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Will Deatherage: Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of The Barefoot Lawyer Reports on China. This is Will Deatherage, the producer. Joining me as always is Chen Guangcheng.
Chen Guangcheng: Hello everyone. I’m glad to see you here again today.
W: Yeah, today we have some news coming out of Japan actually. Guangcheng, can you explain what’s going on?
G: Yes. The CCP’s official in Japan, in Osaka, he is the general consulate.
W: For the listeners who don’t know, a general consulate is basically the head of the embassy, right, Guangcheng?
G: Yes. He worked in the CCP’s embassy. So Japan’s Prime Minister said that an attack on Taiwan is an attack on Japan. So because she said that, of course we know she stands with democratic countries to protect democracy, right? Then the CCP’s official, you know, the General Consulate, he said we should cut off her head.
W: And just to be clear, the rough translation of a post that Guangcheng shared, you know, claims that the general consulate said that “any head that sticks out will simply be cut off.” That’s one of the things that he’s been saying, things like that, right?
G: Yeah.
W: Even if he meant it figuratively, I mean, of course, in Japanese culture, that’s deeply offensive and a provocation, right, Guangcheng?
G: Yeah. A lot of Japan… Japanese people stood up to oppose him and asked the government to deport him. And after that, he continued to say the same things about the US. Yeah. So that is so evil, you know. A lot of netizens online – not just in Japan, you know, even a lot of people [who] live in Europe and the US – they asked [the] Japanese government, “Why [would you] still let him live in Japan?” That is the CCP’s wolf warrior diplomacy.
W: What does that mean?
G: That means the CCP’s officials, they are wolves.
W: Now, Guangcheng, can you tell us when did this happen? When did the general consulate start making these statements?
G: Early November. Of course, some people in Taiwan stood up to support the Prime Minister of Japan. Yeah, that proved that diplomacy is not normal diplomacy.
W: Right. And Guangcheng, you mentioned that this same guy is saying the same things about the United States as well, right?
G: Yes.
W: So Guangcheng, have there been any consequences yet for that General Consulate? Has he faced any consequences from the CCP, or nothing so far?
G: I think he wants to use that way to get benefits from the CCP.
W: He might actually be promoted or…
G: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
W: He will be not punished.
G: Yeah.
W: That’s crazy. You know, diplomats are supposed to be friendly to the countries that, you know, they’re in, right?
G: Yes, exactly. That is why they need diplomacy, right?
W: Right.
G: That is the CCP’s goal in the small countries.
W: And Japan’s not even that small, right?
G: Yes, yes. But the CCP thinks they are strong. Yeah.
W: And, you know, like you mentioned, Guangcheng, he’s making statements like that about the United States, too. So that’s remarkable for a diplomat to say that. You’re saying that he might actually get rewarded by the Communist Party for saying those things, right?
G: Yes. Yes. The diplomacy officials should be very careful to say something [like that]. Always try to show politeness. I remember when I was in mainland China, every time I went to Beijing, I [would] make a plan to talk with the diplomatic officials from different countries; they always [were] very nice, very friendly to me, you know. They never say some bad word to me, you know. So I don’t understand the CCP’s official. Yeah.
W: So has this happened before in other countries, Guangcheng? You know, have Chinese ambassadors said things in other countries like this or…?
G: I remember 2 years ago, some diplomacy [official] said something like this in London.
W: Okay. So did they face any consequences or punishment, or…?
G: No, no punishment. The CCP claimed their term expired and brought them back to China.
W: Gotcha. Yeah, yeah. Would you say that the CCP’s diplomacy has gotten more aggressive in the last few years? Like, have they gotten— become more “wolf-like”, more… how have you seen it change?
G: Yeah, they never change. They always do that. Of course, the content’s different, but the mentality never changes.
W: Gotcha. So it’s always just been a staple of the CCP’s diplomacy for a very long time, it sounds like.
G: Yes.
W: So, so far there’s been no consequences. What about the citizens of Japan? You mentioned that they were very upset. Do you know what they said or did?
G: I just know a lot of people stood up to ask Japan’s government to deport him. And, you know, he said that is not diplomacy, right? That is bullying or that is [an] attack. I don’t understand Japanese, so I cannot get a lot of information. We talk about this here today; I just want our listeners to focus on this, to use different ways to try to get more information, to understand how evil the CCP is in the whole world.
W: Yeah, of course. Were there any – as far as you know, were there any protests or anything, or has the Japanese government said anything that they’ll try to deport the person? Have they responded at all or nothing?
G: Yeah, some protests in California.
W: In California?
G: Yeah, but I don’t know the details. I think [it was] not so big, but I don’t know in Japan [if] people protest or not.
W: Yeah. Well, we’ll keep you guys updated on this story if anything transpires, because of it. But Guangcheng, thank you very much for sharing this as a larger— as an anecdote that illustrates China’s “wolf warrior diplomacy,” as you call it. So thank you, Guangcheng, for sharing this with us.
G: Thank you, Will. Thank you, everyone.
The Center for Human Rights has published countless articles and reports on issues facing China, the U.S., and the world. Reports from late 2022 revealed the existence of secret Chinese police stations operating around the world, including in the United States, raising serious concerns about foreign intimidation. A detailed analysis from the Center for Human Rights examines documented cases in Europe and the U.S. and reviews the legal frameworks that could help address this growing challenge. To read this report, go to our Research and Analyses page on humanrights.catholic.edu.