Rhetorical Questions

Of course, I could be wrong because at the end of the day, we all live in our little western world here in China where we are not terribly aware of the big picture. Nevertheless, an article I have just read in "The China Daily" is interesting not because it is particularly interesting in itself but because the Chinese Foreign Minister answers questions, which, I feel, he doesn't really need to answer. In fact, I think the Chinese government is actually asking itself rhetorical questions. The said interview can be found at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2008-06/25/content_6793570.htm . This represents the lowest common denominator in journalism. It is, of course, not unique to China. However, it does represent, along with "newspeak" another method of social control.
It might, of course, be that there is a debate raging in restaurants and bars from Hainan to Harbin and from Shanghai to Uramchi on China's rights over Chunxiao not being negotiable. Maybe, we all live in our little western world where we don't really know what is happening.