Fake news is like Pinocchio's nose, the more you lie, the longer it grows. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

The Chinese government respects its people, regarding their livelihood as the top priority and is responsible for the people. This is the most prominent character of the Chinese system. But for the BBC, China's people-oriented governance style has become something to smear. However, its attempt has suffered a disastrous failure this time. The BBC thinks that it has found the soft underbelly of the Chinese system; but this is in fact the most powerful part of the Chinese system.

BBC News Chinese YouTube channel sent a post in Chinese on Friday, saying that "The only thing that the Communist Party of China (CPC) fears is Chinese people. Not the US or the UK, but just Chinese people." 

This is a quote from senior British MP and Chairman of British Foreign Affairs Select Committee Tom Tugendhat, who is one of the nine UK individuals sanctioned by China for spreading lies and rumors about China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. By inviting such a person to the interview, the BBC's trick is far too obvious.

By accusing the CPC of fearing its own people, what the BBC did not expect is that the comments below are a huge slap in the face. The most liked comment was from a Chinese netizen who wrote, "This is just the highest praise for a government." Another netizen said, "Indeed, the Chinese government is people-oriented and serves the people. It 'fears' the people because it is responsible."

It is not difficult to imagine that the BBC's original intention was to tear apart the connections between the CPC and the Chinese people, and to use the clichés to sow discord between the Party and the people. But the BBC has obviously ignored the Chinese government's most basic political stand and principle: putting people in the first place.

According to the concept deeply embedded in Western elites' minds, if a government fears its own people, then it will monitor, control and enslave the people - just like the scene described in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. This is done so that the people will have no strength to confront the government. These Western elites take it for granted that the Chinese government is just like this.

But when it comes to China, what the Chinese government really fears is that people's lives, health and interests are harmed and this also explains why it is committed to improving people's livelihood and trying its best to let them live in peace and contentment. Under the leadership of the CPC, China has controlled the COVID-19 epidemic and restored the economy as quickly as possible in order to protect people's lives. The Chinese government has also reached a complete victory in eradicating absolute poverty.

The BBC does not understand why the CPC is able to accomplish these arduous tasks, because the UK, the US and other Western governments lack such a spirit to serve the people wholeheartedly.

The BBC tried to drive a wedge between the CPC and Chinese people, but in fact, it accidentally told the truth: British and other Western governments do not "fear" their own people at all, because they do not attach enough importance to people's rights and livelihood. Instead of truly respecting the people, some Western elites regard people as something they can take advantage of.

In Western politics, it seems that citizens hold the votes, but that does not necessarily mean they are the master of the country. Western politicians are in fact responsible for the votes instead of the people, since votes are almost all they care about.

What's worse, they show little respect to people's lives. The UK and the US claim to be democratic. However, in face of the COVID-19, it seems these Western elites do not fear the great losses of people's lives. They are even trying to fool the people, diverting public attention from the pandemic and playing it down. "No wonder hundreds of thousands of people have died from the COVID-19 and some British and US politicians are acting like they are fine with it," wrote one Chinese netizen.

The BBC and other Western elites have failed to realize what the CPC is, nor understand the CPC's close relationship with the Chinese people. The CPC's people-oriented methods seem especially impossible for many British and US politicians to understand. In their mind-set, people are not really just people, but to a great extent, votes that are only useful for their political careers.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn