Saturday, May 5, 2012

Hillary's Swan Song, Chen Guancheng?

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05/05/2012

Hillary's Swan Song, Chen Guancheng?

If only Hillary Clinton, for the first and perhaps, the last time, stops shoveling the State Department youknowhat.

DooDoo.

She is forever and ever, chasing the mess, especially, the mega-mess, created by her own department.

The State Department of the mighty, leader of the world (ferinstance, Human Rights, peace, women's lives and rights in, for heaven's sake, in Taliban controlled Afghanistan).

Does anybody think in that super secret department?

Methinks NOT, period.

Happy "Cinco de mayo."

...and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.com

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Clinton urges China to protect human rights

Associated PressBy MATTHEW LEE | Associated Press – Wed, May 2, 2012

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  • U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, stands with Chinese President Hu Jintao during the opening ceremony of the U.S.- China Strategic and Economic Dialogue at the Diaoyutai state guesthouse in Beijing Thursday, May 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary …
  • In this photo released by the US Embassy Beijing Press Office, blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng, left, is helped by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, right, and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke as they leave the U.S. Embassy for a hospital in Beijing Wednesday May 2, 2012. (AP Photo/US Embassy Beijing Press Office, HO) In this photo released by the US …
BEIJING (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told China on Thursday that it must protect human rights, in remarks that rejected Beijing's criticism of the U.S. for getting involved in the case of a blind dissident whose fate overshadowed the opening of annual talks between the powerful countries.
Clinton said at the opening of the talks on foreign policy and economic issues that the U.S. believes "all governments have to answer our citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and that no nation can or should deny those rights."
Her comments came as the dissident, Chen Guangcheng, pleaded for more help from Washington. The blind, self-taught lawyer took refuge in the U.S. Embassy after escaping house arrest, but left Wednesday to get treatment for a leg injury at a Beijing hospital. He initially said he had been assured that he would be safe in China, but hours later he said he fears for his family's safety unless they are all spirited abroad.
China already demanded an apology from the U.S. even before Chen balked at a deal in which he would remain in his homeland. Now that he wants to leave, the case is looming over talks in which Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are to discuss foreign policy and economic issues with their Chinese counterparts.
China's President Hu Jintao said at the opening of the talks that China and the United States "must know how to respect each other" even if they disagree.
"Given our different national conditions, it is impossible for both China and the United States to see eye to eye on every issue," he said in the only part of the opening ceremony that was broadcast on state television. "We should properly manage the differences by improving mutual understanding so these differences will not undermine the larger interests of China-U.S. relations."
Neither Hu nor Clinton specifically mentioned Chen, who had spent six days holed up in the U.S. Embassy as senior officials in Beijing and Washington tussled over his fate. A shaken Chen told The Associated Press from his hospital room Wednesday that Chinese authorities had warned he would lose his opportunity to be reunited with his family if he stayed longer in the embassy.
U.S. officials verified that account. But they adamantly denied his contention that one American diplomat had warned him of a threat from the Chinese that his wife would be beaten to death if he did not get out of the embassy. They also denied his claim that American officials have left the hospital where he is being treated for a leg injury suffered in his escape.
"I think we'd like to rest in a place outside of China," Chen told the AP, appealing again for help from Washington. "Help my family and me leave safely."
Only hours earlier, U.S. officials said they had extracted from the Chinese government a promise that Chen would join his family and be allowed to start a new life in a university town in China, safe from the rural authorities who had abusively held him in prison and house arrest for nearly seven years.
Clinton spoke to Chen on the phone when he left the embassy and, in a statement, welcomed the resettlement agreement as one that "reflected his choices and our values."
The Chinese Foreign Ministry signaled its unhappiness with the entire affair, demanding that the U.S. apologize for giving Chen sanctuary at the embassy.
"What the U.S. side should do now is neither to continue misleading the public and making every excuse to shift responsibility and conceal its wrongdoing, nor to interfere in the domestic affairs of China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a statement late Wednesday.
Clinton appears to have tried not to stir the controversy further Thursday by omitting in her speech part of her prepared remarks that read: "We continue to look to China to meet its international obligations to protect universal human rights and fundamental freedoms." Instead she said only that these issues are important and would be raised in the talks.
The murky circumstances of Chen's departure from the embassy, and his sudden appeal to leave China after declaring he wanted to stay, are hanging over talks that were to focus on the global economic crisis and hotspots such as North Korea, Iran, Syria and Sudan.
Clinton mentioned those problems in her speech, saying it was important that China and the United States work together to tackle problems from climate change to Syria.
Chen, 40, became an international human rights figure and inspiration to many ordinary Chinese after running afoul of local government officials for exposing forced abortions carried out as part of China's one-child policy. He served four years in prison on what supporters said were fabricated charges, then was kept under house arrest with his wife, daughter and mother, with the adults often being roughed up by officials and his daughter searched and harassed.
Blinded by childhood fever but intimately familiar with the terrain of his village, Chen slipped from his guarded farmhouse in eastern China's Shandong province at night on April 22. He made his way through fields and forest, along roads and across a narrow river to meet the first of several supporters who helped bring him to Beijing and the embassy. It took three days for his guards to realize he was gone.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner disputed Chen's claim that he was left alone by the Americans at the hospital.
"There were U.S. officials in the building," the spokesman told reporters. "I believe some of his medical team was in fact with him at the hospital." He said U.S. officials would continue visiting Chen while he was there.
It is not clear how the U.S. could be party to an agreement on Chen's safety inside China when it has no power to enforce the conditions of his life there.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said no U.S. official said anything to Chen about physical or legal threats to his wife and children. Nor did the Chinese relay any such threats to American diplomats, she said. She did confirm that if he did not leave the embassy the Chinese intended to return his family to their home province of Shandong, where they had been detained and beaten by local officials, and that they would lose any chance of being reunited.
___
Associated Press writer Alexa Olesen contributed to this report.
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If only Hillary Clinton, for the first and perhaps, the last time, stops shoveling the State Department youknowhat.

DooDoo.

She is forever and ever, chasing the mess, especially, the mega-mess, created by her own department.

The State Department of the mighty, leader of the world (ferinstance, Human Rights, peace, women's lives and rights in, for heaven's sake, in Taliban controlled Afghanistan).

Does anybody think in that super secret department?

Methinks NOT, period.

Happy "Cinco de mayo."

...and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.com

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A source knowledgeable about the blind rights defense lawyer Chen Guangcheng’s (陈光诚) escape from his captors told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that Chen is safe but does not want to leave China.
According to Chen Kegui (陈克贵), a nephew of blind rights defense lawyer Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), who has been under house arrest since September 2010, is now missing from his home. Chen Kegui also told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that Chen Guangfu (陈光福) – Chen Kegui’s father and Chen Guangcheng’s older brother – had been taken away sometime in the late evening of April 26. He does not know who took his father as he did not witness it occur.
18th Party Congress Watch (7)
Gao Wenqian, HRIC Senior Policy Advisor
After nearly a month of silence, the Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration finally made its move: it announced that Bo Xilai was suspected of “serious disciplinary violations,” was suspended from the Politburo and Central Committee, and is under investigation. An episode of the great drama of power struggle in the Party’s high echelon in advance of the 18th Party Congress has come to an end. These days, the political situation in Beijing is volatile, with all kind of rumors flying around. Not only are the people talking about it—official media of different backgrounds have also joined the fray, releasing different, conflicting information, with public opinion spiraling out of control. Those of us who lived through the Cultural Revolution naturally think of the summer before the fall of the Gang of Four.
On April 13, disabled rights advocate Ni Yulan (倪玉兰) submitted an appeal to Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court challenging her conviction and prison sentence by a lower court. On April 10, the Xicheng District People’s Court of Beijing found Ni guilty of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” (寻衅滋事) and “fraud” (诈骗), and ordered her to serve two years and eight months in prison and pay a fine of 1,000 yuan ($159) The court also convicted her husband, Dong Jiqin (董继勤), of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” and sentenced him to two years in prison. The verdict was issued more than three months after the court accepted the case in December 2011, exceeding the one-month-and-a-half maximum period allowed by law.
On April 14, 2012, Li Dawei (李大伟), a former policeman and democracy activist, is scheduled to be released from a prison in Gansu Province after serving 11 years on conviction of “subversion of state power.” According to Li’s family members, Li is not expected to arrive home until the evening of April 14 because of the distance between the prison, in the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, and his home in Tianshui. After he leaves prison, Li is subjected to four years of post-release deprivation of political rights.
In an open letter, Wan Dang and five others in exile after the 1989 Democracy Movement appeal to the Chinese government to restore their right to return to their country and allow them to visit China. They state that they are willing to abide by the principles of openness and good faith to engage in dialogues with the relevant government departments to discuss concrete ways to solve the problem. Below is the English translation of the letter by Human Rights in China.
On March 15, 2012, well-known rights defense lawyer Yang Zaixin (杨在新), after nine months in detention, was put under “residential surveillance at a designated place”—which means, under the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law, detention at a place other than the detainee’s home or an official detention center.
18th Party Congress Watch (6)
Gao Wenqian, HRIC Senior Policy Advisor
The annual Two Sessions of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference had only just ended when the removal of Bo Xilai from his post as Chongqing Municipal Party Secretary was announced. The carefully worded official report stated that Bo had not been “dismissed” but, rather, would “no longer serve” as Party Secretary, and referred to him as “comrade.” But one can say that Bo’s political career is over, and it is probably just a matter of time before he is stripped of his position as Politburo member.
18th Party Congress Watch (5)
Gao Wenqian, HRIC Senior Policy Advisor
The annual Two Congresses have become the political version of an extravagant Spring Festival Gala, an occasion that allows the rich and powerful to flaunt their wealth. It was truer this year than ever before, as representatives rode up in their BMWs, decked out in furs, jewels, 240,000-yuan watches, and 10,000-yuan belts. This fact stands in sharp contrast with the increasingly difficult circumstances facing regular people and has led to intense criticism from the public.
On Wednesday, March 14, China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) is expected to vote to adopt proposed revisions to the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) amid troubling questions about the substance of the legislation, procedural irregularities, censorship of online discussion.

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Jon Talton

Analysis and commentary on economic news, trends and issues, with an emphasis on Seattle and the Northwest.
May 4, 2012 at 10:27 AM

Vote: China, human rights and our appetites | Jon Talton

Posted by Jon Talton
The saga of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng grinds on. At great risk to his supporters, he was spirited to the supposed protection of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Then he emerged with a smiling Ambassador Gary Locke. A deal has supposedly been brokered where he could remain in China, safe from threats, and study. Then it emerged that the authorities told him his wife would be beaten to death if he didn't come out. And China quickly reneged on the deal. Now, with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton trying to have a summit, a new deal might let Chen come to the United States. Or not.
What does this have to do with us? China is our largest import trade partner. Try to find something made in America, and not just an iPhone. China is our biggest creditor; we've fought wars and run up a disastrous housing bubble on debt sold to Beijing. China is also an authoritarian state with a monstrous human-rights record, protectionist trade policies and little regard for intellectual property rights. It is also belligerently confronting its neighbors over resources. America has worked for nearly 40 years to manage China's peaceful rise and, we had hoped, evolution into a responsible member of the community of nations. It's now the world's second-largest economy, but the other problems remain.
As a "consumer" and, more importantly, a citizen, what do you think?

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    Engagement with China is the best path to human rights

      May 05, 2012
    THE STRENGTHENING of economic ties and security cooperation with China, the world’s second-largest economic and military power, is an essential objective of US foreign policy. The promotion of freedom in China, the world’s largest police state, is another. Unfortunately, those two objectives are in tension — a point dramatically underscored this week in the still-evolving saga of dissident Chen Guangcheng. The Obama administration, clearly surprised when the blind Chen escaped house arrest in Shandong province and sought refuge at the US embassy, worked furiously to avoid a diplomatic standoff on the eve of high-level talks between Chinese officials and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.
    The apparent outcome — a reported promise of a visa for Chen to study in the United States — is unsatisfying to many human rights activists, who wanted a stronger condemnation of Chinese authorities and possible cancellation of the talks. But the administration’s decision to try to balance, however uneasily, the need for the high-level talks with its obligation to protect Chen as a human-rights victim, is an admirable one.
    There is an enormous gap between political rhetoric about China and the reality of US relations with China. Every election, candidates from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have called for sharp lines to be drawn against China on human rights, democracy, currency manipulation, environmental abuses, tolerance of North Korea, and numerous other tension points. Then, in office, the former candidates tend to relent, for the good reason that progress between the United States and China on many of those fronts has been real, but shown to come only from painstaking, long-term efforts — not ultimatums.
    Obama, like his predecessors, has stressed the importance of greater political and economic freedom “every time” there have been high-level meetings with Chinese officials, he reminded reporters earlier this week. But he has not allowed concerns about human rights to foreclose cooperation on other issues. Nor should he.
    The essential wisdom of this policy doesn’t necessary mean the Chen episode was handled well. Time will tell whether the agreements negotiated by US Ambassador Gary Locke and top State Department officials succeed in protecting Chen, his wife, and two children.
    Time will tell whether the agreements negotiated by US officials succeed in protecting Chen, his wife, and two children.
    Quote Icon
    It’s important because Chen is a folk hero to millions of Chinese citizens for his courageous defense of women forced to undergo abortion as part of the regime’s sometimes brutal one-child policy. He has paid a high price for his advocacy, as have such other human-rights champions as Liu Xiaobo, the imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate. They and their supporters are counting on the United States to advance the cause of liberty, but should also recognize greater liberty will only come through greater engagement.
     

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    Chen Guangcheng: 'I want to leave China as soon as possible'. Link to this video The Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has stirred the controversy over the US administration's handling of the Chen Guangcheng affair, describing the unfolding crisis over the human rights activist's fate as "a dark day for freedom".
    Romney joined a chorus of Republican members of Congress as well as Chinese human rights activists in questioning whether the US government's concern about maintaining good relations with Beijing had trumped its commitment to human rights.
    Chen, after a short stay at the US embassy, is now in hospital in Beijing and back under the control of Chinese government authorities, after a deal negotiated by a special envoy from the US state department quickly unravelled.
    The Obama administration is now faced with a serious dilemma over how to resolve the controversy.
    Chen, from his hospital bed, has told journalists and fellow activists he felt pressured to leave the embassy, particularly after a US official conveyed a message from the Chinese government that Chen interpreted as a threat that he might never again see his wife and two children. He is asking for a safe passage to America, telling the Daily Beast that he would prefer departing on the same plane as US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
    Clinton began talks Thursday with China's president, Hu Jintao, in Beijing, a day after Chen left the embassy. Activists expressed their suspicion that Chen was hustled out to avoid undermining the summit.
    Romney, who will challenge Obama for the White House in November, said during a campaign stop in Virginia: "The reports are, if they are accurate, that our administration wittingly or unwittingly communicated to Chen an implicit threat to his family and also probably sped up, or may have sped up, the process of his decision to leave the embassy. If these reports are true, this is a dark day for freedom, and it's a day of shame for the Obama administration."
    Republicans contrasted the treatment of Chen with how past Democratic and Republican presidents had provided sanctuary for dissidents for years at US embassies in the old Soviet empire.
    At an emergency congressional hearing on the issue, Republican representatives Chris Smith and Frank Wolf echoed Romney. Wolf asked whether "word had come down from on high to resolve the situation" before the summit and described the Obama administration's actions as "naive".
    Among those giving evidence to the hearing, "Bob" Fu, one of the leading Chinese dissidents living in the US and a friend of Chen's who spoke with him on Wednesday night, urged Clinton, a vocal champion of human rights, to break off from her talks at the summit to deal with Chen. "Secretary Clinton, this is the moment to deliver on what you promised over the last few years," Fu said.
    Earlier, at a press conference, Fu described his phone conversation with Chen from the hospital. "'I felt pressured to leave.' These were his exact words," Fu said.
    US officials said Chen, who escaped from house arrest in his Shandong province village to the US embassy last week, had initially agreed to a deal in which he would be allowed to study law at a Chinese university. After leaving the embassy and speaking with his family, he told journalists by phone he instead wanted to leave for the US.
    A US official said on Thursday that Washington is ready to help Chen. But his situation is complicated because he is now in a Chinese hospital rather than under US protection.
    In a phone interview with the Guardian, Chen said that he was worried about his health, the safety of relatives still in his hometown, and his lack of communication with the outside world.
    "I can't go out. No friends visit me. For a time, my cellphone did not work last night, so I worry so much about my relatives back home. There are many people around my home with sticks and they have installed closed-circuit cameras. I heard they are putting an electric fence around my home."
    Chen's dramatic escape from 19 months of illegal house arrest in led to days of difficult negotiations between US and Chinese officials. The US ambassador Gary Locke said: "He knew and was very aware that he might have to spend many, many years in the embassy. But he was prepared to do that. And he was fully aware of and talked about what might happen to his family if he stayed in the embassy and they stayed in the village in Shandong province."
    Locke added: "He made it very clear from the beginning that he wanted to stay in China, that he wanted to be part of the struggle to improve human rights within China."
    The ambassador said the deal included the family's relocation to another part of China where Chen would be able to study law at university and a promise that authorities would investigate the complaints of abuse.
    But after Chen was reunited with his wife and children at the Beijing hospital, her account of threats from officials and warnings from friends about the risks the family faced appear to have changed his mind.
    US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that the family "have had a change of heart about whether they want to stay in China" and said officials needed to talk further with Chen about options.
    Many analysts were sceptical that China would allow the family to leave, although Steve Tsang, an expert on Chinese politics at Nottingham University, said he thought it was still possible. But he warned: "Public diplomacy or grandstanding will limit the scope for quiet diplomacy."
    US officials were present at the hospital – now ringed by police – but by lunchtime on Thursday had not seen Chen in person. An Obama administration official later said his wife came out of the facility for a long talk with US embassy officials.
    Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin denied Chen had been held under house arrest, saying: "After Chen Guangcheng's release from prison he was a free person, as far as I know. He has been living in his home town." China has criticised the US for interfering, and demanded an apology from US diplomats.
    Clinton, opening bilateral talks in Beijing, did not mention Chen specifically, but noted: "Of course, as part of our dialogue, the United States raises the importance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We believe all governments have to answer our citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and that no nation can or should deny those rights."
    The Chinese Human Rights Defenders network reported that police seized prominent human rights lawyer Jiang Tianyong outside Chaoyang hospital. His telephone was switched off on Thursday evening. The activist He Peirong, who drove Chen away from Shandong, is still missing. Concern for her safety was raised at the Congressional hearing.
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    Related information

    The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, at their talks Chen Guangcheng's escape puts Obama in a bind
    3 May 2012
    The US administration and the Beijing regime are playing for high stakes, but it's no game for the Chinese activists
    Chen Guangcheng activists in Hong Kong Chen Guangcheng's nephew flees in fear for his life
    30 Apr 2012
    Chen Kegui said to be in hiding as Chinese dissident's escape to US embassy reveals bitter human cost to family

    Chinese activist: Game-changer in geopolitical football match?

    Published: 04 May, 2012, 16:32
    Edited: 04 May, 2012, 19:37

    Thank you for the comment!
    An activist holds a banner with a photo of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng during a protest in Hong Kong on May 4, 2012 (AFP Photo / Laurent Fievet) A Chinese dissident seeking asylum in the US has overshadowed bilateral negotiations between the two countries. The case comes at a crucial time for China-US relations, raising suspicions it may have been orchestrated to serve diplomatic interests.
    18 COMMENTS
    PR1oh1 May 04, 2012, 17:34 quote
    +9
    Smart move by China.
    conkphooey-orangutan May 04, 2012, 18:14 quote
    +5
    he could earn money for starring in japanese new zatoichi kenkatabe...
    Socialism2011 May 04, 2012, 18:36 quote
    +17
    The laws the US has passed recently such as the NDAA means America can no longer criticize China about 'human rights violations' without being made to look completely hypocritical.  
    trueworld May 04, 2012, 21:22 quote
    -4
     blame the jew-cia and jews propaganda-machine sabotage USA and china relation for isreal/jews interest. jews is today world problem. it will make china, russia, north-korea, iran and south-america working togather much closer to eliminate their common enemy [jews].
    JJ (unregistered) May 04, 2012, 21:24 quote
    +11
    When he heard the price of an apartment in New York City, he figured,
    "Gee, these Jewish Landlords just rob you blind".  He figured that if he
    could learn to sing like Joe Cocker, he could stay in China, and start a
    Ray Charles Tribute Band.  He wound up having to go the the hospital
    in China cause he burnt his hand trying to read the waffle iron. If he ever
    regained his eyesight and saw what Hillary looks like, he'd poke his eyes
    out.


    SMJ May 04, 2012, 21:28 quote
    -1
    Socialism2011 - This article omits to mention exactly which 'human rights' this man is standing up for and the reason he is seeking refuge from the Chinese government - Chen is an outspoken critic of the Chinese Government's 'one child' policy more specifically the forced sterilisation and forced abortions thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of Chinese women have had to endure over the last few years. Please do not mistake me I certainly agree and think the US has no right to lecture anyone else in the world on human rights (Abu Ghrab & Guantanomo are just two examples of their rank hypocrisy) but I find it very upsetting that the world is focusing on the 'Geopolitical gamechanger' and not focusing on the real scandal and the real issue here that appears to be ignored and that is the women who have and are suffering because of this policy.
    itchimaru May 04, 2012, 21:29 quote
    +8
    Smart move China, for letting him go. You don't need this guy anyway. Let the American tax payers take care of him and his family.
    Arthur Borges (unregistered) May 04, 2012, 22:00 quote
    +11
    Mr. Chen is truly fearless: at one point he said he wanted to kiss Mrs. Clinton.

    I think Mrs. Clinton should award that Human Right to anyone who asks.
    Socialism2011 May 04, 2012, 22:08 quote
    +9
    @SMJ Hello, The one child policy in China only applies to around ~30% of the population. Although terrible events must have happened to countless women I do understand the logic behind the one child policy which applies in the dense urban provinces. If it wasnt implemented then there would be 100s of millions of extra births which would cripple Chinese health service, cities, schools etc, there would be too many people. It is better to have fewer people having a better standard of living rather than more people having a lower standard of living.
    CON May 04, 2012, 22:27 quote
    +12
    'The Chinese dissident' may turn out to be as authentic as the crying 'Nurse' in Kuwiait, the one who saw Iraqi soldiers throwing infants out of incubators.
    Arthur Borges (unregistered) May 04, 2012, 22:55 quote
    +6
    @Con

    You mean the one who testified at some Congressional hearing in the USA and turned out to be the Kuwaiti ambassador's daughter, who couldn't have been in the country at the time?

    Anyhow, Mr. Chen landed at the embassy when staff were likely terribly busy with arrangements for Mrs. Clinton's visit and hardly needed the extra grief.

    He couldn't have escaped alone, so some organization wanted to jinx the talks in one direction or the other and it might have been Chinese as easily as an American one, e.g. a church group or some Republican running his own operation.

    Go figure.


    Jaime May 04, 2012, 23:08 quote
    +8
    There were cases of coerced procedures by overzealous local officials breaking laws in order to satisfy the policy, but that's old news. These local officals were punished. Since 2007-2008 enforcement of the one child policy is not draconian. People in rural areas are allow more than one child. Ethnic minorities are exempt. Those in the cities breaking the policy are fined. Allying with the US anti-China forces based on these domestic incidents of abuse of power by local officials can only contribute more anti-China propaganda, misconceptions, and prejudices. Shaming your own house and running to those who dislike your kind, what good can come out of that?
    trueworld May 05, 2012, 01:46 quote
    +3
    hallery should award a human right medal for her husband bill clinton for child molester and adultery.
    European May 05, 2012, 02:17 quote
    +4
    It is more like a plot made by the reformist to oust Bo Xilai and his maoist faction from power, using the funny lady Hillary, and her vanity, as a tool for that purpose. A triple win result: Mr. Chen; Mr. Hu Jintao and Mr. Romey.
    Tom Sad May 05, 2012, 02:20 quote
    +11
    I have every reason to believe that most politicians in the USA are lunatics.How on earth can a country which has dubious democracy,responsible for training and arming most of the known terrorists and murders,responsible for political assasinations of political leaders who are percieved as sturbon,claim to be World police for human rights.So the USA can afford to attack China for dealing with some brainwashed and petty Chinese political activists while turning a blind eye to the war crimes Israel is committing against the Palestinians?There is not a single 3rd World country at peace where the evil foreign policies of the empire are at work.Chinaś methods of attempting to check its population growth are far better than inventing killer viruses such as HIV,Ebola etc and use them against innocent people.China and Russia must stand firm and should not give an inch to the evil empire.
    living000 May 05, 2012, 05:35 quote
    +4
    Russia and China are not immuned to the porpagandah by the west, WWIII is coming, and they want to make sure they get enough conscripts to fight their dirty wars, why? because China and Russia combined are more powerful than the west and they know it.
    CON May 05, 2012, 15:57 quote
    0
    Arthur Borges (unregistered) wrote in #11@Con You mean the one who testified at some Congressional hearing in the USA and turned out to be the Kuwaiti ambassador's daughter, who couldn't have been in the country at the time? IN REPLY: Yes, the very same.
    SiDevilIam May 05, 2012, 16:39 quote
    0
    If only Hillary Clinton, for the first and perhaps, the last time, stops shoveling the State Department youknowhat.

    DooDoo.

    She is forever and ever, chasing the mess, especially, the mega-mess, created by her own department.

    The State Department of the mighty, leader of the world (ferinstance, Human Rights, peace, women's lives and rights in, for heaven's sake, in Taliban controlled Afghanistan).

    Does anybody think in that super secret department?

    Methinks NOT, period.

    Happy "Cinco de mayo."

    ...and I am Sid Harth@mysistereileen.com
    Thank you for the comment!
    Go to main page   News   Chinese activist: Game-changer in geopolitical football match?  
    MORE ON THE STORY
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    Chinese activist: Game-changer in geopolitical football match?

    Published: 04 May, 2012, 16:32
    Edited: 04 May, 2012, 19:37
    An activist holds a banner with a photo of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng during a protest in Hong Kong on May 4, 2012 (AFP Photo / Laurent Fievet)
    An activist holds a banner with a photo of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng during a protest in Hong Kong on May 4, 2012 (AFP Photo / Laurent Fievet)
    TAGS: Meeting, Scandal, Politics, Human rights, Mass media, China, USA, Opposition

    A Chinese dissident seeking asylum in the US has overshadowed bilateral negotiations between the two countries. The case comes at a crucial time for China-US relations, raising suspicions it may have been orchestrated to serve diplomatic interests.
    Officially Chen Guangcheng’s situation only serves to put strain on ties between the two nations and impede potential progress in economic and political policy. However, the two sides reached a tentative compromise on Friday after China agreed to let the blind dissident apply to study abroad.
    The US Statement Department for its part said that Chen has a fellowship at an American University and expects China to take care of his travel arrangements. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Chen’s wife and two children would be allowed to accompany him once he embarks on his fellowship.
    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reacted to the news by saying much progress had been made "to to help him [Chen] have the future that he wants.” She further described Chen’s case as extending beyond the plight of “well known activists,” but rather extended to the “human rights and aspirations of more than a billion people here in China and billions more around the world.”
    Chen had previously appealed directly to the US Congress and asked to meet with Clinton, currently in China for diplomatic talks.
    In a dramatic telephone call to Congress, Chen had previously said he feared for the safety of his wife and children and wanted a “rest” in the US. He left the shelter of the US embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, but regretted the decision, only realizing the full extent of the threat to his family after his departure.
    The Chinese government suggested a compromise, saying that Chen could leave China by applying for a student position in the US.
    They had previously struck out at the US government for “meddling” in the case and have demanded an official apology from Washington for the affront.
    ­

    Coincidence or Conspiracy?


    Hillary Clinton is wrapping up a diplomatic mission to strengthen economic and political ties with Beijing in what has been hailed as a high point in the countries’ relations.
    However, dialogue has been overshadowed by dissident Chen’s case with many questioning its coincidence with the bilateral talks. The controversial case highlights human rights violations in China and has the potential to embarrass Beijing and undermine its authority.
    Former CIA analyst Chris Johnson, now part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says in article on that organization’s website that Chinese-US relations had almost reached “the perfect storm.”
    He cited the case of corrupt politician Bo Xilai and alleged reports that the US was planning to sell Taiwan the F-16 fighter jet to add to its air fleet.

    “For the conspiracy-minded in Beijing, and there are plenty of them, they will see these things as completing the circle of a US containment strategy designed to stifle China’s rise,” said Chris Johnson.
    Columnist Francesco Sisci told RT that it was very possible that somebody “tried to plant the scandal as a thorn between the US and China” and that the blind activist must have had help to escape captivity.

    “If it was orchestrated they must have had the support of the local police and maybe also someone in America,” said Sisci.
    He emphasized that China-US relations were entering a “tricky time” with both sides adapting to China’s growing status as a global superpower.
    However, Zhang Yongjin, professor of International Politics at the University of Bristol, told RT he dismissed allegations the scandal was purposefully orchestrated.
    "Given the high stakes in the strategic and economic dialogue that was to be held in Beijing just before the event [Cheng seeking shelter in the US embassy after escaping house arrest], I don’t believe this was a conspiracy,”he said.
    But while viewing the timing of the event as a “coincidence”, Zhang says “the Americans probably didn’t play this very smartly” by agreeing to take Chen into their compound.
    “On the surface, this is sort of an embarrassment for the Chinese. But when Chen Guangcheng came out and said he was disappointed by how the Americans had dealt with this, it became an embarrassment now more for the United States than for China really," he added.
    Zhang also says that Beijing’s “low profile” and “relative reticence” regarding the case proves China is not going to let it get in the way of more important matters.
    “In many ways, I think it’s probably not such a big deal, a big issue for the Chinese although they are probably quite irritated by the unfolding drama,” he said.
    “I don’t think that it stands in the way of a broad, kind of strategic economic cooperation between China and the United States,” he concluded.
    ­

    Republicans target Obama over Chinese activist

    US President Barack Obama’s opposition has also seized on Chen’s case, branding it as indicative of his weak foreign policy.
    Obama’s Republican presidential competitor Mitt Romney has branded the administration’s treatment of Chen Guangcheng’s case as a “failure.”
    “The reports are, if they are accurate, that our administration wittingly or unwittingly communicated to Chen an implicit threat to his family and also probably sped up or may have sped up the process of his decision to leave the embassy," Romney said at a campaign event on Thursday.
    He added that if reports were true, “it’s a day of shame for the Obama administration.”
    Obama has come under fire recently from his Republican opponents for his foreign policy. Namely for his controversial use of the killing of Osama Bin Laden as the centerpiece of his re-election campaign.
    Romney said Chen’s case was yet more evidence that the president has not been standing up to authoritarian governments like Syria and Iran.
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    CON May 05, 2012, 15:57
    0
    Arthur Borges (unregistered) wrote in #11@Con You mean the one who testified at some Congressional hearing in the USA and turned out to be the Kuwaiti ambassador's daughter, who couldn't have been in the country at the time? IN REPLY: Yes, the very same.
    living000 May 05, 2012, 05:35
    +4
    Russia and China are not immuned to the porpagandah by the west, WWIII is coming, and they want to make sure they get enough conscripts to fight their dirty wars, why? because China and Russia combined are more powerful than the west and they know it.
    Tom Sad May 05, 2012, 02:20
    +11
    I have every reason to believe that most politicians in the USA are lunatics.How on earth can a country which has dubious democracy,responsible for training and arming most of the known terrorists and murders,responsible for political assasinations of political leaders who are percieved as sturbon,claim to be World police for human rights.So the USA can afford to attack China for dealing with some brainwashed and petty Chinese political activists while turning a blind eye to the war crimes Israel is committing against the Palestinians?There is not a single 3rd World country at peace where the evil foreign policies of the empire are at work.Chinaś methods of attempting to check its population growth are far better than inventing killer viruses such as HIV,Ebola etc and use them against innocent people.China and Russia must stand firm and should not give an inch to the evil empire.
    Legal disclaimer Feedback Contact us © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2012. All rights reserved.

    Clinton lays down working criteria for DPRK

    Updated: 2012-05-05 07:34

    By Cheng Guangjin (China Daily)

      Comments(4) Print Mail Large Medium  Small
    		0

    Secretary of State: Country has opportunity to change track
    The United States is willing to work with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea if it changes its ways, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday.
    "The new leadership in Pyongyang still has the opportunity to change course and put their people first," said Clinton, according to Reuters.
    "If they focus on honoring their commitments and rejoining the international community, and on feeding and educating their citizens, the United States will welcome them and work with them," she said.
    Clinton lays down working criteria for DPRK
    Clinton made the remarks on the second day of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing.
    "We recognize the role China has played so far, and we hope we can continue to work together to make it clear to North Korea that strength and security will come from prioritizing people, not provocation," she said, according to the Associated Press.
    China and the US have reached a consensus for benign interaction in the region, said Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cui Tiankai at a joint news conference at the conclusion of the two-day dialogue.
    In 2011, the two countries set up a bilateral consultation mechanism for the region, and the fourth round of talks will be held this year.
    The US has never really taken its hands off the Asia-Pacific region, said Cui.
    "We respect the US' reasonable concerns and interests in this region and welcome it to play a constructive role," he said, adding that China "hopes the US respects China's major concerns and interests".
    The DPRK launched a Kwangmyongsong-3 observation satellite on April 13 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of its founder Kim Il-sung, but it crashed into the sea after traveling only a short distance.
    On Thursday, Pyongyang said no one can prevent it from exploring outer space and more satellites will be launched, according to Xinhua News Agency.
    The United Nations' nuclear chief said on Friday that he would not be surprised if the DPRK were to carry out a new nuclear test, amid speculation that the country is preparing to conduct its third since 2006, according to Reuters.
    "We don't have inspectors on the ground. We are following the situation carefully. We do not have particular knowledge or information, but if a nuclear test took place, I would not be surprised," said Yukiya Amano, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at a conference in the Swiss town of St. Gallen.
    The five permanent members of the UN Security Council urged Pyongyang on Thursday to refrain from any new nuclear tests.
    The Security Council has decided to impose sanctions on three companies in the DPRK, Susan Rice, the US permanent representative to the UN, announced on Wednesday.
    Pyongyang has long argued that in the face of a hostile US, which has military bases in the Republic of Korea and Japan, it needs a nuclear arsenal to defend itself, according to Reuters.
    Clinton also requested that China urge Iran to prove its nuclear program is peaceful, and to help end the fighting in Syria and the two Sudans, said the Associated Press.
    "Each of these crises represents a shared challenge to global security, and each provides an opportunity for us to work together more closely to advance our common interests in peace and stability," AP quoted Clinton as saying.
    Also on Friday, under the framework of the strategic dialogue, Zhong Jianhua, the Chinese government's special representative on African affairs, held in-depth talks on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan with the US Special Envoy for Sudan, Princeton Lyman, according to a statement on the foreign ministry's website, without elaborating on the content of the talks.
    Clinton welcomed China's interest in resolving the conflict between Sudan and the world's newest nation, South Sudan. They have been engaged in hostilities over borders and oil during recent months, sparking fears of a full-scale war, according to AP.
    "Together we need to keep sending a strong message to the government of Sudan that it must immediately and unconditionally halt all cross-border attacks, particularly its provocative aerial bombardments," she said.
    Li Xiaokun contributed to this story.
    chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn
    Comments (English only) View Comments
    Username

    Messages that harass,abuse or threaten others;have obscene or otherwise objectionable content;have commercial or advertising content or links may be removed.

    Comments: (4)

    HsunTze wrote: 1 h ago

    sg lee 2012-05-05 08:41

    My good friend. The West invented these phrase like 'hard power and soft power'.

    Now that the West saw that the world was awakening to the West practice of 'hard power' or 'might is right' the West change course to carry out the same goal but by ... View All

    wrote: 4 h ago

    Is this some kind of a joke !
    Since when has Uncle Sam stopped saying
    thing with a single tongue ?

    wrote: 6 h ago

    When Clinton was here in China, I suddenly remembered how excited Chinese men become when there is a \"blonde American woman in the room. They all go GAGA over blonds from America and Russia or the Ukraine. So funny to see old men falling all over each other to touch her or any blonde woman.

    sg lee wrote: 9 h ago

    Yes, DPRK should turn 180 degrees around and navigate with the basic policy of people first not military first. Once, DPRK joins international community and adhere to its promises it can prosper with human resources and natural resources it has. DPRK has a great potential to become a self-sufficient ... View All

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