Perspectives

Chinese Premier Wen turns to literature to send North Korea a message

When Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and then Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Cheju Island on May 29, their talks focused on their response to the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan.

Lee blamed North Korea for torpedoing the vessel and declared that he will bring the case to the United Nations Security Council, demanding sanctions against Pyongyang. While Hatoyama expressed support for Lee's position, Wen adopted a cautious approach on the issue.

North Korea has dismissed South Korea's conclusion that it torpedoed the Cheonan. Even some in South Korea have raised doubts about the government's conclusion, with one pointing out that it is unnatural that the torpedo's propeller was barnacled and another questioning why the eardrums of none of the victims were ruptured.

Is Wen cautious about imposing sanctions against North Korea because he believes Pyongyang's arguments? That's not true, according to informed sources in China. They say Beijing believes that the North Korean military is responsible for the sinking, but is desperate to prevent tension on the Korean Peninsula from rising before the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korea War on June 25.

Prior to the summit meeting on Chuju Island, Premier Wen met with South Koreans studying Chinese at the China Culture Center in Seoul. Wen, who loves Chinese classical literary works, cited Tang-period poems, and talked about "Dream of the Red Chamber," a novel written in the 18th century.

In early May, when a North Korean opera company visited China with dictator Kim Jong Il, the troupe performed "Dream of the Red Chamber" in Korean.

At the time, Kim met with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen and other Chinese leaders. In his meeting with Wen, Kim asked for a massive amount of financial assistance, but the premier reportedly rejected it saying, "We can't extend assistance that exceeds the amount of U.N. sanctions that are already in effect."

An obviously infuriated Kim went home without viewing the opera company's performance of Dream of the Red Chamber that he was supposed to see with the Chinese leaders.

In his speech on "Dream of the Red Chamber and Chinese Culture" at the culture center in Seoul, Premier Wen recited what he called his favorite poem from the novel, which means, "Study brings insight into the world," and "Literature leads to human feelings."

At the time, Wen apparently remembered the face of Kim Jong Il. The North Korean leader directed the performance of the extravagant opera in which a large number of singers participated, even though he is ignorant of the real world and does not understand human feelings.

While calling for prudence in imposing sanctions against North Korea in his official diplomatic talks, Wen obviously expressed disappointment at Pyongyang during his talks with South Korean citizens by citing the well-known poem from Dream of the Red Chamber. (By Hidetoshi Kaneko, Expert Senior Writer)

Click here for the original Japanese story