U.S. officials continue to push for greater transparency from Beijing in matters of defense spending, with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte echoing calls made last week by the vice president. The response from the Communist regime: Beijing announced defense spending would grow by 17.8 percent in FY 2007. Cheney’s comments last week, saying that such increases were “not consistent with China’s goal of a peaceful rise,” were answered by foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang:
“If you had a neighbor always standing at your doorstep, peering into your household and constantly shouting at you, ‘Why don’t you open your door and let me see what’s in your house, what’s in your family,’ how would you feel about that?”
Mr. Qin continued: “You wear your clothes, you wear your underwear, and when there are people shouting at you, ‘Please take off all your clothes and let me see what’s inside,’ how would you respond? I think you will cry for police help.
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