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Shanghai Caucus: NY Sun On Bloomberg’s China Visit
By Paul Midler | December 12, 2007
There’s been quite a lot of commentary on Bloomberg’s visit to China, and an editorial in the NY Sun caught my attention this morning:
Mr. Bloomberg didn’t turn in a perfect performance — we’d have preferred he included Taiwan and democracy activists in Hong Kong on his itinerary. But it was a strong performance. With polls showing voter dissatisfaction with the existing candidates, all the more reason for Mr. Bloomberg to get into the presidential race. We’ve not endorsed him, but we were the first and have been the most persistent in urging him to run, and his performance in China only increases the logic of his entering the lists.
To be frank, I am really not sure about the appropriateness of Bloomberg’s visit. He’s just a presidential hopeful. Who is he to speak as if he represents the United States, and let’s not kid ourselves. His efforts were to give the US public (and possibly the Chinese) a chance to see what he looks like in action.
I wonder whether Bloomberg’s visit was coordinated with those who form and manage US foreign policy. While it is interesting for the US public to get a feel for how a presidential hopeful might handle China - is he tough enough? - it is a far more important from a foreign policy pespective to ensure that the United States deals with China on a single front. If a politician in China were to visit the United States, you had better believe that whatever came out of that representative’s mouth was the word of central government officials.
China does not commonly allow low-level officials to speak on its behalf - in fact, it doesn’t like officials in Taiwan or Tibet speaking at all - and while it was not suggested that Bloomberg was representing the view of the Bush administration in his talks, what concerns me is that the Chinese might see this visit as proof that democracy is kind of messy. If Bloomberg’s speech was approved by the Bush administration, that is certainly another matter, but then should we not expect all presidential hopefuls to get the chance to swing through China? Maybe a China visit will become a necessary part of every election and we can look forward to “the Shanghai caucus”
Topics: China |
December 13th, 2007 at 2:34 am
A) I doubt he needed administration approval since he doesn not represent the federal government. Sort of like if the mayor of Phoenix and some state legislators go to China for a trade junket. He’s just a lot more high profile.
B) I also strongly doubt he’ll truly be tough on China as he has a product he needs to get into the China market.
December 13th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Umm…is he not the Mayor of New York? Its common for mayors and governors to make trips to China on a regular basis and, while abroad, they are bound to make statements and declarations. I doubt he’s going to run and I highly doubt it played any role in crafting his message. I also don’t think anyone in China is stupid enough to equate what he said with official Bush policy, this isn’t the first time a major mayor’s gone to China…
December 13th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
B Cheng -
I’m sure the Chinese would say he is also a private citizen and, therefore, allowed to visit China and speak freely. Taiwan’s president, Lee Tung-Hui, could also have been argued to be just a citizen. Can’t be naive about this visit of Bloomberg’s. To be mayor of NY is to have one of the most politically advantageous positions in the United States. NY mayors have more clout than any congressman, or governor (except maybe Arnold of California?).
Never said that anyone was going to consider his message as having approved by Bush administration. I said nearly the opposite, that it may not have been approved.
One of my main points here is that China would never allow a cacophony of political voices. We should probably take China’s lead on this one and restrict politicians with political clout from making such appearances, unless they are truly on the same page as the current administration. And even then, once those persons are considering a run for the presidency, we should add some sensitivities there, make sure that all candidates have the same opportunity. But Bloomberg is not “just another politician” in this case.