Spanish reporter's frustration over absurd anti-China drama draws echoes

MADRID - For a while, some in the West have staged an absurd anti-China farce to manipulate public opinion, and "anyone who dares to confront it or try to maintain objectivity and impartial positions will be accused of being on the payroll of the Chinese government or worse."

This is what Javier Garcia, head of the office of the EFE News Agency of Spain in Beijing, said on Tuesday on his Twitter account. He is so depressed for this information war that he wants to leave journalism after 30 years in this profession.

"In a few days I will leave journalism, at least temporarily, after more than 30 years in this profession. The embarrassing information war against China has taken a good dose of my enthusiasm for this profession," he said.

"The information manipulation is flagrant, with dozens of examples every day," he added.

He recalled that he came to China like any other destination, trying to keep an open mind free from prejudices and preconceptions. "I have always believed that curiosity and the capacity for wonder, along with rigor and loyalty to the truth, are the basic elements of journalism."

He described China as "a huge, diverse, and constantly changing country, full of stories to tell," as well as "an innovative, modern and traditional place at the same time, in which the future is glimpsed."

Garcia also noted that stories from some deeply biased foreign press constantly follow the trail of the US media and repeat what the US State Department says.

Javier Garcia's words on Twitter has an echo in the Spanish media.

Jose Antonio Vera, director of publications of the Spanish newspaper La Razon, said "this Anglo-American news line that everything China does is bad and should be criticized is not justified, of course."

Cesar Alcala, chief of the Digital Review of the Maresme, said the reality is that there is this information war against China.

"It is difficult for the West to see that the future is in the East ... That is why the easy thing is to discredit a country like China. And they do it out of fear," he said.

Like Garcia, there are many other Western journalists who report on China objectively and truthfully, showing their professional courage.

French journalist and writer Maxime Vivas once personally visited the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in western China to interview local people and report objectively for western readers.

"Countless lies are being spread by people who have never been to Xinjiang," he said, adding that "over time, we'll win" and the truth will come out.