China: Syria: Un: Chinese media claim veto to UN resolution against Damascus "for the good of the people"

Beijing - Chinese state media are strongly defending the decision by Beijing, to block a UN Security Council resolution which called on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign. According to state newspapers the Western Block’s intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq and, more recently, in Libya show the mistakes made by the use of force in an attempt to overthrow the regimes in power. This all only two days from the massacre – according to opposition activists, but there are no independent sources - in Homs, 4 February: during a bombing of the Syrian is reported to have killed at least 250 people. Yesterday, meanwhile, there were violent clashes between soldiers and deserters in various areas of the country, with a total toll of 59 deaths, including about 28 civilians.

For the second time in a few months, Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution, which condemns the bloody crackdown in Syria. The decision has provoked harsh reactions from all the Western nations and the regret of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, for a vote which "weakens the role of the UN and the international community." Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said she was "disgusted" by the decisions of Beijing and Moscow, and adds that "any bloodshed will stain their hands."

The Chinese state media, on the contrary, strongly defend the position of Beijing. The official newspaper People's Daily, in an editorial signed by "Zhong Sheng" - the nickname that stands for "Voice of China" - underlines the Chinese distrust of the West. The writer complains that "the situation continues to worsen in the Syria and the number of civilian casualties continues to rise." He states that "the veto does not mean" support the status quo and continuing violence. However, he adds, China, not its critics in the West, is behaving in a "responsible" manner for the good of the Syrian people.

The position of the People's Daily is shared by other prominent Chinese newspapers including the Liberation Army Daily (close the army) and the semi-official Global Times, with a "nationalist" vision on major international political issues, about " hostile Western views toward China."