What Happened to Face?

Years ago, footage of North Korean refugees charging into embassies while Chinese police tried to stop them caused great embarrassment to China. As a result, there were massive crackdown of North Korean refugees, including dragging some off of embassy grounds and taken back to North Korea. Now it seems North Korea has done something even more embarrassing to China (like launching missiles and counterfeiting the yuan). As a result, get a load of this headline

China allows North Korean refugees to leave for the United States

BEIJING - In a sign of newfound strains with North Korea, China has quietly allowed three North Korean refugees who’d been holed up at a U.S. consulate in its northeast region to travel to the United States.

China never before has permitted North Korean refugees to depart directly for safety in the United States, returning them instead to imprisonment in their homeland.

The move underscored frictions between North Korea and China, its only major ally, after Pyongyang’s launch July 4 of at least seven ballistic missiles that rattled East Asia. The missiles, including a three-stage Taepodong-2 that fizzled shortly after takeoff, splashed down in the Sea of Japan.

While this was last weeks news, China’s new found respect for the UNHCR (sort of) is news. While I am certain China is now enforcing the Chinese equivalent of “wet foot, dry foot“, now it seems embassy grounds are safe again for the time being.

Speaking of face, Austin Bay has an article up on what happens when China loses face.