China’s Global Times government propaganda outlet marked the 21st anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on America with a column on Sunda...
China’s Global Times government propaganda outlet marked the 21st anniversary of the al-Qaeda attacks on America with a column on Sunday condemning America for allegedly causing “tremendous suffering” globally in the aftermath of the attacks.
The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, similarly marked the anniversary on Sunday by publishing an interview with an alleged “Afghan scholar” decrying America for allegedly fueling the growth of terrorism in the country – without attributing any of the nation’s recent strife to the return of the Taliban, a jihadist terrorist organization, to power last year.
The Chinese state is closely allied to the Taliban and has invested millions of dollars into its success in Afghanistan. Beijing has accepted the Taliban as the “interim” government of Afghanistan, one of the few nations in the world to legitimize the regime. The Taliban was in power in Afghanistan during the September 11 attacks and closely harbored al-Qaeda terrorists directly involved in the planning of the massacre.
Taliban leaders maintain ties to al-Qaeda today, American and international intelligence leaders affirm. Washington announced last month that it had identified and killed the head of al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in an upscale Kabul neighborhood, living in a home believed to belong to an aide of Taliban “interior minister” Sirajuddin Haqqani. The Taliban has claimed that it never found Zawahiri’s body and has no evidence he was ever there.
Global Times writer Lu Xue did not mention al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or Islamic terrorism at all in his September 11 memorial article, instead focusing on the evils of American plans to support democracies around the world.
“Over the past 21 years, the US, under the banner of ‘counter-terrorism,’ has waged wars overseas and caused tremendous suffering to people of other countries,” Lu wrote. “However, the US not only failed to export its ‘democratic system’ to Middle East countries or eradicate terrorism, but at home they have been faced with rising extremism in political and social spheres.”
Lu linked the September 11 attacks to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, claiming that “ethnic conflict and gun violence have become more prominent” in America in the two decades since the al-Qaeda attacks.
“Take the Capitol attacks on January 6, 2021: extreme partisanship is tearing apart the US and hurting the American population,” the article asserted, without elaborating.
The Global Times similarly leveled another accusation at America – that Washington “has recently stepped up efforts to steal oil” from Chinese-allied dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syria – without providing any evidence for the accusation, and claimed America had “overthrown several governments in the region that resisted its hegemony” without naming them. The state newspaper seemed to be referring to the dethroning of socialist Baath Party dictator Saddam Hussein in Iraq and China’s ally in Libya, Muammar Qaddafi; Afghanistan is a south Asian, not Middle East, country.
The Chinese propaganda outlet later added that it also opposed the United States attempting to promote the establishment of free governments, which it calls “U.S.-style democracy,” not simply its war against jihadist terrorism.
“Through ‘fighting terrorism’ overseas, the US government also forcefully promoted US-style democracy, only causing greater turmoil and human rights crisis in those countries,” Lu, the Global Times writer, argued. The Global Times and other Chinese propaganda outlets regularly refer to American politics, which allows for legalized political disagreement and debate, as “chaotic” and America itself as a “failed state” for allowing multiple political opinions to exist in public. Beijing touts its own totalitarian, communist system as one of “harmony” in which only those who agree with the regime can express themselves publicly with no risk of being arrested and disappeared into a draconian “legal” system designed to silence dissent.
Lu concluded that America is only interested in “plundering resources around the world.” The article concluded without reference to the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks or their enablers in the Taliban.
The People’s Daily interview with an alleged “scholar” similarly did not address al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or radical Islamic terrorism in its discussion of September 11, mentioning al-Qaeda only in passing as the “accused” in the terror attacks. Instead, an alleged Kabul University professor identified as Najibullah Jami told the Communist Party publication that America’s war in Afghanistan had allegedly resulted in the proliferation of terrorist organizations.
“Americans invaded Afghanistan with slogans to fight terror, check drug production and trafficking and rebuild the country but the claims have proved counter-productive as drug production and trafficking has increased manifold,” Jami reportedly said, “and the war-torn country has also been suffering from extreme poverty.”
Jami has offered commentary supportive of the Taliban to other publications in the past and regularly appears as an expert in Chinese state media and other leftist regime outlet articles.
Beijing using its media arms to defend the Taliban and condemn America on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks follows months of close support from the Communist Party to the Taliban upon its return to power last year. That support has extended to silence in the face of the Taliban’s links to al-Qaeda and other jihadist attacks. Last month, following the announcement of a U.S. airstrike eliminating al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Chinese Foreign Ministry condemned Washington for allegedly violating the Taliban’s “sovereignty.”
“Counterterrorism cooperation should not be conducted at the expense of the sovereignty of other countries,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at the time.
In contrast, Beijing has applauded the Taliban terrorist organization, refusing to acknowledge its ties to jihadist groups like the Haqqani Network, for allegedly bringing “stability” to Afghanistan after President Joe Biden extended the Afghan War last year, then abruptly withdrew U.S. forces.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Yi praised the Taliban for its performance as a “government” in April.
“Wang said since the establishment of the Afghan Interim Government [the Taliban], it has made a lot of efforts to stabilize the situation and exercise governance, with certain results having been achieved,” the Global Times said. “During the dialogue and exchanges, the Afghan side introduced its determination to realize self-generated development, expressed its desire to gain more understanding and support from neighboring countries and the international community, and demonstrated a positive attitude toward conducting foreign exchanges.”
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