XPost: alt.politics.liberalism, alt.politics.usa.obama, alt.politics
XPost: rec.arts.tv
As world leaders descended on high-tech hub Hangzhou last week,
Chinese officials left very little to chance.
The city of nine million was to be a stage to showcase China's
growing importance. Residents were sent out of town with
subsidized "vacations." Roads were cleared, schools and
businesses closed, and security tightened.
"It's really going overboard," said Heyan Jiaye, a 25-year-old
who stayed in town. "But we have to show our best face."
To many observers, China was showing something else as well —
that its growing power is not to be dismissed.
The strange lapse in protocol upon U.S. President Barack Obama's
arrival just might have been meant to underline that point. As
Air Force One pulled up on the tarmac, the red-carpeted stairway
provided to every other leader was missing. Obama had to step
out through a little-used hatch underneath the plane.
Meanwhile, Chinese security officers wrestled with American
media, pushing them back from their usual vantage point. One
officer tried to keep U.S. national security adviser Susan Rice
from joining the official motorcade.
"This is our country. This is our airport," he yelled in English.
Some dismissed it all as an unfortunate, uncharacteristic
misunderstanding. Others, including several diplomats to
Beijing, saw it as deliberate, a shocking snub. Obama said the
confrontation with the media revealed a difference over "values
and ideals," while Beijing blamed the U.S. for the stairs mix-up.
In any case, it seemed to confirm China's determination to
challenge the old world powers and to act on its own terms.
("This is our country" has since become a popular refrain on
social media here.)
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/china-g20-economy-deals-1.3748833
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)