Harsh rhetoric against China’s veto of Syria resolution is misleading

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the presidential palace in Damascus, Syria, Feb. 7, 2012. (Photo: Xinhua)

Some Western countries have been inveighing against Russia and China for their Saturday veto of a draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria.

The ostensible focus of their outcry is that China, by siding with the Syrian government to support its own national interests, has derailed global efforts to end the “bloody” crackdown on civilians.

These accusations have viciously distorted China’s intention. China’s veto does not mean the country is blindly giving support to the Syrian government. It is essentially a rejection of the unbalanced and potentially destabilizing outside intervention in Syria’s internal affairs orchestrated by the West, which, China believes, is unlikely to bring the conflict to a quick or satisfactory end, but will leave the already volatile country succumbing to more violence.

China’s stance on the Syria issue was explicitly expounded by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to the Middle East last month. Wen said China respected the people’s appeals for reform in the countries concerned, supported the mediation efforts by the Arab League in Syria, and called for an end to violence against civilians.

For the Syrian government, it has to speed up efforts to accommodate its people’s legitimate calls. Amid continuing violence, wide-ranging political and economic reform is the only cure to the 11-month-long crisis.

Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition should also work to calm the situation and all parties should stop violence immediately.

For the Syrian people, reform is a must, but it should be achieved through negotiation and consultation, not at the price of a devastating civil war.

Those, who have accused China of “letting the Syrian people down,” maybe should introspect whether they can stand for the Syrian people and whether they take heed of Syrians’ appeals.

During Xinhua reporters’ tour of the streets of Syria’s southwestern city Daraa and the capital Damascus, both government officials and residents complained that some Western media outlets focused too much on the handful of volatile spots to exaggerate the situation on the ground, possibly to pave way for outside intervention.

It is undoubted that only reform can bring about freedom and democracy to the conflict-stricken country, but relentless violence has deprived the Syrian government of a chance to push for reform.

The Syrian situation is still in flux. Its people should be spared the outside intervention and be given a chance of building a better future on their own.

China, by wielding its veto power at the UN Security Council, aims at stopping a lopsided resolution and giving peace another chance in Syria. 

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