Leaked Cables Offer Glimpses Into Relations Of U.S. And China -- New York TimesBEIJING — This capital city’s skies were clogged with pollution, as is often the case, and China’s government was concerned. So it summoned officials of the American Embassy here to a meeting.
But the session had nothing to do with hazy skies. Rather, Chinese officials were peeved that the Americans were monitoring pollution themselves, and posting on Twitter for anyone to read, their more precise findings, which usually judged the smog far worse than official Chinese readings.
Chinese officials feared the conflicting information “might lead to ‘social consequences,’ ” an American Embassy cable quoted the officials as saying. So could the Americans please block Chinese citizens from visiting the Web site?
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My Comment: The paragraph that caught my eye was the following one ....
.... Their revelation appears unlikely to ruffle diplomatic relations. But they could lead to serious consequences for Chinese academics, students and others who talked frankly to American officials, and who are identified, either by name or by precise description, in cables dealing with analyses of Chinese positions.
Indeed. The Chinese will be reading all of these cables, and those who spoke freely to U.S. officials (without Beijing approval), are going to suffer the consequences. As for remaining U.S. sources of information in China .... that has now all but dried up.
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