VZCZCXRO1589
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #3411/01 3550901
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 210901Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7311
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003411 
 
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: PREL ECON SENV KGHG KMDR OPRC CH
 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION: CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
-------------------- 
  Editorial Quotes 
-------------------- 
 
CLIMATE CHANGE 
 
a. "International cooperation on climate change is going forward, 
some difficulty remains" 
 
The official Communist Party People's Daily (Renmin Ribao)(12/21)(pg 
13): "The Accord is a strong combination of commitment and 
compromise.  Some media believe that although the result of the 
Copenhagen Conference is not satisfying, the conference has 
effectively promoted climate negotiation's movement forward.  The 
results of the Copenhagen Conference leave our final hope to the 
2010 U.N. Climate Conference in Mexico City.  The two most disputed 
issues at the Conference were emissions reduction goals and 
financial support.  The challenge facing the future will be the 
competition between the right to develop and room for that 
development.  Developing countries will most directly be influenced 
by climate change.  Counselor Yi Xianliang, director of foreign 
affairs office on climate change at the Foreign Ministry of China, 
said that the nature of the climate change issue is the issue of 
development.  In 2009 there has been an unprecedented increase in 
all countries' focus on climate change, their political will and 
their public's attention to climate change.  Disputes over the issue 
are being intensified, which urge all the countries involved to 
'show their cards.'  However, at the same time, due to the financial 
crisis and other reasons, developed countries were withdrawing 
support of the issue and shaking off their responsibilities to 
countries which are still developing." 
 
b. "The Copenhagen Conference showed us some signs of hope, at 
least" 
 
The official Communist Youth League China Youth Daily (Zhongguo 
Qingnianbao)(12/21)(pg 5): "The Conference almost completely failed. 
 However there are some signs of hope.  The Copenhagen Accord will 
take effect in ten days and as President Obama said, it was an 
'unprecedented breakthrough.'  However, some countries did not view 
the Accord positively.  German Prime Minister Merkel said that she 
was forced to agreed to the Accord, the only other choice would have 
been the failure of the negotiations.  Two characteristics are worth 
noting at the Conference: first, the whole world is united and all 
countries are making efforts towards one goal - combating climate 
change, which in the past 100 years, and in all human's history, 
this is the very first time.  Two, the Copenhagen Conference also 
reflected the shift to a 'new multi-polar world.'  The United States 
is no longer the sole contributor.  Many small countries issued 
their voice at the Conference,  for example the Sudan and the 
Republic of Maldives." 
 
c. "China should 'cut the clothes according to the cloth' over 
climate disputes" 
 
The official Communist Party international news publication Global 
Times (Huanqiu Shibao)(12/21)(pg 14): "The Copenhagen Summit closed 
amid disappointment.  At the summit, although the two groups should 
have been on the same side, two major groups formed: the offensive 
Western industrial countries and the defensive underdeveloped 
countries.  The result of the competition is hard to predict since 
each party is a bit 'unbalanced': first, their responsibilities were 
unbalanced, for example:  the developed countries tried to shake off 
their responsibilities by only looking to the newly-emerging 
countries' economic activities in the latest decade while ignoring 
the West's industrialization over the past several hundred years. 
Second, their duties were unbalanced.  Western countries intended to 
let the developing countries take the main task in emissions 
reductions.  Third, the consequences will be unbalanced.  When the 
poor countries become poorer, the sky of rich countries become 
bluer, the justice of this climate war will be a new research 
subject for historians.  China has reason to request that scientists 
from developing countries, including China, bring forth their 
research results, which are crucial for making decisions that 
maximize their own interests.  China's development policies should 
not be decided based on reports compiled by foreign institutes." 
 
d. "Why did China take a 'strong' stance at the Climate Conference" 
 
 
The Beijing-based newspaper sponsored by official intellectual 
publication Guangming Daily and Guangdong Provincial official 
publication Nanfang Daily The Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao)(12/19)(pg 
A03): "Shi Yinhong, the Director of the School of International 
Relations at Renmin University, said that China's performance and 
all the developing countries' performances were prominent at the 
Conference.  For instance, China brought forward a positive 
emissions reduction goal.  In comparison, the developed countries' 
performance was quite dissatisfying.  Especially the U.S.'s request, 
 
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that China needs to fulfill its emissions reduction promise and 
receive international supervision, violated China's interests as a 
sovereign country.  What's more, it is also unreasonable that the 
United States intends to single China out of the developing 
countries who would receive compensation.  These are the reasons for 
China's strong stance at the Conference.  First, China needs to 
uphold the principles of the United Nations.  Second, China needs to 
protect its national interests as well as that of the other 
developing countries.  However, Shi added, China does not want to 
act as the advocate for developing countries." 
 
GOLDBERG