Hurt the feelings of the Chinese people
来自China Digital Space
伤害中国人民的感情 (shāng hài zhōng guó rén de gǎn qíng): hurt the Chinese people's feelings
This is a phrase often used by China’s top diplomats when another country or organization takes an action that offends the government. A Chinese blogger FangK searched through the electronic archives of the People's Daily between 1946 and 2006 and discovered that 19 countries and organizations have been accused of hurting the feelings of the Chinese people. As translated by Danwei, these countries and organizations are:
- Japan: 47 times, starting in 1985
- USA: 23 times, starting in 1980, when Los Angeles flew the ROC flag
- NATO: 10 times, mostly relating to the 1999 Belgrade embassy bombing
- India: 7 times, starting in 1986 and mostly relating to border issues
- France: 5 times, starting in 1989
- Nobel Committee: 4 times
- Germany: 3 times, starting with a meeting with the Dаlаi Lаmа in 1990
- Vatican City: 3 times, starting in 2000
- EU: 2 times, starting in 1996
- Guatemala: 2 times, both in 1997
- Indonesia: in 1959, when a newspaper inflamed anti-Chinese sentiment
- Albania: in 1978, for criticism of Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party
- Vietnam: in 1979, for a high official's slander of China
- UK: in 1994, over the Taiwan issue
- The Netherlands: in 1980, over the government authorizing a company to provide submarines to Taiwan
- Iceland: in 1997, for allowing Lien Chan to visit
- Jordan: in 1998, for allowing Lien Chan to visit
- Nicaragua: in 1995, for supporting Taiwan's bid to join the UN
- South Africa: in 1996, for proposing a two-China policy
Commenting on the use of this phrase, columnist Kai Pan wrote:
The very notion of an entire country’s people having their “feelings” collectively “hurt” is inherently idiotic. On one hand, there’s the idiocy of the government proactively claiming such on behalf of all the Chinese without actually consulting them. On the other hand, there’s the simple idiocy of “you hurt my feelings” being mistaken for a mature, rational response to any disagreement or criticism.
In recent years, the most notable use of this phrase was when Hu Jia was awarded the EU Sakharov Prize in 2008. At that time, the Chinese ambassador to Brussels wrote in a letter, “If the European Parliament should award this prize to Hu Jia, that would inevitably hurt the Chinese people's feelings once again and bring serious damage to China-EU relations.”
In 2008 when Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei stated that the meeting "gravely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people."
In July, 2011 after President Obama met with the Dalai Lama, the state-run People's Daily stated with characteristic lack of irony: "To host the Dalai Lama at the same time China was celebrating the 60th anniversary of Tibet's liberation hurt the feelings of all Chinese people, including the feelings of Tibetans" (中國正在隆重慶祝西藏和平解放60周年，達賴堂而皇之成為白宮座上賓，不可能不傷害包括西藏人民在內的全體中國人的感情).
