April 6, 2005 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Flag waving crowds, fawning commentaries, celebratory newspaper articles, the choreography almost North Korean: Pakistan pulled out all the stops while welcoming China’s prime minister.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao was given a “people’s” welcome when he arrived here on a three-day visit, his first to Pakistan since assuming office.
In a surprise move, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz set aside protocol to personally reach the PAF air base Chaklala to welcome his counterpart. The road leading from Chaklala to the Prime Minister House wore a festive look as women, men and children lined the route to catch a glimpse of the Chinese premier’s motorcade. I_n the recent past, one cannot remember such a warm and colourful welcome for a foreign dignitary, with the full participation of common Pakistanis._
“We have been waiting for quite sometime and hoping to get a glimpse of the Chinese premier. China is our best friend and we love the Chinese”, were the views of one family, ready to shower rose petals. In fact, it was raining rose petals, as the front windscreen of the limousine carrying Wen Jiabao, was completely covered in pink, with the driver constrained to use his wipers for visibility. [The News]And yes, this was a good time for the Pakistani government to reinforce its belief in the “One China policy”.
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