China uproar over US plaza name

A Chinese nationalist newspaper said American politicians are resorting to petty actions following unanimous approval by the Senate for a bill to rename the plaza in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington after an imprisoned Chinese political dissident.

The Communist Party-controlled Global Times on Sunday called the move provocative and said it’s intended to outrage Beijing, although China would not consider it a big deal.

“The US has been at its wits’ end in dealing with China as it is reluctant to employ military threats or economic sanctions that may backfire,” the newspaper wrote. “The only option for Washington seems to be petty actions that disturb China.”

The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

Senate Bill 2451, as proposed by Republican presidential hopeful Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, wants to rename the plaza after Liu Xiaobo, a Nobel Peace laureate serving an 11-year sentence on the conviction of inciting state subversion.

The bill still needs to be cleared by the House of Representatives and must be signed by the President before it can become law, and make 1 Liu Xiaobo Plaza as the official address of the Chinese embassy. Its current address is 3505 International Place.

Mr Cruz’s office said the bill expresses solidarity with Chinese dissidents.

The Global Times says the bill is driven by Western jealousy and is unlikely to disturb China, which is confident enough to brush aside ill-intended moves by the West.

“This latest move by Congress cannot change the fact that Liu jeopardised China’s national security and was sentenced to jail,” the paper wrote in its editorial.