Posted by Tina
** WASHINGTON Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China. *** Students for a Free Tibet said Clinton’s remarks sent the wrong signal to China at a sensitive time. “The US government cannot afford to let Beijing set the agenda,” said Tenzin Dorjee, deputy director of the New York-based advocacy group. Agence France-Presse **
And in related news:
** When the United States Secretary of State warned that a succession battle in North Korea could complicate nuclear negotiations with its government, she broke an informal taboo. Diplomats do not talk publicly about what comes after Kim Jong-il, the convalescing dictator who has turned North Korea into a rogue nuclear state. *** The question is whether Mrs Clinton made a beginner’s error that could upset other countries in the negotiations, such as China, or whether she showed refreshing candour – the kind of approach that could shake loose what has been a diplomatic deadlock for eight years. *** “If you’re looking for ways to change the dynamic, there are other ways to do it,” said Steve Clemons, the director of the American strategy program at the New America Foundation, a public policy research group. “Asia is all about face. What she’s done is to create a huge face problem for the North Korean Government,” he said. Washington Post **