Hillary Clinton to visit China, Bangladesh, India

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to China, Bangladesh and India with modest agenda over bilateral relations with these Asian nations, the State Department said on Thursday.

While in Beijing on May 3-4, the top US envoy and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will join their Chinese co-chairs, Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, for the fourth round of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

Politics and other factors have reduced expectations for U.S. relations with India, where Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will spend three days after a rare stop in Bangladesh.

Hopes were high after Congress passed a U.S.-India civilian nuclear agreement in 2008 that the two countries would forge a close military and strategic partnership.

But Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's three-day trip to India, starting Sunday after a weekend stop in Bangladesh, comes amid reduced expectations and political distraction on both sides and a relationship increasingly marked by incremental movement on a variety of issues.
 

The S&ED was created in 2009 to help both nations manage their bilateral relations and promote communication.

"As with earlier S&EDs, this year's event will be a 'whole of government' dialogue that brings together cabinet members and agency heads, as well as other officials and experts, from agencies across both of our governments," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

 

In addition, Clinton will co-chair with Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong the third US-China High-Level Consultation on People- to-People Exchange (CPE), an event to be held in parallel with the S&ED.

"The CPE aims to enhance and strengthen ties between the citizens of the United States and China in the areas of culture, education, sports, science and technology, and women's issues," Nuland said.

During her stay in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, the secretary will meet with senior government officials and civil society representatives to review "robust" bilateral cooperation across a range of political, economic and security matters, the spokeswoman said.

In Calcutta, capital of India's West Bengal state, Clinton looks forward to meeting state officials and civil society organization representatives.

While in India's capital of New Delhi, she will discuss with Indian government officials about the upcoming US-India Strategic Dialogue to be held in Washington on June 13, Nuland said.

 At a private discussion among friends, the question that we all asked one another was why the US secretary of state was visiting Bangladesh. Like the story of the seven blind men looking at the elephant, each one of us had a view that differed from the other.

So far for such an important visit, the only one who is upbeat is the US ambassador who might be knowing something that neither the government nor the opposition seems to know. It is not that US secretary of state visits Bangladesh regularly. In fact, the last visit of a US Secretary of State to Dhaka was that of George P Schultz in the era of President Ershad.

The way the Bangladesh government spurned the request of Hillary Clinton and President Obama for an honorable exit to Dr Yunus made a lot of people speculate that the US government is very unhappy with the present government of Bangladesh. Many have speculated that she is so angry that she has used her influence to stop the World Bank from funding the Padma Bridge to get back at the prime minister and the Bangladesh government.

The surprise and un-preparedness of the Bangladesh government was amply reflected by its reaction or the lack of it to the visit. Normally for such an important visit, the government should have reacted very enthusiastically. The reasons are obvious. The US has the power to turn Bangladesh into a middle income country quicker than the ruling party expects. It is the biggest market for our RMG exports that have given Bangladesh a good measure of economic success already.

The upcoming visit of Hillary Clintonto Bangladesh More . . . . .

Clinton urges China to protect human rights

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called on China to protect human rights amid a dispute over the status of a blind dissident who has appealed to Washington for help.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cautioned China to protect human rights Thursday, in remarks that rejected Beijing's criticism of the U.S. for getting involved in the case of a blind dissident whose fate overshadowed the opening of annual talks between the powerful countries.

Clinton told the opening of annual talks with China on foreign policy and economic issues that the U.S. believes "all governments have to answer our citizens' aspirations for dignity and the rule of law and that no nation can or should deny those rights."

Clinton's comments Thursday came after a blind Chinese dissident who took refuge in the U.S. Embassy appealed to Washington for more help. He said later from his hospital room in Beijing that he fears for his family's safety unless they are all spirited abroad.

Her comments came as the dissident, Chen Guangcheng, pleaded for more help from Washington. The blind, self-taught lawyer took refuge in the U.S. Embassy after escaping house arrest, but left Wednesday to get treatment for a leg injury at a Beijing hospital. He initially said he had been assured that he would be safe in China, but hours later he said he fears for his family's safety unless they are all spirited abroad.

China already demanded an apology from the U.S. even before Chen balked at a deal in which he would remain in his homeland. Now that he wants to leave, the case could overshadow talks in which Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are to discuss foreign policy and economic issues with their Chinese counterparts.

ADDS U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT LEGAL ADVISOR HAROLD KOH AT LEFT In this photo released by the US Embassy Beijing Press Office, blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng is wheeled into a hospital by U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, right, and an unidentified official at left, in Beijing Wednesday May 2, 2012. At left is U.S. State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh.

China's President Hu Jintao said at the opening of the talks that China and the United States "must know how to respect each other" even if they disagree.

U.S. officials verified that account. But they adamantly denied his contention that one American diplomat had warned him of a threat from the Chinese that his wife would be beaten to death if he did not get out of the embassy. They also denied his claim that American officials have left the hospital where he is being treated for a leg injury suffered in his escape.

"I think we'd like to rest in a place outside of China," Chen told the AP, appealing again for help from Washington. "Help my family and me leave safely."

"There were U.S. officials in the building," the spokesman told reporters. "I believe some of his medical team was in fact with him at the hospital." He said U.S. officials would continue visiting Chen while he was there.

It is not clear how the U.S. could be party to an agreement on Chen's safety inside China when it has no power to enforce the conditions of his life there.