Two U.S. Mayors Corresponded with Xi Jinping Ahead of Lunar New Year and the Genocide Games

Chinese government propaganda outlets far and wide reported on recent correspondence between Chairman Xi Jinping and two mayors from Washington State. Both wrote to the dictator of China to celebrate Lunar New Year and the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

State-sponsored media outlets, including China Daily, China Global Television, China Central Television, China News Service, Peoples Daily, Global Times, Xinhua News, China Radio International, and others reported the story and Chinese diplomats also reposted the story to social media.

In her letter, Democrat and former Army soldier, Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards said, “with the 2022 Winter Olympic Games taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is fortunate to have a responsible and well-organized host like China to keep these games safe, healthy, and successful.”

Just a few miles southwest of Tacoma, Mayor Dick Muri of Steilacoom, a Republican and retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel, wrote, “May the ‘Year of the Tiger’ be the best year ever in all our efforts to promote peace, friendship, and unity.” Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President of the People's Republic of China, sent them both friendly letters in response. He recalled his two previous visits to Tacoma and extended “festive greetings” to both mayors, their families, and their respective towns. Local news outlet King 5 of Seattle reported the story. (https://youtu.be/kCTvN4CYSOI) Tacoma, Washington has an active sister-city relationship with Fuzhou, a city in China’s Fujian province. Tacoma also hosts the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington at Pacific Lutheran University.

It’s unclear what benefit the mayors thought this exchange would have. It’s also uncertain how well they understand the true situation in China. On November 28, 2019, Mayor Dick Muri tweeted about the situation in Hong Kong saying, “I am not sure of the political dynamics of why the People Republic of China’s is cracking down on pro democracy demonstrators.”

Chairman Xi’s intentions are no mystery to the rest of the world. This is the same Xi Jinping who orders the bulldozing of churches and, according to the leaked Xinjiang Papers (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/16/world/asia/china-xinjiang-documents.html), instructed his subordinates to treat Uyghurs with “absolutely no mercy.” After the Genocide Games conclude, he will continue to command the most dangerous regime on Earth.

Links:

• Letters from Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards and Steilcoom Mayor Dick Muri

• Letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards

• Letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping to Steilacoom Mayor Dick Muri