And now a State Dept. report is underlining her mistake.
The United States on Wednesday scolded China for a litany of human-rights abuses last year even though Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested during her recent Beijing visit that the issue would take a back seat to broader concerns like the global financial crisis.
In a report on the state of human rights around the world, the State Department singled out China for numerous violations while noting a general deterioration in conditions in other countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and eastern Europe.
China’s an important trading partner and they are helping to hold up our economy (and theirs) but that doesn’t mean we should keep giving them a total pass on these rights violations. When the Secretary Of State and especially the President have interactions with senior Chinese officials, they have to be subject to diplomatic pressure.
Isn’t that the reason we voted for Obama and not for Clinton? Because we wanted to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror?
Uh, the State Dept works for her. There’s no way she didn’t know the human rights report was coming out.
It was all timed perfectly in order to 1) allow HRC to go to China and beg them to continue to gobble up our government paper, 2) allow the Chinese to save face by not calling them out face-to-face and 3) still give them a stern finger-wagging about human rights.
It’s called ‘politics’.
Uh, the State Dept works for her.
The State Department works for the State Department. I think it’s been at least since Reagan — if not Nixon — that the Secretary of State didn’t end up getting “captured” by the system.
And perhaps the Chinese hinted to Madame Secretary that they just might “leak” how they got so much US technology in the 1990’s if she didn’t play nice on her first visit…
J.
And don’t forget the secret drug runs into Arkansas! You people are such morons on this stuff.
Didn’t the State Department under Shrub, I mean Bush Jnr, remove China from the Human Rights Violators list last year? So the new State Department is actually telling the truth?
America… The Truth Will Set You Free!!!
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0313/p03s05-usfp.html
March 13, 2008
Washington – It was mostly the usual suspects on the State Department’s list of the world’s worst countries for human rights violations, but standing out for its absence from the list this year was China.
State Dept follows policy, point proven by history, on behalf of the Southern Hemisphere, thank you AMERICA! Again for voting in an HONEST administration that prides itself, or at least can define the term integrity!
Just because she didn’t smack them around this trip doesn’t mean she is a big softy.
You make nice with the new neighbors before bitching about their dog shitting in your yard.
Really, that’s pretty truther, JT.
Just because she didn’t smack them around this trip doesn’t mean she is a big softy.
Agreed. The Secretary’s an asset. Still has a very solid reputation overseas (at least from what I can tell), and she can get her hands dirty. Just cause she’s smiling doesn’t mean she’s making nice.
… and we don’t know what was said behind closed doors. Public scolding can be made half a world away and accomplishes little except to play to an expectant audience.
Private scolding with “we thank you for what you’ve done, but you’ve got a heck of a long way to go in this, this, and this” will get much more traction.
Events of the last few decades show us that the Chinese do NOT respond well at all to public scolding and threats. Whatever has been accomplished has been behind the scenes and developed over time.
Gary
After 8 years of denying people (including our own citizens)due process while mocking the Geneva Convention and our own Constitution, how the hell can we lecture China on human rights?
We have zero credibility.
Not only that but we owe them BILLIONS of dollars, dollars used to prop up our economy.
Thank Bush and the goosestepping GOP.
Sorry guys, this doesn’t fall on Bush and stuff about behind closed doors talk doesn’t cut the mustard either. America has to stand up for human rights, in public, and loudly.
how the hell can we lecture China on human rights?
“Cuz there’s a new sheriff in town.
After 8 years of denying people (including our own citizens)due process while mocking the Geneva Convention
Jack J, please keep up with current events:
The “new Sheriff in town” has only been on the job for less than 2 months. It will take longer than that to change the negative perception the world has of us.
They are waiting to see the results of our ACTIONS, not our words.
SaveFarris, the U.S. military review’s conclusions that prisoner treatment met Geneva Convention’s Standards, it lacks credibility simply because the review was done by the American military and ignored allegations and/or proof of torture. I doubt that the U.N. would make the same conclusion.
If you have info to the contrary, post it.
The “new Sheriff in town” has only been on the job for less than 2 months. It will take longer than that to change the negative perception the world has of us.
That’s true. But you gotta start somewhere.