First of all, CNBC is Chinese media, not American media.
Are you alright?
Secondly, the gas leakage accident occurred on February 3, the US media hyped that the Chinese balloon occurred on February 3, and the gas leakage accident was exposed on February 7.
Above, you said the accident was first revealed on the 13th.
After someone posted news of the accident on the 7th, you revised it as the 7th.
I think your argument is part of recently launched state counter propaganda effort.
This is February 4th news article on the accident.
A train derailment and resulting large fire have prompted an evacuation order in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line.
apnews.com
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It's been about two weeks since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon entered American airspace late last month. In that time China's response has shifted from conciliatory to indignant, and now, as the fallout continues, to outright confrontational.
www.google.com
Hong Kong (CNN) It's been about two weeks since a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon entered American airspace late last month. In that time China's response has shifted from conciliatory to indignant, and now, as the fallout continues, to outright confrontational.
While China's increasingly hardline stance plays to its domestic audience, it's also served to expose the inconsistencies and inherent contradictions in Beijing's messaging -- severely damaging its credibility, analysts say.
On Monday, Beijing accused Washington of "illegally" flying high-altitude balloons over its airspace more than 10 times since last year, calling the US the "world's largest surveillance empire."
The claim -- made without any detail or evidence -- was swiftly denied by the White House, which described the allegation as "the latest example of China scrambling to do damage control."
The accusation marks a notable escalation in China's response, and stands in stark contrast to its initial attempt at crisis management. Beijing offered a rare expression of "regret" soon after the discovery of the balloon over Montana, claiming the device was a civilian research airship blown off course.
But the political and diplomatic repercussions have prevented the balloon incident from drawing to a close as quickly as Beijing might have hoped.
When it became apparent the controversy would continue to dominate US headlines and public attention, Beijing's contrition turned to ire.
After American fighter jets shot down the balloon on February 4, China's Foreign Ministry accused the US of "overreacting" and "seriously violating international practice."
The following week, as American officials revealed more information on what they call the spy balloon and the vast surveillance program behind it, Chinese state media blamed the US for engaging in "political performance art" and "hyping up" the "China threat."
Now, Beijing appears to be going on the offensive with its counter-claim about US balloon intrusion.
Collin Koh, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, described China's claims as "a sort of one-upmanship tit-for-tat against Washington's accusations."
"It appears more like Beijing is trying to also portray itself as a victim of US surveillance, instead of being painted over the past week as an aggressor," he said.
On Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson also accused the US of frequently sending warships and planes to carry out close-range reconnaissance against China, which the spokesman claimed amounted to a total of 657 times last year -- and 64 times this January in the South China Sea.
Drew Thompson, a senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, called China's latest tactic "a large case of what-aboutism."
"They're not addressing the gross violation of US sovereignty that occurred with the surveillance balloon over Montana. They are trying to see perhaps some sort of false equivalency but they're struggling to do that. I think they're largely signaling their own population to ensure that they're not overly caught up in the contradiction of China's position," he said.
www.bloomberg.com
