Tag Archives: Vietnam

Obama’s Asia Agenda / Clinton on Vietnam / Foreign Journalists

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Preparing for his trip to Asia, President Obama’s travel agenda is packed. Currently in Asia, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visits Vietnam and encourages engagement. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke gives an update on Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. is ramping up its efforts to combat human trafficking. Meanwhile, the midterms are next week; learn more about political reporting and the concept of divided government. And, finally, foreign journalists visit the State Department as part of a unique program.

Obama’s Asia Engagement
Senior White House officials say President Obama’s nine-day visit to India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan is aimed at renewing U.S. engagement across Asia. The president’s November 6-14 visit includes meetings of the Group of 20 major economies in Seoul and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Yokohama.


Clinton in Vietnam
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Hanoi, Vietnam, to meet with national leaders and to attend the East Asia Summit, where she is emphasizing the U.S. commitment to strengthened engagement with Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific region.

Afghanistan, Pakistan Agree on Trade
The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan have signed a trade agreement that will expand trade and investment opportunities for both countries, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke says. “This is the most important agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan since Pakistan’s independence,” says Holbrooke, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Combating Modern Day Slavery
The United States is intensifying its efforts to combat human trafficking, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says. Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Holder says the Department of Justice will strengthen the ability of federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute human trafficking crimes.

Nonstop Political Reporting
“Ideological” Internet and cable television news shows running day and night with commentators expressing personal opinions about political candidates could affect the outcome of the November 2 midterm elections, political experts say.

Can a Divided Government Work?
The prospect of a divided U.S. government — with a president of one party and at least one chamber of Congress dominated by the other party — has raised questions about what the next two years might be like in Washington.

Foreign Journalists Visit U.S.
The State Department welcomed more than 150 young international media professionals representing 125 countries to the nation’s capital as part of the fifth annual Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists. The program, named for Murrow, a pioneer in broadcast journalism, provides foreign journalists the opportunity to experience the United States firsthand while exchanging ideas with their American colleagues. At left, some of the program participants gather at the State Department.

Human Rights in Burma / A U.S. Election Update / Kids And Robots

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton backs a probe of human rights violations in Burma. We also have three more reports in our continuing coverage of the U.S. midterm elections, including one on President Obama’s campaign travels. The U.S. and Japan mark a 50 year relationship. The U.S.  urges support for the Lebanese government. Obama’s portfolio for his coming trip to India is packed largely with economic issues.  Learn how lost early American films turned up in a Russian film archive. You can study anything, virtually. In an international program for journalists, Bob Woodward stresses the importance of facts. Meet American fine-art photographer Peter Steinhauer and his Southeast Asian inspirations. And finally, here’s yet another reason robots are cool.

A Focus on Human Rights in Burma
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton backs an international inquiry into human rights abuses in Burma and pledges U.S. support for efforts to improve the lives of its citizens. Speaking in Hawaii at the beginning of a 13-day visit to the Asia-Pacific region, Clinton, right, promises to “seek accountability for the human rights violations that have occurred in Burma.”


Obama’s Daily Campaigning
President Obama was warmly welcomed to the popular comedy program The Daily Show, but during his lengthy interview with host Jon Stewart it became clear the appearance was very much a campaign stop. With congressional Democrats facing tough challenges in the 2010 midterm elections, the comedy show’s first interview with a sitting U.S. president was another in a series of more than 25 campaign stops for Obama in recent weeks.

The Muslim Vote in America
The week before national midterm elections in the U.S., discussions over Islam’s place in America is prompting American Muslims to make their voices heard through voting. Various Muslim organizations are working to acquaint American Muslims with the voting process and to encourage voter turnout.

America’s Endangered Senators
On Election Day, only 37 U.S. senators will be chosen, but some of those political contests are among the most contentious in the 2010 elections. The 2010 midterm elections include 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans seeking re-election and 14 “open” seats (no incumbent running) that currently are split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

The U.S.-Japan Alliance at 50
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan alliance with praise for a relationship “based on deep friendship between our people, on mutual respect, and on common goals and values.” The two met in Honolulu on the first day of Clinton’s seven-nation Asia-Pacific tour. 

U.S. Urges Support for Lebanon
The United States urges support for the Lebanese government as it works to reduce the threat posed by instability and conflict, says U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

Economy Tops Obama India Agenda
Expanding economic ties and growing business relationships between the United States and India will be atop the agenda as President Obama travels to South Asia beginning Nov. 6. Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman says India represents “one of the most important emerging economic relationships for the United States, both multilaterally and bilaterally.”

“Lost” Silent Films Found
Some of America’s early film history that was thought to have been lost forever has been recovered. Ten films from Hollywood’s silent film era have been found in Gosfilmofond, the Russian state film archive, restored, copied and presented to the Library of Congress. “This is like finding a lost Picasso,” says Pat Loughney, chief of the library’s $200 million Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. At left, a still image from the 1922 crime drama Kick In, one of the found films.

Learning Virtually Anything
Salman Khan hopes to make his online classroom “the world’s first free, world-class virtual school where anyone can learn anything.” Based in California, the Khan Academy received a $2 million grant from Google to build the software needed to translate its content into the world’s most-spoken languages.

Woodward on Journalism
American investigative journalist Bob Woodward met with some 150 journalists from 125 countries in an interactive session at the U.S. Department of State as part of the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, named for the award-winning and pioneering broadcast journalist. Woodward stressed the importance of what he called “neutral fact-getting” and meticulous reporting.

Visions of Vietnam 
American Peter Steinhauer is a successful Hong Kong-based fine-art photographer whose work is displayed in museums and galleries worldwide, and also at the U.S. embassies and consulates in Vietnam and Burma. Steinhauer was inspired by a 1993 trip to Vietnam, and his work primarily consists of landscapes and portraits portraying Vietnamese culture.

Robots Draw Kids to Science
Robots that kick soccer balls, solar-powered vehicles and helmets that offer virtual bike rides were some of the attractions at America’s first national science exposition, the grand finale of two weeks of activities intended to motivate more young people to pursue careers in science. The expo drew an estimated half million visitors to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Notes from a Franklin Fellow: China, Blogs and the Meaning of Diplomacy

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Guest blogger Frederick W. Marrazzo comes to the State Department via Silicon Valley in Northern California, where he helped recruit for a variety of technology companies before starting to produce his own public access television program in 2004. In 2007, Frederick completed a book project on the local Italian community in the Santa Clara Valley. He has a degree in East Asian languages and literature from the University of Maryland at College Park and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona.

As a Franklin Fellow with the Bureau of International Information Programs, which was part of the United States Information Agency until 1999 when the agency merged with the State Department, I have the opportunity to work as a member of the Chinese blogging project where I scan blogs in both English and Chinese.

The goal of digital outreach is meant to help the United States government carry out the mission of public diplomacy by communicating with audiences from different countries. Social media tools such as blogs give voice to more people than ever before.

As I read through some of the stories and comments that are highlighted on Chinese blog postings, I am reminded of why freedom of speech is so important to the American way of life and why we should encourage China to be more tolerant of different points of view.

A blog post on the China Digital Times points out a story in which the Xinhua News Agency, China’s official news outlet (i.e., Communist Party approved), conducted an interview with the police chief of a small county in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of China. In it, he talks about what is known as the “Three Ones” program, which recruits police informants from local citizens.

The meaning of “Three Ones” is derived from the numbers 10,000, 1,000 and 100. The 10,000 figure represents the number of informants that every police division is expected to recruit from their communities, villages, work units and other areas. The 1,000 figure comes from informants recruited by the actual combat units that include criminal investigation, economic investigation, Domestic Security Departments, Public Information Security Supervision, public safety and police stations. Finally, the 100 figure includes additional special criminal intelligence gatherers that come from the groups just mentioned.

According to the police chief, just over 12,000 people serve as informants to the local government in a county of just 400,000 people! Obviously “Three Ones” multiply very quickly.

Another story that I read, about a veteran of the “Counterattack Against Vietnam in Self Defense,” a punitive war between China and Vietnam that lasted just under a month from February to March 1979, clarified for me just how humiliating war can be. This made me realize that the work that we do at the State Department on a daily basis has an impact on world peace. When people die because of actions taken by governments, it underscores the urgency of diplomacy. Diplomacy is dignity.

Needless to say, I’m really glad to be contributing to the public diplomacy mission of the U.S. Department of State.