The theme of an American media with bad collective judgement and/or acting at the behest of the U.S. government arises every so often in China media – one recalls China’s campaign against CNN host Jack Cafferty, when he called Chinese forces cracking down on Tibetan monks ‘goons and thugs,’ or when it called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a ‘disgusting figure’ for paying her respects to the Dalai Lama. Part of it has to do with a fundamental failure to understand how non-government run, profit driven media works, and as much as mainstream U.S. journalists may be loathe to admit it, part of it is that big-time U.S. media is indeed in bed with the establishment. Whatever the case, China’s state-run newspapers are at it again, prompted by two seemingly diverse episodes: U.S. media criticism of Beijing over its treatment of Muslim Uyghurs in Western Xinjiang Province, and a segment of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, in which six-year-olds are asked what should be done about America’s huge debt to China.
In an editorial headlined ‘Racist’ Jimmy Kimmel Skit Damages America and Hurts Chinese, the state-run People’s Daily expresses consternation over a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live segment, during which the host asks children what should be done about America’s massive debt to China. The spontaneous response by one of his young guests was ‘ kill everyone in China.’ The editorial takes ABC Entertainment to task, highlighting protests of Chinese Americans, and says that by broadcasting segments like this, the United States harms not only Chinese people, but its own efforts to strength America as a multiracial society.
“Offensive words like these not only hurt the feelings of all Chinese people, but damage the interests of America itself. As a multi-racial nation comprised of a melting pot of immigrants from around the world, such remarks do no good for the country’s social cohesiveness. … If racist comments are allowed to put on a public display the way the ABC program did, there is a risk of a resurgence of racism. … If mainstream U.S. media outlets are serious about the future of their country, they will avoid a repeat of ABC’s error.”
Then, in an editorial headlined ‘Vile’ CNN Exposes America’s ‘Dark Psychology, Huanqiu asserts that a recent CNN article which suggests Beijing’s treatment of ethnic Uyghurs may be the root cause of last week’s car crash into a Tiananmen Square crowd, reflects a Western bias that amounts to favoring terrorism when it harms America’s rivals. So the newspaper suggests tighter controls on U.S. media – just like Beijing imposes, such as when Chinese expressed glee over the 9-11 attacks, but Chinese media said nothing about it – until now!
“After the 9-11 incident, many Chinese were quite pleased. Over many a dinner table, Chinese folk praised Osama bin Laden’s arguments, some even referring to him as a ‘modern day Robin Hood.’ Such attitudes, however, never made it into China’s media, all of which was harshly critical of his evils, and firmly sympathetic to the U.S. government and standing alongside the American people. … Does it make any sense to speak of the despair and hatred of those who engage in terrorist attacks? What attackers lack these qualities?”
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