China blames U.S. for denial of ship visit to Hong Kong

[bemildred]

Source: IHT

BEIJING: China blocked the visit of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group and other American warships to Hong Kong last week in retaliation for the Bush administration's proposed upgrading of Taiwan's Patriot antimissile batteries, the state media reported Thursday.

Beijing also denied that Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi had told President George W. Bush in a meeting Wednesday that the canceled ship visits were a "misunderstanding," as the White House had reported after the talks.

"Reports that Foreign Minister Yang said in the United States that it was a misunderstanding do not accord with the facts," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said in Beijing on Thursday, adding that China had "grave concern" about U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan.

Liu also asserted that Bush's meeting with the Dalai Lama in October had damaged ties.

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/29/asia/ship.php

[boricua79]

1. now it makes sense...

If you ask me, it was a perfectly legitimate retaliation.

The U.S. has no business involving itself in the Taiwan affair, particularly since Taiwan only exists because Chiang Kaishek's forces fled there when they were defeated. Before that, it was an island part of China.

The people of Taiwain and the people of China need to resolve that between themselves, whether it's fair or not to one side or the other.

We should remain out of it.

[atreides1]

2. Put on your asbestos suit my friend

Because you will undoubtedly be getting flamed for your comment. Personally I agree with you, this needs to be resolved between China and Taiwan, with the UN participating as an abitrator.

We can't even deal with our own internal problems here in the US, but the government sure loves sticking its nose into what everyone else is doing in their country.

Now, there are times when getting involved isn't a bad thing, like WWII, maybe even WWI, but not every time!

[boricua79]

7. Let me clarify

I don't like the Chinese government. I don't like the Chinese communists. I don't like what they did under Mao, and they've only slightly improved over that with Deng Xiaoping and the modern China. I would undoubtedly support a democratic regime over an authoritarian, one-party communist state. My sympathies lie with the Taiwanese people, and indeed the Chinese people (when they decide to exercise their sovereignty and overthrow the rulers who abuse them).

But, ultimately...that's a spat between different Chinese people. Not our problem, and certainly not worth a war between two superpowers.

[Robbien]

3. What makes no sense at all is why was a nuclear sub and warships

used for a holiday cruise. Talk about sending messages.

[DLnyc]

4. Thank god there are some in this world willing to stand up to US insanity.

Russia, China even Venezuela to some degree are not exactly my idea of perfect societies. But I feel a lot safer in a world that has these counterbalances to the outright rabidly insane policies and schemes of the cartel that has hijacked America.

The sooner the world refuses to kowtow to these bullies (Bush-Cheney-WTO-IMF-Haliburton-Bechtel-ExxonMobil-Lockheed-etc) the sooner their power, which is fear, will evaporate.

Thank you, China. Thank you very much.

Would love to see EU, Mexico and Canada begin a boycott, next.

[David Zephyr]

5. K&R. This needs to be read by everyone at the DU. Not a small incident.

The chickens are coming home to roost.

China has bankrolled George W. Bush's war adventures and are not happy with the ever falling dollar to pay back that debt.

China is more and more in the driver's seat with regards to U.S. economic and foreign policy.

One can not blame China for taking care of China and for playing this administration and our corporate heads for the greedy, near-sighted fools that they are.

The U.S. is bleeding our capital resources to China for manufactured goods and to Middle Easter dictators for energy.

We are now down to a mere 10% of our own manufacturing of where we were just a decade ago.

We import more than half of all of our energy requirements.

Our nation is collapsing under debt and hemorrhaging two hundred years of capital accumulation away.

Our military is stretched beyond its ability. Our military hardware is wasted away.

The U.S. Dollar is no longer the currency of choice in the world.

New York is no longer the financial capitol of the world.

We have become a toothless, fat, spoiled creature who is running out of money and still needs a fix for our many addictions.

The future is not bright.

[Supersedeas]

6. that would be a finger that the President needs to remove from his eye - misunderstanding?