What Others Are Saying About China
Leading voices in government, diplomacy, media and celebrity have spoken out in recent weeks about China’s problematic relationship with Sudan, and China’s ability to impact the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
Below are a compilation of quotes from notable individuals.
“And I think that we have an agreement, an understanding with China about the importance of impressing upon the authorities of the Sudan the importance of them coming into compliance with the wishes and demands of both the international community and the people in Darfur themselves, who are so tragically affected by this situation.”
John Negroponte
Deputy U.S. Secretary of State
April 25, 2007
“We would hope they use every bit of their leverage with the Sudanese government to convince them that it's the right thing to do, it's in everybody's interest, that the UN force be allowed to get into Darfur.”
Sean McCormack
Press Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State
“The international community is stepping up to its responsibilities, but unless China does its part to ensure that the government of Sudan accepts the best and most reasonable path to peace, history will judge your government as having bank-rolled a genocide.”
Letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao
Signed by 108 Members of the U.S. Congress
“This appalling genocide has already destroyed untold numbers of families, due to displacement or death of a loved one. The international community must immediately stand up – and stand together – to bring an end to this horrific tragedy. This is a moral challenge for us all; if China fails to do its part, it risks being forever known as the host of the ’Genocide Olympics.’”
Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA)
Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao
May 9, 2007
“We urge China to reassess its recent decision to provide the Government of Sudan with an interest-free loan to build a presidential palace. We believe extending such a loan would clearly send the wrong message to Khartoum. We hope that you will reconsider the loan and impress upon President al-Bashir the need to halt Sudan's military operations throughout Darfur, to withdraw Sudanese troops from the area, and to follow through on its agreement to accept a robust AU/UN peacekeeping force in Darfur.”
Bipartisan group of United States Senators
Letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao
May 1, 2007
“We need coordinated action from many other countries…The Chinese, the Arab world, the Europeans, the African Union – everyone should be joining together in the campaign.”
Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations
April 11, 2007
“As an emerging world leader, China has an important role to play in ensuring the Sudanese government takes measures to immediately end the violence in Darfur. China must accept the full African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force and facilitate humanitarian assistance…The international community is increasingly looking for China to demonstrate the will and the leadership that is so critical to resolving this crisis. I hope China will use its significant influence to do the right thing."
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
May 1, 2007
“We have indications at this point that the Chinese are now taking even a more aggressive role than they have in the past. I think they may be the crucial actors.”
Andrew S. Natsios
President Bush’s Special Envoy to Sudan
April 13, 2007
“I was a little disappointed with what happened recently in terms of the [Hu] visit. I have to be very candid, I was hoping for a little bit more diplomatic pressure from the Chinese.”
Andrew S. Natsios
President Bush’s Special Envoy to Sudan
February 8, 2007
“I add my voice to those who ask that China change its policy toward Sudan and pressure the Sudanese government to accept the entrance of United Nations peacekeepers to protect the victims of genocide in Darfur.”
Steven Spielberg
Chairman, Dreamworks
Letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao
May 12, 2007
“As one of the few players whose support is indispensable to Sudan, China has the power to, at the very least, insist that Khartoum accept a robust international peacekeeping force to protect defenseless civilians in Darfur. Beijing is uniquely positioned to put a stop to the slaughter, yet they have so far been unabashed in their refusal to do so.”
Actress Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow
Writing in The Wall Street Journal
March 28, 2007
“According to the Council on Foreign Relations, China buys about two thirds of Sudan's oil. The Sudanese government then uses the majority of its oil profits to buy weapons and aircraft, most of them made by China. The arms are turned over to a proxy militia, the Janjaweed, which burns, dismembers, rapes and kills Darfur's villagers and destroys their land. China maintains that it doesn't interfere with the internal politics of other nations, and using that policy it has blocked U.N. efforts to send a peacekeeping force into Darfur by insisting that Sudan first invite the troops in.”
Rick Reilly
Columnist
Sports Illustrated
May 11, 2007
“It's a protest to wake people up. China has the 2008 Olympics and that's an event that will have the attention of the world. It'll be known that many NBA players are expressing their concern about this issue. China has a large NBA fan base. This will definitely get their attention.”
Ira Newble
Forward, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
May 11, 2007
“We, as basketball players in the NBA and as potential athletes in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, cannot look on with indifference to the massive human suffering and destruction that continue in the Darfur region of Sudan.”
Letter signed by members of the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers
The New York Times
May 15, 2007
“To suggest that somehow it is unfair to ask those questions is ridiculous. If China doesn’t like the scrutiny, they can stop tacitly supporting genocide.”
Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA)
The Hill
May 8, 2007
“This crisis isn't going to fix itself. Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir rivals Iran's leader in genocide denial: He recently accused aid workers of exaggerating Darfur's crisis to preserve their jobs. Doesn't China feel qualms about propping up this ogre? Perhaps Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., who is in China along with a team of Cabinet officials and the Fed chairman today and tomorrow, might trouble to ask that question.”
Editorial
The Washington Post
“China and Darfur”
December 14, 2007
“More than almost anything, Beijing fears a tarnished image. Behind the scenes, Chinese officials have been working hard to defuse some of the controversial issues.”
The Wall Street Journal
“Activists Turn Up Heat on Beijing Olympics”
April 26, 2007
“So the best way to deter China's rulers from being the principal enablers of genocide in Darfur …The last thing China's rulers want is to have the 2008 Olympic games in Beijing branded with the name that many are trying to apply: the Genocide Olympics.”
Editorial
The Boston Globe
“China Shadows”
May 8, 2007
“As it prepares to host the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has a lot to lose if it is branded as the nation that stands in the way of forcing Sudan to end its military operations in Darfur, disarm the Janjaweed, and permit a large well-armed UN peacekeeping force to enter Darfur to protect civilians and humanitarian aid workers.”
Editorial
The Boston Globe
“The Unending Agony of Darfur”
April 22, 2007
“During Mr. Hu's 12-day tour of Africa, he promised that China would foster peace and cooperation. He could start by cutting off the rifles and ammunition to Khartoum's rulers.”
Editorial
The Wall Street Journal
“China and Darfur”
February 21, 2007
“The West is engaging with China on the theory that economic modernization will bring political modernization as well; otherwise, the West would merely be assisting the development of a communist adversary. China's Sudan policy is an assertion that this link between economic and political modernization is by no means inevitable, even in the extreme case. You can construct oil refineries, educate scientists, build ambitious new railways – and simultaneously pursue a policy of genocide.”
Sebastian Mallaby
Columnist
The Washington Post
“A Palace for Sudan”
February 5, 2007
“In the case of Darfur, however, this liberal Chinese stance is being exploited as a licence to kill. There may be profit to China in turning a blind eye to all of this, but there is no honour. And in time the profit may dry up as well.”
The Economist
“Mr. Hu’s Mission to Khartoum”
February 3, 2007
“China, a ceaseless violator of the human rights of so many of its own citizens, is not going to be moved by a mere holocaust of black Africans in Darfur. And its complicity in these crimes against so much humanity has hardly blighted China's increasingly influential economic presence in other African countries and in Latin America while the corpses mount in Darfur.”
Editorial
The Washington Times
“Khartoum’s Enablers in Beijing”
April 16, 2007
"China wants to be respected. In fact in recent months it has moderated its behavior. When China understands how keenly we and the international community feel about a particular issue, unless there is a direct collision with something that is their vital interest, they try to accommodate."
Carla Hills
Former U.S. Trade Representative
Voice of America
May 14, 2007
“This Olympic issue has got them moving. They definitely don't want a global or even halfway successful boycott of the Olympics. They can't take that too lightly, which they aren't.”
Francis Kornegay
Analyst
Center for the Policy Studies, Johannesburg, South Africa
Associated Press
May 10, 2007
Comments from China
“China agrees to take an all-round and balanced approach to bring peace and stability to Darfur.”
Tang Jiaxuan
State Councilor
People’s Republic of China
Xinhua News Agency
January 12, 2007
“The Chinese government has decided to name Ambassador Liu Guijin as a special representative for African affairs. The Darfur issue raises a lot of concerns in the international community. The first task of the special representative will focus on the Darfur issue.”
Jiang Yu
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
People’s Republic of China
AFP
May 10, 2007
“We hope to solve the issue by political means. We are ready to make joint efforts with the international community, including the U.S.”
Jiang Yu
Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman
People’s Republic of China
Associated Press
May 10, 2007
“China wants to help and wants to be viewed as a helpful country.”
Shen Dingli
Executive Dean
Institute of International Studies, Fudan University
Associated Press
May 10, 2007
“Against these backdrops, China’s appointment of the special envoy on Africa meets the practical needs and indicates China’s growing attention to African affairs.”
Xinhua News Agency
“China Intends to Play Important Role in Africa, Darfur”
May 13, 2007
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