Beijing, March 1 (IANS) A state-run Chinese newspaper said Tuesday that scepticism was on the rise in the country and that it was necessary to be patriotic.
An editorial, ‘Which China do we want to love?’, appeared in the English language Global Times, two days after three people were detained at the site of a ‘Jasmine’ protest in Shanghai.
China has been facing murmurs of dissent since the outbreak of massive unrest in the Arab world that have ousted the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.
The editorial said that those doubting patriotism were trying to foment a political conspiracy.
‘Their real purpose is to attack the Chinese government. We hope they will gain better insight in future,’ it said.
It added that ‘scepticism is strengthening in this transitional period for China, where various trends of thought compete fiercely.
‘We must adhere to some of the moral lines of the Chinese nation, among which patriotism ranks highly. Strong patriotism is the only assurance to maintain the continuity of our country and its long history.’
The daily argued that singling out the government for the country’s ills ‘is merely some people’s political game’.
The Chinese government is keeping an eye on the so-called Jasmine revolution and has censored searches on news and micro-blogging web sites for terms including ‘Egypt’ and ‘jasmine’.
