South Korean politicians play the "tough on China" card to raise concerns, South Korean media: South Korean presidential candidates are trying to gain political benefits

Source: Global Times

[Global Times reporter Li Hao Aoki, Liu Yang, Chen Kang] The Chinese Embassy in the ROK issued a document on the 10th congratulating South Korean player Huang Daxian on winning the first gold of the Rok rookie team at the Beijing Winter Olympics the day before. This generous statement immediately became the focus of attention in South Korea and China. Recently, in response to the problem of Chinese Korean costumes at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, especially the incident in which South Korean athletes lost to Chinese players due to fouls in short-track speed skating competitions, South Korean netizens have been emotional, and some South Korean politicians and media have taken the opportunity to incite anti-China sentiments and play the "tough on China" card, pointing the spearhead at the Chinese government and the entire Beijing Winter Olympics. South Korea's move has also been fiercely countered by Chinese netizens. In this regard, some objective voices in South Korea are also worried that some politicians are trying to gain political benefits from the Dispute between China and South Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in responded to some of the "anti-China" sentiments in China on the 10th that it is necessary to enhance mutual understanding among the younger generation and bring friendly feelings closer. The Chinese Embassy in South Korea also stressed in the relevant response that the Reason why the Olympic Games are full of charm is not only because of its faster, higher and stronger level of competitive sports, but also because of the "more united" sportsmanship it carries.

The younger generation in China and South Korea needs to improve mutual understanding

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in South Korea posted on the official social platform on the 10th congratulating South Korean player Huang Daxian on winning the first gold medal for the South Korean team in the men's 1500 meters of short track speed skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics the day before. The spokesman said that the Chinese people have also made positive comments about Huang Daxian's outstanding performance, reflecting the sincere friendship between the Chinese and ROK peoples. It is expected that the Chinese and ROK players will achieve good results, win glory for the two countries and the two peoples, and add color to the friendly feelings between the Chinese and ROK peoples. It is expected that with the Beijing Winter Olympics and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK as an opportunity, the friendly and cooperative relations between China and the ROK in various fields will achieve greater development.

This statement immediately attracted the attention of South Korea. Yonhap News Agency reported that the Chinese Embassy congratulated Huang Daxian. According to the report, the Chinese Embassy also responded positively the day before to some South Korean media and politicians questioning the existence of "unfair penalties" for the short track speed skating competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics. According to the Chinese side, this is a technical issue and should be judged by a professional authority. However, some South Korean media and politicians have pointed the finger at the Chinese government and the entire Beijing Winter Olympics, and even incited anti-China sentiment, poisoning the feelings of the people of the two countries and causing Chinese netizens to fight back. We are compelled to express our grave concern and to state our solemn position on this. The Chinese Embassy in South Korea also said: "I hope that athletes from all over the world, including South Korea, can bloom and surpass themselves in the Winter Olympics." We would like to express our heartfelt congratulations to the athletes of all countries for their success. ”

Earlier, a Chinese girl dressed in traditional Korean costumes appeared at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics in the national flag relay session, which also caused huge controversy on the South Korean Internet. Some politicians and media outlets have used this to accuse China of "coveting Hanbok culture" and "cultural plundering," and have also demanded that the government protest against China. The Chinese Embassy in South Korea clarified on the 8th that the Korean ethnic group in China and the South and north of the Korean Peninsula share the same ancestry and share the same traditional culture, including clothing. These traditional cultures are both peninsular and Korean, and the so-called "cultural project" and "cultural plunder" are completely untenable. The Chinese side respects the historical and cultural traditions of the ROK and hopes that the ROK side will also respect the feelings of the Chinese people of all ethnic groups, including the Korean nationality.

"From Hanbok to referee controversy, isn't there a brake pad to stop the deterioration of the feelings of Chinese and Korean people?" Yonhap News Agency said on the 9th that affected by the "Hanbok" and "short track speed skating" penalty controversies at the Beijing Winter Olympics, resistance to each other's countries is spreading in South Korea and China. South Korea will usher in a presidential election next month, and similar anti-China sentiment is becoming a major variable in the election. Unlike the previous contradictions caused by "THAAD", the source of this incident is not from the government level, but the emotions of the people on both sides have intensified in sports events. Kim Han-kwon, a professor at the National Academy of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, said that it is necessary for the governments, politicians, civic groups and media of the two countries to give correct guidance to avoid further deepening the rift between the two countries and strive to promote the development of bilateral relations.

On the 10th, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in a joint interview with Yonhap News Agency, Xinhua News Agency, Associated Press and other eight global news agencies on South Korea-China relations that South Korea and China need to deepen economic and trade cooperation and strive to benefit the people of the two countries, especially to enhance mutual understanding among the younger generation and bring friendship closer. Asked how to build future-oriented South Korea-China relations amid the spread of "anti-China" sentiment centered on South Korea's younger generation, Moon stressed that South Korea-China relations have developed by leaps and bounds in the 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. The two countries should build a more mature and solid bilateral relationship for the next 30 years.

Lv Chao, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with the Global Times on the 10th that the Beijing Winter Olympics were held under the challenge of the world facing a serious new crown epidemic, which in itself is a rare opportunity to promote exchanges between countries and deepen mutual friendship. For China and South Korea, it is very regrettable that the hatred between the two peoples caused by the short track speed skating event has further deepened. He said: On the one hand, we would like to urge the ROK, especially some politicians and media, to exercise restraint and not to use the Winter Olympics as an occasion to arbitrarily vent national sentiments and continue to hurt Sino-ROK relations; on the other hand, we should also look at this matter with a tolerant mindset. Just as the Chinese Embassy in South Korea congratulated Huang Daxian on winning the gold medal, this is the attitude of the Chinese to competitive sports and neighbors, which is also in line with the Olympic sports spirit.

"Where does anti-China sentiment come from in South Korea?"

"Where does South Korea's anti-China sentiment come from", "Korean National News" said on the 10th, and some recent controversies between South Korea and China around the Beijing Winter Olympics have made South Korea's anti-China sentiment accumulate like smog. Many South Korean netizens have gone beyond the debate over the merits of the sentence, with many posts expressing hatred for China. According to the report, at present, South Korea's major presidential candidates are competing to make excessive anti-China remarks, and even suspected of inciting anti-China hatred. It is very worrying that they are trying to extract political benefits from the Dispute between China and South Korea. It's one thing to protest the controversial sports verdict, but it's another for politicians to try to gain political benefits by conflating sports with politics, which is clearly wrong.

Some South Korean media are also stirring up national sentiment. For the controversy over the short-track speed skating competition, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo said that this practice of disqualifying athletes through referees is the "big plan" of the Chinese team. South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo said that the Beijing Winter Olympics "have seen scenes that undermine the Olympic spirit since the beginning of the opening."

For the chinese and South Korean civil controversy, the chargé d'affaires of the US Embassy in South Korea Del Corso also jumped out of the arch fire. Del Corso sent a photo of himself wearing Hanbok on Twitter on the 8th, and deliberately added the label of "the original Hanbok is from South Korea". Yonhap News Agency said that the antagonism between Chinese and South Korean people is closely related to the environmental factors under the framework of us-China strategic competition.

Under the influence of some South Korean politicians and media, various anti-China moves have occurred in South Korea. Some south Korean civil society groups have encouraged people to carry out "anti-China propaganda" on international social media. Many South Korean netizens also attacked Chinese athletes online and went on a rampage against Ahn Hyun-so, a Korean-American technical coach of the Chinese short track speed skating team (who has turned Russian nationality) and his family in South Korea. Late on the night of the 9th, some netizens broke the news that some Chinese students in South Korea had been beaten by South Koreans because of this anti-China sentiment. In this regard, the Consular Protection Center of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that we are highly concerned about this. The Chinese Consulate General in Busan has contacted the parties concerned to understand the situation and provide active assistance, coordinate the local police to file and investigate the case, and will continue to follow up.

Intense emotions or affect the image of Korea

In fact, this fierce emotion of South Koreans has not only caused confrontation between Chinese and Korean netizens, but also seriously affected South Korea's own image in the world. For South Korea's claim at the Beijing Winter Olympics that it encountered the so-called "unfair refereeing", the German "Süddeutsche Zeitung" said with a sarcastic tone on the 10th that at the world sports festival, failure is part of every normal team, but it seems to "make Koreans uncomfortable".

"Collisions, death threats and conspiracies: a cruel society", The German "Der Spiegel" weekly reviewed the historical controversy of international short-track speed skating competitions on the 10th. Short-track speed skating has always caused fierce controversy among South Koreans. At the Beijing Winter Olympics, they felt they were "victims of a Chinese conspiracy." But in fact, South Koreans have a "tradition" of reacting violently to foreign countries that "snatched the gold medal of Koreans". In the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics short track speed skating men's 1500m final, the first South Korean runner to cross the finish line was cancelled for fouls, and american Apollo won the championship, resulting in the U.S. Olympic Committee receiving more than 20,000 curse emails from South Korea, Apollo's portrait was printed with Korean toilet paper, and the referee had to apply for police protection. In 2003, Apollo, who had planned to go to South Korea for the World Cup, received death threats, and the entire U.S. team missed the World Cup. In the women's 3000m relay final for short track speed skating at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, south Korea was disqualified by an Australian referee for a foul and a South Korean man was arrested for trying to blow up the Australian embassy in Seoul.

In an interview with the Global Times, Zi Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies of the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said that South Korea, which is caught in the cracks of geopolitics, has been colonized by Japan for a long time in history. Because the peninsula has not been reunified for a long time, South Korea has had to rely on the sniffles of the Americans and rely on the United States to maintain its own security. Therefore, they are particularly concerned about whether there is a place for South Korea on the world stage, and if they win a gold medal in international competitions, they celebrate the whole country; once they fail, the sense of loss is much stronger.

Zheng Zhigang said that things on the field should be resolved on the field, and fouls should be subject to rules and referees. He said that Chinese's mentality towards competitive sports is becoming more and more mature. Chinese respect clean results, as long as they show fair competition and fighting spirit, whether they win or lose, whether they are Chinese players or foreign players, Chinese will like it.