Michael Posner, assistant secretary, U.S. State Department
The two-day Human Rights Dialogue between China and the U.S., attended by Michael Posner, the State Department’s assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor, appears to have gotten nowhere, as reflected in Posner’s statements today after the conclusion of the talks in Beijing.
Kathleen McLaughlin of the Global Post reports:
While several lawyers were released last week, the Chinese government
has refused to comment on many other cases, including the
highest-profile disappearance: that of internationally known modern
artist Ai Weiwei….Posner said he pointed out to China’s representatives that Ai’s
disappearance has galvanized the global art community [my links, not theirs], and the United
States is concerned that Beijing is silencing a peaceful critic. But
Posner, who was reluctant to give many details of how China reacted,
said regarding Ai, he “certainly did not get an answer that satisfied.
There was no sense of comfort from the response or lack of response.”
And certainly “no sense of comfort” for the dissident artist, not heard from since his detention on Apr. 3.
So now what? It seems that mere talk is not going to achieve meaningful results.
WHERE’S HILLARY?