The Glass Half Full for Tibet
Last week’s Tiananmen anniversary events once again raised the question of the Obama Administration’s orientation on human rights in China. Reporters and commentators paraphrased Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks in February as saying that human rights would take a back seat to finances, global warming and security.
The glass half-full analysis of Clinton’s remarks, not widely expressed at the time, was that she was acknowledging the reality that both sides knew what each was going to say, and that she was appealing for a fresh mechanism to promote U.S. human rights interests alongside these other vital interests.
Recent developments give more credence to this view.
On Sunday, Secretary Clinton, in response to question by George Stephanopolous on “This Week,” said:
We have made very clear, time and time again, our concerns about religious freedom in China, treatment of Tibet, Tibetan culture. So that is — we’re on the record with that. We’ve had these, you know, very strong statements that we’ve made historically, going back years.
And so of course we want everyone to know that we still feel very strongly about it, but we also would like to see if there is some way we could actually chip away at Chinese resistance to providing some more at least cultural and religious autonomy for Tibetans. So we — it’s a constant weighing process.
You know, I think a lot of times the public statements can turn out to be counterproductive. They can harden positions. Yet at the same time, the public statements can hearten those who are the dissidents. So trying to keep that in balance so that we don’t ever turn our backs on those who are struggling for the very rights that we believe in so strongly and that we think are universal rights, and yet looking for ways that we can actually get results, not just score debating points or, you know, have somebody say, “Good for you. You made a strong statement.”
So what we’re trying to do — and I think you hear it from what the president and I have been saying over the last four months — is to really focus in on where we can make progress.
Similarly, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in remarks following her recent trip to China, vowed to be “relentless” in keeping the heat on Beijing over its human rights record, and said that:
Twenty years later people are still being incarcerated for speaking out about anything other than the party line. I don’t know that this is an evolution. I know that just our advocacy didn’t accomplish any more freedom in China. So somehow or other we have to find a way to do that.
These comments suggest not a change in position, as some have feared, but a change in approach. President Obama’s speech in Cairo about relations with the Muslim world indicates his interest in using not just the message, but its context and its delivery, to advance core values. The glass half-full crowd can see these developments, put together, as hope that leaders in Washington see the Tibet-China issue as ripe for creative solutions. The challenge is not just for the diplomats. It’s not enough for us to sit and wait for a “strong statement,” to applaud. We are being challenged to come up with new thinking too.
(Photo Caption: Secretary Clinton on “This Week” with George Stephanopolous. abcnews.com)
2 Responses to “The Glass Half Full for Tibet”
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[...] approach on Tibet will focus on the deeds and actions necessary for progress. Recall Secretary Clinton’s comments suggesting the Administration wanted to move beyond standard rhetoric and find “some way” to [...]
The idea of relating “approach” when you deliver human rights “rhetoric” just might be the answer to how to reach the people of Tibet. The Victims. If they have the conscience to learn The Glass Is Half Full I am sure they will be more apt to help their future generations survive the problems Beijing impinges into society. The learning experience: Everybody is an educator….
Thank you.