Editorial

Can China play a role as ‘a big country?’

The Chinese government perplexes us because they are asserting untruthfully about the arrest of the North Korean defector Mr. Won who was trying to find an asylum at the Korean Consulate General in Beijing on the 13th. They insist that the Chinese security officers have never invaded the Korean Consulate and assaulted either Korean diplomats or reporters. Moreover, they are claiming that it was by the request of Korean Consulate to arrest Mr. Won and Korean diplomats interfered with an official business using their diplomats’ status.

However, the scene where the Chinese security officers invaded the Korean Consulate and dragged Mr. Won out of there was witnessed by correspondents of media from all over the world. The Korean diplomats, Consulate employees, and correspondents, who are wounded on their legs and feet, are testifying what they have suffered.

China, who is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, is at the status as a world leader without a doubt. She is hosting the Olympic games in 2008. Therefore, we cannot understand why they are claiming such a preposterous assertion, which makes us doubt even their national conscience. How can a nation, who neglects human rights and the extraterritoriality, and who assaults diplomats and blocks the satellite transmission of news reports, host the Olympics, the global festival?

The problems of the North Korean defectors cannot be solved without humanism as a basic rule because the interests of the countries concerned are sharply involved. If the Chinese government continues to neglect the human rights of the North Korean defectors and humanism for the relation with North Korea, the problem will be entangled even more and the criticism of the international society will be more heated. And that will not be good for the Chinese national interests. This incident will affect badly to the relationship between Korea and China who are celebrating 10th anniversary of their amity. It is clear that the aggravation between Korea and China will harm not only the interests of both countries but also the peace and stability of whole northeast Asia.

We hope that China would understand what is the right way to solve this problem reasonably and keep the pride of ‘a big country.’