China hails India’s new Parliament as ‘great symbol’, accuses West of ‘divide and rule’

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 30

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US following a Quad summit in Hiroshima this month, China has made conciliatory noises that includes welcoming the inauguration of the new Parliament building, letting it known that it issued 60,000 visas to India this year and attacking the West for purportedly driving a wedge between India and China.

The state-run Global Times hailed the new Parliament building as a “great symbol” which is “aimed at freeing the Indian capital from colonial-era traces”.

After listing several such measures such as changing budget practices associated with colonial history and decreasing the official use of English and increasing the use of the Hindi language, it surmised that “China can clearly empathise with India’s desire to uphold national dignity and pursue a more independent status”.

But it also took a dig at the Indian elite subvented by the West. “For India, the most challenging part lies ahead - removing the remnants of colonialism from culture and the hearts of people, which is undoubtedly more difficult than changing names or removing labels,” it said.

Coinciding with this article, the Chinese embassy here said, “In the first five months of this year, the Chinese Embassy and Consulates General have issued over 60,000 visas to Indian people traveling to China for purposes of business, study, tourist, work, family reunion etc. Welcome to China.”

The embassy spokesperson Wang Xiaojian then expanded on the theme touched upon by Global Times. “Now, the West, particularly the US, attempts a more concealed form of “divide and rule” on a larger scale. They concoct and emphasize the concept of “dragon-elephant rivalry” and engage in sinister psychological manipulation between China and India,” he said.

There was however not a word on the border dispute, neither from Beijing nor from the Chinese mission here.