2023-06-17 08:40:03
The picture shows on June 15, 2023, President Yoon Seok-yue of South Korea speaks following the South Korea-US joint military exercise held at the Seungjin Fire Training Field in Pocheon. (Jung Yeon-JE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
[The Epoch Times, June 17, 2023](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Zhang Ting) The Chinese Communist Party ambassador Xing Haiming’s recent criticism of Yin Xiyue’s government has triggered fierce confrontations between South Korea and China. The two countries not only summoned ambassadors to each other, but Yin Xiyue even went to the front line to fight back once morest Xing Haiming’s remarks. “Nikkei News” said that this highlights South Korea’s shift to a more confrontational approach to Beijing under the leadership of Yin Xiyue.
The latest diplomatic turmoil began on June 8, when Xing Haiming met with Lee Jae-Myung, the leader of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the Common Democratic Party. The plan of both sides is to jointly criticize the Yin Xiyue government’s diplomatic tilt towards the United States and Japan.
During the meeting, Xing Haiming threatened that South Korea, not China, should bear the responsibility for the deterioration of bilateral relations between China and South Korea. Xing Haiming also urged South Korea to respect Beijing’s “core interests” on the Taiwan issue.
Xing Haiming also warned Yin Xiyue’s government not to make “wrong judgments” on Beijing because of external interference such as pressure from the United States. Betting that the United States wins and China loses will “definitely regret it” in the future.
The comments sparked strong revulsion from the South Korean public, which saw Xing’s remarks as overbearing, and a strong response from Yoon Seok-yue’s government. The South Korean Foreign Ministry then summoned Xing Haiming and condemned his “provocative words and deeds that violate diplomatic practices and lack common sense.” South Korea also warned that Xing’s remarks might be seen as interference in South Korea’s internal affairs.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Communist Party of China also summoned the South Korean ambassador to China, Chung Jae-ho, to express dissatisfaction with South Korea’s “inappropriate response”. After the foreign ministries of the two sides confronted each other, Yin Xiyue personally went to the front line to fight back once morest the CCP.
According to South Korean media reports, Yin Xiyue criticized that, judging from Xing Haiming’s attitude, as a diplomat, “whether he has an attitude of mutual respect or friendship is doubtful.”
“Our people are not happy with Ambassador Xing’s inappropriate behavior,” Yin Xiyue said.
A senior person in the President’s Office also told reporters that the President’s Office took the content and the reasons for Ambassador Xing’s speech very seriously.
Some in South Korea’s ruling party have also urged the government to deport Xing Haiming.
The Nikkei said the latest incident provided ammunition for the ruling party to attack political opponents ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections. The ruling National Power Party slammed Lee for not speaking out once morest Xing’s remarks during his meeting with Xing.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin defended Xing Haiming, saying Xing’s job was to “share China’s position and concerns.”
The outside world has discovered that Yin Xiyue has confronted the CCP on many issues since he took office as South Korean president in May last year, including the Taiwan incident in April this year. He publicly stated at the time that he opposed the CCP’s attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force, and that the Taiwan issue is a global issue. After the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded angrily to the remarks, Yin’s government did not back down, and immediately summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest Beijing’s “diplomatic faux pas.”
The Yoon administration’s national security strategy, released last week, states in its China section that Seoul will “address issues related to our sovereignty, rights and interests in a consistent and decisive manner”.
This marks that Yin Xiyue has adopted a different stance on China strategy from the previous presidents. Former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye are committed to reaching a free trade agreement with Beijing, while Moon Jae-in promised the CCP the “three nos” in South Korea’s China policy, that is, South Korea will not participate in the US missile defense system and will not deploy additional The “THAAD” system does not join the South Korea-US-Japan military alliance.
Yin Xiyue made it clear that he is not bound by the “three no’s principle” and that the “THAAD” issue cannot be compromised. When dealing with the CCP, Yin Xiyue insisted on emphasizing values such as democracy and the rule of law.
In recent years, external factors have also helped drive a shift in South Korea’s stance toward China. The huge Chinese market was previously an important profit driver for South Korean companies, but their exports have been shrinking amid competition from a growing number of Chinese companies. In 2022, South Korea will have its first trade deficit with China in 28 years.
Furthermore, public opinion in South Korea has also changed. According to a poll by the Pew Research Center, South Koreans’ negative opinion of the CCP remained below 60% until 2017, but rose to 80% in 2022.
Xing’s comments were condemned not only by conservative Korean media that supported Yoon Seok-yue, but also by radical media. It suggested that there was widespread outrage over the incident among the two main political parties. An editorial in the center-left Hankyoreh newspaper called Xing’s remarks “overbearing” and said they would “stir up revulsion” even among Yin’s critics.
Responsible editor: Lin Yan#
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