Opposition Lawmakers' Visit to China: "Tourism Diplomacy" vs. "Appropriate and Brave"

"Blinken's Visit to China: 'Not Easy to Resolve' vs 'Thaw Mode'"

As the relationship between South Korea and China deteriorates due to the Sing Haiming, Ambassador of China to South Korea, incident, evaluations in the political sphere are divided regarding the recent 3-night, 4-day visit to China and Tibet by seven members of the Democratic Party of Korea, who returned the day before. While the ruling party raised voices calling it "tourism diplomacy" and "bribery diplomacy," the opposition party praised it as an "appropriate and courageous visit."

Min Byung-duk, a member of the visiting delegation, said on the 19th on SBS's 'Kim Taehyun's Political Show,' "We agree that Ambassador Sing Haiming's remarks were inappropriate, but especially at times like this, I believe we need to go more," adding, "What we did was a very appropriate and, though regrettable, courageous act."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, opposition lawmakers visited China and Tibet for 3 nights and 4 days at the invitation of the Chinese government, but the ruling party criticized it as 'bribery diplomacy.' The visit to the expo held in Tibet, which had past 'human rights controversies,' also sparked debate. However, Min said, "We went to the (Tibet) Cultural Expo, and nowhere in the related content was there any mention of such (human rights) issues," adding, "Is it really in the national interest to keep emphasizing events that happened 70 years ago and continuously bring them up in diplomatic circles?"

Regarding the criticism of bribery diplomacy, he said, "Even ordinary citizens, when inviting guests, pay for meals, provide accommodation, and give appropriate small gifts when they leave; isn't this customary?" He added, "Such customs also exist in diplomacy."

Hong Ik-pyo, a Democratic Party member who accompanied the visit to China, also said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "The Tibet event itself was not a political event but a cultural one, so there is no need to interpret it excessively politically. For example, if we hold a March 1st Movement event, saying 'this is an anti-Japanese event, so we shouldn't go' would be inappropriate," he said.

However, Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party and former chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, criticized on SBS Radio that the visit was merely tourism rather than addressing substantive issues. Yoon said, "When they went, they mentioned issues like the Pan-Ho problem, group tourism issues, and business visa problems, but if they really wanted to solve those problems, they should have met with central leadership, whether in Tibet or China, with people who have decision-making authority."

Regarding the visit to the Tibet expo, he pointed out, "Forced labor in Tibet, the Xizang region, and Xinjiang is a significant human rights issue. This was also mentioned in the G7 joint statement announced in Hiroshima last May," adding, "This is not a story from 70 years ago; human rights issues are still being raised today."

Since the deterioration of South Korea-China relations occurred amid the US-China hegemony rivalry, attention is also focused on the US's 'de-risking' moves. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qin Gang, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister, the day before and held marathon talks lasting nearly eight hours. When asked by the host whether the US-China conflict could ease, Yoon said, "This involves various aspects of the US-China G2 hegemony competition and technological competition, so it will not be easily resolved."

On the other hand, Choi Jong-geon, a Yonsei University professor and former First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs under the previous administration, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "Accepting the visit to China means managing relations between diplomatic authorities, and borrowing an American expression, it means entering a thaw period," adding, "As a major power, this is not a time for tit-for-tat exchanges but for management mode."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.