China’s Wolf Warriors are like Simba from Lion King, its foreign ministry says
- Spokeswoman Hua Chunying compares diplomats to Disney’s ‘cute little lion, who, under all sorts of suspicion … grew up and matured into Simba’
- Addressing German media coverage of Chinese envoy criticising discussion of China’s human rights record, Hua says Beijing will not ‘act the silent lamb’
Hua responded to a question from Beijing Daily at a foreign ministry press conference on Thursday about the German media’s critical coverage of China’s aggressive diplomacy.
The German Der Tagesspiegel newspaper had published an article titled “Wolf Warriors from Beijing: China’s diplomats are becoming more aggressive”, which referenced the Chinese ambassador in Berlin’s criticism of an event discussing China’s human rights record that was held by the German parliament’s human rights commission.
Hua said she was aware of the coverage, adding that China’s diplomacy was not actively aggressive and that the country would defend itself when criticised.
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Of those accusing China of Wolf Warrior tactics, she said: “I wonder if they have seen Disney’s cartoon The Lion King? I wonder how they would appraise that cute little lion, who, under all sorts of suspicion, censure and attack, grew up and matured into Simba.”
Sticking with animal analogies, she continued: “Do we really expect that when people ruthlessly and baselessly attack China in words and writing like wolves and tigers, China can only act the silent lamb?
