Greeks, Gypsies, etc.), as well as pass legislation, issue national declarations, lead Human speeches and other methods made clear the final conclusion and continuous criticism of the evil of the Nazis, and realized national salvation and rebirth. Japan, on the other hand, did everything possible to avoid historical crimes. Not only did most of the perpetrators go unpunished during the war (only a very small number of Japanese were designated as war criminals and executed), but to some extent they benefited from the war of aggression. After the war, they used the Cold War, Rely on the United States to let the economy develop at a high speed. Almost the entire nation unanimously supports the Japanese people in the war of aggression. For decades, they have lived the most affluent, comfortable and safe life in the world. This is extremely unfair to the suffering countries, especially the people of China, South Korea, and North Korea. Today, both the government and the people in Japan generally whitewash historical crimes and treat Japanese soldiers who died in the war of aggression as commemorative martyrs. Some people even try to revive militarism. Japanese politicians also often compare Nazi Germany to the threat of China, without any hesitation.scruplesHe also didn't mention that he was allied with the Nazis to do evil, and he had no shame at all. These, of course, made the historically sensible Germans angry.

    Unlike Japan, which keeps avoiding, whitewashing, and beautifying historical issues, Germany's reflection and criticism of war crimes go deep into the bone marrow, which makes most Germans have full empathy. Whether relative emphasisCarry forward the tradition of Christian fraternityThe "Christian Democratic Union" still pays more attention todiverseThe Social Democratic Party, which is tolerant and inclined towards innovation, although its China policy is mainly based on interests considerations, they are also sincerely concerned about China's development and progress. They have sincere respect and sincere sympathy for the Chinese people who have created a splendid civilization and survived tenaciously, but are always suffering.

   German politicians and people who have experienced intense reality baptism and profound ideological reflection also understand that hostility and sanctions against China will only wrap China tightly in the cloth of seclusion like a cold wind; only when the warm sunshine of contact and cooperation shines, Let the rule of law and human rights trickle down, and China will have more freedom and democracy. For example, on the Russian issue, many German politicians such asMerkelShowed a position that is considered "pro-Russian" (actuallyOf course not appeasement and flattery "pro-Russia"),actuallythat isThe best choice made out of reason and humanity. The decision on the issue of China is naturallybased on similarValue drivers and practical considerations.

    During the Boxer Movement in the late Qing Dynasty, the Manchu Qing government and the Chinese people brutally killed about 200 priests and nuns in Western countries. However, while many Western countries demanded that the main perpetrators be severely punished and receive compensation, they also "revenge with virtue" after the war and used the compensation Building universities in China and sponsoring Chinese youth and even children to study abroad has changed China's ignorance and backwardness to a certain extent, and promoted China's economic and social modernization and the success of its political revolution. Although China has experienced turmoil since then, it has also contributed a lot in the international anti-fascist war. It joined forces with the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, the Netherlands and other countries to resist the brutal Japanese army (even Nazi Germany once assisted the Chinese Nationalist government out of interests and sympathy). China’s war of resistance has become an international cooperation. A model of resistance to hegemonic invasion and human rights violations. Later, China and the West fell into confrontation due to various unnecessary conflicts, but the historical friendship has not faded away. After the reform and opening up, the re-integration of China and the West has allowed the expansion and acceleration of globalization, and all countries in the world have benefited a lot.

   Faced with mainland China's relative isolation and stagnant reform, the international community should show more sympathy and change, rather than hostility and isolation. Nowadays, countries are very concerned about Hong Kong, Xinjiang, and Taiwan issues. The human rights situation in Xinjiang does have serious problems, but even though Hong Kong and Taiwan have been eroded and threatened by the mainland, their level of democracy and the rule of law, degree of personal freedom, degree of human rights protection, per capita income and living standards are still far higher than the average in mainland China. Therefore, shouldn't the international community pay more attention to the human rights situation in mainland China/China itself, and help people in mainland China who are in a worse situation?

   As for the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, they do face all kinds of suppression, but the details and the ins and outs are not as simple as the West has preconceived. The frequent terrorist attacks in Xinjiang, the large number of casualties and serious social panic caused by them are obviously the direct causes of the "re-education camp" policy. In recent years, the Chinese government has indeed increased its control over Xinjiang, especially Uyghur Muslims, but it has not implemented genocide in a narrow sense. In the more than 70 years since the founding of the Communist Party of China, the attitude and behavior of the treatment of various ethnic minorities and the comparison with the treatment of the Han nationality, the main ethnic group, are actually better among the developing countries in the world. Some "reverse discrimination (such as when Hu Yaobang, former general secretary of the Communist Party of China was in power)". Even though there has been discrimination and oppression against some ethnic groups in recent years, its degree is not very prominent in developing countries.

   However, China under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, although relatively independent of the world, especially the West, has rarely participated in wars, and has not had a hot war with foreign countries in the past 30 years (the cold weapon conflict with the Indian army on the border is the most serious situation). Apart from Brazil, the most peaceful country among the major countries in the world has been quite restrained in many international disputes, and it is not a "wolf warrior" country that many people think. In many cases, the Chinese government led by the CCP would rather sacrifice the interests of its own country and people, and insist on peace and compromise with the outside world, which is beyond the reach of other countries in the world. China has been in a state of poverty for a long time and the lives of its people are difficult. However, instead of expanding externally, China strives for self-improvement and digests its own pain.Become a "world factory" forpeople of the worldprovidedNecessities and Consumer Goods. China has also vigorously promoted family planning, which has made significant contributions to world population control, reduction of resource consumption and environmental pollution, and weakening of the earth's ecological crisis. These "elephant in the room" contributions and forbearance have been ignored by the international community. It shouldn't be. The international community should have a comprehensive, objective and reasonable understanding of China's issues, instead of isolating and hostile to China because of some prejudices, or even forcing China into the quagmire of war.

   A closed, impoverished and disconnected China is a disaster for the 1.4 billion Chinese people and will make the world more dangerous. Only by making China more open, prosperous, and integrated with the world can the Chinese people, who account for one-fifth of the world's population, be happy, the world can be peaceful and stable, and we can jointly respond to global crises and challenges. People of all countries, identities and positions should not be dazzled and blinded by temporary conflicts and confrontations. They must understand the feelings and needs of the Chinese people, and view cooperation with China from the standpoint of all mankind.

   Regardless of Germany or other countries, they should connect economic and trade cooperation with human rights, infiltrate universal values ​​in ideological and cultural exchanges, actively care about the situation of Chinese laborers, women, LGBT groups, the disabled, and residents in rural and remote areas, and make their own countries mature and mature. The protection of human rights and public service mechanisms have been introduced into China to effectively improve human rights in China. European and American countries should also carry out civic education and universal value promotion for Chinese students studying in mainland China and other local Chinese nationals, and even some more direct and powerful means, so that these people accept the concept of freedom, democracy and human rights, and become a part of China's civil society construction and democracy. the forerunner of transformation.

    Countries should not always give priority to ethnic minorities and Hong Kong and Taiwan issues. Residents of the Han nationality in mainland China often also need understanding, sympathy, and help. Only the broad awareness of human rights and civic actions of the Han nationality, the main ethnic group, can effectively promote the democratic process in China.

    Of course, in the process of dialogue and cooperation, it is indeed necessary to have a deep understanding of the evil side of the CCP regime, and be vigilant while opening your arms, especially for those who are superficially kind and polite, follow the rules, and are friendly to the West, but lack humanitarianism. Philosophy and justice, internal brutality and external tolerance, internal hostility to Western human rights and pluralism, always accumulating strength to try to follow the old path of Nazi Germany and militaristic Japan, the ruling class and other groups and individuals with social Darwinism, You must know your heart and watch your actions, avoid becoming "Mr. Dong Guo", and be ready to put the "devil" in the "bottle" again after being deceived like the kind and wise fisherman in "Arabian Nights".

    For the CCPChinaIn order to promote the spread of humanitarianism and universal values ​​in China, we must have close exchanges in economy, trade and humanities, especially in the fields of humanities and social sciences. People's livelihood science and environmental protection technology should also be given to each other to promote China's economic development, improvement of people's livelihood, and ecological health; but of course military technology and destructive technologies and methods cannot be granted, and the CCP's related technologies and methods must be guarded against and sanctions to ensure overwhelming military dominance of the democratic world over autocratic China. But on the other hand, all countries should also respect China's measures to enhance its military strength, allow China to maintain its influence and voice in the Asia-Pacific and the world commensurate with its national strength and international actions, and use this to promote China's integration into international politics, military affairs, and diplomacy order, and finally peacefully remove the barriers and suspicions between the West and China, so that China can maintain its interests and dignity while achieving stability in the Asia-Pacific and world peace.

    Even if Germany and the European Union countries’ contact with China cannot quickly and effectively change the status quo, and even be used by the CCP regime and dignitaries, sincerity is as good as gold and stone, and failure must be persevering, even if you insist on dialogue for a hundred years and try to promote peaceful change. Thousands of times, China will finally open up completely to the outside world, remove all barriers, and move towards world integration. Even if China is envisioned as closed and cruel like North Korea, all countries in the world, especially developed countries in Europe and the United States, should always open their doors to China and welcome China back to the world family at any time.

   Scholz's visit to China was like a warm sunshine, bringing some warmth and hope to the chilling China and the world. I hope this sunshine can dispel hostility, indifference, stubbornness, and hatred, so that the Chinese people and all ethnic groups in all countries and regions of the world can enjoy equal prosperity and dignity.