Reported possible US travel ban on CPC members absurd: Chinese ambassador

The U.S. plan to ban the members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) from traveling to the country is absurd, and is rooted in some people's ignorance of the history and true situation in China, said Chinese ambassador to U.S. Cui Tiankai on Tuesday.

The New York Times reported last week that the Trump administration was considering a sweeping ban on travel to the United States by the CPC members and their families, according to people familiar with the proposal. Cui said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) that many people in the U.S. misunderstand CPC because they do not know about the true history of China.

"It's really absurd. I think this reflects a problem. There are a considerable number of people, including some politicians, media, and even think tanks, who do not understand or do not even wish to know about China’s history and reality. They don’t want to learn about Chinese culture, about Chinese people, or the flesh-and-blood connection between the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people," Cui said. Cui suggests the U.S. people put aside the prejudice against China, and learn more about Chinese history and culture.

"Most people may not understand or were misled, so my advice to them is to take off the tinted glasses and get a good understanding of China’s true history and culture, and what the Chinese people think, so that they can have a relative more objective understanding. Of course, there are a very small number of people who are stubborn and refuse to face the reality and the objective laws that history has proved. To those people I will give them two lines from ancient Chinese poem: A thousand sails pass by the shipwrek, Ten thousand saplings shoot up beyond the withered tree--new things come to the fore while old things die. The laws of history will not be stopped by them," Cui said.

Cui also expressed the determination to follow the right path regardless of obstacles. "We have to look farther, keep our eyes on our goals, move forward unswervingly. We can only see far if we stand high, we need to maintain our sense of righteousness," Cui said.