Note: This report is based on nothing but two other reports (1)(a) and (2). So, go straight to read these two reports.作者: choi 时间: 9-6-2016 08:10 本帖最后由 choi 于 9-6-2016 08:23 编辑
Mark Landler and Jane Perlez, Obama Lands in China: How a Clash Over Stairs Created the Impression of a Snub. New York Times, Sept 5, 2016 (front page; the date "5" is not a typo" despite the VOA report's statement: "《纽约时报》9月6日的报道说：实际情况既简单也复杂).
consecutive paragraphs:
"The reality [of Obama's arrival at Hangzhou airport, according to] American officials and diplomats familiar with China
"The United States military had flown in a set of rolling air stairs, as it does on all of Mr Obama's foreign trips, and the White House had received Chinese approval to use the equipment. But before Mr Obama’s arrival, a senior administration official said, the Chinese suddenly reversed themselves.
"The Americans were willing to use a Chinese stairway, this [US] official said, but the Chinese insisted that the stairs be taken to the plane by a local driver, who the Americans said could not communicate with the White House team about even the simplest tasks. So the White House demanded that he be replaced with an English-speaking driver, a request the Chinese refused.
"As Air Force One was landing, the Chinese relented and told the Americans they could use their own stairs. But by then, officials said, there was no time to make a switch.
"So the White House decided to forgo the main doorway in favor of a smaller exit in the belly of the aircraft equipped with its own foldout stairs. Mr. Obama generally uses that door only when Air Force One arrives in places, like Afghanistan, with high security concerns.
"The decision deprived the president of the grand display of descending the stairs from the main doorway to a red carpet. (The carpet was there, but easy to miss, as was Mr. Obama, who popped out as if he were getting off a commuter flight at a municipal airport.)
"The president walked into a chaotic scene, with Chinese security officials roping off members of the White House press corps to prevent them from recording his arrival. Even the national security adviser, Susan E Rice, was hassled by security officials.
At that point, a Chinese official said in a raised voice to a White House official: 'This is our country, this is our airport.'
"The official's fury, caught on a cellphone and widely circulated, won glowing approval on one of China's most powerful government social media sites.
"On Weibo, the equivalent of Twitter, the Public Security Bureau declared: 'This is our country.'
" 'Yup, this is very China!' the account, which has 24 million followers, noted as it showed a clip of Mr. Obama descending the small staircase. The comments on such sites appear only after passing censors.
"As far as many Chinese were concerned, the Americans were at fault.
Note:
(i) In paragraphs 6 of the quotation is "The carpet was there, but easy to miss." I was puzzled by this sentence, until I read (2) below.
(ii) The third paragraph from the bottom (in the quotation) mentions "Public Security Bureau."
Not "Public Security Ministry"?
I google and many "Public Security Bureaus" in various part of China (Sichuan, shenzhen, 四川省南充市顺庆区 etc) -- but not the ministry -- had exactly the same weibo (all since deleted), that not even Google keeps a cache (the weibo shows up in the search returns with a snippet --but not the entirety -- of the weibo). I found one whole weibo, that is deleted also from its host but Google does keep a cache:
(i) "Asked later what happened [about landing at the Hangzhou airport], a diplomatic Ms [Susan E] Rice replied, 'They did things that weren't anticipated.'
"There were further surprises. At the West Lake State House, where Mr Obama met President Xi Jinping, White House aides, protocol officers and Secret Service agents got into a series of shouting matches [other news report based in US says the two sides were on the brink of fistfight] over how many Americans should be allowed into the building before Mr Obama's arrival. There were fears the confrontation would become physical.
" 'Calm down, please,' an American official said, according to a pool report. A Chinese foreign ministry official said, 'Stop, please,' adding, 'There are reporters there.'
To some in Mr Obama's delegation, it was reminiscent of the rough treatment he received on his first trip to China, in 2009. * * * At the time, many viewed the treatment as a metaphor for a rising power flexing its muscles with a young president from a superpower in decline.
(ii) "China has placed tight restrictions on foreign news media coverage of the entire summit meeting. When Mr. Xi took Mr. Obama on a leisurely stroll after dinner on Saturday, Chinese security cut the number of American journalists allowed to witness it to three from the original six, then ultimately to a single reporter.
" 'This is our arrangement,' a Chinese official explained to his American counterpart, according to a pool report.
" 'Your arrangement keeps changing,' the American replied.
My comment: There is no need to read the rest of (1)(b), about the Hangzhou landing that is either known by now or that is deemed not correct after clarification. 作者: choi 时间: 9-6-2016 08:11
(2) 边驿卒, 美国在杭州耍大牌、玩特权，媒体竟倒打一耙指责中国. 凤凰网, Sept 4, 2016. http://news.ifeng.com/a/20160904/49897235_0.shtml