Annals of smart diplomacy: Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng leaves U.S. embassy; deal to guarantee his safety may be unraveling, friends say
Chen Guangcheng leaves U.S. embassy; deal to guarantee his safety may be unraveling, friends say
What initially seemed like a potential victory on the human rights front for the U.S. administration was quickly spiraling Wednesday evening into a worst-case scenario, fuelled by a series of updates blasting out regularly on Twitter. Chen was no longer under American protection, but in a Beijing hospital surrounded by Chinese plainclothes police, and it was uncertain whether Chen had left on his own free will, as U.S. officials maintained, or under coercion.
Hillary
Clinton, who spoke by phone with Chen in what U.S. officials described as an “emotional” conversation, said in a statement that she was “pleased that we were able to facilitate Chen Guangcheng’s stay and departure from the U.S. Embassy in a way that reflected his choices and our values.”
Indeed.
Follow-up post here.
May 2nd, 2012 at 12:52 pm
Annals of smart diplomacy indeed. First we HOPE that something favorable will happen, then we CHANGE the story.
May 2nd, 2012 at 6:33 pm
One can not get smart diplomacy form a dumb diplomat. If all State was going to do was a catch and release, Mrs. Clinton should have stayed clear of the entire mess.
May 3rd, 2012 at 11:23 am
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May 3rd, 2012 at 11:43 am
It’s a complicated situation and Hillary should have been aware in advance of this situation.