Political labels reveal extent of US paranoia: China Daily editorial

It is appalling that Washington's politicians have let their own personal aversion to China carry themselves away to such an extent that they have lost all reason in their indiscriminate political maneuvers against the country.

Five people involved in China's "Fox Hunt" — the campaign against corrupt elements accused of embezzling public money or taking bribes by abusing their positions before fleeing overseas — were arrested in the United States on Wednesday, after the US Justice Department charged eight people, including a US private investigator, with working on behalf of the Chinese government as a "repatriation squad".

They reportedly face charges for serving as "illegal agents" participating in a campaign to "harass, stalk and coerce" US citizens to return to China.

The US has been one of the countries that is the least willing to cooperate with China's anti-corruption operations, now it is trying to pin a political label on them claiming they are another example of China's "lawless behavior", despite China posting notices with Interpol that the "fox" concerned was wanted for embezzlement, abuse of power and accepting bribes.

It seems that no one from China is immune from being politically labeled by politicians in Washington, who seem to lose all sense of what is right or wrong when it comes to anything to do with China.

Such are the connotations of communism in the US that any political label associated with the Communist Party of China is bound to produce a reflex aversion among much of the population, including those in positions of power.

And it is not just Chinese individuals who are prey to this dogmatism. Once a label is stamped on an organization, that organization is immediately subject to prejudice.

"Foreign mission" is one such label used to curtail the normal operations of Chinese organizations, and it has been attached to a number of Chinese media outlets in the US. As "foreign missions", what these media organizations can do is prohibited within a certain space, even the number of their reporters or editors in the US is restricted.

In the latest application of the label, the US branch of the National Association of China's Peaceful Reunification was designated a foreign mission. In a statement, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the organization of spreading the influence of the CPC and its propaganda. The statement also says that the US is discontinuing its participation in a 2011 memorandum of understanding between the US and Chinese governments concerning the establishment of the US-China Governors Forum to Promote Sub-National Cooperation.

What lies behind such labeling is the political paranoia that is so rife in Washington. The unwarranted fears and suspicions of China harbored by US politicians make it impossible for them to be reasoned with. Their feelings of inadequacy and insecurity are pushing the world toward another Cold War and sabotaging the current global system.