Chinese Sphere: Russia Sinks Chinese Ship

While Secretary of State Clinton’s visit to China has grabbed the headlines of the mainstream media, Chinese netizens on the free-for-all discussion forums like Tianya have been abuzz with talk over the sinking of a Chinese cargo ship by the Russian Coast Guard near Vladivostok. About half of the crew of 16 are missing at sea. Russia claims the cargo vessel was smuggling items and refused to stop after Coast Guard ships fired warning shots. China’s foreign ministry has lodged protests with the Russian government and demanded an investigation.

The sinking has generated thousands of messages on the international relations section of the Tianya discussion forums. Most of them, understandably, seethe with rage, like this post which has been viewed over 15,000 times and received over 360 responses:

One can see the Russian frigate firing upon the Chinese cargo vessel from the video footage. At the moment when the ship was struck and causing shards to fly through the air, sounds of mocking laughter can be heard. One can see from the camera angle that the video was taken by a soldier on the Russian frigate. In another shot, besides the cameraman one can also see two other Russian frigates sailing in the waters. In other words, three armed Russian frigates had surrounded the cargo vessel. There was no way a cargo vessel could have broken their net and escaped, but the Russian frigates still fired 500 rounds – and the Russians even got a good laugh out of it. If this is not unacceptable, than what is?

Other posts like this one call for calm:

In the face of the Russian sinking of our cargo vessel, the Chinese government has been consistent in maintaining a calm attitude. Everyone complains about how China shows weakness when encountering international conflicts, but it is exactly this “weakness” that has given us a stable lifestyle and enabled the Chinese economy to develop rapidly.

Meanwhile, last Wednesday the Taiwanese government announced that with an 8% fall in GDP during the fourth quarter of 2008, the nation was officially in a state of recession. This was the largest ever single-quarter decline in GDP in Taiwan’s history. This also gives Taiwan the dubious distinction as one of the worst-performing industrial economies in the world according to The Economist.

An editorial in the Liberty Times, a leading pro-Taiwan independence newspaper, writes:

Every country has been hit by the global financial crisis. However, The Economist states that out of the 55 countries it tracks Taiwan has been hurt the most. Why is this? The reason is Taiwan’s economy relies heavily upon exports, and these exports and investments rely heavily upon China. Once exports to China steeply decline, Taiwan’s economy will sink into contraction. Last December’s exports to China dropped nearly 54%, resulting in the shocking 8.36% drop in GDP in the fourth quarter. January exports to China dropped nearly 59%, so we should not be surprised to see more depressing economic figures for the first quarter. … Taiwan still suffers from a China-dependence blood disease that other countries do not have to worry about.

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou has been resolute in pressing ahead with signing a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with China, which would further liberalize trade and capital flows between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. This has generated controversy in Taiwan due to fears that not only would it increase Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese economy, but that it would also send a signal to the world that the agreement is paving the path for political integration.