Global Times - 21.08.2019

Wednesday August 21, 2019 17

VIEWPOINT

In some Western countries,
tough and comprehensive mea-
sures are adopted to contain
and deter violence during dem-
onstrations, with goals ranging
from seeking an early control
of the situation to avoiding vio-
lence through precautionary
legislation.
In September 2011, anti-
riot squads, riot cars, snipers,
mounted police were recruited
from eight towns to help New
York city deal with the Occupy
Wall Street movement. Stun
batons, taser guns and other
devices were used by police to
control the situation amid pro-
tests, media reports said, and
nearly 1,000 people were ar-
rested in two weeks.
Regardless, demands should
be expressed in a peaceful fash-
ion, and when demonstrations
become destructive, police usu-
ally first disperse the crowd,
noted Li Mingcheng, a retired
officer from Los Angeles coun-
ty, California, speaking from
his experience.

Li said that in dispersing

demonstrators, US mounted

police usually use water can-

nons, shields, and smoke

bombs among other means. If

they fail to bring the situation

under control, state and federal

governments seek intervention

by National Guards.

“It is for coping with serious

situations or large-scale demon-

strations that National Guards

are called in,” said Henry Lee,

a famous detective and former

head of the Connecticut state

police. “They would use smoke

bombs, tear gas and other de-

vices, and issue urgent orders

and sometimes implement a

curfew.”

Lee said that when confront-

ing violence in demonstrations,

state police normally use fire

engines and high pressure

water jets to disperse the mob

and make immediate arrests of

leading figures and those who

assault police.

When faced with sabotage,

“police would immediately ar-

rest anyone who intentionally

blocks subway and road traf-

fic,” said Hugh H. Mo, former

deputy head of New York Police

Department (NYPD), citing

New York City as an example.

When facing assaults on

themselves, police would im-

mediately use force to counter

life threats from anyone who is

armed, including using batons

and handcuffs to fend off and

subdue assaulters, Mo added.

In August 2011, protests

staged in London turned cha-

otic, spreading to Manchester,

Birmingham, Liverpool, Bris-

tol and other cities. Five people

were killed in a week of violence

including arson and looting be-

fore the situation was brought

under control.

Media reports said the Brit-

ish authorities beefed up the

police force at hots pots with

many riot squads, with the po-

lice deployed in London alone

totaling over 16,000. Police ar-

rested some 4,000 suspects at

that time.

British police set up task

teams to search for suspects

through various means in-

cluding checking thousands of

hours of videos. It took several

months to carry out investiga-

tions and make arrests, said re-

ports.

Veteran officer Andy Kurd-

reck said law must be enforced

in order to prevent chaos from

turning into anarchy, and the

perpetrators of assaults on

police, including those throw-

ing bricks and petrol bombs,

should be arrested and pun-

ished in accordance with law.

In demonstrations in the

US, people throwing bricks,

bottle bombs or carrying out ar-

son attacks could face sentenc-

es of up to 30 years, Mo said.

Data from the French Inte-

rior Ministry showed police ar-

rested some 10,000 people in-

volved in the recent Yellow Vest

protests staged on weekends

that seriously disrupted social

order in France.

The French government

has adopted a tough stance in

the face of the violent Yellow

Vest demonstrations. In Febru-

ary, the National Assembly ap-

proved a bill designed to reduce

and deter violent acts in dem-

onstrations and to make sure

perpetrators will be punished.

The legislation authorizes

local governments to ban the

people who are believed to pose

a serious threat to public secu-

rity from participating in dem-

onstrations.

It allows the French police

to do more in on-site opera-

tions. They can now examine

vehicles, people’s luggage and

backpacks at and around dem-

onstration sites, and raise the

fine for unauthorized demon-

strations.

The article is from the Xinhua

News Agency. opinion@

globaltimes.com.cn

China and US: Are they rivals or enemies?

Western countries take tough measures to contain violence during demonstrations

Page Editor:

liaixin@

globaltimes.com.cn

By Xue Li

C

hinese international relations
scholars are one on issues such
as that China-US relations can-
not be restored to what they were in the
past, Washington has defined Beijing
as a strategic competitor, the rivalry
between China and the US will be
prolonged, etc. But they still argue on
topics like whether China and the US
are decoupling, whether China-US ties
have changed qualitatively, and whether
China and the US will be caught in a
new cold war. These controversies stem
from one issue – are China and the US
rivals or enemies? In my view, China
and the US are rivals but not foes. They
may turn into enemies, the possibility
of which is very low.
On the basis of closeness, countries
can be divided into allies, close partner-
ship, partnership, rivals and enemies.
Rivals can compete, confront, or even
engage in conflict. In the stage of con-
flict, rivals tend to resemble enemies.
During the confrontation phase, rivals
may engage in conflicts. When com-
petition is the theme between two
countries, the two sides are normally
partners or rivals. Washington has
newly defined Beijing as an overall stra-
tegic competitor, rival in some domains
and enemies in others.
Washington and Beijing are rivals
but their rivalry is not as strong as that
between enemies. Although some of
the deep state tend to regard China as
an enemy, out to contain the country,
US President Donald Trump, the
establishment and China hands believe
China is a strategic competitor of the
US, not an enemy, because China’s ide-
ology is not expansionary and the Asian
country doesn’t attempt to change the

lifestyle in the US or undermine capital-

ism. The problem lies in that China

has carried out state capitalism, which

many US politicians and observers be-

lieve has “taken advantage” of the US, a

country with market capitalism. The US

believes it needs to establish a so-called

reciprocal relationship.

The US has united its allies and

partners to put pressure on China

to make structural changes, espe-

cially in the field of economy and trade.

Furthermore, the US has restricted

China by slapping tariffs, censoring

Chinese scholars, limiting the number

of Chinese students studying science,

technology, engineering and mathemat-

ics, registering some Chinese institu-

tions in the US as “foreign agencies,”

and cancelling the 10-year visa of some

Chinese scholars and others. What

Washington has adopted vis-à-vis en-

emies is not the same. In fact, to avoid

turning China into an enemy is still the

mainstream idea in the US. The open

letter “China is not an enemy” signed

by over 100 US scholars can prove it.

Trump has repeatedly claimed

China’s top leader is his friend. What he

wants is to “make America great again”

and to pursue US interests, rather than

create or destroy enemies.

Beijing is reluctant to treat Washing-

ton as an enemy as well. China would

like to be a developer of and contributor

to the existing international system. The

overall strength gap between China and

the US remains large. China does not

intend to replace the US as the global

leader. Both countries should build a

new model of major country relations

featuring win-win cooperation and

avoid the Thucydides Trap. Beijing has

taken measures such as increased buy-

ing from the US, amending the foreign

investment law, relaxing or removing

restrictions on foreign investment,

which are beneficial for Washington.

All those reveal that challenging the US,

decoupling from the US, or launching

a new cold war is not what China wants.

However, China is a rising power

and has been pursuing independent

diplomacy. China will not bend to the

US on major issues as what US allies

and close partners do.

How to judge a qualitative change in

bilateral ties? First, the US has defined

China as a strategic competitor and has

shifted from combination of coopera-

tion and containment to comprehensive

containment. It simply means a change

in US foreign policy on China, quan-

titatively but not qualitatively. Qualita-

tive change will be realized by overall

containment or a massive war, which

implies a big change.

Second, China realizes the policy

adjustment the US has undertaken.

China still hopes to maintain friendly

relations with the US without affecting

the overall diplomatic landscape and the

process of rise.

Third, going from good to bad is

insufficient to judge the qualitative

change in bilateral relations. China and

the US have just shifted from being

partners to rivals. Although the US is

the stronger side, it cannot unilaterally

determine the character of China-US

ties.

Fourth, both nuclear powers would

not engage in full-scale war. Issues on

the South China Sea, the Korean Penin-

sula and East China Sea may not lead to

a massive war between China and the

US, either.

The author is director of the Department

of International Strategy at the Institute

of World Economics and Politics under

the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

[email protected]

Illustration: Liu Rui/GT