Chinese diplomacy at a crossroads
Liu Kang says the latest Sino-Japanese tensions underscore the need for a new open approach to Chinese diplomacy, in place of the old tightly controlled and secretive style
When the activists from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China landed on the Diaoyu Islands recently, TV cameras shot bird's-eye views from helicopters. Two journalists from Phoenix TV were among those arrested and later released by Japanese police, all in front of the cameras. The 14 men were all media-savvy, clear about what they wanted to accomplish in front of an audience. In response, 10 Japanese activists landed on the islands waving Japanese flags in front of media cameras.
Such acts are like TV reality shows with strong political symbolism, aimed at attracting media attention and provoking public outrage.
Obviously, Phoenix TV took the lead, CCTV followed suit, and then the Chinese internet exploded, triggering a much expected (at least from the media's perspective) chain reaction of protests and boycotts. The TV reality show turned ugly in some cities like Shenzhen, when demonstrators smashed and overturned a Japanese-branded police car. The Japanese media and public reacted with animosity towards China, while Japanese politicians and Chinese foreign affairs officials threw angry words at each other.
So was all this an act of public diplomacy? To be sure, with such exposure, they showcased public diplomacy at its negative extreme. In recent years, "public diplomacy" and "soft power" have become buzzwords in China and elsewhere. However, Chinese campaigns of soft power and public diplomacy tend to be reactive, passive and often haphazard. The Diaoyu Islands events are a case in point.
There is hardly any evidence that the island landing and protests were organised and supported by the state. It would be absurd for Beijing to orchestrate such a mass protest when its utmost concern is to "maintain stability" both domestically and internationally. The media, on the other hand, is more interested in boosting ratings and the Diaoyu issue is an eye-catching event.
Elite opinion usually condemns any outbreak of nationalistic fervour in China or Japan, singling it out as a cause of dangerous escalations in regional tension.