Wiston Papers

Diplomacy vs Human Rights

As a former U.S. Foreign Service officer, the outcome of the Chen Guangcheng case was predictable given the breadth and sensitivity of US-Sino relations.

Secretary of State Clinton and the U.S. Embassy had no other path to take in what is essentially a Chinese domestic issue.

Is Mr. Chen the victim of human rights violations?  Of course.

Has Mr. Chen been subjected to physical abuse during his incarceration?  Probably.

Once he returns to his family and home village will he be at risk despite Chinese government assurances that he can apply for a passport to leave the country “through normal channels ... like any other Chinese citizen?”  Quite likely.

Mr. Chen is a prominent political activist whose activities and subsequent Chinese government retaliation are an irritation to the nation’s Communist leaders.  But he is not central to US-Chinese relations.

At the end of the day (literally), Mrs. Clinton had no other alternative but to keep the focus of her trip on those diplomatic discussions most central to the often-prickly relations between Washington and Beijing.  Mr. Chen had emerged as a distraction during this trip.  And his plight—no matter how compelling—could not be permitted to derail the goals of the current mission.

This is not to say that I agree with the decision.  But I understand the diplomatic reasoning behind it.

Steve Coon

May 05, 2012