Buchaでの惨状に対し、中国はロシア寄りの報道をしている
As the world reacts in horror to Bucha, China's state media strikes a different tone
Analysis by Simone McCarthy and Yong Xiong / April 6, 2022 / CNN
わたしのnoteにおいては、最新の科学・経済・社会等の問題に関して、英語の記事を引用し、その英文が読み易いように加工し、「英語の勉強ツール」と「最新情報収集ツール」としてご利用頂くことをmain missionとさせて頂きます。勿論、私論を書かせて頂くこともしばしです。
Shocking images showing the bodies of civilians scattered across the streets of Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, have sparked global horror in recent days and raised the urgency of ongoing investigations into alleged Russian war crimes. But a starkly different narrative is playing out on China's state-run media.
There, domestic media reports on the civilian casualties in Bucha have been quick to emphasize the Russian rebuttal (反論、反証/ribʌ́təl), with two prominent televised reports from national broadcaster CCTV this week highlighting unsubstantiated (真実であることが立証・実証されていない/ʌ̀nsəbstǽnʃièitəd) claims from Moscow that the situation was staged after Russian forces withdrew from the area.
In one report, a caption (短い説明文/kǽpʃən) citing Russia with the words "Ukrainians directed a good show," flashes over (爆発的に延焼する火災現象) heavily blurred (ぼやけた、不鮮明な、はっきりしない) footage (フィルム映像/fútidʒ) from the Ukrainian town.
There is no evidence to suggest this is the case. Satellite images suggest some bodies had been there since at least March 18, while eyewitnesses have said the carnage began weeks ago.
Separately, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday said the shocking images from Bucha showed "all the signs" that civilians were "directly targeted and directly killed." On Tuesday, UN chief António Guterres added to growing international calls for a war crimes investigation into the killing of civilians in the town.
The allegations of war crimes raise the stakes (ある状況の危険の度合い) for China's position. Beijing's apparent boosting of Russian propaganda is consistent with its stance since the beginning of the invasion, as it refuses to condemn Russia -- at home or in its diplomacy -- even as the civilian death toll grows.
Instead, Beijing has sought to portray itself as a neutral actor, calling for peace while blaming the situation on the United States.
This was on show in an editorial published in the nationalist tabloid the Global Times on Wednesday, which appeared to question the veracity (情報の正確さ、精密さ、真実、真相/vərǽsəti) of what it called, in quotes, the "Bucha incident" and absolve (無実であると認める/æbzɑ́lv) Russia of responsibility.
"It is regrettable that after the exposure of the 'Bucha incident,' the US, the initiator of the Ukraine crisis, has not shown any signs of urging peace and promoting talks, but is ready to exacerbate the Russia-Ukraine tensions," the editorial said.
"No matter how the 'Bucha incident' took place, no one can deny at least one thing: War itself is the main culprit of the humanitarian disaster," it added.
A common foe
Rising tensions with the US have driven Moscow and Beijing closer in recent years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping declaring their countries' partnership had "no limits" just weeks before Russia's invasion.
Since Russia's invasion, Beijing has come under considerable pressure to decry Russia's actions and join countries around the world in imposing sanctions. Chinese officials have instead refused to use the term invasion to describe Russia's actions, and have repeatedly said they will cut their own path (独自の道を進む) when it comes to their response.
At a UN Security Council special session on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun acknowledged that the images of civilian deaths in Bucha were "deeply disturbing," but when it came to attributing blame for the situation he urged "all sides" to "exercise restraint and avoid unfounded accusations."
"The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident should be verified and established. Any accusations should be based on facts," Zhang said.
Similar comments were made at a regular briefing on Wednesday by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin, who said "humanitarian issues should not be politicized."
"All parties should exercise restraint and avoid groundless accusations" before fact-finding was concluded, Wang said, adding that China "is willing to continue to work together with the international community to avoid any harm coming to civilians."
But at home, China has been broadcasting a more pointed message, one that ties into [a longer history] of [Russian and Chinese state media reinforcing each other's narratives] -- on issues such as the treatment of Russian dissidents (反対者、反体制の人、反体制派/dísidənt), Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and the origins of Covid-19 -- as they seek to refute (反論・反証する、異議を唱える/rifjúːt) the characterizations of Western officials and media.
In an example of such overlap on Tuesday, state agency China News Service ran a post on the popular Twitter-like social media platform Weibo with the hashtag, "Russia shows the video to prove that the Bucha incident is staged" referencing a report from a Russian state news agency.
But as China amplifies Russian rhetoric in its reporting at home, some public shows of skepticism can be seen, even in China's highly moderated social media platforms.
In a recent example, a widely followed military blogger wrote on Sunday that Ukrainians were responsible for a "massacre" of civilians -- but multiple users in the comments below suggested the details of the post were wrong.