Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, fresh from blowing off U.S. special envoy for North Korea Jay Lefkowitz and calling phantom press conferences to sabatoge North Korean human rights conferences, met with North Korean representatives in Jeju Island for the 17th round of intra-Korean ministerial talks. Chung has sparked discussion, however, by wearing his South Korean flag pin upside down and addressing the North Korean delegation with the term, "comrade."
"Comrade Chung." From now on, the name sticks.
BTW, Joshua responds to Oranckay’s comments on the Chung-Lefkowitz non-meeting over at OFK. Be sure to read it.
And just an aside, while I would never encourage U.S. officials to act like dicks to visiting dignitaries, I really do hope Chung is treated like a pariah when he visits D.C. to address the National Press Club on Dec. 19 (Monday).
UPDATE: I was talking to Oranckay tonight, and he’ll hopefully be posting more evidence why Lefkowitz should have stayed well clear of Sunday’s candlelight rally, regardless of how he felt about his treatment by South Korean officials.
5 Comments
While Lefkowitz is technically a sepcial envoy, his only claim to experience defending human rights is tagging along with other officials to a UN meeting in the 1990s. He is no dignatary. He is really a Bush hack and nothing more, best known for defending Bush’s non-policy on stem cell research from 2001-2003. It is galling for this queef to say people like Kim Dae-jung and Kim Guen-tae are dithering on HR, people who fought for HR and democracy in the South for decades, who were thrown in prison for fighting for HR and democracy, indeed, were tortured for it. Speaking of HR and Bush in general terms anyway. Where do neo-cons and the religious right, from which Lefkowitz hails, get off on human rights??? They ruined in a few years the reputation the U.S. ought to have on human rights. There are only two words for Lefkowitz– Abu Ghraib.
Kim Dae-jung fought for human rights and democracy in the South, but for the North he supplied $500 million dollars for a photo-op with a dictator and blew some Sunshine Policy out his ass. The so-called leftists in Korea are at least as selective on human rights as Bush & Co. (who I did not vote for and have no affection for). Human rights never seem to apply north of the DMZ with Roh, Chung and their mentor Kim.
Wherever he comes from is not important. The fact that he is a special envoy representing the US government is (in a relationship that is critical to the South). So because he’s from a Bush government, it’s alright to ignore and snub him? Ridiculous. And leftists criticize Bush for not going the diplomaticy route (I’ll even concede that there may be good reasons for not meeting with Lefkowitz, but you haven’t given any).
What is it with leftists who harp on about conciliation (not you green tea, but others)? When Bush’s people do the diplomacy thing, leftists think they aren’t worth meeting. How can Bush win? He might as well just go ahead and act unilaterally and do whatever he wants.
And what the hell does Lefkowitz have to do with Abu Ghraib? These pointless and substance-free attacks on Bush and Lefkowitz are crap. Not meeting him because he picks his nose in public makes about as much sense as your reasons do.
This guy’s presidential aspirations, what little was left, have now gone up in smoke.
Wearing the Korean flag upside down is bad in and of itself for a government representative (Japanese politicians never have this problem, by the way), but the “Comrade” comment will echo for years and years.
Maybe we should all be wearing our Korean flags upside down, though, since the Roh-Chung axis of weasels has put us in a state of distress.
While Lefkowitz is technically a sepcial envoy, his only claim to experience defending human rights is tagging along with other officials to a UN meeting in the 1990s. He is no dignatary. He is really a Bush hack and nothing more, best known for defending Bush’s non-policy on stem cell research from 2001-2003.
Perhaps so, but Chung is hardly any better–he’s a former TV journalist with, to but it gently, an iffy background in either unification policy or foreign affairs who was put in his position for political reasons. I’ve also been told that he’s not terribly bright. That being said, he is a minister appointed to his post by a democratically elected head of state, and that–under normal circumstances–would require that he be shown an appropriate degree of respect. As should have Lefkowitz, political hack or not.
It is galling for this queef to say people like Kim Dae-jung and Kim Guen-tae are dithering on HR, people who fought for HR and democracy in the South for decades, who were thrown in prison for fighting for HR and democracy, indeed, were tortured for it.
Nobody is criticizing either Kim Dae-jung or Kim Geun-tae for their role in South Korea’s democratization movement. What Kim Dae-jung is being criticized for is the North Korea policies he launched while president and what he has said regarding North Korea after leaving office. Ditto goes for the government Kim Geun-tae serves. If the U.S. can be fairly criticized for support for South Korea’s military dictators during the 1970s and 1980s and silence in the face of widespread human rights abuses during that period, why can’t DJ and Roh be criticized for silence about North Korea’s human rights abuses and financial and political support for Pyongyang, given with the express intent of keeping the North Korean regime afloat in the name of regional stability?
Speaking of HR and Bush in general terms anyway. Where do neo-cons and the religious right, from which Lefkowitz hails, get off on human rights??? They ruined in a few years the reputation the U.S. ought to have on human rights. There are only two words for Lefkowitz– Abu Ghraib.
Abu Ghraib? That’s rich, especially coming from a guy defending politicians who are pumping money into a country that’s essentially one big prison state.