A Thief Crying "Thief!"

This week, the Sunday Examiner of Hong Kong published an editorial criticising the so-called investigation report presented by the Urumqi Information Office of Xinjiang after three Hong Kong journalists were beaten up by Public Security Bureau officers in Urumqi on 4 September while reporting on renewed unrest there. The editorial accused the report as containing factually incorrect allegations and "laying charges against the three victims without any supporting evidence". It said:

"The lies propagated by the Urumqi Information Office not only harmed the local journalism sector, but have also had a negative impact on the whole city of Urumqi because lying contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.”

A couple of days ago, China blasted the US for listing, in its National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) report, China as one of the US's main challengers. Here is what the Defense Ministry said in a press release:

"The views and words of the US has not a scrap of truth in them and is extremely irresponsible... We urge the United States to ... correct the mistakes in the NIS report and stop publishing wrong opinions about China which may mislead the American people and undermine the mutual trust between China and the United States."

Compare the statement of the Hong Kong Sunday Examiner and the Chinese Defense Ministry and see the irony of how similar the language is.

A classic case of a thief crying thief. But then, knowing China, this shouldn't come as much of a surprise.