Senators’ Chinese junket is shrouded in secrecy
By Al Kamen,
WashPost
Tuesday, April 19
If it’s Passover, it must be Hong Kong. If it’s Easter, it must be Beijing. If it’s spring break, it must be a week-long jaunt by a large Senate delegation to China, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Ten senators, coming off a tough legislative session, plus spouses, staffers and military escorts, landed in the Middle Kingdom on Monday to begin a fine tour to Hong Kong, Chengdu, Xian and Beijing. The Senate news release calls it an “informational trip throughout China,” which Loop Fans know is a tip-off that this is going to be an excellent time.
There will be “site visits of American investments and clean energy projects,” and they are going to discuss “the global economy, security, trade, currency and foreign policy.”
Yes, indeed. There will be no time for shopping in Hong Kong and hardly any time to tour the giant panda’s native habitat in Chengdu or see the ginormous Buddha at Leshan. Not a minute for the Terra Cotta Warriors in lovely Xian, a walled city and the gateway to the Silk Road.
(More here. TM comment: I accompanied many congressional junkets over the years, particularly around the former Soviet Union. Many of these people are so ignorant about the rest of the world that any exposure to a new idea or way of doing things is probably worth the money, even though these are essentially exotic vacations at taxpayers' expense.)
WashPost
Tuesday, April 19
If it’s Passover, it must be Hong Kong. If it’s Easter, it must be Beijing. If it’s spring break, it must be a week-long jaunt by a large Senate delegation to China, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
Ten senators, coming off a tough legislative session, plus spouses, staffers and military escorts, landed in the Middle Kingdom on Monday to begin a fine tour to Hong Kong, Chengdu, Xian and Beijing. The Senate news release calls it an “informational trip throughout China,” which Loop Fans know is a tip-off that this is going to be an excellent time.
There will be “site visits of American investments and clean energy projects,” and they are going to discuss “the global economy, security, trade, currency and foreign policy.”
Yes, indeed. There will be no time for shopping in Hong Kong and hardly any time to tour the giant panda’s native habitat in Chengdu or see the ginormous Buddha at Leshan. Not a minute for the Terra Cotta Warriors in lovely Xian, a walled city and the gateway to the Silk Road.
(More here. TM comment: I accompanied many congressional junkets over the years, particularly around the former Soviet Union. Many of these people are so ignorant about the rest of the world that any exposure to a new idea or way of doing things is probably worth the money, even though these are essentially exotic vacations at taxpayers' expense.)
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1 Comments:
I have no problem with 'junkets' to foreign countries, but is this the right time to up and leave the country - a time of deep financial crisis - at the taxpayers expense?
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