You'll never guess: the 7th annual EU-China summit! That's right, December 8th will see lots of meta-communication and polite diplomacy going on in Holland.
This is what I should have been reading, all about the EU constitution. Instead, I became sidetracked by Thing 1 and Thing 2. Thing 1 is a description of EU-China relations. Thing 2 is the first Chinese foreign policy position paper on the EU. It was published in October of last year. My favorite part was the bit about human rights:
"There are both consensus and disagreements between China and the EU on the question of human rights. The Chinese side appreciates the EU's persistent position for dialogue and against confrontation, and stands ready to continue dialogue, exchange and cooperation on human rights with the EU on the basis of equality and mutual respect so as to share information, enhance mutual understanding and deepen cooperation in protecting, inter alia, citizens' social and cultural rights and the rights of the disadvantaged."
All that doublespeak fits in just two sentences. I'm afraid I'm skeptical of dear old China, even though things are getting better. Sheesh. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?
Posted by nickles at December 4, 2004 12:17 AM