The U.S.-China standoff: It was all just a question of semantics. Sorrow or regret were the English words involved, yihan or daoqian the Chinese words.
And underlying the word games was the concept of Kow-Tow one Chinese word that requires no special translation into English. There may have been other issues behind the 10 day semantic debate: The sale of new American military equipment to Taiwan, the Bush administration's decision to press ahead with National Missile Defense system, the Chinese military flexing its political muscles.
Whether a Question of Semantics or a smokescreen for something more important, the incident demonstrates the need for a new diplomatic language between the two countries. U.S.- China diplomacy is here. (Hosted by Michael Goldfarb)
