The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has accused the United States of initiating a “color revolution” in China after the U.S. Embassy in China posted its 2021 “Public Diplomacy Grants Program,” (pdf) offering up to a $30,000 grant for “projects that strengthen ties between the United States and China.”
According to the program, individuals, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, and academic institutions can apply for a grant to support priority areas such as: American society and values, culture, health, and language. One of the priority areas is projects that “support the enhancement of U.S.-China people-to-people relations, particularly understanding of the United States among the Chinese people.”
The program has somehow angered the CCP. One of its main mouthpieces, The Global Times, accused the United States of recruiting a “fifth column” (a group of people who undermine a larger group from within) in China, and Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian blamed the United States for staging a “color revolution” (attempt to destabilize a country through a precipitating event) in China.
On May 19, Zhao accused the United States of “interfering in the internal affairs of other countries around the world, exerting malicious influence, and even creating color revolutions” under the guise of democracy and human rights.
“One has to wonder about the true intentions of the U.S. program in question,” Zhao said at a routine press conference of the CCP’s Foreign Ministry.