'I think they are learning by the day. They were surprised by the strongly negative reaction which they encountered in Western countries, in some ways it was a great disappointment to them. But it also aroused in the Chinese people strong, even fierce nationalism, of wanting to rally round the flag in defending China's position.

'But any extreme reaction is not a good thing, and I believe that over time, they are beginning to find that balance and learning to manage the Western media.

'So in the case of CNN, which described Chinese people as 'thugs' and 'goons' and later clarified to mean that they only refer to Chinese leaders, well, they took a lawsuit against CNN, and I noticed this morning that CNN has apologised, which is an interesting new experience for China, learning how to deal with the Western media on their terms.'

FOREIGN MINISTER GEORGE YEO, on China's handling of the Olympic torch relay protests