Ministry of Foreign Assistance

援交部 (Yuánjiāo Bù): Ministry of Foreign Assistance

Remains of an overcrowded school minibus in Gansu Province. 18 children died in the November 2011 crash.

Buses donated to Macedonia in November 2011.

Pejorative name for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Netizens complain about foreign aid money that China sends to other countries, some of which are better off than China in terms of per capita GDP.

For example, in November of 2011, China donated a number of school buses to Macedonia not long after a series of school bus accidents involving crowded, dangerous buses, as well as trucks re-purposed as buses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also earned this name with unpopular stances on international issues. A conciliatory statement by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Hong Lei regarding Russia’s capture of Chinese fishing boats in July 2012 resulted in websites decrying the stance of the Ministry of Foreign Assistance. On the Club China BBS forum, a People’s Daily report on the incident was given the title “Ministry of Foreign Assistance: “Russian Shelling of Chinese Fishing Boat an Isolated Incident” (援交部：俄炮击中国渔船是孤立事件).