Experience
101 Clinton - How Hillary Stood Up to the
Chinese Dragon
Hillary Clinton claims to have "stood up against China" as
proof of her foreign policy experience. At the risk of plagiarism,
"Hillary Clinton only has a speech she gave in 1995" as evidence
of her "experience". That was the criticism she's repeatedly
made of Barack Obama's "experience".
Granted, it was a powerful speech the Chinese communists did not want
to hear ... but, still, it was "only a speech" that made little
difference in China's human rights policy.
On March 5, Clinton told CNN that "I've been standing up against
... the Chinese government over women's rights and standing up for human
rights." Clinton is referring to a speech (you can
watch it here)
that she delivered in 1995 as part of the United Nations Fourth World
Conference on Women. Clinton was critical of China's record on human
rights generally and on women's rights in particular, and her forceful
remarks drew praise at home from Republicans and Democrats alike. The
Chinese were less pleased; her remarks were blacked out, and only 5,000
party members were permitted to hear the speech. Moreover, Clinton's
speech achieved a diplomatic end: As incentive for the first lady to
come to China, the Chinese government released Harry Wu, a human rights
activist whom the government had jailed following his conviction on
spurious espionage charges.
Clinton is exactly right as to the details of her China speech. Does a
tough speech count as foreign policy experience? Clinton frequently says
that Obama "offers speeches" while she "offers
solutions," so by her own standards, the China speech doesn't
deserve much consideration. We'll leave it up to you to determine how
much China's human rights situation improved between 1995
and 2007.
