Lobbying for the China-Vietnam Model

APRIL 8, 2011

BY: THE HILL

at 12:06 AM

Yesterday, the Council of the Americas, the Cuba Study Group and ACCION International released a report entitled, "Supporting Small Business in Cuba: Recommendations for Private and Public Sector Leaders."

(Never mind that there's no private sector in Cuba, but that's the subject of another post.)

Their joint press release can be viewed here.

In it, you'll note that the words freedom, democracy or human rights are nowhere to be found. Why?

Because the report lobbies for a China-Vietnam model for Cuba -- and as we all know, there is no place for freedom, democracy and human rights in China-Vietnam.

In other words, they're fine with Cuba being ruled by a brutal dictatorship, so long as the people are granted some menial economic opportunities.

Is that what we should strive for in this Western Hemisphere, which is bound by the Inter-American Democratic Charter, and where 34 of 35 countries live under representative democracies?

Shouldn't we be lobbying for the same freedoms -- nothing more nor less -- that every other country in this Western Hemisphere enjoys?

Plus, how is the China-Vietnam model working?

Here's the main news story from from China this week. According to BBC:

The Chinese authorities are taking every measure to ensure what they call "social harmony", even if it means arresting high-profile artist Ai Weiwei and sparking international condemnation.

It is a political calculation and in the world's second largest economy, politics still come first.

Officials have now confirmed that Ai Weiwei is under investigation for "suspected economic crimes", four days after he was detained at Beijing airport.

And in Vietnam, according to Democracy Digest:

Two prominent Vietnamese dissidents were arrested outside a Hanoi court yesterday, along with up to 29 Catholic activists, during "one of the Communist nation's most politically charged cases in years."

Not so great, huh?

Of course, these types of business-friendly dictatorships are convenient to foreign corporations, opportunists and the regime's economic elites, who cut deals while not having to worry about transparency or any "inconvenient" freedoms, e.g., to criticize, organize or lodge complaints.

"Money often costs too much."

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet, 1803-1882