DP lawmakers stress the need for exchanges with China

Politics

Published: 18 Jun. 2023, 16:25

DP lawmakers stress the need for exchanges with China

Democratic Party Rep. Do Jong-hwan takes a bow to Chinese officials and other attendees after walking off stage in making a speech at the China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo on Saturday. Some seven DP representatives left for China as they were invited to the event by the Chinese government. [YONHAP]

Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers currently attending the China Xizang Tourism and Culture Expo in Tibet amid escalating bilateral tensions are stressing the importance of exchanges with China.

DP Rep. Do Jong-hwan, former culture minister during the Moon Jae-in administration, told reporters that he was unaware of any unfavorable public opinion regarding their trip.

“Are you trying to create such negative public opinion?” he rhetorically asked reporters.

“People seem to be making a lot of assumptions without actually attending the forum, whose theme is tourism in Tibet, renewable energy and climate change,” Do said.

About the absence of representatives from Western countries at the event, the DP representatives said it is not their place to comment on which countries were or weren't participating.

They stressed that their visit is to show that Korea continues to conduct exchanges with China.

Do, who headed a Korean parliamentary delegation invited to the event, gave a congratulatory address for the expo, which is in its fifth year.

He introduced himself as a Korean representative who had come to the expo to continue cultural exchange between Korea and China.

“What I understand is that Lhasa is the heart of the Xizang Autonomous Region and the religious and national holy ground of Tibetans,” Do said during his speech. “I am filled with huge hopes and expectations that I will deeply feel Tibet’s historical efforts and its unique artistic charm.”

The DP lawmaker said he hopes that through the expo, Korea and the Xizang region will further expand friendly cooperation and exchanges.

On Thursday, seven DP representatives left for China to attend the expo that began Friday.

The trip was entirely paid for by the Chinese government, which invited the Korean politicians.

They were the second group of DP lawmakers who recently went to China.

The first group comprised five DP lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, Hong Ihk-pyo and Koh Yong-jin, who left for China on Monday and returned Friday.

They were members of the party’s committee on people’s livelihood and the economic crisis.

However, their visit to China remained undisclosed by the party until it was first reported by the Hankook Ilbo, a Korean newspaper.

The visits come at a sensitive time when tensions between Korea and China have been rising since June 8, when China's ambassador to Korea, Xing Haiming, made remarks widely considered offensive in the presence of DP leader Lee Jae-myung.

Reading a 15-minute statement at the ambassador’s residence, Xing warned that people who bet on China's defeat against the U.S. will surely "regret it."

The following day, the Korean Foreign Ministry called in the Chinese ambassador and warned strongly warned him against meddling in domestic politics, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry called in the Korean ambassador in Beijing to express its displeasure.

During a Cabinet meeting, President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his deep concern regarding the Chinese ambassador, with the presidential office saying it is waiting for Beijing to take “appropriate measures.”

The People Power Party (PPP) attacked the DP and its leader for setting the stage and sitting idly by when Xing made his remarks.

The PPP accused Lee of causing a “diplomatic disaster,” an allegation Lee himself earlier hurled at President Yoon for not standing up to Japan or the U.S. in his visits earlier this year.

Some DP representatives such as Jeon Yong-gi claimed Lee was ambushed, saying that when Lee was invited to the residency, what they were told was that it was just dinner.

“We thought we need to hear China’s position over the controversial polluted water from Fukushima [Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant discharge],” Jeon said while appearing on a YTN radio show on Wednesday. “I think somewhat strong remarks were made [by Ambassador Xing], and on this issue, I think we were played.”

Yet the DP representatives visiting China stressed that the Chinese government invited them two months ago, long before the latest diplomatic spat.

The lawmakers especially stressed the importance of continuing exchanges with Korea’s largest trade partner at a time when the trade deficit between the two countries is growing.

Rep. Park Jeung said the Korean DP representatives requested the lifting of restrictions on Korean cultural content during their meetings with top Chinese officials in Beijing on their first day, including Luo Shugang, director of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress and former culture minister, and Nong Rong, China’s assistant minister of foreign affairs.

Park said the Chinese officials complained about what they allege to be U.S. efforts to stop China's development. citing in particular U.S. pressure on Chinese technological development.

He also said China not only agreed on the need to lift restrictions against Korean cultural content but also proposed exchanges of human resources.

BY SHIN KYUNG-JIN, LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]