China demands U.S. apologize over their handling of Chen Guangcheng

(CBS News) What was supposed to have been two days of high level talks between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Chinese leaders has turned into a diplomatic fiasco over the fate of one man.

CBS News correspondent David Martin reports that, at first, it was all smiles and hugs. Chen Guancheng couldn't thank American diplomats enough. He even phoned Secretary Clinton to personally thank her. For their part, the Americans seemed delighted to have ended a standoff that began six days ago when Chen escaped from house arrest and took refuge in the U.S. embassy.

Then, as Chen was taken to a Chinese hospital to be reunited with his family, the wheels started to come off a deal which was supposed to have allowed him to remain in China free of persecution. It happened just as Chris Johnson, who until two weeks ago was the CIA's top China analyst, predicted it would.

"In terms of trying to somehow negotiate with the Chinese a means to guarantee his safety within China, there's just too much chance that the Chinese regime would renege and then the administration would look terrible," Johnson said.

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From his hospital room, Chen called western reporters and fellow dissidents, saying he'd been coerced into leaving the safety of the American embassy.

"(Chen) talked to me," one dissident tweeted. "(He) did not want to leave the embassy, but he had no choice because if he did not leave (his wife) would be sent back" to house arrest.

Chen was also quoted as saying he now fears for his safety and that of his family and wants to come to the U.S. American officials insist that throughout his six days at the embassy, Chen insisted on remaining in China and that he left the embassy voluntarily, after they negotiated the best deal possible with the Chinese government.

What has been described as the biggest test of U.S.-Chinese relations in 20 years is not over yet. Among other things, the Chinese are demanding the U.S. apologize for meddling in their internal affairs.

Below, watch longtime Asia correspondent Holly Williams in Beijing from CBS News' British partner Sky News talk with CBS News anchor Scott Pelley about the situation on the ground there.

[Bugtooth]

Obama will probably fly on Air Force 1 and apologize on bended knee to the Communist Chinese leader. Oh, by the way can we sell you another 100 trillion of bonds ?

[venusvegasvada]

Apologize to China?

"Between 2001 -- when the People's Republic entered the World Trade Organization -- and 2011, America's trade deficit with China has cost the U.S. 2.8 million jobs, the Economic Policy Institute concluded in a recent report. That includes nearly 2 million manufacturing jobs eliminated or displaced over that period, according to the Washington think tank."

Ref:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57426973/u.s-raises-heat-on-china-to-open-its-economy/

In 1990 30% of the US GNP was manufacturing. 10% was financial services.

Somewhere along the line, people in our Govt. decided to throw manufacturing under the bus and push financial services. By the mid 2000's, we were sitting at 30% GNP for Financial services, 10% GNP for Manufacturing.

To do that, the Govt. rolled over for wall street and the bankers and corporations. Repealed the Glass-Steagall Act and passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Commodity Futures Exchange Act of 2000.

All that was supposed to create more American jobs. It didn't. Pie in the sky. All it did was make the Rich richer and the poor poorer.

Instead, the experiment turned into a total disaster. By 2008, the new financial behemoths almost destroyed the world financial system and left American short on living wage jobs and weak in manufacturing.

Truly fixing this situation should be national security issues of the highest order.

No nation in history has every "made it" on financial services being a large part of their GNP. Not a single one. Everyone of them that tried, failed. Because you can't sustain any kind of real growth by playing shell games with money. There's no substitute for making things and selling them to people overseas. But for some reason, the idiots that run our Govt. figured that it would just "be ok" to give all that power to greedy bankers and shareholders.

Wrong answer.

The damage to our overall society has also damaged our countries financial health and manufacturing might, which is the true source of our military power. Military might, at the end of the day, is the ultimate decision maker of who controls what. People in our Govt. and Wall Street seem to have forgotten that. They think they are the true source of power.

Wrong answer.

The people running the Govt and Wall Street are playing a very dangerous game by selling the nation out by sending so many jobs overseas. It's cost our treasury and workers trillions of dollars.

The financial experiment is a failure. Offshoring manufacturing is a failure. They have both seriously weakened our Nation, all so a handful of Rich people can make extra profit.

Stop it. Reverse these experiments before it's too late. Reset the financial laws to what they were before 1999. Bring manufacturing back to the US with strong incentives. Give NO incentives to move them out, penalize them for being overseas.

It's the only way we can become strong again. Placing your faith in China to do what we want them too is a fools dream. China will challenge us for dominance someday soon and not a single Wall Street Banker or American CEO or Rich Shareholder will have any skin in that game or stomach for dealing with the monster they have created. They will stand back, after creating the entire problem, and dump it on the nation and the middle class and the poor to deal with.

Get your act together Washington before it's too late.

[hypnotoad72]

Well said, but what if Washington has its act together? Are they indolent, incapable, or quite competent? After all, were REX85, NSPD51, HSPD20, PDD51, et al, created for our benefit, or those pulling the strings that make us believe Washington has lost its act (rather than merely putting one on)?

[endrepubs]

Americans, please consider where your purchases were made. Whenever possible......buy American.

[hypnotoad72]

That Chevy or Ford car has parts in it that were made in Mexico, China, etc. The top want higher profits and will skew and spin the system to their benefit when possible. After all, the one-time claim "offshoring leads to lower product prices" will never be spoken again by offshoring's proponents... since enough people have noticed prices really haven't gone down. Car prices still go up, by leaps and bounds. Microsoft has China and India doing a lot of Windows and Office development - I've only seen prices go up here (but they give the highest piracy countries a nice discount for legal versions, which are also subsidized by the prices we have to pay... why isn't "globalization" about the same wages and prices globally? Because those at the top end would then have to take a cut and they don't want to do that. They want everyone else to prop them up and the amount of evidence is overwhelming.)

The list goes on and on...

[1stlttightwad]

Hmmm, does China want the apology with a bow or without. The Chineese president didn't even acknowledge Obama's bow with a return bow...You only do that when you have NO respect for the person bowing to you..They are so far beneath you common courtesies do not matter. It's like OF COURSE YOU RESPECT ME.

[jonnyooh]

China came out with its first atomic weapon in Oct 1964, with much kind assistance from the USSR. America had the bomb four years before Russia, and almost twenty years before China. I think it was really polite of America not to blow these two waking giants off the face of the planet. America may survive to see the day when it wishes it had been less courteous.

[Macroneurotic65]

Apologize? Are you kidding? No, we WON'T apologize. If you don't release him and let him go free, how 'bout this? $2 trillion dollars? WHAT $2 trillion dollars? We don't owe you $2 trillion dollars!!!

[jonnyooh]

That's okay, I'll apologize for America and save our government the hassle.

To China: I'm oh so sorry the leaders of China are such a bunch of backward, misguided a-holes. Okay, that wasn't as humiliating as I thought it would be

[donald_ourand]

He and his family is going to die in Vachina.

[kaylag04]

The Obama administration celebrates the one-year anniversary of the successful elimination of Bin Laden by participating in the successful elimination of a blind, Chinese dissident. USA! USA!

[BUDDYofPA]

How's it feel to want China !!!

Na Na Na Naa !!!