Getting elected to a new political position of power is kind of like getting a new car. It comes with lots of bells and whistles that you didn't have before, it can take you to faraway places never imagined, and when nobody's looking you do donuts in the parking lot. There are lots of those new opportunities for political leaders both at home and abroad, and even the French find it fun to screw with things every now and again. Newly-elected président de la République française Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa* has leaped headfirst into foreign policy and international relations with all the tact and diplomacy of Chris Farley doing a cannonball in the Hyatt's indoor pool.

Nicky Sixx Names recently visited China, and managed to accomplish the following:
A) Secure $30 billion worth of business in aerospace and defense from China;
B) Scolded China for undervaluing the yuan, violating human rights, limiting free speech and press, imposing the death penalty, poor product safety (such as lead paint in children's toys), causing global warming, supporting Iran, and not waiting 30 minutes after eating before swimming.

Now, here's how international relations works, for those of you who are either total incompetents or newly-elected Presidents of nations with horrible food:
1) No matter how undervalued the yuan may be (and it is; I've written extensively on this subject), you cannot get $30b worth of business and then complain that the rates were unfair. It looks tacky.
2) China is not a rapid-change culture. Its people are not rapid-change people. You can no more go into China and declare it to be a human rights wasteland expecting it to change than you can negotiate with the force of gravity. Doing what Sarkozy did can only end up pissing off China, because he wasn't subtle; as the AP article notes, Sarkozy had the "frankness that has become the hallmark of his young presidency" when he said point-blank: "China needs to accelerate the appreciation of the yuan against the euro."

Vice Premier Wu Yi, speaking for the official state media (all media in China is controlled by the government), said with the usual Chinese reservation: "I am extremely dissatisfied." In Sarkozy-speak, this translates to: "Say that again, I dare you!"

I'm not entirely sure what Sarkozy hoped to accomplish. I am pleased that he's addressing the pertinent issues related to China's place as a responsible member of the world community. But, he's doing it in such a manner that even the French might be offended (though offending the French has never been a difficult task, though not one usually done by their own President, more often by ours). I entirely support the conversation with China about human rights, particularly their rather trigger-happy execution of the death penalty (no pun intended) and their stringent restrictions on free speech.

As an aside, if you'd like to see how Google has kowtowed to China's free speech restrictions, try this little test: go to Google, and do an Image Search for "Tiananmen Square". Now go to Google China (google.cn) and do the same image search. In Google US, the major images are of the tanks from the infamous protest. In Google China, at the request of the Chinese government, all images of the protest, the tanks, and the violence have been deleted, and are replaced by happy images of buildings and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

That's Google! Furthering censorship and currently trading at $673/share!

Disclaimer: this site is powered by Blogger, owned by Google. Now you don't know what the hell to think, do ya? But really, what isn't owned by Google these days?

But I digress...

My hope is that as Sarkozy settles into his role as President of a hugely powerful and influential nation-state and member of the European Union, his "frankness" will become subdued in the interest of diplomacy. Not that honesty and forthrightness are not to be valued, but they are to be measured with tact and subtlety. And if that doesn't happen ... well, it will make for great Abbott & Costello routines.

*That is his real full name. I am not making that up.

Labels: China, EU, International Relations