【英语中国】中国政府保护海外公民压力增大

China's state media continued Wednesday to give big play to the killings of Hong Kong tourists in Manila, in particular trumpeting the official response from Beijing.

'Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Xi Jinping Send Condolences to Families of the Hong Kong Compatriots Killed in Manila Hijacking Incident and to Injured Compatriots' reads the headline of the top story on the front page of Wednesday's People's Daily, the Communist Party mouthpiece. Other media flag a call made by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to his Philippine counterpart shortly after the incident to say that 'The Chinese side requires the Philippine side to completely investigate the incident, report related details as soon as possible, try its best to rescue the injured and properly handle the aftermath.'

A Foreign Ministry statement said that Beijing has also sent a working group to Manila to assist the Chinese embassy there in handling the case, and that Yang also told his counterpart that China 'requires the Philippines to take tangible measures to ensure the safety of life and property of Chinese citizens in the country.'

China's official response, in addition to reflecting the no-doubt sincere sympathies of the leadership, also shows the growing public pressure Beijing is under to demonstrate its willingness and ability to protect its citizens overseas. As China's wealth and global reach increase, more and more Chinese are naturally traveling abroad for tourism or commercial purposes - and becoming exposed to the dangers as well, whether they're tourists sightseeing in Manila or workers on oil projects in Africa.

At the same time, the expectations and demands that many Chinese have of their government -- and the willingness to express those expectations and demands on the Internet -- are growing, forcing the government to respond. To cite one example, the Foreign Ministry went to great lengths in 2006 to explain its efforts to protect ethnic Chinese affected by anti-Chinese riots in the Solomon Islands. In that case Beijing's efforts also served to flex its diplomatic muscles against rival Taiwan.

Andrew Erickson, an associate professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College, argues that Beijing's efforts to protect Chinese overseas are likely to increase. In an article published this month titled 'Looking After China's Own: Pressure to Protect PRC Citizens Working Overseas Likely to Rise,' he says that 'Several factors increase the likelihood that the Chinese government may be more able and willing to respond with force to future hostage situations or other targeted violence against PRC citizens.'

They include the growing strength of the Chinese navy and the 'Chinese leadership's increasingly assertive worldview as the country emerges strongly from the deep global economic recession.'

In the case of this week's tragedy in Manila, China is hardly likely to send its navy to the Philippines -- but some Chinese have indicated support for that. The widespread public anger over the Philippine government's handling of the incident has also led some commentators to call for stronger action from Beijing.

One widely circulated post on Sina's microblogging service refers to an incident in 1911 when the Qing Dynasty, the author says, dispatched a gunboat to Mexico in the wake of anti-Chinese riots there, eliciting an apology from the Mexican government.

国官方媒体周三继续大量报道香港游客在马尼拉被劫持事件，尤其是中国政府对此事的官方反应。

《人民日报》周三的头条新闻标题是《胡锦涛、温家宝、习近平致电慰问在马尼拉劫持事件中遇难的香港同胞亲属和受伤同胞》。其他媒体也纷纷报道了中国外交部长杨洁篪在劫持事件发生后不久，致电菲方外长的内容，他说，中方要求菲方彻查此事件，尽快通报事件有关详细情况，全力抢救受伤人员并妥善处理善后事宜。

外交部发表声明说，中国政府同时也特派了一个工作组赴菲协助中国驻菲律宾大使馆处理此事件，杨洁篪同时也告诉菲外长说，中方要求菲方采取切实措施，确保在菲中国公民生命和财产安全。

中国政府对此事的反应毫无疑问表现出领导人的同情之心，同时也表明中国政府面临不断增长的公众舆论压力，要求其展示保护海外公民的意愿和能力。随着中国的财富及其全球影响力的不断增长，越来越多的中国人很自然地开始海外旅行（无论是旅游还是商业目的），但同时也面临更多危险因素，无论是在马尼拉旅游观光的游客抑或在非洲的石油工人。

同时，很多中国人对于中国政府的期望和要求，以及其在网上表达这些期望和要求的强烈意愿，也在不断增长，迫使政府不得不做出回应。例如，外交部在2006年竭尽全力地解释其在所罗门反华事件中为保护华裔所做出的努力。中国政府在对待台湾问题上也努力采取有力的外交手段。

美国海军战争学院（U.S. Naval War College）战略研究系的副教授艾瑞克森（Andrew Erickson）说，中国政府对其海外公民的保护很可能会加强。在本月发表的一篇题为《保护海外工作中国公民的压力或增》（Looking After China's Own: Pressure to Protect PRC Citizens Working Overseas Likely to Rise），他说，很多因素会导致中国政府会更有能力并更愿意坚决回应未来可能发生的劫持华人或暴力事件。

这些因素包括中国海军实力的壮大，以及中国在全球经济衰退的背景下逐渐崛起后中国领导人更有决断的世界观。

再回到本周马尼拉的劫持事件悲剧，中国派遣海军赴菲的可能性微乎其微，但是部分中国人表示支持这一举动。菲律宾政府对此事的处理引起了公众的义愤填膺，这也使得一些评论员号召中国政府采取更强硬的措施。

新浪微博一篇流传广泛的帖子提到1911年的墨西哥排华事件，作者说，在墨西哥发生反华暴乱后，清政府派出了一艘炮艇前往墨西哥，导致了墨西哥政府的赔礼道歉。