Global Times interviews Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress (AJC) and the American Council for World Jewry, to get advice on how China can lobby the U.S. government as successfully as Jewish groups have. Rosen says:
Working hard for the rights of individuals is a core US value. The Jewish lobby gained that influence by lobbying on behalf of issues that 90 percent of Americans would agree with.
Then there is the issue of Israel. Why are Jewish groups so successful in lobbying for Israel? Again the American public is very supportive of the only democracy in the Middle East, the only country in the Middle East that gives equal rights and freedom to everyone. Woman have equal rights in Israel.
[…] It’s lobbying for these issues, and engaging with the US government, that has put Jews into this position, and we know how to use that influence.
If you ask if the Chinese community has a strong lobby, I don’t believe so, because they don’t lobby for those kinds of issues. What do they lobby for? “Love us Chinese?” It’s a nice idea, but it has no substance.
We don’t say, “We are Jews, love us, and make us powerful.” We have specific issue that we fight for. And the result is we become the leadership. We are very active in government in very high positions.
Chinese should lobby more, they can lobby better, they can achieve more results. But I wouldn’t compare it with the Jewish level.
(h/t Danwei)
