The mighty Olympic Games of Asia are about to open in Hangzhou, and this is an event not to be missed! Compared with previous Asian Games, the scale of this Hangzhou Asian Games is unprecedentedly large, with more than 12,500 athletes from 45 countries and regions around the world.
This is really the largest number of participants in the history of the Asian Games, and the mainland is really the largest Olympic Games! However, during this lively festival, some Western media continue to discredit our image and fabricate the so-called six "absent" countries.
And India is also making provocations at this time, trying to create problems for us. How exactly should we look at these things?
First, let's explain the so-called "6 absent countries". The Asian Games are Asian sports events, but not all Asian countries can participate.
Participants in the Asian Games are made up of members of the Olympic Council of Asia. Currently, the Olympic Council of Asia has 45 members, including 42 countries in Asia, as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Therefore, the 45 countries and regions participating in this year's Hangzhou Asian Games are all members of the Olympic Council of Asia, and their participation is a very normal thing. And the so-called "absent countries", such as Turkey, Israel, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Cyprus, did not participate in the Asian Games not because we did not invite them, but because they were not members of the Olympic Council of Asia, they considered themselves more Europeans and therefore joined the European Olympic Committee.
It is not surprising that these countries do not participate in the Asian Games.
Let's take a closer look at the situation in these six countries.
Turkey and Cyprus joined the European Olympic Committee because they identified themselves as European. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, three countries in the Caucasus, which were once Soviet republics, were forced to join the European Olympic Committee after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As for Israel, they actively participated in the Asian Games after the establishment of the state in 1948, but due to various reasons, such as friendly relations with the United States, Israel was isolated by Asian countries and has since been absent from Asian sports events.
After understanding these circumstances, we can understand that the rumors of the Western media are groundless.
The fact that these countries did not participate in the Asian Games was not aimed at China, nor was it a gamble. What's more, we didn't invite them to participate at all.
The sinister intentions of the Western media are completely exposed here, and they are trying to smear our image of hosting the Asian Games by provoking conflicts with these six countries, and misleading the Western people to blame us.
At the same time, India is wading through troubled waters and trying to make trouble for us. What's going on?
Just as athletes from all over the world arrived in Hangzhou, India was dissatisfied with us, not because we did not invite them, but because they made trouble themselves, but blamed us in turn.
The reason is that three martial arts athletes sent by India were denied normal visas by us, so they did not qualify for the Asian Games.
Subsequently, the Minister of Sports of the Indian government publicly stated that the Indian delegation would explicitly refuse to participate in some of the events of the Asian Games, and that the Minister of Sports himself would not travel to Hangzhou to participate in the opening ceremony and any activities.
India is acting as if we are deliberately trying to embarrass their athletes, but we have always been peace-loving and never take the initiative to provoke disputes, so why did we refuse to issue visas to these three Indian athletes?
The reason is simple, the three athletes are from the "Arunachal Pradesh" in India, and their passports are issued by the "Arunachal Pradesh".
However, Arunachal Pradesh is a state established by India after its illegal occupation of southern Tibet on the mainland, and the mainland has never recognized the legitimacy of this state, so it is impossible to issue them visas.
Although the mainland values peace and is inclusive, it will never compromise on the issue of territorial sovereignty. If we issue visas to these three athletes, it will be tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that southern Tibet belongs to India, which is absolutely impossible.
In fact, most of Arunachal Pradesh should be under the jurisdiction of the mainland, and the dispute with India dates back to 1914.
At that time, William Henry McMahon of Britain proposed the "McMahon Line" at the Simla Conference, which designated southern Tibet, Tawang, and the Kandi Basin and Jiangxinpo areas in the east as British Indian colonies.
Although the "Anglo-Tibetan representatives" signed and approved the "McMahon Line", due to the opposition of the central government, the representatives of the Republic of China at that time did not sign. However, India then forcibly established the Northeast Frontier Special Zone in the area and seized control of the area in the war, eventually officially establishing the "Arunachal Pradesh".
Despite this, the mainland has never recognized the legitimacy of the state.
Although Arunachal Pradesh is now controlled by India, most of its inhabitants are Mongols of the Sino-Tibetan language family. India knows that the mainland does not recognize the legitimacy of "Arunachal Pradesh", but still allows athletes with "Arunachal Pradesh" passports to compete in China, which is obviously provoking our bottom line.
And they caught a clever point, if we issue a visa, it means a tacit acquiescence to the legality of "Arunachal Pradesh"; If we don't issue visas, we can use the pressure of international public opinion to put pressure on us.
In the face of the ruse of the Western media and India, we must resolutely fight back.
Our Foreign Ministry spokesperson made it clear that athletes from all countries with valid documents are welcome to compete in Hangzhou, China, and that "the Chinese government has never recognized the so-called 'Arunachal Pradesh', and the southern Tibet region is part of Chinese territory."
"India's careful thinking has not succeeded, and we have never budged on the issue of territorial sovereignty.
In fact, we have always enjoyed the trust of many countries as a peaceful and tolerant great power.
In Syria, for example, their president and athletes traveled across more than a dozen countries, did not dare to land or transit, and finally arrived in Hangzhou with the help of China.
At the opening ceremony, the audience gave them warm cheers and applause, which made the Syrian athletes, who were originally a little confused, feel great encouragement, they stopped and waved the national flag in the direction of their president, as if they had received great encouragement.
This scene also moved many people to tears. The country is experiencing oppression and war, and its people are groping through the darkness, but China's kindness and encouragement give them hope and more courage to move on.
Even North Korea, which has been absent from international sporting events for five years, sent a delegation to the Asian Games.
This fully reflects China's position in Asia and internationally, and also proves our fair and just sportsmanship.
All in all, the Western media and India's attempts to discredit us are despised. We have always been committed to the common development and progress of nations, and have never intended to target or discriminate against any country.
Our "One Belt, One Road" policy proves our peace and generosity, and under the witness of the international community, we will definitely bring the Hangzhou Asian Games to a successful conclusion!