The Drudge Report featured a photo of the Dalai Lama shaking hands with President Bush a few days ago with the headline, "Take that, China!" Meanwhile, yesterday’s Taipei Times detailed China’s calm, measured response to the U.S. Congress’ decision to award the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal
"The move of the United States is a blatant interference with China’s internal affairs which has severely hurt the feelings of the Chinese people and gravely undermined the relations between China and the United States," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (劉建超) told a regular news briefing.
He said Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (楊潔箎) had summoned US Ambassador Clark Randt to express a "strong protest to the US government."
"China urges the United States to take effective measures immediately to remove the terrible impact of its erroneous act, cease supporting and conniving with the separatist activities of the Tibet independence forces … and take concrete steps to protect China-US relations," Liu said.
It’d be nice to think the Chinese over-reaction gives Americans some insight into what Taiwan faces whenever its gargantuan neighbor hyperventilates over trivialities. The next time China hyperventilates over some supposed Taiwanese "provocation," Taiwanese leaders and overseas representatives need to remind Americans of the 2007 Dalai Lama affair, and tell them China’s tantrum de jour is all par for the course. As Michael Turton says, for China, acting provoked isn’t an honest reaction, but a policy choice.