He is one of the most virulent representatives of the “wolves warriors”, these Chinese diplomats who appeared during the reign of President Xi Jinping, who have no longer hesitated, in recent years, to hold very aggressive speeches on the West. Or to relay fake news on the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, insinuating that it might have started in the United States. Chinese Ambassador to Paris since July 2019, Lu Shaye, 57, had already distinguished himself during his previous post in Canada by denouncing “Western selfishness” and “white supremacism”. In France, he accused, at the start of the pandemic, nursing home staff of letting “their staff die of hunger and disease”.
According to the person who clearly displayed a work by Xi Jinping on his office as ambassador – at the Hôtel de Montesquiou, in the seventh arrondissement of the capital, completely renovated by China – the spectacular fall of the image of his country in Western public opinion is due to a single culprit: the aggressiveness of the media. Verbatim of an exchange with The Expresswhich gives some keys to the Chinese vision of the West.
1) The diplomacy of the “wolves warriors”
“As far as Chinese diplomacy is concerned, there have really been changes in the past two years. We don’t want to continue the diplomacy of the lamb, because, as the fable goes, the lamb ends up being eaten by the wolf. We are under virulent attacks, especially since the beginning of the pandemic. We are stigmatized without any basis.
If benevolent China does not respond, it is demonized. Chinese diplomacy aims to defend national dignity, image and interests. Our desire is not to be offensive. We are more on the defensive. But we cannot respond like lambs, take the attacks without flinching. We have to be able to express our reasoning.”
2) Western media
“It is the Western media and researchers who must take responsibility for the misunderstanding between the West and China. Because they didn’t write objective articles. When they talk about China, they always use a filter that gives it the colors of hell. If the image of China in the West continues to deteriorate, it is because of these demonizing articles. A country that was the first to ring the alarm bell for the international community when the coronavirus appeared and was the first to overcome this pandemic, has been described as a criminal. It is not fair.”
3) The “reunification” of Taiwan
“Reunification of the motherland remains a major mission for the Chinese government. We will never allow Taiwan to leave China. Taiwan. If they continued their current policy of destroying the political basis of the “one China” principle, it would lead to a dangerous situation. They believe that they could count on the protection of the Americans. But it is a chimera.”