Hillary Clinton tweeted last night in response to the recent detention of five women’s rights activists in China, demanding that these detentions ‘must end.’ Since their detention in March, the activists have been denied medical treatment by Chinese authorities, their supporters have been detained and sympathetic NGO’s have been raided.
While her tweet gives the impression she has been a strong supporter of human rights activists in China, her actual record is embarrassing. Less than a month after becoming Secretary of State in 2009, Hillary Clinton told reporters in South Korea that while human rights in China were important they “can’t interfere” with dialogue on economic issues, climate change or security concerns.