Scottish exercise of democracy becomes anti-democracy fodder in Chinese press

As part of the United Kingdom, Scotland has been administered in a way no worse than Hong Kong has under Chinese rule. Certainly, it has had more autonomy than the so-called autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. Still, in Scotland, the calls for secession have never ceased, and now its people are poised to vote in a referendum for independence.

This is how democratic societies handle conflict. Many expect this example of democracy in action to put Beijing to shame, and they have waited in gleeful anticipation to see how the government media mouthpieces would make a fool of themselves trying to rationalise it.

As it turns out, these media outlets have had no problem justifying the unjustifiable. Unembarrassed, they have risen to the challenge. The Global Times is typical. In one editorial, it said the Scottish independence referendum had pushed the union to the cliff's edge: if Scotland became independent, David Cameron would go down in history as a "criminal" who presided over a break-up; if the bid was rejected, Cameron's government must be able to stop the independence movement and prevent its serious consequences. It warned that if "a child knew it could get milk by crying", and this became normal behaviour in British politics, the country would "never have peace".

The idea of Scottish independence may not be as galling to the Chinese government as independence for Tibet, Xinjiang, Taiwan or Hong Kong, but it is still seen as a disruptive force that threatens unity and stability, to be condemned. Knowingly or unknowingly, Chinese media reports reflect this bias.