 |
Diplomatic pressure from Japan cited
Chinese media outlets have increasingly referred to the South Korean islets of Dokdo as ¡°Zhudao," which is its version of the Japanese name of the islets. Sources say this shift is most likely the result of increased diplomatic pressure on China from Japan. Korea and Japan are currently embroiled in a tense dispute over ownership of the islets, which the Japanese call Takeshima, located in the sea between the two countries.Previously, nearly all of China's state-run media, such as Xinhua News and China News, had used the name Dokdo to officially refer to the islets. But now, all state-run news agencies, including the two previously mentioned as well as the China Daily, China.com, and the People's Daily, run by China¡¯s communist party, are all using ¡°Zhudao." Protests from the Japanese embassy in Beijing over the use of "Dokdo" by the media was cited as sparking the shift. On June 29, Xinhua News referred to Dokdo as ¡°Zhudao¡± while reporting about the continued dispute over the territory. On the same day, China News used the name ¡°Zhudao¡± both in a headline and an article that reported Japan¡¯s protest over South Korea¡¯s planned survey on Dokdo. Because the two news wires are carried by many local newspapers in China, the use of ¡°Zhudao¡± was instantly circulated nationwide. The matter prompted some critics to point out that South Korea may lose to Japan in the diplomatic battle over Dokdo.
