Part II: Trouble Ahead for the Beijing Olympics
It only took 10 hours from my last post to find something potentially much more explosive than yesterday’s problems: Hillary Clinton is now calling for a boycott of the Beijing Games’ opening ceremony. It is fairly easy political fodder since it essentially means she is targeting the most hated man in Democratic circles (Dubya).
Her own words as reported by Politico:
The violent clashes in T1bet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in [Darfir] are opportunities for Presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government.
I encourage the Chinese to take advantage of this moment as an opportunity to live up to universal human aspirations of respect for human rights and unity, ideals that the Olympic games have come to represent.
Americans will stand strong in support of freedom of religious and political expression and human rights. Americans will also stand strong and root for the success of American athletes who have worked hard and earned the right to compete in the Olympic Games of 2008.
There seems to be opinion forming out there that this might be a desperate attempt to divert attention away from the Mark Penn fiasco. It is hard for me to imagine someone being that cynical, and while I’m no Clinton fan, I have to think this was a position that some aides have been pressing for, which Mark Penn opposed. With him out of the picture following the Columbia problems (you can read about them here), it was probably simply an easier time to get momentum on this position.
Either way, being openly confrontational with the Chinese never gets results, and this Clinton move is ill-advised politics. Just ask Lindsey Graham and Chuck Schumer. They screamed for years about revaluing the Renminbi, and it only made China its their heals in more. After quiet diplomacy suddenly the Yuan started gaining value. Regardless of whether she is right on the merits of the idea, this position only has the potential to poison the relationship between a Clinton Administration and Beijing. However, it seems like once again Senator Clinton is willing to take any risks she needs to now, with the idea of cleaning up the messes later.
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