The opening salvo of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's "global listening tour" - a swing through Asia - has produced constructive effects and positioned the United States for renewed leadership in the region.

Nearly a year ago, I recommended that the next American presidential administration focus early and often on the Asia-Pacific area, with the idea of elevating that part of the world to a higher priority. Specifically, it would benefit the United States to develop comprehensive, long-term policies for Asia. It is worth underscoring, however, that such a spotlight in no way diminishes the U.S. stake in Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and elsewhere, or the need to shape similar policies for those regions.

Without a robust initiative, Washington would risk ceding its leadership role in Asia to rising powers such as China. The appropriate aim is not to try to block or elbow aside newly influential nations, but to ensure that America has a place at the forefront, ideally working with those same countries.

To my mind, the effort requires strengthening ties with key allies, particularly Japan and South Korea, but also paying greater attention to China, India and organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Thus, I was pleased to see Clinton stop at many of those locations during her tour, including ASEAN's headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia.

I regret, though, that India was not among them. Perhaps President Barack Obama can rectify that omission by making India the centerpiece of an international trip early in his term.

Both showmanship and substance were on display during Clinton's tour. The showmanship was essential to underscore that a different approach is in effect. Toward that end, she - a globally known quantity - has distinct advantages. Many people, from officials to average citizens, want to see her, and she happily accommodates them. But I was even more pleased with the substance, notably what Clinton said during her visit to China.

In fact, her statements went to the heart of the creative engagement that is necessary for the United States to continue to lead in Asia. Although she rightly reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to human rights, she also indicated that the issue will not "interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crises." In other words, there will be separate tracks for those matters.

That approach reminds me in some ways of the refreshing direction in China-Taiwan dealings that I witnessed during a recent trip to Taipei. The cross-strait relationship is critical not only for China and Taiwan but also the United States, for it can either enhance or agitate against U.S. interests in the region.

Fortunately, from President Ma Ying-jeou on down, I consistently heard the following pragmatic, responsible ideas: Remove contentious matters from center stage, emphasize areas of mutual interest and concern, and build trust. The result has been a much-improved environment for engagement that shows signs of enlarging.

If the United States and China were to act in a similar manner, including on the issue of Taiwan, it would open the door to helpful changes, as well as new levels of discourse and partnership. The triangular relationship among Washington, Beijing and Taipei, if properly managed, has the potential to become a positive, defining feature of the next half-century.

In sum, the Clinton tour suggests to me that the United States has a better-than-average chance to maneuver for the driver's seat in Asia, regardless of how many others occupy or seek to claim that spot. In a region of Asia's size and diversity, multiple drivers are needed and should be welcomed, so long as they embrace a common vision of security, stability and prosperity.

By John C. Bersia, McClatchy-Tribune, February 24, 2009

BEIJING (AP) - China gave U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton a glowing review Tuesday following her weekend visit, during which she steered clear of human rights issues and focused instead on matters such as trade and finance.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said that the visit produced "positive results," and that the two countries are "sincerely willing to promote their relations."

"Through the visit, the two countries have built up mutual understanding ... which will help the bilateral relations develop in a sound and stable manner in a new era," Ma said at a news briefing.

Clinton ignored an appeal to make a statement over the weekend declaring that Beijing's controversial human rights record would be central to the administration's China policy.

She said the matter was just one part of a comprehensive approach to Beijing, and instead emphasized the need for cooperation on the global economy, climate change and security.

Clinton told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing last month that the U.S. needs a "positive and cooperative" relationship with Beijing.

The former first lady's superstar status also charmed the normally stoic Chinese officials.

"You look younger and more beautiful than you look on TV," State Councilor Dai Bingguo told her.

The Associated Press, February 24, 2009

Eight long years of "you are either with us or against us" ended in a Jakarta slum.

It was an apt place to turn the page on a dark chapter of U.S. foreign policy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton marked it last week by visiting Indonesians most at risk as a crisis that began in the U.S. spans the globe.

The chants of "Hillary! Hillary!" greeting arguably the most powerful woman in the world were sign enough that the bellicosity of the Bush years is over. Southeast Asia is anxious for better relations with the U.S., and vice versa.

Yet the most important moment of Clinton's Asia tour received scant attention. It wasn't Clinton talking about the Rolling Stones on a Jakarta talk show. Nor was it urging China to continue buying U.S. debt, calling on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to chill out, or visiting Japan's royal family in Tokyo. It involved the rather arcane issue of swap lines.

Indonesia proposed a currency-swap accord with the U.S. to help bolster the rupiah, the second-worst performer in Asia outside Japan. It would be akin to those the Federal Reserve has with Brazil, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea. It's the right thing to do and Clinton should expedite her pledge to take the request to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Impressive Stability

Much has been said about Indonesia's impressive stability. Even as the U.S. and Japan slide into deepening recessions, Indonesia's $433 billion economy is expected to grow about 4 percent this year. Clinton was right to praise Indonesia as a model of how "Islam, democracy and modernity not only can coexist, but thrive together."

Few nations are as geopolitically important. Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim community and the fourth- largest population, spread out on the largest archipelagic state. Imagine overseeing 17,000 islands. Indonesia also is resource rich. The place even has oil.

Indonesia has found success in the bond market, too. On Feb. 23, the government sold triple the amount it targeted in its first sale of Islamic bonds to local individual investors this year. It raised 5.56 trillion rupiah ($466 million). Not bad considering the state of international credit markets.

Even so, with per-capita income of $2,271, persistent poverty and rampant corruption squandering output, 2009 won't be kind to Indonesia. It may be in better shape than, say, politically unstable Thailand, yet global turmoil is closing in.

Just an 'Appetizer'

Finance ministers from Japan, China, Korea and 10 Southeast Asian nations agreed this week to form a $120 billion pool of foreign-exchange reserves that can be used to fend off speculators. It's a good move for a region that has been unimpressive on the cooperation front during this crisis.

Not that it's a cure-all. Investment strategist Simon Grose-Hodge of LGT Group in Singapore says the fund will "only act to control speed rather than direction and try to keep intra-Asia cross-rates roughly in line" amid increased market turmoil.

The trouble is, the money leaving economies such as Indonesia isn't speculative in nature. It's not hedge funds or banks with highly leveraged proprietary trading desks, but pension funds, insurance companies and mutual funds. They aren't selling in panic, but analyzing market risks globally. Many are wondering anew about Indonesia.

Debt Load

The nation's currency reserves slid to $50.9 billion at the end of January, from $60.6 billion in July, as the central bank intervened to slow the rupiah's decline. A low credit rating complicates things. Moody's Investors Service rates it Ba3, three levels below investment grade. This also is an election year, an added challenge for Indonesia in wooing foreign capital.

The swap arrangements announced by the Fed in October bestowed a "Good Housekeeping" seal on economies that are following responsible policies yet feeling the brunt of the credit crisis. Indonesia will fit that category more and more as 2009 unfolds. It would be a mistake for the U.S. not to reach out.

The risk is that Indonesia will struggle to raise dollars if things darken. Yet not standing by Indonesia "risks diminishing U.S. influence with an ally and the most populated Muslim country and exacerbating the country's challenges with the risk of unintended consequences," Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers in New York, wrote in a note yesterday.

Asians are livid that their post-1997 recovery has been sidetracked by irresponsible U.S. policies and clumsy crisis management in Washington. While Asians should have done more to reduce their reliance on exports, governments were broadsided by the U.S. economy's crash. If things worsen, $120 billion isn't going to do it.

Clinton saw firsthand how the U.S.'s woes are hurting Asia. The U.S. should put money where its public-relations intentions are. Indonesia is as good a place to start as any.

By William Pesek, Bloomberg News, February 25, 2009

Dennis Ross, a longtime diplomatic troubleshooter, has been appointed as a special adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, with responsibility for developing a strategy for engaging Iran.

The State Department notice of his appointment issued late last night did not mention Iran, and his official title is vague: adviser to the secretary of state for the Gulf and Southwest Asia. State Department officials said the title is a euphemism for Iran and issues affected by Iran's actions; it was kept obscure because Washington has not had diplomatic relations with Tehran since shortly after the Iranian revolution three decades ago.

President Obama has said he would like to engage with Iran and break through the years of antagonism between the two countries in an effort to stem Tehran's support of terrorism and pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

Ross "will provide to the Secretary and senior State Department officials strategic advice and perspective on the region" and "coordinate with senior officials in the development and formulation of new policy approaches," State Department spokesman Robert A. Wood said in a statement.

The statement noted that "this is a region in which America is fighting two wars and facing challenges of ongoing conflict, terror, proliferation, access to energy, economic development and strengthening democracy and the rule of law."

Ross, the latest in a series of high-level advisers and envoys appointed by Clinton, was the top Middle East envoy in the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He wrote "The Missing Peace," published in 2004, a lengthy account of his diplomacy that largely blamed the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for not reaching a peace deal in the waning weeks of the Clinton administration.

Ross's efforts may remain hidden for some time. In an article titled "Diplomatic Strategies for Dealing With Iran," published in September by the Center for a New American Security, Ross recommended that the initial approach to Iran take place through a "direct, secret back channel."

Ross wrote that "keeping it completely private would protect each side from premature exposure and would not require either side to publicly explain such a move before it was ready. It would strike the Iranians as more significant and dramatic."

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, February 24, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that as she prepares to make her first Mideast trip as America's top diplomat details of a massive aid package for Gaza are still being worked out.

U.S. aid for Gaza reconstruction will be "substantial," a State Department official told FOX News Tuesday after reports that the Obama administration plans to designate at least $900 million to rebuild the war-ravaged strip controlled by the U.S.-designated terror group Hamas

The official could not confirm reports about the size of the package intended to be administered through the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas. The PA, which is headquartered in the West Bank, does not have control on the ground in Gaza, and the U.S. has no formal contacts with Hamas.

"Our pledge will be substantial, that it will contain new funding and funding we had planned for 2009," the official said. "As the secretary said, it is not all finished yet, so can't confirm a $900 million package."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday -- as she prepared to make her first Mideast trip as America's top diplomat.-- that details on the package are still being worked out.

"We have made no decisions, and we are working across the government to determine what our approach will be," she said, adding that she's looking forward to attending the international donors conference for Gaza on March 2 in Egypt.

"But you know, there's still a lot of work to do," she said.

Israeli and Palestinian officials said Monday that Clinton will visit Israel and the West Bank during the first week of March. Clinton said during her Asia trip last week that she would attend an international donors conference in Egypt on March 2 to discuss reconstruction in Gaza, which last month was battered in fighting with Israeli Defense Forces responding to rockets fired from the strip

The Israeli officials, meanwhile, said Clinton will arrive in Israel on March 2 for meetings with the country's top leaders. Israel is currently ruled by a caretaker government as Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu cobbles together a new coalition.

The Israeli officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the visit had not been announced by the State Department, which has not released Clinton's schedule for next week.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Clinton also would visit the West Bank during her stay.

By Nina Donaghy, Fox News, February 24, 2009

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton will make her first visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank as U.S. secretary of state next week, Israeli officials said on Monday.

Her visit will maintain efforts to revive peacemaking between Israel and the Palestinians despite political uncertainty on both sides.

Clinton was scheduled to hold meetings on March 3 and 4 with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, along with other leaders, after she attends a March 2 conference in Egypt on reconstruction in the Gaza Strip following last month's war, the officials said.

U.S. officials had no immediate comment on the visit, which comes despite political uncertainty in Israel over the make-up and policies of the next government.

A separate visit to Israel and the West Bank by George Mitchell, U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, will begin on Thursday. Mitchell will return there with Clinton after they attend the Gaza conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Israeli officials said.

Right-wing parties gained ground in Israel's February 10 parliamentary election, denting U.S. hopes for an Israeli coalition that can move toward peace with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors after the fighting in Gaza, which is ruled by the Hamas Islamist group.

In addition to Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Clinton was expected to meet right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu, whom Israeli President Shimon Peres has asked to form the next government.

Netanyahu, head of the Likud party, has asked Livni, the centrist Kadima leader who led unsuccessful peace talks with the Palestinians last year, to join him in a broad coalition government, but she has so far refused.

COALITION OUTLOOK

That may leave Netanyahu little choice but to form a narrow coalition with other right-wing parties which oppose the kind of concessions demanded by Palestinians in the peace talks. That could in turn raise tensions with the Obama administration.

Israeli and Western officials said the Obama administration wanted the next Israeli government to resume peace talks with Abbas and to clamp down on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and ease travel restrictions for Palestinians there.

But it is unclear to what extent Netanyahu will go along with this. He has ruled out a settlement freeze, and has said he wants to shift the focus of stalled peace talks with the Palestinians to shoring up their economy and away from tough territorial issues.

Senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the Palestinians were looking to Clinton to keep the pressure on Israel to meet its international commitments.

"The most important thing for us is to see to that any Israeli government that is formed is committed to a two-state solution and to stopping settlement expansion," Erekat said.

But Clinton also faces formidable political challenges on the Palestinian side, which is divided between Abbas in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza.

The United States backs Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad. It boycotts Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007 and refuses to recognize Israel or renounce violence.

By Adam Entous, Reuters, February 23, 2009

BEIJING, Feb. 22 -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's blunt and unadorned style of diplomacy has been evident throughout her first trip as secretary of state the past week in Asia. She questioned the efficacy of sanctions against the repressive junta in Burma, spoke openly about a possible succession crisis in North Korea and admitted that she expected to make little progress on human rights in China.

To a certain extent, these comments crossed taboo lines in international diplomacy. U.S. officials generally do not say their sanctions have failed, or speculate about the future government of another country, or suggest that a carefully watched human rights dialogue is largely a farce.

Clinton's willingness to speak frankly -- combined with an extensive effort to get beyond ministerial meetings in order to hold town hall meetings and conduct local television interviews in the countries she visits -- suggests she will put a distinctive personal stamp on the Obama administration's foreign policy. What is emerging is something less rigid, less cautious and more open.

Before her meetings in Beijing, for instance, Clinton said she would raise human rights issues with Chinese officials, "but we pretty much know what they're going to say."

Clinton's comments have stirred outrage in the human rights community, where she was viewed as a hero for having confronted the Chinese government in 1995 over its record. Activists say that without public, sustained international pressure on human rights issues, nothing will change in China.

Clinton says she does not understand the fuss. In her view, speaking clearly -- and not obfuscating through diplomatic artifice -- helps enhance the policy, rather than undermine it.

"I think that to worry about something which is so self-evident is an impediment to clear thinking," Clinton told reporters traveling with her. "And I don't think it should be viewed as particularly extraordinary that someone in my position would say what's obvious."

Before leaving China on Sunday, Clinton wrapped up her week-long trip by visiting a state-sanctioned church and then meeting 23 women involved in legal, poverty and health-care organizations aimed at helping women and promoting gender equality.

Many of the women had previously met Clinton when she was the first lady or a senator. The one-hour session underscored Clinton's contention that working with such nongovernmental civic organizations can do as much to promote women's rights and human rights as does jawboning the Chinese government.

Gao Yaojie, an 82-year-old AIDS activist, told Clinton of being monitored and hassled by government agencies, declaring, "I am not afraid." But several others told the secretary of state that grass-roots organizations have grown fast and have had an increasing impact on Chinese society since they first met with her more than a decade ago.

In foreign policy circles, Clinton's remarks on human rights have stirred consternation that she is giving up possible leverage with China before any dialogue has begun. Others say that she is inviting criticism from Capitol Hill and human rights groups that undermines her ability as a diplomat.

But some experts have defended her, saying she should be commended for speaking frankly. The Bush administration was frequently criticized for having a hypocritical approach to human rights, claiming to promote freedom but treating differently friends and foes with similarly poor human rights records.

"I think she clearly feels it's necessary to induce realism and perspective to expectations and performance, and to tell the Chinese that Obama knows that we all need to work together, so she is determined not to let less centrally vital issues handicap that," said Chris Nelson, who writes an influential newsletter on Asian policy

"I've always felt that the question with respect to human rights and China is not whether or not one presses the issue, but how one does it," said David Shambaugh, director of Asian policy studies at George Washington University. "Foreigners generally get much further when they do it in quiet rather than in public, when it is framed in a nonconfrontational way, and explained in terms of being in China's best interests."

He added: "Honesty is as good in diplomacy as in life -- it's just a question of when and how one frames their candor."

Former U.N. ambassador John R. Bolton, who was known for his bluntness, said he thinks "our diplomacy should be more candid, with less doublespeak, so if she really meant to say what she said, I don't mind at all. When the Democrats endorse candor in diplomacy, I'll be a happy man."

But he added: "The issue with whatever she says, candid or not, is whether it has an objective in mind, or whether she is just running at the mouth. This is the difference between an executive branch official and a senator, academic, think-tanker, reporter, whatever. Executive branch officials, by definition, are not just bloviating, but executing policies."

Others think Clinton is making needless trouble for herself.

"She is correct in the sense that no U.S. president since Nixon has let human rights stop necessary cooperation with China on critical strategic issues. On the other hand, the Obama administration's China policy is going to run into a buzz saw on Capitol Hill if people think that human rights are now being de-emphasized," said Michael J. Green, the top White House adviser on Asia under President George W. Bush. "The administration has to clarify quickly that it intends to build a cooperative relationship with China and continue pressing hard for improvements in human rights and on issues like Tibet."

James Mann, a Johns Hopkins University scholar who wrote a history of U.S.-China relations, viewed Clinton's remarks as part of a further downgrading of the importance of human rights in American policy toward China over the years.

"I agree that, to some extent, she's being honest, in the sense that merely including something in the talking points for diplomacy doesn't necessary lead to change and is sometimes designed more to mislead the public back home than to influence the interlocutors," said Mann, a former Los Angeles Times reporter.

But he wondered whether this honesty was now a general principle in the administration's approach to the world. "Is Hillary Clinton going to not mention women's rights to the Saudis because they already know what we think?" he said.

Mann, in particular, was struck by the contrast with her husband, who as president a decade ago gave strong speeches on behalf of political freedom in China.

"Bill Clinton told the leader of China he was on 'the wrong side of history,' " Mann noted. "Now, Hillary seems to be giving them the reverse message: that China is on the right side of history."

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, February 23, 2009

She's talked about love. She's recycled advice. She's ripped into conservatives on the Supreme Court. And she's held chatty town hall sessions.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is bringing a new style to the post of America's chief diplomat. In her first overseas trip, a weeklong tour through Asia, Clinton rewrote the rulebook, employing gravitas with foreign leaders but leading a free-wheeling, campaign-like effort to mend what she says is a tattered U.S. image, prod people into saving energy and serve as empowerment coach for women around the globe.

Clinton wandered into crowds in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Indonesia's capital, gave numerous interviews each day, visited a women's college in South Korea and invited women's rights activists for a session in China.

On Sunday, the last day of her four-nation trip, Clinton patiently responded to a question during a live webcast interview about what she and husband Bill do to save energy.

"We use compact fluorescent bulbs," she began, explaining their power-saving qualities. "We also recycle so that we are trying not to add to landfill waste more than absolutely necessary. ... We're constantly asking ourselves what more can we do."

Earlier in the day, Clinton attended a church service, then hosted two dozen women lawyers, domestic abuse experts, entrepreneurs and activists, many of whom she had met on previous trips to China.

"I have such vivid memories of our times together in the past," Clinton enthused, before launching into questions about the status of women's rights issues in the country. The meeting was held at the U.S. Embassy to avoid sensitivities of the Chinese government.

"In no society, certainly including my own, are women treated equally yet," she added.

As one of the most widely known politicians in the United States, Clinton brings star power to her post. Her run for the Democratic presidential nomination last year served as a familiar touchstone during her interactions with the public.

In the Sunday morning meeting, a rural women's rights activist, whom the embassy asked not to be named for her protection, recalled she'd met Clinton in the United States in 2007 as she was mounting her campaign.

"I was trying to memorize, 'I hope you win,' the phrase that my daughter taught me," the activist said in Mandarin as Clinton listened to a translation through headphones. "And on March 4, when we actually met, I couldn't say it. I couldn't get it out! And I felt so regretful.

"If I had said it, you probably would have won," she said to laughter.

So far, Clinton has hewed closely to the policies laid out by President Obama, offering no hint of the ill will that sometimes surfaced during their rivalry for the 2008 campaign for the Democratic nomination.

"I'm very proud that President Obama has made a total u-turn away from the policies of the past eight years," Clinton said last week during a town hall meeting in Seoul's Ewha University, an all-women's institution founded by U.S. Methodists in the 19th century.

Clinton made clear then that advancing women's rights would be a hallmark of her job.

"I view this not only as a moral issue, but as a security issue," she said.

Pacing the stage before some 2,000 women students, Clinton seemed to thrive on simple questions about her family life, tossing out advice about appreciating loved ones.

"I feel more like an advice columnist than secretary of state today," she said.

She recalled how an ill scientist acquaintance had summed up her own life.

"I've loved and been loved. And all the rest is background music," Clinton quoted the woman as saying.

After many questions, Clinton enthused: "Well, we could be here for hours."

The Clinton style is in marked contrast to her predecessor under President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, a lifelong Russian scholar who maintained a lower profile, partly due to a more reserved temperament. Before Rice, Colin Powell, a retired Army general, brought military precision to the State position. Clinton's weeklong trip underscored that her political fame would add clout to the position.

In Japan, the first stop on her trip, Clinton had tea with an old acquaintance, Empress Michiko, who almost never meets diplomats.

Clinton also demonstrated a populist touch, appearing at ease and eagerly shaking hands at the end of each appearance, much like on the campaign trail.

Clinton has gotten in a few digs at those she sees as stymieing her vision of a gender-equal society, making particular note on Sunday of a recent Supreme Court decision she said did not uphold equal pay for equal work.

"Our Supreme Court right now is, you know, dominated by justices appointed by more conservative presidents," she said, in explaining a ruling she said held "such an illogical argument."

An entrepreneur present at the session, Hong Huang, who is chief executive of China Interactive Media Group, said Clinton moved her.

"I think she's fantastic," Hong said. "It's good to know she's got women's interests at heart."

BEIJING - Hillary Rodham Clinton said she wanted to spend her first trip as secretary of state listening. But she ended up saying a lot, and in blunter terms, than many of her pinstriped predecessors.

The Clinton Straight Talk Express made its last big stop in Beijing on Sunday, with Mrs. Clinton explaining to a Chinese talk show host why China had better keep buying United States Treasury bonds.

"It's a good investment, it's a safe investment," she told Yang Lan, the host of a show on Dragon Television.

The Chinese government, she said, has an even more compelling incentive to keep buying: it needs the United States to recover as a market for Chinese goods. To jolt the economy back to life, she added, the United States needs to be able to take on more debt.

"We are truly going to rise or fall together," she said. "We are in the same boat and, thankfully, we are rowing in the same direction." Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner could not have said it better.

Speaking of Mr. Geithner, Mrs. Clinton cleared up the question of how the two of them were going to divide China policy. Speculation about who would control China policy has crackled since it became clear she was not ready to cede it to the Treasury Department, as happened during the Bush administration.

Mrs. Clinton said she and Mr. Geithner would share leadership of a high-level consultation between China and the United States that would be balanced between strategic issues like North Korea and economic concerns.

Before leaving Beijing, Mrs. Clinton met with female lawyers, doctors and academics. It is the kind of encounter she has thrived on since she was first lady, and she has been a heroine in this circle since her famous speech to a women's conference in Beijing in 1995.

One woman spoke of posing with a wax figure of Mrs. Clinton on a trip to the United States. Several had met her before, and they could not resist commiserating with her about her presidential campaign.

Xie Lihua, the founder of a group that represents rural women, said she memorized the words "I hope you win" for a meeting with Mrs. Clinton last year. When she shook her hand then, Ms. Xie was so nervous that she blanked on the words. "If I had said it, you probably would have won," she said.

In Obama's Town

There was little chance of Mrs. Clinton's forgetting the campaign when she landed in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. Waiting for her on the tarmac was a group of children from the school President Obama attended when he lived in Indonesia as a boy. They serenaded her under a stormy tropical sky.

After a meeting with the foreign minister, Hassan Wirajuda, the subject of when Mr. Obama might visit came up. "We cannot wait too long, and I wish Hillary Clinton would convey this to President Obama," he said.

At dinner on Wednesday night, Mrs. Clinton joked about how many people had asked her the same question. The next morning, she said she had spoken to Mr. Obama by phone and passed along the requests. The word is Mr. Obama might make it to Indonesia in the fall.

Tea With the Empress

After 16 years on the world stage, there is little in the way of pomp and ceremony that can dazzle Mrs. Clinton. In Tokyo, she was invited to a formal tea with Empress Michiko, who accorded her the very rare honor of emerging from the cloistered imperial residence to greet her.

Clasping Mrs. Clinton's left arm and drawing her close, Empress Michiko spoke in English to her guest, her eyes sparkling. As they went inside, photographers were ordered to stop their clicking, one of many rules that keep the imperial family at a strict remove from ordinary society.

Yet at a town hall meeting at the University of Tokyo, Mrs. Clinton talked about the visit as though it had been just a couple of old pals catching up. Noting that she first met the empress 15 years ago, Mrs. Clinton said, "We were both saying we had gotten older." This, she said, led to a discussion of how caretaking for the elderly could become a growth industry in Japan.

A Familiar Feel in the Air

There were times when the secretary's plane felt more like a campaign charter, hopping between a state fair in Jakarta and a stump speech in Seoul, South Korea. Mrs. Clinton brought along a coterie of aides from her campaign and the White House, giving the diplomatic mission a distinctly political flavor.

Lissa Muscatine, a longtime aide, was busy writing speeches. Kiki McLean, a veteran Democratic Party strategist who is helping Mrs. Clinton on a transitional basis, trooped back to the press section to chat up reporters and dole out good-natured spin.

Huma Abedin, Mrs. Clinton's aide-de-camp and ubiquitous seatmate during the campaign, was never more than a few steps away from her boss. Ms. Abedin even accompanied Mrs. Clinton to her tea with Empress Michiko, though she was guided to an antechamber to wait.

Even the itinerary had the flavor of a campaign. On the way home to Washington, Mrs. Clinton's plane landed at Yokota Air Base in Japan to refuel, and she squeezed in a pep talk to about 350 Marines and airmen.

Speaking in a hangar under a giant American flag, flanked by two helicopters, Mrs. Clinton reported on her trip and praised the troops for being "on the front lines of defense." Then she worked the crowd.




By Mark Landler, The New York Times, February 22, 2009

BEIJING, Feb. 22 -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged China to keep investing its substantial foreign-exchange reserves in U.S. Treasury securities, arguing that "we are truly going to rise or fall together."

China is the biggest foreign holder of U.S. debt, which helped finance the spending binge the United States went on before the current economic crisis. Some experts have expressed concern that China's substantial holding of U.S. debt gives it increased leverage in dealings with Washington because any halt in Chinese purchases would make it more difficult to finance the government bailout and stimulus packages.

Clinton, in unusually direct comments during an interview with China's Dragon TV before returning to Washington, said that reality made it an imperative for China to keep purchasing U.S. Treasury bonds, because otherwise the U.S. economy would not recover and China would suffer as well.

"Our economies are so intertwined," she said. "The Chinese know that in order to start exporting again to its biggest market . . . the United States has to take some drastic measures with the stimulus package. We have to incur more debt."

"The Chinese are recognizing our interconnection," Clinton added. "We are truly going to rise or fall together. By continuing to support American Treasury instruments, the Chinese are recognizing" that interconnection.

At a joint news conference with Clinton on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi sidestepped a question about whether China was looking for alternative investments for its foreign exchange reserves. He said China looks for safety, good value and liquidity for its investments.

Treasury bonds are "a good investment [and] a safe investment," Clinton told the interviewer Sunday.

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, February 23, 2009

Those who closely watched the hard-fought Democratic primary/caucus campaigns last year recall the, uh, candor with with which Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama addressed each other, especially the former toward the latter.

Remember: "Shame on you, Barack Obama?" And: John McCain "has a lifetime of experience he will bring to the White House and Sen. Obama has a speech he gave in 2002"?

So when that same Barack Obama won the Nov. 4 election and chose that same Hillary Clinton as his secretary of State, many wondered how Clinton's spoken manner would be changed as she learned to speak the nuanced (some would say, obscure) language of Diplo.

As the ex-New York senator completed her first foreign foray (in Asia) this weekend representing the United States, there are signs that it's the other way around: The diplos will have to learn to speak her language.

To be sure, there were some intentional obscurities, especially early on in the weeklong journey to Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and, finally, China.

At one point Clinton said that North Korea testing a long-range missile would not be helpful, which is elegant diplo for: That would be bad. However, you've not been supposed to say it that way.

But as ABC's experienced Martha Raddatz, among others, notes, Clinton has brought a refreshing new vocabulary to her diplomatic talk. As anticipated by her husband in his sales pitches for her, she smoothly used her long-running fame and recognition in public groups.

In Japan, she talked about playing baseball with boys. In Indonesia, she laughed and chatted with young women about her favorite music (the Beatles). And when someone in the audience cheered, the 60-year-old Clinton laughed comfortably and said good, then she didn't feel so old.

The new secretary also opined openly about the possible succession after North Korea's loony (our word), champagne-loving Kim Jong-Il passes from the scene. That's long been a whispered topic for some reason, as it was during the endless aging process for his father, the allegedly revered, much-statued Kim Il-Sung. (Remember that huge goiter he wore for all those years?)

Scroll down or click on the "Read more" line to view a good sampling of videos covering various aspects of her trip.

Clinton put it bluntly. "I don't think it is taboo to talk about the succession of the hermit kingdom," she said, adding, it's "worth being more straightforward and trying to engage on the reality that exists."

In Seoul on Friday she had an admission. "Maybe it is unusual," Clinton said, "but to worry about saying something that is so obvious is an impediment to clear thinking."

Holy smokes! Reality? Clear thinking? Diplomats of any nationality actually saying what they mean? In public?

This could be a very interesting secretary-dom.

By Andrew Malcolm, Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2009

BEIJING - On Friday morning, Hillary Rodham Clinton was the picture of a stern superpower diplomat, warning North Korea not to test a long-range ballistic missile. A few hours later, she was asked by a giggly Korean student how she knew she had fallen in love with her husband.

"I feel more like an advice columnist than a secretary of state," Mrs. Clinton said with a smile.

Henry Kissinger, this isn't.

On each stop of her Asian tour, Mrs. Clinton is redefining the job of secretary of state, fusing the weighty themes of regional security and nuclear proliferation with lighter encounters in which Mrs. Clinton is quizzed about her musical tastes or asked what it was like to raise her daughter.

She is also redefining herself to some extent. After going to Beijing in 1995 as first lady to deliver an impassioned speech on women's rights, Mrs. Clinton has sidelined human rights on this trip, saying she does not want the topic to interfere with central issues like climate change or the economic crisis.

In Indonesia on Thursday, Mrs. Clinton appeared on a popular variety show, "Awesome," on which she told the young host, somewhat sheepishly, that her favorite musicians were the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. She politely declined to sing, saying it would empty the room.

None of this is especially new to Americans. But it is novel to people outside the United States, who expect foreign ministers to stick to a diplomatic script.

As she neared the end of her maiden voyage as secretary of state with a two-day visit to Beijing, Mrs. Clinton said she was determined to make a connection to people "in a way that is not traditional, not confined by the ministerial greeting and the staged handshake photo."

"I see our job right now, given where we are in the world and what we've inherited, as repairing relations, not only with governments but with people," she said to reporters on Friday.

To do that, Mrs. Clinton is exploiting both her megawatt celebrity and her training during the presidential campaign. On Friday, nearly 3,000 female students packed an auditorium at Ewha Womans University in Seoul to hear Mrs. Clinton deliver a speech that ranged from North Korea's nuclear threat to the challenge women face in balancing work and family.

A standing-room-only crowd at the University of Tokyo listened to Mrs. Clinton discuss how the United States should rebuild its ties to the Muslim world. Toward the end, a nervous young woman, who said she played on a baseball team, asked Mrs. Clinton how to become as strong as she was.

"Well, I played a lot of baseball, and I played with a lot of boys," she replied, to peals of laughter.

Mrs. Clinton said she was skeptical that these appearances alone would lead to changes in the policies of foreign governments. But by connecting with people on a personal level, she said, she believes she can help mold public opinion, which, in turn, can influence governments.

"President Obama has an extraordinary capacity to do that because of the really positive feelings that he personally engenders," she said. "To a lesser degree, I have some of the same capacity."

In a working-class area of Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, a small crowd trailed Mrs. Clinton as she toured health and water-treatment projects financed by the United States Agency for International Development.

"People are very excited to see Hillary Clinton," said Daniel Sitorus, 24, a lawyer in the neighborhood. "It doesn't matter that she isn't Barack Obama; she is one of the most famous women in the world."

She is not just beguiling audiences. During her visit to Seoul, Mrs. Clinton raised eyebrows among journalists and analysts with a frank assessment of how a succession struggle in North Korea could undermine talks over its nuclear program. She said she was baffled by the reaction.

"I don't think that it's a forbidden subject to talk about succession in the hermit kingdom," she said.

"Maybe this is unusual because you are supposed to be so careful that we spend hours avoiding stating the obvious," Mrs. Clinton continued. "I think it's worth, perhaps, being more straightforward, trying to engage other countries on the basis of the reality that exists."

That said, Mrs. Clinton did reaffirm Friday that the United States would conduct negotiations with the government of Kim Jong-il "now, and for as long as he is the man calling the shots."

And in a news conference with South Korea's foreign minister, Yu Myung-hwan, she used time-tested diplomatic language in warning North Korea to stop its belligerence toward South Korea. "North Korea," she said, "is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with the Republic of Korea."

Mrs. Clinton, however, evinces little patience for running through talking points. In Beijing, for example, she said she would raise familiar issues with Chinese officials like human rights in Tibet, while she expected them to complain about American arms sales to Taiwan.

"We know what they're going to say, because I've had those conversations for more than a decade with Chinese leaders,' said Mrs. Clinton, who first visited Beijing in 1995 for her speech on women's rights and has written about how she made her Chinese hosts uncomfortable.

This time, however, she said human rights concerns should not derail discussions on big issues like the global economic crisis, climate change and North Korea. That has earned her sharp criticism from Amnesty International, which said Friday that it was "shocked and extremely disappointed" that human rights were not made more of a priority.

For all of her innovations, Mrs. Clinton's schedule in Beijing on Saturday looks like that of any other secretary of state: meetings with President Hu Jintao, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and other senior officials.

On Sunday, before she flies home, she plans to attend church services, a small gesture to religious freedom in a Communist society. But she said she did not want to make a big deal of it. "I'm going to be there on Sunday morning, and I thought I would go to church," she said.




By Mark Landler, The New York Times, February 20, 2009

BEIJING - Declaring that "we hope you won't make the same mistakes we made," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton invited China to join the United States in an ambitious effort to curb greenhouse gases, as she toured an energy-efficient power plant in Beijing on Saturday.

"When we were industrializing and growing, we didn't know any better; neither did Europe," Mrs. Clinton said. "Now we're smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth."

The gas-fired power plant, which uses sophisticated turbines made by General Electric, is nearly twice as efficient as the coal-fired plants that supply much of China's electricity and that helped vault China past the United States as the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide.

The Obama administration hopes to make climate change the centerpiece of a broader, more vigorous engagement with China. For Mrs. Clinton, the two-day stop in Beijing at the end of a weeklong Asian tour, represents an effort to put her own stamp on a relationship that was dominated by the Treasury Department in the latter years of the Bush administration.

"The opportunities for us to work together are unmatched anywhere in the world," Mrs. Clinton declared, on a hectic day filled with meetings with President Hu Jintao and other top Chinese officials.

Human rights groups have criticized Mrs. Clinton for soft-pedaling Tibet and other issues during her first visit as secretary of state. She said she did not want these disputes to interfere with critical challenges like climate change, the global economic crisis and security concerns.

It was a stark contrast to 1995, when Mrs. Clinton, then first lady, gave a speech in Beijing at a United Nations conference, in which she catalogued abuses against women and concluded by saying that "human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights."

Speaking after a meeting with the foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, Mrs. Clinton said she had raised the Tibet issue and other concerns. But she argued that the work of advocacy groups and people in civil society in this area was "at least as important" as that of government officials.

Mr. Yang repeated China's customary statement that Beijing was ready to discuss human rights with Washington on the basis of "equality and noninterference in each other's affairs." The "smiling faces" on Chinese people, he said, attested to the country's respect for human rights.

A local rights group, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said the Beijing police put a number of dissidents and activists under surveillance during Mrs. Clinton's visit, confining some in their homes.

On the global economic crisis, the two governments said they would work together to chart a recovery. Mrs. Clinton said she expected to see changes in the economic relationship between China, with its high savings rate, and the United States, with its heavy borrowing.

During their meeting, she said, Mr. Yang told her that Chinese people were spending more on home appliances. "It would also be fair to say that that many Americans have now come to terms with the fact that saving might be a good habit to acquire," Mrs. Clinton said.

She thanked Mr. Yang for China's "continuing confidence" in the United States, as the largest foreign buyer of Treasury securities. He offered a noncommittal statement that China would decide where to invest its foreign-exchange reserves on the basis of safety, value and liquidity.

Mrs. Clinton got a warmer reception at lunch with Dai Bingguo, a member of the powerful State Council. "You look younger and more beautiful than you look on TV," he exclaimed. Mrs. Clinton was momentarily nonplused, before replying, "Well, we will get along very well."

Mrs. Clinton's visit to the Taiyanggong Thermal Power Plant allowed her to steer the focus back to climate change. She introduced her special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, who noted that the United States and China accounted for 40 percent of the world's emissions.

"This not a matter of politics or morality or right or wrong," he said. "It is simply the unforgiving math of accumulating emissions."

So far, the United States and China are mainly collaborating on research projects and ventures like the power plant. The harder work, analysts said, will come if the United States presses China to accept mandatory caps on its emissions - something Beijing has so far rejected.

Still, some China experts say they believe that climate change can give relations between the countries fresh energy. The White House has paid close attention to a report by the Asia Society and the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, which offers a road map for cooperation.

"If you look at U.S.-China relations, there are a lot of issues that can go either way," said Orville Schell, a China scholar at the Asia Society who was involved in producing the report. "What's missing is an issue in which the two countries can lean into a problem together."




By Mark Landler, The New York Times, February 21, 2009

Hillary Clinton is back in campaign mode. This time, the town halls are in South Korea, not South Carolina, and she's shaking hands to win supporters in Indonesia instead of Iowa.

In her first trip as President Barack Obama's top diplomat, Secretary of State Clinton has taken her talents as a politician and her personal celebrity to East Asia, stumping to rehabilitate a view of America battered by widespread disapproval of former President George W. Bush's foreign policy.

From a speech to Korean college women, who quizzed her on love and motherhood, to a walk through a poor Jakarta neighborhood where the U.S. is funding health and sanitation projects, Clinton's trip has been heavy on a message for ordinary people: The door is open and the U.S. is ready to listen.

"Showing up is not all of life, but it counts for a lot," Clinton, 61, told reporters traveling with her. "I see our job right now, given where we are in the world and what we've inherited, as repairing relations not only with governments, but with people."

Clinton, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Obama, said she wants to use "smart power" and people-to- people contacts as a cornerstone of a new foreign policy that will engage the world, and her listening tour through the region is the first showcase of that approach.

Indonesia Praised

The new secretary of state went out of her way at every stop in Jakarta to lavish praise on Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority democracy. At every opportunity in Japan and South Korea, she underscored the importance of the longstanding U.S. allies.

"If you want to see democracy and Islam and plurality all coexisting in one place, this is the place," she said on "Dahsyat," a nationally televised Indonesian pop music show whose name translates as "Awesome."

In Indonesia, Clinton and Obama are building on gains Bush won by sending U.S. Navy vessels and helicopters to mount relief efforts following the devastating December 2004 tsunami. The percentage of Indonesians with a favorable view of the U.S. rebounded, after having plummeted because of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, according to the Pew Global Attitudes survey.

Love of Her Life

At roundtables and town halls in all the countries, the image most captivating to some people is of Clinton herself. Mixed in with queries on her views about the Middle East have been questions about the difficulties of a work-life balance and how she knew Bill Clinton was the love of her life. The hosts of "Dahsyat" were curious about her favorite musical groups (the Beatles and the Rolling Stones).

It remains to be seen, however, whether dinners with community activists and neighborhood walks can repair a view of the U.S. damaged by a war in Iraq and dissatisfaction with American efforts to settle the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Putra Nababan, 34, who works on the Indonesian entertainment show that was contacted by the U.S. officials seeking an invitation for Clinton to appear, said they had never had a foreign leader or foreign minister on the program.

"This is strictly her team's idea, to appear to a younger- age audience," he said. "She is trying to grow a different image of America, and it might or might not work."

Not Formal

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was "so formal" when she visited Indonesia, Nababan said. "Hillary is trying to appear differently," swaying along with the music when she was serenaded by a youth choir.

"It's sending a signal: I respect you and I'm your friend," he said.

Not everyone is convinced yet by the charm offensive.

"We heard President Obama's speech about building relations with the Muslim world, and now we want to see some action, not just the promise," said Edy Suprayitno, 32, a motorcycle-taxi driver in Jakarta.

While informal outreach to ordinary citizens has its place, it isn't clear how much soft diplomacy can do to restore relations with police states such as North Korea, Cuba or Syria.

"I don't want to oversell this because there are some very intractable and difficult problems," Clinton said yesterday. Still, in the age of the Internet, even authoritarian governments are increasingly subject to the pressure of public opinion, and the U.S. should at least try to engage people who live under repressive regimes, she said.

'Extended Hand'

"Not everyone will unclench their fist," Clinton said, echoing words Obama used in his inaugural address last month. "But the message of our extended hand has impact."

All week, Clinton has repeated that the U.S. will normalize ties with North Korea and sign a peace treaty if the North agrees to verifiable and complete nuclear disarmament.

"A lot of international diplomacy is a head game," and some "regimes decide that they don't want to unclench their fist," Clinton said. Still, if the U.S. tries diplomacy first, it will bolster the case for demanding strong measures against rogue states, she told reporters traveling with her.

To that end, the ability to connect with ordinary citizens who can influence their regimes "is an asset that the president has in extraordinary intensity" and which, she added, "I have to some extent as well."

By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Bloomberg, February 21, 2009

Clinton's Diplo-Smack: Smart Power, Blunt Talk From the Secretary of State

"Maybe it is unusual ... but to worry about saying something that is so obvious is an impediment to clear thinking."

-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Seoul, South Korea
Feb. 20, 2009

America's chief diplomat is using some refreshingly undiplomatic language on this first foreign trip. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is referring to the news frenzy she created after warning that a "succession" fight in North Korea could further complicate nuclear negotiations.

The New York Times said Clinton "broke an informal taboo" by talking publicly Wednesday about who might replace Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator who is believed to be recovering from a stroke.

Clinton-Era Diplomacy Marked by Blunt Talk

So much for taboos. Clinton has not backed down. In fact, she turned up the heat.

"I don't think it is taboo to talk about the succession of the hermit kingdom," she told the reporters traveling with her during an informal roundtable she held with us in Seoul.

And if her blunt talk gets all those lovers of diplomatic nuance, or those allies of Kim's all worked up? That does not seem to bother Hillary Clinton. While acknowledging that a lot of diplomacy is a "head game, " she said it is "worth being more straightforward and trying to engage on the reality that exists."

I have to admit that having sat through more than a decade of achingly vague and arcane diplomatic briefings, this could be a welcome change.

There is always a huge part of me that wants to shout: "Quit dancing around and say what you mean!" Obviously, diplomats must choose their words carefully, but there does seem to come a point where it becomes absurd.

I'm not expecting miracles in openness with the new secretary. She can dodge questions with the best of them. She has yet to answer any questions about Pakistan's acceptance of strict Islamic law in the Swat Valley, which is a terrifying cave n to the Taliban. But Clinton clearly has a new approach to diplomacy. The combination of her diplomatic charm offensive, her notorious toughness and blunt talk may give "smart power" new meaning.

By MARTHA RADDATZ, ABC News, February 20, 2009

On Her First Trip as Secretary of State, Clinton Shows How She'll Attempt to Repair the U.S. Image Worldwide

SEOUL, Feb. 20 -- Hillary Rodham Clinton has a new campaign and message: The United States wants to listen.

To that end, on her first overseas trip as secretary of state, Clinton is talking a lot. Her schedule is packed with so many town halls, ceremonial events, television shows and meetings with community leaders that it has the feel of a presidential visit -- or even a presidential campaign.

Before departing tropical Indonesia on Thursday for snowbound Seoul, Clinton carved out an hour to chat with the Muslim nation's president. But she also appeared on a highly popular youth television show, "Dahsyat" ("Awesome"), met with a group of Indonesian journalists, answered questions on a radio program and went on a campaign-style walk through a lower-middle-class neighborhood, where she studied recycling efforts as hordes of Indonesians gathered around her. "I love your hat," she called out to a man in a New York Yankees baseball cap.

"There is a hunger for the United States to be present again," Clinton told reporters as she flew to Seoul. "Showing up is not all of life -- but it counts for a lot."

To a large extent, this is Clinton's new campaign -- repairing the U.S. image abroad. Her boss, President Obama, has helped ease the way simply by not being former president George W. Bush. But it is unclear whether all this public outreach will yield much beyond a few extra lines in the foreign news media, especially when America's policies -- and how they are viewed around the world -- are largely responsible for its image.

Everywhere she has gone in Asia, Clinton has tried to highlight some of the tangible ways that the Obama administration hopes to be different from its predecessor: a commitment to address climate change, the appointment of a Middle East peace envoy, a refocusing on Afghanistan and an effort to reach out to longtime U.S. antagonists such as Iran, North Korea and Burma.

The administration is so new that many of these shifts are still wisps of ideas, not fully formed policies. In some areas, such as relegating human rights in China to a side issue, it is uncertain whether Obama's team will do things much differently than Bush's.

But as every politician knows, the tone can make all the difference. Clinton has emphasized that she is looking for partnership -- or better yet, a "comprehensive partnership" -- on these issues.

Her pitch is that the problems of the world -- the financial crisis, climate change and extremism -- are so overwhelming that no country can handle them alone, certainly not the United States. Remember, she's saying, how the Bush administration went to war in Iraq virtually by itself (with Clinton's vote of approval)? That's in the past. We need help. And we want to listen.

"My trip here today is to hear your views, because I believe strongly that we learn from listening to one another," Clinton told students at Tokyo University on Tuesday. "And that is, for me, part of what this first trip of mine as secretary of state is about."

Clinton has made a big deal of her choice to go to the Pacific rim of Asia for her first trip, rather the standard European or Middle Eastern tour. Yet in many ways that has made her job easier: The U.S. image is pretty good here.

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs conducted a survey last year in the four countries Clinton is visiting this week -- China, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia -- and found that the United States outperformed China in political, diplomatic, economic and human capital "soft power," a favorite Clinton buzz phrase. Indeed, the survey concluded that the view of the United States in these countries, even majority Muslim Indonesia, is "largely positive."

Still, there are few better ambassadors for a listening tour than Clinton. And not because she has already conducted one -- the famous trip through New York state a decade ago when she contemplated a run for the U.S. Senate -- but because the world stage fits her like an old shoe.

She may still be mastering the finer points of arcane foreign policy issues -- a question about U.S. base logistics in Japan stumped her -- but she has quickly demonstrated that her many years in the public glare have left her with a politician's touch and a BlackBerry full of contacts.

After landing in Tokyo, she went to see Hirofume Nakasone, whom she first met 18 years ago, when he was a parliamentarian, and who laughingly pulled out a photo of the two of them looking much younger. As it happens, Nakasone is now Japan's foreign minister.

And she had tea with her old friend Empress Michiko, who almost never meets mere diplomats at her residence nestled in a forest in the center of the city. Yet the empress rushed out to clasp Clinton's hand and chat animatedly when the motorcade arrived.

Clinton's operating style differs significantly from those of her immediate predecessors. Colin L. Powell, a former general, surrounded himself with former military aides and spoke like he was giving a PowerPoint briefing. Condoleezza Rice, a wonky former professor, gathered around her a mix of deep foreign policy thinkers and savvy press aides, and delivered her messages in a blizzard of modifiers, caveats and subordinate clauses. Both Powell and Rice were very-early-to-office types who kept their schedules timed to military precision.

She appears to be enjoying herself immensely on her trip, despite a punishing pace from early in the morning to late at night. During a 9 p.m. dinner with community leaders in Indonesia, her exhausted aides were surprised at the constant laughter that burst out from her table.

She doesn't always talk with diplomatic nuance at this point, acting more like a senator as she answers questions. She generated headlines in South Korea with remarks on the succession question in North Korea, a topic that Rice probably would have avoided.

But Clinton has a politician's knack for words and a well-honed human touch. She told one of Japan's female astronauts that she had always wanted to be an astronaut when she was a little girl. She declined an invitation to sing on the Indonesian youth show, joking that she would drive the audience from the room. She roars with laughter, her head tilted back, when she hears something funny. And she speaks in simple and direct sentences, creating perfect sound bites.

It helps that she is already a world-famous figure, someone who is instantly greeted with awe and respect.

"It is glorious to meet you," exclaimed a Japanese student.

An Indonesian journalist burst out, "We love you both," referring to Clinton and Obama.

And in a front-page article, the Jakarta Post reported that "journalists held their breath" when Clinton arrived for a news briefing with the foreign minister. "She looks more beautiful than on TV," declared a reporter quoted in the article.

In Indonesia, a young democracy, people seemed especially intrigued that she was so quickly able to bury the hatchet with her once-bitter rival, Obama. When you are in politics, Clinton joked, "you have to have a high threshold for pain."

She "was very surprised" when Obama offered her the job, Clinton told a small group of Indonesian journalists who had covered the U.S. election. "It was not anything I had reason to expect or thought about," she said, and it was a "hard decision," but "President Obama was very persuasive in our conversations."

"President Obama is so focused on our problems at home," Clinton added. "He's not going to be able to travel as much as he wants to." So, she said, it is important "that I get out and do as much travel as possible to send a message that he wants the world to hear."

In other words, she'll be listening everywhere.

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, February 21, 2009

Advocacy Groups Urge Her to Put Human Rights Front and Center

BEIJING, Feb. 20 -- Human rights violations by China cannot block the possibility of significant cooperation between Washington and Beijing on the global economic crisis, climate change and security threats such as North Korea's nuclear program, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday.

"We pretty much know what they are going to say" on human rights issues such as greater freedoms for Tibet, Clinton told reporters traveling with her on a tour of Asia. "We have to continue to press them. But our pressing on those issues can't interfere" with dialogue on other crucial topics.

Clinton's remarks elicited sharp condemnation from Amnesty International, which has urged her to move human rights near the top of the U.S.-China agenda. The organization accused Clinton of saying "that human rights will not be a priority in her diplomatic engagement with China" and urged her to "publicly declare that human rights are central to U.S.-China relations before she leaves Beijing."

The Obama administration has high hopes of winning China's cooperation on reducing harmful greenhouse gases, in part through public-private partnerships. Clinton, who is ending her week-long trip with two days in the Chinese capital, is scheduled to visit a thermal power plant Saturday that was developed with General Electric technology. Accompanying her on the trip is Todd Stern, the administration's special envoy for climate change.

Administration officials also want to press China to use its close ties with North Korea to prod the reclusive nation to return to talks on its nuclear program and refrain from testing a long-range missile. On the economic crisis, Clinton wants to coordinate policies in advance of the Group of 20 summit on the global financial crisis in April. Clinton is also bringing proposals to elevate a high-level economic dialogue, currently managed by the Treasury secretary, to a more comprehensive conversation that could be handled by her or even the vice president.

But human rights groups say those goals do not negate the gravity of the abuse allegations they have lodged against Beijing in the past year. Among them: branding as terrorists those who believe that the Xinjiang region in China's west should be more independent, as an excuse to detain and silence them; introducing repressive martial law-type curfews, military patrols and questioning in Tibet; and trying to bully or buy off parents angry about the thousands of children who died when their schools collapsed during last year's earthquake in Sichuan province.

Over the past two months, Chinese police have been aggressively questioning several hundred of the more than 8,000 people who have signed a pro-democracy manifesto called Charter 08 that has been circulated on the Internet. At least one man who is thought to have helped write the document -- Liu Xiaobo -- has been detained, prompting an international cry for his release.

The timing of Clinton's comments stung human rights advocates particularly hard because this year will mark two important anniversaries for rights in China: the 50-year anniversary next month of the unsuccessful Tibet uprising, which sent the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, into exile; and the 20-year anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations, which were crushed by the Chinese military. Chinese officials, mindful of the symbolic significance of any memorials, have already begun cracking down on potential dissenters.

"The United States is one of the only countries that can meaningfully stand up to China on human rights issues," Amnesty International said in a statement released after media reports of Clinton's remarks. "The Chinese people face a dire situation. . . . Half a million people are currently in labor camps. Women face forced abortion and sterilization as part of China's enforcement of its one-child policy."

Amnesty, along with Human Rights Watch and other organizations, wrote Clinton a letter before her trip urging her to tell Chinese officials that China's relationship with the United States "will depend in part on whether it lives by universally accepted human rights norms." Human Rights Watch, in its own statement Friday, implored Clinton not to separate human rights from the broader agenda.

Clinton said Friday that she was simply being realistic about China's stance on human rights, noting that the Chinese halted the broadcast of a tough speech she gave on women's rights in Beijing 13 years ago, when she was first lady.

"Successive administrations and Chinese governments have been poised back and forth on these issues. . . . I have had those conversations for more than a decade with Chinese leaders," Clinton said. She said she did not mean to imply "a lesser concern" for human rights but intends to spend more time talking about areas where she senses a breakthrough, possibly including "the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis."

"We have to have a dialogue that leads to an understanding and cooperation on those" issues, she said.

Clinton's willingness to break a diplomatic taboo -- generally U.S. officials will claim to seek progress on human rights, even if they may not mean it -- appears to be part of a determined effort by the new administration to clear the linguistic fog of international diplomacy. She noted she had generated headlines this week with remarks on the failure of sanctions to influence the Burmese junta and a possible succession crisis in North Korea.

"I don't think it should be viewed as particularly extraordinary that someone in my position would say what is obvious," she said. "Maybe this is unusual because you are supposed to be so careful that you spend hours avoiding stating the obvious. But that is just not productive in my view. It is worthwhile being more straightforward. . . . That's how I see it and that's how I intend to operate."

She said she was "somewhat fascinated" by the reaction to her remarks on the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and whether there was a power struggle underway in Pyongyang. Her comments -- that "there is an increasing amount of pressure because if there is succession, even if it is a peaceful succession, that creates even more uncertainty" -- prompted front-page headlines in the South Korean press and were the central focus of many of the stories written by reporters traveling with her, largely because U.S. officials generally avoid the subject for fear of offending North Korea.

"To me, it is the most obvious issue," Clinton said. "It has been in the news for months. I don't think that it is a forbidden subject to talk about succession in the hermit kingdom."

Clinton said the question of Kim's continued hold on power has to be an important part of any policy review. "You have to be thinking down the road about what, when and where," she said. "Obviously it is a factor, but I don't see it as news."

By Glenn Kessler, The Washington Post, February 21, 2009

BEIJING (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the debate with China over human rights, Taiwan and Tibet cannot be allowed to interfere with attempts to reach consensus on other broader issues.

Shortly before arriving in Beijing on Friday on the last leg of her inaugural trip abroad as America's top diplomat, Clinton told reporters she would raise those contentious issues but noted that neither side is likely to give ground on them.

Instead, she said it might be better to agree to disagree on their long-standing positions and focus on instead on U.S.-Chinese engagement on climate change, the global financial crisis and security threats. Clinton made the comments in Seoul, South Korea before departing for Beijing.

By MATTHEW LEE, The Associated Press, February 21, 2009