MCLC: "terrorism" in Kunming (2)

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: "terrorism" in Kunming (2)
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Source: Sinosphere blog, NYT (3/4/14):
http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/after-prodding-u-s-state-dep
artment-labels-kunming-attack-terrorism/

After Prodding, U.S. State Department Labels Kunming Attack ‘Terrorism’
By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW

After the killing of 29 people by knife-wielding attackers in a Kunming
train station Saturday, articles in the Chinese state news media accused
overseas news agencies of failing to label the attack as terrorism. There
was also criticism of some foreign governments who were said to have
failed, or been slow, to label violent attacks in China as terrorism, when
they might do so quickly at home.

On Monday, a State Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, broke that
particular logjam, at least as far as the United States was concerned,
when she said at a regular news briefing, “So we are calling this an act
of terrorism.”

She did require some prodding. Asked for comment, Ms. Psaki had initially
said:

<Well, we acknowledge that China has characterized the incident as a
terror act. We extend our condolences for the loss of life. We of course
oppose terrorism in all of its forms, and based on the information
reported by the Chinese media, this appears to be an act of terrorism
targeting random members of the public. We don’t have any other
independent information, but again, we of course deplore violence
intentionally directed at innocent civilians in any case, regardless of
whether — regardless of the cause. So that is where we are.>

It wasn’t enough for Bingru Wang, of Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, which is
considered friendly to the Beijing government. Ms. Wang asked what the
State Department would consider a terrorist attack, which elicited Ms.
Psaki’s statement that:

<Well, as I mentioned, based on the information reported by the Chinese
media, this appears to be an act of terrorism, targeting random members of
the public. So we are calling this an act of terrorism.>

Ms. Wang then drew parallels between the United States government’s
response to the bombing at the Boston Marathon last year — when three
people died, including a Chinese citizen — and its reaction to the Kunming
attack:

<So when the Boston bombing took place in U.S. last year, you described it
as coward act of terrorism. And then there was this attack in Russia last
year, you also condemned it as terrorist attack. So this time, when it
comes to China, 29 innocent people died. Why, at the first time, the first
day, you didn’t — the statement of U.S. Embassy in China, they didn’t
describe this as a terror attack?>

Ms. Psaki said:

<I don’t have anything to outline for you there other than to convey to
you that, of course, we look at every situation separately, and depending
on information available. And again, I think I’ve been pretty clear that
based on the information available, this appears to be an act of terrorism
targeting random members of the public.>

It was not the first time that the question of when a violent act
constitutes terrorism had been raised between China and the United States.

Ms. Wang also asked why the State Department did not label as a “terrorist
act” the case last year involving three people who the Chinese government
said were terrorists from Xinjiang and who drove a car into a crowd of
passers-by near Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Five people, including the
assailants, died, and dozens of others were injured.

Said Ms. Psaki:

<I don’t have anything new to tell you about that specific case.
Obviously, we’ll look at each situation case by case.>

Meanwhile, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported that 20 of the
143 people wounded 
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-03/04/c_133157434.htm> in
the attack on Saturday were in critical condition.