International politics requires tact and diplomacy at the best of times, but international relations with China have never been easy. While there has been increased economic cooperation between the West and China - Britain is her third largest trading partner - there remains some difficult issues that are far from being resolved.
The recent talks in Copenhagen have shown China to be an uncompromising negotiator. Sixty years ago, Chinese and US relations were at an all time low. In an atmosphere of high tension two foreigners were put to death, one Japanese and the other a European.
Alleged American Plot Exposed
It was reported on August 27, 1951, in the US Time magazine, that Colonel Dave Barrett, stationed at that time in Formosa (Taiwan), had been accused of being behind an "American imperialist plot" to murder Chairman Mao Zedong and other high ranking comrades. This was hotly denied by Barrett who said:
"I never at any time...attempted to assassinate or contrive the assassination of anyone."
Washington dismissed the Chinese claim as "a bare faced lie."
But Peking was unconvinced and claimed that the 'plot' had been hatched in the previous year. The assassination was scheduled to be carried out on October 1, during China's National Day celebrations. It was alleged the plan was to blow up Chairman Mao with a trench mortar as he stood on a review platform by Peking's Gate of Heavenly Peace. In total eight men were accused and quickly convicted.
Among the accused were four " foreign born 'old China' hands", and one Chinese businessman. They received prison terms of five to ten years, Next in line was Italian Bishop Tarcisio Martina, 64, long time head of the Roman Catholic diocese of Yihsien in Hopei province - he received life imprisonment.
Antonio Riva, fluent in Mandarin, a decorated war hero and wealthy, " high living" businessman, who once boasted that he could do business under any kind of Chinese regime, received the death sentence. Ruichi Yamaguchi, a scholarly Japanese bookseller, was also sentenced to death.
Summary Execution
The executions of Riva and Yamaguchi were carried out immediately after the plot was announced. They were put to death by firing squad. According to the Time article, Radio Peking covered the story, reporting that as the men were led to their deaths, "the streets were thronged with people who expressed their feelings... with shouts of 'Down with imperialism! Down with counter-revolutionaries! Long live Chairman Mao!'"
International Relations
Riva and Yamaguchi were the first foreigners to be executed under China's Capital Punishment laws, and Bishop Martina the first Catholic clergyman to be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Since that time China is now a major player on the international political and economic scene. But the question that is being asked today is how far has it really moved on?
While the Chinese government has the right to exercise Capital Punishment for 'crimes against the people', governments and the media around the world are once again discussing China's poor human rights record.
Amnesty International reports that China executes more people than any other country in the world - 1,718 in 2008. Iran by comparison stands at 346, and the US at 111. China does not disclose official records of executions.
The recent execution of Akmal Shaikh, a European citizen with a mental disability, cannot help but sour international relations. China's unwillingness to compromise over this issue has done little to enhance its reputation, or foreign relations with the rest of the world. The European Union and France both condemned the execution, and the EU's presidency said that it deeply regretted that China ignored repeated calls for clemency by the EU and Britain.
Source
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,815245,00.html
Alister Gillies - Alister's background is in project development. He is trained in counselling and personal development, although his academic background is ...
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