Editor’s note for February 24, 2023
A note for Access newsletter readers from Jeremy Goldkorn.
Dear reader,
Jeremy is away speaking at the Journalism and Free Speech: The China Stories conference at Yale University, but he’ll be back in your inboxes on Monday.
China unveiled a paper outlining its “objective and just position” to the Russo-Ukraine War today, one year after Vladimir Putin launched his invasion. The document, titled “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” lists a 12-point blueprint that reiterates Beijing’s calls for peace talks, but does not call for Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine.
The 12 points are:
- Respecting the sovereignty of all countries.
- Abandoning the Cold War mentality.
- Ceasing hostilities.
- Resuming peace talks.
- Resolving the humanitarian crisis.
- Protecting civilians and prisoners of war (POWs).
- Keeping nuclear power plants safe.
- Reducing strategic risks.
- Facilitating grain exports.
- Stopping unilateral sanctions.
- Keeping industrial and supply chains stable.
- Promoting post-conflict reconstruction.
When asked about the document, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wāng Wénbīn 汪文斌 repeatedly said today: “We stand firmly on the side of peace and dialogue, that is, the right side of history.”
Our Phrase of the Week is: Scraping poison from the bone (刮骨疗毒 guāgǔ liáodú), which has been used in the media to describe an anti-corruption crackdown in Chinese football over the past few months.
