国际英语新闻:Chinese embassy in Sweden rejects insincere apologies over racist program

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Sweden said on Saturday that it firmly opposes "ill-intentioned apologies" from the leader of a local TV program that sparked controversy by insulting Chinese people.

"We noticed that on Friday night, another so-called 'apology' was made by the program leader of SVT's Svenska Nyheter," the embassy said in a statement through its spokesperson, referring to a latest 'apology' after an earlier version was rejected by the Chinese embassy as insincere.

The Svenska Nyheter program aired on Swedish Television SVT on Sept. 21 sparked the controversy as its host used words that obviously and outrageously insulted China and the Chinese people and used an incomplete map of China.

The Chinese embassy in Stockholm had earlier lodged a strong protest and demanded a sincere apology.

"After the China-insulting program was aired, the program staff refused to apologize at first, then issued an 'apology to the individuals that felt offended,' and tonight we heard 'an apology to the individuals in China and Sweden that felt wounded.' These 'apologies' have no seriousness or sincerity at all. They have evaded the racist nature of the program, ignored the Sinophobic contents and insults on China, and disregarded the harm to the national sentiment and dignity of China," the spokesperson said.

"Now the program has deliberately and viciously attacked the Chinese Government, and attempted to put the Chinese people against the Chinese Government, which is extremely ill-motivated," said the spokesperson.

"Any attempt to put the Chinese people against the Chinese Government is futile. We firmly oppose such ill-intentioned 'apologies,'" the embassy said, urging the SVT and the staff of the Svenska Nyheter program to apologize in "a serious and sincere manner."

"As an old Chinese saying goes, it is a big virtue to be able to make a correction when one has done something wrong," the spokesperson said.

Such a program spread and advocated racism and xenophobia outright, and openly provoked and instigated racial hatred and confrontation targeting China and some other ethnic groups and broke basic moral principles, the embassy said.