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WORLD PERCEPTION SERIES PART I: CHINA
APR 28, 2005 - 3:23PM PST
by Adele Lan Chen

Editing support provided by: Millicent Jefferson The following is an aggregation of key articles and commentary evaluating both how the world views China and how China views the rest of the world. These articles suggest that China's economic "charm offensive" has been highly successful, as well as its cultural outreach, particularly in the developing world. However, these sources also underscore the fact that China's reputation for human rights violations and its growing military presence in the Pacific Rim present two major obstacles to improved foreign public opinion. China, Germany Set up Regular Parliamentary Exchange Mechanism (Xinhuanet, Beijing, April 27, 2005) Top Chinese and German legislators signed here Wednesday a joint statement on formally setting up an exchange mechanism between parliaments of the two countries. The statement was signed after one hour of talks between Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and Wolfgang Thierse, president of Germany's Federal Assembly. US Welcomes KMT Chief's Mainland Visit amid Positive Media Reaction (Xinhua, Beijing, China, April 27, 2005) The United States has welcomed the Mainland visit by Lien Chan, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) of China, amid positive global media reaction. "We believe that steps that increase dialogue, support dialogue, support a peaceful resolution of cross-Straits tension are to be supported, are to be welcomed. And that's the case with the latest visit (of Lien)," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli told a press conference on Tuesday. Lien's China Trip Highlights Tensions (Francis Markus, BBC News, April 27, 2005) A crowd of hundreds of Chinese tourists are trying to get a glimpse of Taiwan's opposition leader Lien Chan and his delegation. The Taiwanese were paying homage at the mausoleum to Sun Yat-sen, founding father of their Kuomintang Party and a man who was also revered by China's Communist Party as one of the creators of modern China. China Welcomes Taiwan Opposition Leader (Christopher Bodeen, The Associated Press, April 26, 2005) A historic trip to China by the head of Taiwan's opposition party began Tuesday with a flurry of eggs and punches from angry supporters of the island's president at Taipei airport. Hours later, he was welcomed with flowers and speeches by Chinese communist officials who hailed his arrival as a sign of reconciliation. Short-Lived Strike Reflects Strength of Japan-China Ties (Edward Cody, Washington Post Foreign Service, April 26, 2005) On the face of it, the 10,000 fired-up workers at Uniden Electronic Products seemed to have a lot going for them when they went on strike. By eight days after the strike began, employees were forced back to the assembly line. The short-lived walkout at Uniden put on display the powerful economic forces at work in relations between Japan and China despite a tense diplomatic feud over Japan's World War II legacy and a strategic clash in the East China Sea north of Taiwan. Chinese and Japanese officials estimate that their countries did $170 billion in trade last year. Protests Fueled by a Single Problem: History (Zhao Jun,…... FULL TEXT

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