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Commentary: Norway's expulsion of Chinese academic old trick to defame China

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

The expulsion of a Chinese Ph.D. student working at Norway's University of Agder has drawn worldwide attention as the authorities claimed his expertise could be used "for military purposes in other countries."

What is funny is that the Chinese student was working on a wind power project instead of military technologies. It is also frustrating that his academic research was suspended because of Norway's groundless decision.

From the academic angle, the University of Agder's management saw no grounds for the expulsion of the Chinese student. However, the Norwegian authorities kept on at politicizing academic research, even attempted to link the case to terrorism.

This is not the first time that Western countries defamed China on the basis of unverified assumptions.

In 2007, when a shooting rampage that killed 33 people at a U.S. college happened, the Chicago Sun Times immediately reported that a suspect was Chinese and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation then conducted an investigation against the Chinese student according to media speculation.

When the Chinese was proved to be innocent, the newspaper refused to apologize.

Last year, when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was facing explosive hacking accusations, Western analysts even claimed that China played a supporting role in terms of both hardware and software.

In Western society, there is prejudice against China. Some politicians and media prefer to seize any opportunities to throw mud at China to draw attention. They also spare no effort to preach the idea of "China threat."

However, when the truth comes out, they select to be mute and wait for the next chance.

Thus, the expulsion of the Chinese student is just another such old trick. Actually, it will only damage Norway's reputation in the international academic world and have a negative impact on ties with China.

It is high time for the West to stop demonizing China. Instead, it should change its mindset and strengthen mutual understanding and trust in order to see a real China. Endi