2007 NPR Debate: on Foreign Policy

Chris Dodd: Gold medal to Tibetan Dalai Lama sends strong message

A: Well, I think there’s an ongoing situation. I want to commend the people in Congress who just recently, when the Dalai Lama was here, presented him with a gold medal. We’ve raised the issue--not often enough--on Tibet and what’s happened with the almost genocidal behavior, when dealing with this remarkable culture that’s been under assault. And the idea that we’d recognize him and welcome him here as a religious leader in the world is exactly the kind of symbols we need to send--to make them recognize that the Dalai Lama is an international religious leader who’s worthy of recognition. And if they, as they apparently did, threaten to deny some ships to able to move in waters off China over that, they need to understand this isn’t going to change in a Democratic administration.

Hillary Clinton: China respects us if we call them on human rights breaches

A: You know, 12 years ago, I went to China, and the Chinese didn’t want me to come. And they didn’t want me to make a speech, and when I made the speech, they blocked it out from being heard within China, where I stood up for human rights and in particular women’s rights, because women had been so brutally abused in many settings in China. And I think you do have to call them on human rights. I mean, the Chinese respect us if we actually call them on their misbehavior and their breaches of human rights, economic activities and other kinds of problems that we have with them. That’s what I object to about this administration. We’ve gotten the worst of both worlds. We’ve gotten neither the kind of smart enforcement nor the kind of cooperation that might lead to changes in behavior.

Hillary Clinton: Deeply involved with Bill Clinton’s foreign policy team

A: I certainly did. I not only advised; I often met with he and his advisers, both in preparation for, during and after. I traveled with representatives from the Security Council, the State Department, occasionally the Defense Department, and even the CIA. So I was deeply involved in being part of the Clinton team in the first Clinton administration. And I am someone who want the best possible advice from as many different sources as possible, and that would certainly include my husband.

Hillary Clinton: Operate from a position of strength, but not confrontation

A: No, absolutely not. It would be a position where we would operate from strength with a coherent policy about what our interests were and what we hope to achieve.

Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Chinese did black out Hillary, but DID invite her

Most of what Clinton said is true. The Chinese certainly weren’t eager for her speech to be widely heard. They blacked it out, allowing just 5,000 carefully selected Party members to hear it. From their perspective, they may have been right to do so. She was critical of China’s human rights record in general, especially its treatment of women. Republicans and Democrats alike praised the tough tone of her speech.

But contrary to Clinton’s claim, the Chinese very much wanted her to come; she was considered a prize catch. The government even released an American, human rights activist Harry Wu, whom they had convicted of espionage, at least in part as a good faith gesture to convince Clinton to attend the event.

Joe Biden: Hold China accountable; it’s capitulation, not competition

A: I’ve been pushing, on the Foreign Relations Committee for the last seven years, that we hold China accountable at the United Nations. At the UN, we won’t even designate China as a violator of human rights. Now, what’s the deal there? We talk about competition in terms of trade. It’s capitulation, not competition. Name me another country in the world that we would allow to conduct themselves the way China has, and not call them on the carpet at the UN

Q: So you would call them on th carpet?

A: Absolutely.

Q: You would appoint a UN ambassador who would press for this?

A: It’s the one way to get China to reform. You can’t close your eyes. You can’t pretend. It is self-defeating. It’s a Hobson’s choice we’re giving people here.

Mike Gravel: With policy of “beggar thy neighbor,” we all become beggars

A: I want to take you to task at your rhetoric about the tremendous increase in their defense. They’re only 10% of American defense. They haven’t had a tremendous increase. 10% of our defense. And I want to take all of the other candidates to task--because this amount of demagoguery about China is shameful. The Chinese people have a problem. And when we continue this rhetoric of beggar thy neighbor, where our interests always come first, there should be the interests of human beings. Because when you have a foreign policy that’s beggar thy neighbor, we all become beggars. And so when they talk about the currency of China, what about the manipulations we do? What about the American companies that dump things abroad? What about the tariffs?