Language Log

"Crisis" mentality infects China

From the recent meeting between Putin and Wang Yi (Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party):

Here is the writing in yellow:

Pǔqīn huì Wáng Yì yāo Xí fǎng É, lù pāo “zhèngzhì jiějué wéijī”, Měi bù lè jiàn?

普欽會王毅邀習訪俄，陸拋“政治解決危機”，美不樂見？

"When Putin met Wang Yi and invited Xi to visit Russia, was America unhappy to see mainland China toss out 'Politics to resolve the crisis'?"

The last eight characters in white read:

"Wēi zhōng yǒu jī, wēi kě zhuǎn jī"

“危中有機，危可轉機”

"In danger there is opportunity, danger can turn into opportunity."

Now even the Chinese are infected by this specious reasoning.

Selected readings

"'Crisis = danger + opportunity' redux" (2/19/20)
"Crisis ≠ Danger + Opportunity" (4/29/05)
"Etymology as argument" (6/18/05)
"Hollywood glamour, activist passion, false rhetoric" (4/24/06)
"Rice v. Mair" (1/27/07)
"Stop him before he tropes again" (3/22/07)
"Crisis = danger + opportunity: The plot thickens" (3/27/07)
"Trope-watch, Oslo edition" (12/11/07)
"The crisis-(danger)-opportunity trope, de-Sinicized" (3/7/09)
"Chinese word for 'crisis'" (Wikipedia)
"danger + opportunity ≠ crisis: How a misunderstanding about Chinese characters has led many astray" (Pinyin.info [2009])
"Can't work because of the Ukraine crisis" (2/25/22)
"More phony Chinese wisdom" (2/16/23) — with lengthy bibliography

[Thanks to Jing Hu and rit malors]