West’s accusations of Chinese interference laughable

The US and German embassies in China released a joint statement on Wednesday, a move that interferes with the trials of Chinese courts. Wu Gan, the Chinese activist known by the online alias "Super Vulgar Butcher," was sentenced to eight years in prison for subversion of State power on Tuesday. In another case on the same day, lawyer Xie Yang was convicted for inciting subversion but was not sentenced as he pled guilty to the charges.



The US and German embassies called on China to immediately release Wu and allow Xie to resume his professional activities. Their demands have far exceeded their diplomatic missions and they are pointing fingers at China's legal affairs.



Recently there has been a rising voice in the official organizations of a number of Western countries including Australia calling for resistance to "Chinese interference." This includes the US Congress. Mainstream media in Germany also abetted such accusations. To this end, they have framed friendly engagement and exchanges between the Chinese government, some Chinese institutions and local elites in other countries as "interference."



On July 9, 2015, Chinese police detained criminal suspects including some lawyers from the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm. Some Western officials, activists and media outlets have jointly opposed China's right to investigate criminal activity. This can truly be called interference with another country's internal affairs.



China's courts work in accordance with Chinese laws. But what the West is doing is assisting those involved in criminal activity in challenging China's legal system and weakening China's judiciary independence.



Compared to this interference, nothing China has done could be seen as attempts to change the systems of other countries. All China wishes to do is to enhance the West's understanding of China and pave the way for smoother relations between China and Western countries.



The elite in many Western countries have the strong will to "transform China," with some viewing it as their mission. This makes Western countries, big or small, behave in an aggressive way when engaging with China. By contrast, with only an eye for friendly cooperation, China has no intention of imposing its values on the West.



However, China is no vassal of the West. Those involved in the July 9 detention have been brought to justice, which shows the stability of China's judicial sovereignty.



Western countries tend to influence the values of non-Western countries. They are habitually trying to interfere in China's values, but their ability to do so has fallen short of their wishes with China's rise.



What is surprising is that they are accusing China of interfering in their affairs. At times we find this upsetting, but more often it is just laughable.

