President Xi Jinping visited the United Kingdom in Oct. 2015. (Photo : Getty Images)
An influential Chinese newspaper said that Sino-U.K. relations are not marred by Queen Elizabeth II’s unguarded remarks about Chinese officials being “very rude” during their first state visit last year led by President Xi Jinping.
According to Reuters, a commentary from the Chinese-language version of the Global Times declared that ties between China and Britain are "unscathed" by the recently leaked footage of the Queen commenting on Chinese officials' manners.
Boorish and Rude
The outlet said that it was inconceivable that the British had intentionally released the video to stain the improving relations between China and the U.K., deeming such act as "truly boorish and rude."
The commentary further criticized foreign media that went with the trend and reported on the incident.
"The disrespectful gossipers in the media there, narcissistic and baring their fangs, seemingly retain vestiges of the inelegance of barbarians," the Global Times reported as translated by Reuters.
The article also noted that the "barbaric" Western media could learn from China's culture, saying: "We believe, however, that with constant contact with the 5,000-year-old civilization of the East (China) they will make progress."
The previous reports indicate the remarks made by the Queen which were caught on camera October last year during the landmark visit of Xi to the Western nation.
"They were very rude to the ambassador," the Queen was heard saying in the clip, referring to how the Chinese officials treated the first ever female U.K. ambassador to China, Barbara Woodward.
Unanswered Questions
The Queen's comments, while unguarded, were totally out of character, BBC News noted.
Because of this, the British media outlet decided to compile "unanswered questions" regarding the incident that could help clarify the remarks.
First, there was the matter of what brought out the "very rude" comment.
According to BBC, the Lord Chamberlain introduced Police Commander Lucy D'Orsi (the person on the other end of the controversial conversation) to the Queen and told her how the security officer was "seriously, seriously undermined by the Chinese."
D'Orsi then notes how it "was quite a testing time" for her and said that "they walked out of Lancaster House and told me that the trip was off."
Apparently, the Queen was aware of the incident because she interjected the "very rude" remark, which D'Orsi replied to with: "They walked out on both of us."
This only brought about more questions on the matter including whether the Police Commander was referring to a threat from the Chinese delegates to cancel the entire state visit or just part of the itinerary.
