CNN insisted yesterday that a comment by pundit Jack Cafferty saying the Chinese were 'a bunch of goons and thugs' was targeted at the government, not the Chinese people, and apologised to anybody who thought otherwise.
'It was not Mr Cafferty's nor CNN's intent to cause offence to the Chinese people, and [CNN] would apologise to anyone who has interpreted the comments in this way,' said the broadcaster, which is based in Atlanta, in the US state of Georgia.
It said Cafferty was offering his 'strongly held' opinion of the central government, not the nation's people, and that he had clarified the point on Monday. The network noted that 'over many years, Jack Cafferty has expressed critical comments on many governments, including the US government and its leaders'.
Cafferty's remarks on April 9 that Chinese products were 'junk' and that the Chinese were 'a bunch of goons and thugs' prompted the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to issue a strong condemnation and demand an apology.
Apart from televising Cafferty's inflammatory comments, CNN has come under fire on the mainland for broadcasting a photograph that cropped out Tibetans throwing stones at a military vehicle.
The fury even prompted singer Mu Rongxuan to write and perform a song called As a Human Being, Don't Be Too CNN. The song has attracted more than 100,000 downloads since it was released online on Monday. The song's lyrics say 'CNN vows solemnly that all truth is shown ... but I gradually discovered that it turned out to be a deception'.
