VZCZCXRO2024
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #0055 0080919
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080919Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1758
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS BEIJING 000055 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INR/R/MR, EAP/CM, EAP/PA, EAP/PD, C 
HQ PACOM FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY ADVISOR (J007) 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR CH
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: ISRAEL, FINANCIAL CRISIS 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
¶1. ISRAEL 
 
"Chinese people are sympathetic to the miserable Gaza strip" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(01/08): "China is paying close attention to 
the Israel-Palestine conflict. This conflict arises much more 
attention from ordinary Chinese people than the previous conflicts. 
Some Chinese netizens are severely criticizing Israel, others are 
criticizing Hamas.  Chinese people's sympathy for the weaker side is 
spreading in China. The Chinese people's support of the Palestinians 
relies on their sympathy towards the weaker side of the conflict. 
The people's attention has been focused on the miseries that the 
Palestinians have suffered. Chinese scholars have indicated that 
taking revenge on Hamas should not be the excuse used to justify the 
killing the innocent people. The behavior that Hamas has exhibited 
is not fighting against Israel's occupation, but inviting it." 
 
¶2. FINANCIAL CRISIS 
 
a. "Why does the U.S. blame China for the trouble it has made for 
itself?" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(01/08): "Recently, Secretary Paulson has 
reversed the right and wrong of the financial crisis. He has begun 
to blame China.  It is very disappointing and surprising that the 
American Secretary of the Treasury has taken this tact. He said this 
because the U.S. is in the midst of a power transition. Paulson's 
comment, made before the Bush administration ends, shifts 
responsibility for the crisis away from himself and the 
administration. He has an urgent need to find a scapegoat and has 
made China that scapegoat. Paulson's comments have aroused attention 
in the global media, but did not earn applause. Two American 
economists issued articles on Forbes' website with a clear title 
Paulson is wrong, so indicating that he is misleading the public's 
attention and shifting their criticisms away from the Federal 
Reserve.  His comments have received criticisms from many global 
media sources as well." 
 
b. "The ridiculous behavior of shifting responsibilities" 
 
The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)(01/08): 
"The U.S. Secretary of Treasury Paulson mentioned in an interview 
with Financial Times that part of the reasons for the financial 
crisis are related to the economic imbalance due to the high deposit 
rate of newly-emerging market countries like China. This statement 
is a kin to a situation where one who always borrows money to 
support his luxurious lifestyle and spends it wastefully, finally 
goes bankrupt. And, when he goes bankrupt, he blames others because 
they lent him money in the first place. This logic is ridiculous. It 
is even more ridiculous that these words were said by the U.S. 
Secretary of the Treasury, a man with a rich economic knowledge. The 
world already has made their conclusions about the reason for the 
financial crisis. It is a credit crisis based on the failings of 
Wall Street and the U.S. The factors that caused the global economic 
imbalance are very complicated. The crisis is primarily due to the 
economic structure of the developed countries led by the U.S. 
Paulson's comments show that either, he is ignorant, or he has 
ulterior motives. Paulson's comments have hurt the Chinese people's 
feelings. Without China's development, the U.S. wouldn't have had 
the earnings that it did over the past few years." 
 
c. "Looking at the financial crisis from the political angle" 
 
The official Xinhua News Agency international news publication 
International Herald Leader (Guoji Xianqu Daobao)(01/08): "Hegemonic 
bubbles have produced financial bubbles. The financial crisis has 
been caused by these U.S. hegemonic bubbles. The U.S. hegemony is 
the biggest political reason for the financial crisis. The 
Afghanistan war and the Iraq war have been the medium and 
accelerator of the financial crisis. The financial crisis has driven 
the U.S.-China relationship closer together. The financial crisis is 
a necessary reflection of the free and democratic political system 
and a free market economy. The financial crisis may be a chance for 
China to change its development model. Strategic thinking is 
required to deal with the crisis. China should combine efforts in 
dealing with the crisis, to set up and develop a guarantee system in 
the social, educational, medical, pension and retirement fields." 
 
RANDT