Clinton tied to Chinese crackdown on dissent
posted at 9:12 am on April 13, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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Hillary Clinton has loudly demanded that George Bush boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies as a protest against China’s crackdown on Tibet and dissenters. However, Bill Clinton has found financial reward from collaborators with the Beijing government in that crackdown for his charitable foundation. Alibaba, which took over Yahoo’s operations in China, has paid for promotional work done by the former president in an amount he refuses to disclose:
As Chinese authorities have clamped down on unrest in Tibet and jailed dissidents in advance of the 2008 Olympics, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has taken a strong public stance, calling for restraint in Tibet and urging President Bush to boycott the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing.
But her recent stern comments on China’s internal crackdown collide with former President Bill Clinton’s fundraising relationship with a Chinese Internet company accused of collaborating with the mainland government’s censorship of the Web. Last month, the firm, Alibaba Inc., carried a government-issued “most wanted” posting on its Yahoo China homepage, urging viewers to provide information on Tibetan activists suspected of stirring recent riots.
Alibaba, which took over Yahoo’s China operation in 2005 as part of a billion-dollar deal with the U.S.-based search engine, arranged for the former president to speak to a conference of Internet executives in Hangzhou in September 2005. Instead of taking his standard speaking fees, which have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000, Clinton accepted an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity, the William J. Clinton Foundation.
Clinton didn’t even challenge the Chinese government for openness in his 2005 appearance. Activists had asked him to raise the case of Shi Tao, a dissident writer arrested in 2004 with the assistance of Yahoo, Alibaba’s parent before the spinoff. Not only did Clinton refuse to do so, he never bothered to mention the Chinese government’s censorship of the Internet, which has become one of the issues with the Beijing Olympics and athletes.
With the Clintons, it always comes back to China. The Chinese government funneled money into Clinton’s re-election campaign in 1996 in a major fund-raising scandal. Clinton managed to survive it, but questions about China’s connections to the Norman Hsu and other fund-raising scandals for Hillary’s bid still remain.
In this case, it’s less about potential legal wrongdoing than simple hypocrisy. Hillary scolds Bush for not challenging China’s crackdown on dissenters while her husband had no problem brown-nosing those who assist in oppression when it benefited him and his foundation. Bush should seriously consider skipping the opening ceremonies, but the Clintons have zero moral standing to make that demand.
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Hillpocrite: “Do as I say, not as Bill does.”
jgapinoy on April 13, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Vince Foster was unavailable for boycott
Wade on April 13, 2008 at 9:26 AM
The Bill Clinton legacy is a massively strengthened Chinese military. He approved technology transfers to China during his administration which no previous administration would have permitted.
flipflop on April 13, 2008 at 9:28 AM
Where in the world do we find these political bums?
rplat on April 13, 2008 at 9:40 AM
Nor was Ron Brown
Gee, it’s just amazing how much baggage the Clinton’s have isn’t it?
Vntnrse on April 13, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Summing up Billy Jeff’s presidency with a question:
Did Monica blow smoke rings with that cigar?
BowHuntingTexas on April 13, 2008 at 10:00 AM
The Clinton’s have stood on top of the Democrat Party for the past 15 years. During that period of time, they have taken this party to absolute new lows while dragging the country with them. The Clinton’s created a mafia type rule over all elements of the party; using the Secret Service, the IRS, the FBI, the State Department, all for purposes of administering control over every dynamic of the party. Needless to say, the Clinton’s also used every means possible to dictate tight control over the media and all others who represented a threat. Bill Clinton was nothing other than a mafia thug boss with the entire world as his play ground.
The Clinton War Room was a Bill & Hill creation that remains in full operational status today. If Hillary wins the Democrat nomination, the next four years will be all about “payback” and a complete reorganization of the DNC and the MSM mafia style.
Bill Clinton has his ties to the Chinese; GW Bush has his ties to the Saudis and the Mexicans. I’d like to see the truth come out regarding all of these relationships.
Keemo on April 13, 2008 at 10:03 AM
The Klintons have zero morals.
Zorro on April 13, 2008 at 10:07 AM
It is extremely difficult to have moral standing on anything when you have no morals to begin with. The Clintons and their like will do anything or do nothing and say anything or say nothing in their quest for power. They have proven on almost every subject or occasion that they have no morals.
Tennessee Dave on April 13, 2008 at 10:14 AM
Where is the egg fu yung on their faces?
It calls to mind the old punch line, “We’ve already established what you are. We’re now merely negotiating the price.”
In a more perfect world, the media would expose the extent to which the Clinton cabal (Bernie Schwartz et al) enabled the Chinese to make huge leaps in missile guidance and targeting technology. In fact, the technology was on display recently when the Chinese successfully shot down a satellite.
The Clintons have a sleazy history of accepting suitcase loads of cash from mysterious people directly associated with the Chinese govt as well as bundles of cash from poor Chinese dish washers in NYC. Human rights be damned.
Never mind her politics, the shamelessness with which the Clintons are willing to whore themselves about should be a disqualifier in its self.
To put a sharper point on the matter, the extent to which the fourth estate has enabled this dysfunctional duo to do anything beyond run for dog catcher says something more troubling.
moxie_neanderthal on April 13, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Will the MSM pick this up? Maybe…since they found someone further left then Hillary to push.
They may not have as good luck as Yahoo’s founder and Chinese collaborator, Jerry Yang, who got puff pieces from the likes of the LA Times, with a mention in paragraph 1000 about his crime.
PattyJ on April 13, 2008 at 10:34 AM
If the MSM hopes to reclaim any of its former respect, it will immediately demand the release of the donor list to the Clinton Library and Foundation. Then it will investigate all donors thoroughly to discover what other confloict of interest the potential “First Spouse” would present to “Madame President.”
I’ll bet there are some juicy items just waiting to be discovered.
Sloan Morganstern on April 13, 2008 at 10:52 AM
Corrected.
shaken on April 13, 2008 at 11:08 AM
It wasn’t smoke rings that she blew.
JonRoss on April 13, 2008 at 11:34 AM
And , unfortunately, they’re only being asked in the right- wing blogosphere. The backwater MSM has cleared its throat and moved on.
whitetop on April 13, 2008 at 11:55 AM
Oral sex isn’t sex.
Del Dolemonte on April 13, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Well it isn’t torture either. I don’t suppose anyone’s spouse or “significant other” would appreciate such a claim of a distinction without a difference.
moxie_neanderthal on April 13, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Oral sex isn’t sex.
Del Dolemonte on April 13, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Well it isn’t torture either. I don’t suppose anyone’s spouse or “significant other” would appreciate such a claim of a distinction without a difference.
moxie_neanderthal on April 13, 2008 at 12:30 PM
I agree moxie, unless however the spouse wants to be POTUS also. Then it is just a VRC (vast rightwing conspiracy) not a BJ.
JonRoss on April 13, 2008 at 12:43 PM
Sorry, I don’t have the quote function perfected yet.
JonRoss on April 13, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Molly Henneberg on FNC talking about this now – cool
HawaiiLwyr on April 13, 2008 at 1:02 PM
The Clintons have no moral authority on anything.
Preaching drinking water, while drinking wine:
…murmurings of the little harp-girl’s song in Heinrich Heine’s 1844 poem “A Winter’s Tale”
Entelechy on April 13, 2008 at 1:08 PM
Crooked is as crooked does.
Obama may be finished, its now Billary vs. John “Insane” McCain.
Neo on April 13, 2008 at 1:17 PM
Barry O is facing a cornered Hilliary’s jibes about his “bitter” remarks and her trying to make a mountain out of another molehill. Barry needs to hit Herself with questions about this sort of corruption that have happened throughout her campaign. Issues? we don’ need no steenkin’ issues! We jus gonna toss stink-bombs back and forth.
GeneSmith on April 13, 2008 at 2:00 PM
They gotta pay the Bills somehow!
exhelodrvr on April 13, 2008 at 2:12 PM
“Instead of taking his standard speaking fees, which have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000, Clinton accepted an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity, the William J. Clinton Foundation.”
How do I get the feeling that the BJ Foundation raises money for married men who need more ’sex’ but don’t want to commit adultery?
I know, this is a serious situation and i hope it’s the house that falls on the wicked witch, I mean ‘wife’.
Christine on April 13, 2008 at 2:24 PM
We must also not forget that the disgraceful legacy of Jimmy Carter lives on. He’s the one who unrecognized Taiwan in favor of Communist China (without Congressional approval).
CP on April 13, 2008 at 2:25 PM
Actually, I hope it falls on both of them, but they are rarely seen together.
Christine on April 13, 2008 at 2:26 PM
Alibaba = China Operation?
Oh………… That Ali-Baba……
Ohhhhhhhh, them memories………
Seven Percent Solution on April 13, 2008 at 4:37 PM
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