Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Chinese official media Global Times, said in a recent article that China had been too passive and weak in the recent PR war over the harassment of Chinese warships by an Australian anti-submarine patrol plane, and had let Australia take the lead.
Recently the Australian Defense Department said that on Feb. 17, an Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft was shone by a laser from one of the two Chinese naval vessels while monitoring them as they sailed eastward across the Arafura Sea in northern Australia. According to the department, “actions such as these are potentially life-threatening, and are not in accordance with professional military operating standards.”
And after Australian Prime Minister Morrison accused Chinese warships of shining radar at an Australian patrol plane for two consecutive days, both the Chinese Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry came out on Feb. 21 to respond with a rebuttal that the Australian anti-submarine patrol planes approached Chinese warships and threatened the safety of the Chinese fleet by dropping sonar buoys nearby.
Hu Xijin believes that the Chinese are too naive, in the vast majority of cases, it is clear that China is justified, but the Chinese would allow the opponents to pre-empt in the PR war, and after they have vilified the Chinese side enough, the relevant Chinese departments would have to refute passively.
Hu Xijin said that the Chinese people are generally too kind, not willing to cause trouble, and in case of trouble, they prefer to put things to rest. Many officials are like this, and so are the people in general, and over time, foreigners have become accustomed to this. In the past few years, when Chinese diplomats have shown some initiative, some people at home would label them as “war wolf diplomacy,” and the U.S. and the West have quickly picked up this label and turned it into a card they use against China.
Hu Xijin believes that Australia is like a chewing gum that the United States chewed and spit on the ground, and it has long been stuck on the soles of China’s shoes. “We have already made a ruthless move against it, so why do we care about another war of words with it? The two sides have small friction at sea, why should we give them the opportunity to define things first?”
Hu Xijin said that China’s habit of keeping a low profile and talking less and doing more is in the blood of the Chinese people. For example, foreign institutions or even individuals claim that they have been attacked by Chinese cyber-attacks at every turn, shouting loudly. “China has the numbers of cyber attacks on China that the authorities have compiled to push back against the U.S., but have you ever seen a fresh Chinese face ranting to the camera against Washington: Your supported cyber hackers attacked our computer systems?”
Hu Xijin wants China’s PR war to turn into a people’s war. “China’s external propaganda actions should be more open, we should take the initiative to expose external frictions, and this will not make China’s external relations worse.”
