On the New York Review of Books blog, Richard Bernstein discusses the case of Xue Feng to argue against the use “quiet diplomacy” to lobby for American citizens imprisoned in China:
Quiet diplomacy, as it’s called, has served for years as the principle guiding US relations with China: the theory is that it is far better to engage the Chinese government quietly, behind the scenes, rather than through more robust public confrontation. This approach, recommended by most influential experts on China, has been followed in political and economic dealings, and even when the human rights of American citizens are at stake. But how effective is quiet diplomacy in practice? Two cases have made this question urgent.
To judge from recent events, China itself has certainly not felt bound by the rules of quiet diplomacy. In its dispute with Japan—over the September arrest of a Chinese fishing trawler captain whose boat collided with two Japanese naval vessels in disputed maritime territory—the Chinese government went public right away with what appeared to be calculated fury. There were warnings of “strong countermeasures” and “severe consequences” for Japan if it didn’t release the ship’s captain immediately. Chinese police arrested four Japanese businessmen, allegedly for photographing an off-limits military installation—three have since been released; one is still being held. And even after the Japanese released the captain (who immediately declared his intention of going back to the disputed area), China continued to press for an apology and compensation.
Many observers argue that China’s aggressive behavior will cost it in its relations with its neighbors and with the United States over the long term. Still, for the moment, very noisy diplomacy seems to have accomplished China’s purpose—to secure the release of its detained citizen and, probably, to reassert its claims in the East China Sea. What is striking in the meantime is the contrast between Chinese behavior in a dispute involving the seizure of one of its citizens by another country and the behavior of other countries, including the United States, when China seizes one of theirs.
