China demanded that CNN apologize for comments on Chinese broadcast April 9 by Jack Cafferty,
who said, “…they’re basically the same bunch of goons and thugs
they’ve been for the last 50 years.”
China demanded that CNN apologize for comments on Chinese broadcast April 9 by Jack Cafferty, who said, “I think they’re basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they’ve been for the last 50 years.” A month later, China’s Foreign Ministry said CNN president Jim Walton sent a letter to China’s ambassador in Washington apologizing for the remarks. But not before a firestorm of protests in China and the United States.
Jiang Yu, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, had told a news briefing, “We solemnly demand that CNN and Cafferty retract his vicious remarks and apologize to the whole Chinese people.” In a statement CNN said Cafferty was commenting on the Chinese government, not its people. But Jiang rejected the explanation. She said the statement lacked sincerity and instead “turned its attack on the Chinese government to try to sow division between the Chinese government and the people.”
In New York City, two Chinese women filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Cafferty. Li Lan Li, an elementary school teacher, and beautician Lydia Leung said they were asking $1 damage for every Chinese national they charged were offended by the remarks.