China supports Arab League's proposals for Syria

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun speaks to the media in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012. Jun said China was "extremely concerned" about the escalation of the crisis in Syria. (AP Photo/Muzaffar Salman) / Muzaffar Salman

BEIJING - China said Saturday that it supports the Arab League's proposals for ending the violence in Syria, a striking show of support just two weeks after Beijing vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution backing the league's plans.

The seemingly contradictory stances on the Arab League's proposals appear to reflect Beijing's desire for mediation but aversion to U.N. involvement that could lead to authorizing force, as happened with Libya.

China conveyed its support for the Arab League's proposals in a statement posted late Saturday on the Foreign Ministry's website. That followed a meeting earlier in the day in Damascus between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The statement quoted Zhai as telling Assad that China was willing to work with the Syrian government and opposition, the Arab League and Arab countries to find a solution.

Chinese envoy calls on Syrians to stop acts of violence

"China supports all the mediation efforts by the Arab League to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis and calls upon relevant parties to increase communication and negotiations to find a peaceful and appropriate solution to the Syrian crisis within the framework of the Arab League and on the basis of the Arab League's relevant political solution proposals," Zhai was quoted as saying.

Also Saturday, a ruling party newspaper said in an editorial that China courageously defied the West when it opposed a nonbinding resolution in the U.N. General Assembly condemning human rights violations in Syria.

The vote against the resolution, which was overwhelming approved Thursday, indicates China's rising influence in world affairs, the Global Times said.

"The country's courage to truly express itself and to calmly stand its ground is worthy of merit," the paper said.

"It is wrong to blindly come down on the side of the West in each vote," it said.

Global Times is published by the Communist Party's flagship People's Daily newspaper and its editorials generally reflect the more pugnacious, jingoistic side of government opinion.

China, which carried out a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1989, has refused to condemn Syria over the violence.

Beijing's authoritarian leaders generally oppose any moves that could lead to humanitarian interventions, such as last year's NATO air campaign in Libya, and have themselves used overwhelming force against anti-government protests in Tibet and the traditionally Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.

Syria has seen one of the bloodiest crackdowns in the Arab uprisings that began a year ago. The U.N. says more than 5,400 people were killed in Syria last year, and the number has risen daily. In addition, 25,000 people are estimated to have sought refuge in neighboring countries and more than 70,000 are internally displaced.

[Herne42]

........15,000 dead later.........

[fedup12]

America has too much debt to meddle in Middle East affairs as we have in the past.

But we will continue on as we have in the past. And hope for a different answer.

[Samlv]

How many peacekeeping missions has China been on? Zero.

How many of its own people has it killed in the past fifty years? About one hundred million.

Do not listen to what China says. Instead, pay attention to the evidence of its nature.

[Springtoola]

What they're basically asking China is: Do you want a repeat of Libya, or do you want a repeat of Egypt?

They vetoed the Libya option, and went with the Egypt option...

[schnickel]

>>>The Global Times said. "The vote against the resolution, which was overwhelming approved Thursday, indicates China's rising influence in world affairs." "The country's courage to truly express itself and to calmly stand its ground is worthy of merit," the paper said.
"It is wrong to blindly come down on the side of the West in each vote," it said.<<<

Those statements show the mentality towards the U.S. The media and government of China see Obama as weak, hands out for money, and his destruction of the American dollar. They even warned him that they were paying close attention to his spending and the US debt,,,right before Obama borrowed more money and our credit rating got downgraded! Like Obama stated himself, "He needed 4 more years, he hadn't finished the job.",, he just didn't tell us what job,,,China has though,,4 more years of Obama and in the so called 'second half' the U.S. will be joining Greece!

[LarryParadise]

Human creatures wearing armour, hurting and killing other human creatures that are not wearing armour ...

One morning, I found two small mice in the same peanut butter jar trap, that I set out that night before

I would always walk the jar far out into the woods and free last nights catch into some brush pile

This particular morning while picking up the jar, I had a piece of cheese in my hand, and tossed it in as I picked up the glass containing the two ...

Here they were, already frighten by the sight of me, being trapped with no escape ... more cheese than either may have ever seen ...

And the two of them just took to fighting each other, as I walked the jar out to the woods

I don't know if either ever got the cheese that fell to the brush pile with them

Unfortunately, it no longer surprises me to read almost every day, that human creatures are killing other human creatures, while a third, forth, fifth or a hundred other human creatures watches

I will always be glad that my heart does not understand how any could feel such a hate for another, even when that other is unknown

I can only relate that the feeling of helplessness as an individual to change our current world ... feels like being born into a fire started long before I got here, and born without the proper tools to ever see it put out in my lifetime

[tmittelstaed]

What this really is, is China tactitly saying OK with military intervention. China gets a LOT of oil from the Mideast and unlike the US has no military bases there and very few friends. If the government of Syria falls, they will have even fewer. They cannot afford to oppose ANY ruling regime in the Mideast. The current government of Libya, made up of protesters, has no love for China.

[erpicferl]

good to see china coming around. russia, ruled by egomaniacs and drunks, probably will continue to veto any sanctions.