In his televised speech at the recent United Nations General Assembly, Xi Jinping put up a modest face saying China “will never seek hegemony, expansion or influence” and that countries “will not be lorded over by those who wave a strong fist at others”.

On the other hand, in a video circulated online, a female member of the Chinese delegation attending a recent meeting of the UN Human Rights Council was shown pounding her table and repeatedly interrupting a delegate of another country while he was speaking. She asked the president of the meeting to stop the delegate from speaking. The fist of this Chinese delegate was so strong that many foreign delegates were taken aback, and the president issued her a warning.

When Xi talked about strong fist at the UN General Assembly, was he actually referring this low-ranking Chinese diplomat, who was in an arrogant and indecent way and broke the rules?

What constitutes a dominant country? It is not having a strong fist or a loud voice. A dominant power should have a big heart, respect rules and use reason. “When the strong deals with the weak, benevolence should be exercised; when the weak deals with the strong, wisdom should be exercised,” said Mencius, Confucian philosopher second only to Confucius.

Chinese delegates representing China to speak at the UN should demonstrate the dignity and culture of a civilized, dominant country, accommodate different views, and be able to communicate with others in a sincere and reasonable way to impress others. If they really cannot stand the speech of others, they can leave the meeting. In no way should they throw temper tantrums on the global political stage.

The Chinese president emphasized in his UN speech that China was a developing country and he urged the UN to “uphold justice”, saying there should be no place for hegemony and bullying. It was a reasonable comment, and he seemed to be sending some message here. Overall, Xi appeared decent as he did not lose his temper. Unfortunately, his subordinates often do the opposite. When the leader of a country says one thing and his representatives do another, the country will lose its dignity and foreigners will laugh at it, and it will go to show there are some serious problems with the country’s system.

There is nothing to lose when delegates representing their countries interact with their foreign counterparts in a modest, peaceful and sincere manner. When you respect others, others will respect you. If you listen to others' criticisms with an open mind, others will listen to you with patience. Xi criticizes the U.S. and Donald Trump criticizes the Chinese Communist Party. They have their own narratives and others can decide for themselves who is right and who is wrong. Isn’t that better than getting all fierce and pounding the table?

Diplomats of a big country should not be petty. They ought to equip with themselves the skills to say important things in a calm way. Isn’t a country more dignified when its state leader governs his country with the attention of cooking a delicate dish and representatives of his government engage in a debate eloquently? Shouting about and getting all overbearing are just an expression of incompetence and cowardice.

On the contrary, the spokeswoman of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a graceful woman who is dignified and apparently from a well-educated family. The Chinese delegate should learn from her.

(Ngan Shun Kau is a veteran publisher and writer. His publications and works are award-winning. )

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