WASHINGTON听–听The administration of President Joe Biden has drawn Republican fire for its cautious听谤别蝉辫辞苍蝉别听to nationwide听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s in听颁丑颈苍补听against COVID-19 lockdowns, with some lawmakers accusing it of failing to seize a historic moment.
But some analysts say caution is the right approach given the volatile US-颁丑颈苍补听relationship and the risk of playing into a Chinese narrative that accuses “foreign forces” of being behind dissent.
On Monday, the White House said it backed the right of people to peacefully听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟聽in听颁丑颈苍补听听补蝉听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟ers in multiple Chinese cities demonstrated against heavy COVID-19 measures.
The demonstrations came as the number of COVID cases in听颁丑颈苍补听hit record daily highs and large parts of several cities faced new lockdowns.
The Republican听谤别蝉辫辞苍蝉别听was swift.
Senator Ted Cruz called White House听谤别蝉辫辞苍蝉别听“pitiful,” adding in a tweet: “At a potentially historic inflection point, Dems shill for the CCP.”
Other听搁别辫耻产濒颈肠补苍蝉, including Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Chris Smith weighed in on what they labeled a “weak” reaction from Mr. Biden, while Michael McCaul, the Republican lead on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in tweet: “As Chinese citizens bravely听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟, Joe Biden & the corporate class shrug.”
Mr. McCaul vowed a tougher stance against听颁丑颈苍补听from the new Republican-controlled House of Representatives from next year while Rubio and Smith declared: “The United States must be unwavering in our support for the Chinese people as they bravely call for freedom.”
罢丑别听Republican politicians did not state specifically how they would respond in Mr. Biden’s place.
The administration’s careful language contrasted with Mr. Biden’s earlier expression of solidarity with听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟ers against the Iranian government, when he told a political rally earlier in November that “we’re gonna free Iran.”
RELATIONS FRAUGHT
China‘s biggest wave of civil disobedience since President Xi Jinping took power a decade ago arrives at a delicate moment in US-颁丑颈苍补听relations.
Following an August visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,听颁丑颈苍补听launched military drills around the island, which it considers Chinese territory, and cut off communications with the US in a number of areas, including military issues and climate change.
Since then,听颁丑颈苍补听and the US have worked to steady the relationship. Biden and Xi met in-person on the Indonesian island of Bali earlier in November and the countries have agreed to follow-up discussion, including a planned visit to听颁丑颈苍补听产测听Secretary of State Antony聽Blinken in early 2023.
A US official involved in U.S.-颁丑颈苍补听policy said the White House believed Xi’s handling of the COVID situation was undermining confidence in his approach to the pandemic, but wanted to avoid being听蝉别别n to be interfering in domestic politics as they make progress in cooling down the relationship.
Beijing and Washington have dealt with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in vastly different ways.
China‘s zero-COVID policy has kept its official death toll in the thousands, against more than a million in the United States, but at the cost of confining many people to long spells at home, inflicting extensive disruption and damage聽to the world’s No.2 economy.
Isaac Stone Fish of Strategy Risks, a firm that helps companies navigate political risk in听颁丑颈苍补, said the White House听谤别蝉辫辞苍蝉别听was likely conditioned by the fact that the United States has far more at stake in its relations with听颁丑颈苍补听than with a country like Iran.
“It also may be a perception of longevity. The Biden administration听蝉别别ms to think that the Chinese Communist Party is more likely to survive its听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s than Iran’s government.”
Beyond this, say analysts, the US wants to avoid language that allows听颁丑颈苍补听to pin the听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s on US interference.
“The White House is wise to refrain from speaking out in defense of the听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟ers and their demands,” said Scott Kennedy, at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“颁丑颈苍补听has long asserted the US government has been behind domestic听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s, from Tiananmen in 1989 to Hong Kong in 2020. Saying anything now would give life to those assertions.”
On Monday, Chinese police tightened security at the sites of weekend听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s in Shanghai and Beijing and聽into some of the听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟ers, people who were at the Beijing demonstrations told Reuters.
Without explicitly mentioning the听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟s,听颁丑颈苍补‘s official Xinhua news agency said domestic security chief Chen Wenqing held a meeting of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission on Tuesday that vowed to “resolutely crack down on the infiltration and sabotage activities of hostile forces.”
Daniel Russel, who served as the top US diplomat for East Asia in the Obama administration, said the Biden White House would be focused on the next steps by Chinese authorities.
“There will be plenty of time to turn up the rhetorical dial if Beijing follows the violent Tiananmen Square or the Iranian model and starts killing people,” he said. “So getting out of the way and keeping the spotlight on the听辫谤辞迟别蝉迟ers themselves is a smart move at this point.” – Reuters
