Missives to China

Let it not be said that the art of letter-writing is dead. The French are breathing new life into this age-old method of communication. Besides the letter of apology sent by Nicolas Sarkozy to the Chinese athlete, it now appears that former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will also be delivering messages to Beijing. As will Jacques Chirac, who was prevented from going in person by illness.

Above you see cartoonist Langelot's interpretation of Raffarin's journey as the King's Messenger. Raffarin, who makes frequent trips to China, appears to know the language as well, since the most recent post at his website is in Chinese (with no translation).

Yahoo informs us that in addition to letters, Raffarin will take a gift to Chinese President Hu Jintao:

In this period of strained French-Chinese relations, President Nicolas Sarkozy has entrusted one of his emissaries with the mission of presenting a gift to Hu Jintao: a biography of General Charles de Gaulle who had recognized the People's Republic in 1964.

The French president dedicated the work to his Chinese counterpart, explained former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin on Wednesday before leaving for China.

The former prime minister, who has been traveling to China for 20 years, is one of the emissaries sent by Nicolas Sarkozy to Beijing for the purpose of appeasing tensions between the two countries since the fiasco generated by the arrival of the Olympic torch in Paris. Mr. Raffarin will bring to the Chinese a letter from the president and a letter from Jacques Chirac said to be an old friend of China, according to a spokesman.

Note: The Olympic torch triggered protests in many countries, not just France, but the French authorities seem to be tearing their hair to "appease" the Chinese. This must be because China is a Communist country and the French Republic is seizing the opportunity to curry its favor, and to make a display, however obsequiously, of enlightenment.