Empty Protocol Rhetoric

January 23, 2011

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 20 January 2011
by Dietmar Ostermann (link to original link to original)

Translated from by Ron Argentati. Edited by Alex Brewer.

Chinese President Hu Jintao admitted to President Barack Obama that China still had much to do in the matter of human rights in his country. But both men know the issue won’t get beyond the talking stage.

Hu Jintao wanted to show China to the world as America’s equal, and Barack Obama wanted contracts for his country’s corporations. Both got what they wanted. The American president served up lobster with onion rings deep-fried in buttermilk batter, and Hu dutifully placed orders for American airplanes and turbines.

And, yes, they did bring up the subject of human rights, and Obama did offer his frank opinion that there was a definite scarcity of human rights in China. Hu agreed with that assessment saying, "A lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights.”

But will Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo be released from prison? Or will China stop all its theatrics every time the Dalai Lama is received by some government? Probably not.

Publicly accepting criticism of China’s human rights record was just the bitter medicine Hu had to swallow to be received as a global statesman. Both he and Obama know that it won’t get beyond rhetoric, because China is far and away too important and too powerful for the United States. Didn’t Hillary Clinton once say that it’s difficult to criticize your banker?*

*Editor’s Note: This quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified. However, during the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama said, “It’s very hard to tell your banker that he's wrong, all right?”

Ein Drops fürs Protokoll
Dietmar Ostermann
20 | 1 | 2011

Der chinesische Staatschef Hu Jintao räumt gegenüber US-Präsident Barack Obama zwar ein, dass es in Sachen Menschenrechte in China „noch viel zu tun“ gibt. Beide wissen aber: Es wird bei den warmen Worten bleiben.

Hu Jintao wollte in Washington Augenhöhe mit der alten Supermacht demonstrieren und Barack Obama Aufträge für Amerikas Konzerne. Beide haben bekommen, was sie wollten. Der US-Präsident ließ beim Staatsbankett Hummer mit Buttermilchzwiebeln auftafeln, und der Chinese bestellte fleißig amerikanische Flugzeuge und Turbinen.

Ja, über Menschenrechte wurde auch gesprochen. Und es waren sogar klare Worte, die Obama für das Freiheitsdefizit im Reich der Mitte fand. Hu ließ sich zu der Erklärung hinreißen, in Sachen Menschenrechte gebe es in China „noch viel zu tun“. Und, kommt der Friedensnobelpreisträger Liu Xiaobo jetzt frei? Führt Peking keine Wuttänze mehr auf, wenn irgendwo eine Regierung den Dalai Lama empfängt? Wohl kaum.

Öffentliche Belehrungen in Sachen Menschenrechte waren der saure Drops, den Hu für den Empfang als Weltstaatsmann lutschen musste. Obama und er wissen, dass es bei Worten bleibt, weil China selbst für die USA längst zu wichtig und zu mächtig ist. Wie hatte Hillary Clinton gesagt? Es ist schwer, seinen Banker zu kritisieren.

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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