TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Swedish cartoonist created this illustration to satirize the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) duplicitous approach to the war in Ukraine.
On Sunday (March 13), U.S. officials released intelligence reports revealing that Russia has asked for military assistance from China, as its invasion of Ukraine has taken longer than expected and expended many weapons. Moscow has also reportedly asked Beijing for economic aid amid withering sanctions from the West.
China has publicly denied that Russia made the requests, but U.S. intelligence points to some openness on the part of Beijing to providing such assistance. Publicly, China is trying to appear neutral, but it has sent conflicting signals like saying it respects Ukraine's sovereignty while vowing that its friendship with Russia has "no limits."
Swedish journalist Jojje Olsson posted an article on his news blog Kinamedia on Monday (March 14) titled "Satire: China's two-faced diplomacy on Ukraine" and included an illustration by Swedish artist Niklas Eriksson (@KluddNiklas). Olsson pointed out China still refuses to call Russia's assault on Ukraine an "invasion," abstained from the UN vote condemning the war, and blames NATO and the U.S. for the crisis.
Olsson observed that Chinese social media amplifies Russian propaganda while stifling any expression of support for Ukraine. He cast doubt on Beijing's ability to serve as a neutral arbiter for peace negotiations because while Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) is "displaying the white dove of peace for an international audience, he is still perfectly fine with funding Putin’s war machine and determined to help tip the scales so that Russia – in one way or another – will benefit from the horrific war it started."
