Southern Voice is a left-leaning magazine, focusing predominantly on political, cultural and economic events in Shu, Han and Southern Anle
Historically, the magazine has had a close relationship with the Sun Clan and the Imperial HouseholdGovernment continues to react to Congressman Powell ScandalStory by Yu Yong-weon, April 4477The government of Indrala has continued to express its extreme disappointment with the ruling party of Baltusia, following the comments of one of its most prominent members, Congressman Bradley Powell, with regard to the flag of Indrala. Despite private exchanges with cabinet members of President Wallace Howell's administration, the Republican Party has taken no actions against Congressman Powell, and the bilateral relationship between Indrala and Baltusia has suffered as a result.
Accordingly, thousands of Indralan citizens have been protesting Baltusian diplomatic missions within Indrala, many of whom view the United States as having tacitly endorsed the 'anti-Indralan' statements made by Congressman Powell. Twenty-thousand Indralans signed an online petition to ask Foreign Minister Jiang Chen to suspend an upcoming meeting between Baltusian and Indralan diplomats and cabinet ministers in Tian'an. Public outrage over the comments has also manifested itself in a number of boycott actions against Baltusian consumer goods and cultural products, suspended private sector investment in Baltusia and terse exchanges between netizens online.
"The people of Indrala will not be lectured on their culture by a raving xenophobe"Minister of Education and Culture, He Meixuan fired the latest round of shots against Congressman Powell, who
recently held a press conference to compound his conviction that the Indralan flag indicates that the people of Indrala worship Satanail. In response to his comments, Minister He assembled Indralan Hosian faith leaders as well as Indralan cultural academics to discredit what the Minister referred to as "blatant anti-Indralan lies and linguistic revisionism."
"The people of Indrala will not be lectured on their culture by a raving xenophobe," said Minister He. "Bradley Powell does not understand that of which he speaks, and employs despicable tactics such as misinformation, revisionism and outright lies to generate anti-Indralan sentiment among the people of Baltusia."
Cultural academics at the press conference specifically targeted Powell's incorrect use of Indralan characters in an attempt to prove his point. The Congressman produced a number of infographics which explain the composition of Indralan characters,
one of which has become an online meme in Indrala due to its falsehood.
"The character for 'tempter' and for 'dragon' share no similarities," said Professor Shen Dingli of Tian'an National University. "Congressman Powell produced a graphic which completely revised the composition of the character for 'tempter,' suggesting that it shares distinct similarities to the character for 'dragon.'"
Professor Shen produced a graphic of his own which led to some laughter among the members of the Indralan media for whom the information seems obvious. The professor, too, chuckled as he held the page up.
"As you can see, the radical which Congressman Powell refers to does not represent the 'dragon,' nor does it share any aesthetic or linguistic similarities whatsoever. The radical, directly translated, means 'house on a cliff,' though the three-stroke radical often is interpreted as 'cover,' when combined with other strokes. One definition which it never takes on, is that of 'dragon.'"
Indralan Hosian faith leaders also resolutely denounced Congressman Powell's comments, saying that they do not represent "the deep-seeded respect for multiculturalism embodied by Eliyahu."
"Eliyahu of Yishelem, a Yeudi man, brought his teachings to all of humanity," said Minister Lin Maosheng of the Independent Confessing Church of Indrala. "The first church to our saviour was founded in Selucia. It's awfully ignorant of brother Powell to suggest that one of the cultures walking on God's mortal plane has surrendered to sin for the simple development of unique cultural symbolism. We should be living and doing all things to bring glory to God, not to bring offence to others."
FM praises Baltusian opposition politiciansForeign Minister Jiang Chen, speaking to media outside a conference hall in Hazhou, Shu Province praised the
recently broadcasted comments by Democratic Governor Sam Carter, who said that Congressman Powell "is a truly low-grade man lacking the moral compass to really give anyone advice."
"We're pleased to see such a condemnation of anti-Indralanism and bigotry, if not from the United States government, then from its democratic opposition," said Minister Jiang. "Governor Carter has gone beyond performative words of apology and regret to take a strong and moral stand against the incorrect views of Bradley Powell."
Continuing, the Minister said that he isn't interested in "hollow" apologies. As he
said in the past, the Government of Indrala remains concerned over the lack of dissent from the leadership of the Republican Party of Baltusia.
"I have received communications from some members of the Republican cabinet, who have offered their apologies to the people of Indrala," said Minister Jiang. "However, what actions have been taken by these same individuals? Words of apology mean nothing if they aren't backed up by efforts at rectification. For all their performative pronouncements, Bradley Powell remains a ranking member of the Baltusian ruling-party and has received no sanction for his deeply offensive comments."
It is clear that the comments of Congressman Powell have deeply impacted the bilateral relationship between Indrala and Baltusia. It is yet to be seen whether the aftermath of this scandal will affect the relationship of these nations negatively for years to come, or whether positive developments will change the narrative surrounding this affair.