Letters | When it comes to China, America must listen to Asia

Readers discuss US-China tensions, the talk of reopening the border with the mainland, the green options of quarantine hotel guests in Hong Kong and cyberbullying

US-China relations

Letters

Published: 3:25am, 24 Sep, 2021

Why you can trust SCMP

No good will come of US-China conflict, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the Aspen Security Forum (“Neither US nor China can put each other down, says Singapore’s PM Lee”, August 3).

Faced with a United States pushing its allies to jump on the anti-China bandwagon, some will speak up quietly and others will just run with the momentum. However, is it wise for the US to continue like this in the post-Trump era?

It is not China’s aggression that the world is seeing. Instead, it is the US trying to rally its traditional allies to contain China.

China has been expanding overseas investment and trade and rolling out the Belt and Road Initiative. By 2030, belt and road projects could help lift millions of people out of extreme poverty and tens of millions out of moderate poverty across the world, President Xi Jinping said in April.

It is up to wise leaders to tell US President Joe Biden to stop promoting a China containment agenda and using others to maintain American hegemony.

At the United Nations in June, several member states spoke up against interference in China’s affairs in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet after a group of Western countries led by Canada released a statement on Xinjiang. Even US business groups have asked Biden to rethink his China policy.

More international diplomats and business figures must speak up and say enough is enough. The world is uncertain enough as it is, and a stable US-China relationship will benefit everyone, including the US.

No country in Asia will fight America’s war against another country for the sake of American hegemony. Even in Australia, a US ally, a recent poll showed that most wanted Australia to remain neutral in such a conflict. No Australian wants regional competition to slide into confrontation.

So if the US truly wants to be a world leader, then it must start listening to the countries in the neighbourhood it is threatening to mess up. Stay away if you are bearing only arms. You are welcome, however, if you intend to compete with China in investment and trade.

Suzanne Ho, Singapore

Australia must be friendlier towards China

Australia can be friends with China and America. I believe that our government is doing the wrong thing in its behaviour towards China.

Both our countries can help each other. China has the technological expertise and we have the resources. We should be buying fast trains and electric cars from China instead of missiles from America.

The world will not advance until America and China sort out this mess, and we should stay out of it.

Doug Cliff, New South Wales

Empty words on border reopening help no one

Our chief executive has revealed that she spoke to Vice-Premier Han Zheng about reopening the border (“Coronavirus: progress on experts meeting ‘very good sign’ for Hong Kong’s eventual reopening with mainland, Carrie Lam says”, September 21). Her remarks sound familiar because she said back in July she was seeking Beijing’s instructions to reopen the border.

However, more than two months have since passed. No news has been heard and no surprises have come.

Meanwhile, our astronauts have come back to Earth after a three-month mission to space. On the one hand, it is awesome that our country is achieving its scientific ambitions, but on the other hand it is perplexing that it has not been able to reach a decision on the border.

Our leaders are always saying the motherland cares about us, sympathises with our hopes and recognises our efforts to fight Covid-19. The administration is always saying it is working closely with the mainland.

We have heard all this before. We just need to know when we can travel to the mainland. Do members of the administration know what we feel? I don’t think so because they probably see their families every day.

Jack Chung, Sham Shui Po

Quarantine hotel guests do have green options

I refer to your article, “Plastic trash piling up: Hong Kong green groups want quarantine hotels to stop using throwaway food containers, cutlery” ( September 19).

I have just finished three weeks in quarantine. I learned from other people in quarantine that if we weren’t going to use something, we could ask the hotel not to send it to us – no cutlery, no water bottles and so on.

If we didn’t plan to use it and didn’t plan to eat it, they were happy not to send it, but we had to tell them. Sadly, even though non-plastic options for food boxes are available, they are not being used by many hotels.

Annelise Connell, Stanley

Cyberbullies are misguided and cruel

I am writing in response to “Parents of star Qiao Renliang who took his own life five years ago bullied online for not looking ‘sad enough’ in new videos” ( August 31).

The singer and actor died in 2016 after suffering from serious depression and alleged cyberbullying. Now, his parents are being bullied by people who accuse them of not looking sad in their video posts and mock their physical appearance.

I think his parents have reason not to look sad in their videos. If they did, people would only think they were milking the tragedy of their son’s death for profit. Moreover, the parents only started posting videos on Douyin to talk about their lives with concerned fans of their son.

There is a saying that you do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself. These are words bullies ought to keep in mind. As for the bullied, they should talk to their friends and family or take legal action rather than face the stress on their own.

Bonnie Ma, Tseung Kwan O