China media: Malaysia jet crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-28397642

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Chinese papers urge a fair international investigation into the Malaysia Airlines plane crash in eastern Ukraine.

The MH17 jet carrying more than 298 people crashed in east Ukraine on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

All 298 people on flight MH17 died when it was reportedly hit by a missile.

Russia has denied US accusations that it provided the rebels in Ukraine with an anti-aircraft system allegedly used in the attack.

Calling for a "fair and thorough investigation", the Global Times criticises the West for "rushing to judge" Russia as the "main suspect".

"Under such circumstances, any hesitation on Russia's part will provoke more blame from the West. If there is no result to the investigation, Russia will, by default, be named the perpetrator," it says.

According to the paper's analysis, Russia was an unlikely suspect because it had "no motive to bring down MH17".

"Doing so would only narrow its [Russia's] political and moral space to operate in the Ukrainian crisis. The tragedy has no political benefit for Ukrainian rebel forces either," the paper says.

A commentary in the Chinese edition of the paper adds that the incident will "reinforce the US position as the big brother of the world" as Russia is likely to become "even more isolated" with the worsened situation.

Other media outlets and experts, however, draw a different conclusion from that reached by the Global Times.

Zhou Peng'an, a prominent blogger, notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for the incident as the crash happened in its airspace.

Describing Mr Putin's speech as "bandit logic", he writes that Russia is "likely to be the murderer as it wants to push the blame on the Ukraine government to further disintegrate Ukraine".

Refraining from criticising Russia, an article in the Haiwai Net points out that Moscow can "dispel suspicions" on its role by "co-operating with the international community".

Meanwhile, some media outlets comment on how Dutch society has handled the tragedy.

An article in the Beijing News notes that the Netherlands avoided "finger-pointing" and refrained from "overly expressing anger".

The China Business News observed that the country "remained rational despite the sorrows" and that there was no "outbursts from relatives of the victims".

Ideological education

Elsewhere, media are optimistic about China-Venezuela ties as President Xi Jinping arrived in the Latin American country on Sunday.

His visit comes at a time when the two countries are celebrating 40 years of their diplomatic ties.

Zhao Rongxian, China's ambassador to Venezuela, tells the Xinhua news agency that the bilateral relationship has "entered into a new phase".

The Ta Kung Pao daily notes that Mr Xi's visit to the country is a "show of support" for his counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who succeeded Hugo Chavez after his death last year.

"It is doubtless that Mr Xi's trip is visiting to show China's support for the Maduro government, and to strategise the ties with this traditional ally of China in the post-Chavez era," it says.

And finally, the ruling Communist Party is stepping up ideological education for officials to prevent them from "becoming an echo of Western moral values".

According to reports, the party announced on Sunday that officials are required to attend a new round of ideological education to reaffirm their faith in "socialism with Chinese characters."

Officials are told to keep a firm belief in Marxism to "safeguard the spiritual independence of the nation and avoid becoming an echo of western moral values".

Supporting the call, Chen Xiankui, a professor with Renmin University, warns that "Western values could not be transferred to the whole world".

"The deep-rooted weakness of capitalism is against the pursuit of equality for the majority in human civilisation… the Communist Party of China will lead the Chinese people to a more reasonable and healthier spiritual and moral life," he writes.

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