Chen Weihua, a columnist for Chinese state-run media outlets, praised Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s speech walking back President Joe Biden’s pledge to defend Taiwan if invaded.
Blinken claimed during his Thursday speech that the U.S. does not “seek to block China from being a major power” and that a “new Cold War” between the two countries would not be productive. The State Department announced the speech Tuesday, seemingly in attempt to clean up Biden’s promise to intervene militarily in the event that China attacks Taiwan. Although some Republicans praised Biden’s pledge, the White House backpedaled in an effort to maintain strategic ambiguity.
“The Blinken talk, though with many distortions and exaggeration blaming China, is better than any talks since Pence at Hudson and Pompeo at Nixon Library. The key is that US govt action needs to reflect his speech. Right now, a lot of US actions just betray his remark,” Chen tweeted.
“He toned down the level of hostility today, but still US deeds must match words.” (RELATED: Chinese Communist Party Propagandist Says He Can’t Wait For Biden To Be President)
The Blinken talk, though with many distortions and exaggeration blaming China, is better than any talks since Pence at Hudson and Pompeo at Nixon Library. The key is that US govt action needs to reflect his speech. Right now, a lot of US actions just betray his remark.
— Chen Weihua （陈卫华） (@chenweihua) May 26, 2022
Chen referenced speeches given by then-Vice President Mike Pence at the Hudson Institute in 2018, and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in 2020. During those speeches, both Trump administration officials emphasized Chinese military encroachment in Southeast Asia and called out the country for deceptive economic practices and intellectual property theft.
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pledged Wednesday to hold new drills in the sea and airspace surrounding Taiwan in response to Biden’s remarks about Taiwan. China has grown more brazen in violating Taiwanese airspace in recent months, flying nine PLA jets over the island in late February and 18 jets in early May. (RELATED: Here’s How The Navy Responded To China’s Mock Invasion Of Taiwan)
Chen frequently attacks U.S. government officials and Western media on his Twitter account, accusing them of being unfair to China. He called Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn a “lifetime bitch” after she accused China of “a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing.” Chen also complained that the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum showed a “lack of appreciation to the Chinese people” after it compared the 2022 Winter Olympics to the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Chen’s newspaper, China Daily, is required to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act as an arm of the Chinese government.