Jump to content

Gary Locke to Resign


Randy W

Recommended Posts

I don't see this on the Consulate's web site, but this is from the Wall Street Journal

 

China’s Internet Users Bid Adieu to U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/11/20/chinas-internet-users-bid-adieu-to-u-s-ambassador-gary-locke/

 

“When I met with President Obama earlier this month, I informed him of my decision to step down as Ambassador in early 2014 to rejoin my family in Seattle,” Mr. Locke said.

Mr. Locke’s wife and three children moved to Beijing with him in 2011 but returned to Seattle several months ago primarily
so
his eldest daughter could finish high school there, according to embassy staff. The staff said there was no official word yet on his replacement.

The U.S. ambassador has been in his post for 2 ½ years.

 

 

Link to comment
Guest ExChinaExpat

It's not surprising that this is happening, and it's also not surprising that it's not being publically announced by the White House or Beijing. It's well-known that Locke is no fan of China and is a great supporter of Dali Lama. That is not the sort of mix for a good amabssador to any country.

 

 

 

I have to say, for a long time, there has been quite a disconnect between all kinds of behavior of the U.S. embassy in China and the new U.S. ambassador to China Gary Locke, and the scope of their official duty. They keep doing little tricks. People cannot refrain from asking, is this ambassador really obligated to actively engage himself in boosting Sino-U.S. relations and dissolving misunderstandings and disputes, or is he hellbent on finding faults and kicking up fusses in the Chinese society and creating new and larger rifts between the two countries? From the façade of a civilian life of flying with the economy class, carrying his own backpack, and buying coffee with coupons, to monitoring and publishing the embassy’s data of (Beijing) air quality and posing his nose into the debate on Beijing’s urban management, to his wantonly taking Chen Guangcheng into the embassy via abnormal means – What we can see, far from a prudent and discreet ambassador to China, is nothing but a typical U.S. politician who stir up antagonism. Whether this style of work, highly incompatible with his ambassadorship, is deliberate or unintended, and what, if it is intended, are its motive and purpose, are questions that everyone may wish to thrash over. This farce, orchestrated by the U.S. embassy, is a great lesson to Chinese people, and verifies once more the Chinese proverb: “A weasel paying respects to a chicken harbors no good intention.” Isn’t the intention they harbor abundantly clear?
Edited by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)
Link to comment

. . . from the Global Times this morning - not exactly a ringing endorsement

 

US Ambassador to China to step down

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/826512.shtml?utm_content=bufferafe40&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Buffer#.Uo1h4dJ9efM

 

As the first Chinese American ambassador to China, Locke drew huge attention when he and his family first arrived in Beijing. They impressed Chinese people by presenting an image of an ordinary family, carrying their luggage on their own without any attendants.

Amid the applause Locke won from the public praising his style, heated debates stirred as adverse voices arose saying Locke making a show was an American plot to stir citizens' resentment of their own leaders.

"His man-of-the-people show has been boosted by the media, but they forget he's here to sell American values," Wu Danhong, an assistant professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times, saying that people should not be deluded by the label of "ethnic Chinese."

Locke has engaged in public opinion disputes, faced with the strategic bilateral relationship between the two countries and the fact that Chinese society is undergoing a transformation, Lu Shiwei, a senior research fellow with Institute of Modern International Relations of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

 

 

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

. . . and the new guy

 

White House to nominate Baucus for ambassador to China Three reasons why the White House is sending Max Baucus to China

 

President Obama’s decision to nominate Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) as the next U.S. ambassador to China took many in Washington by surprise. But there are plenty of reasons why this was a smart move from the White House’s perspective. Here’s three.

 

 

Link to comment

The word from the Global Times

 

Envoy’s personal views unlikely to change Sino-US ties http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/833134.shtml?utm_content=bufferc76eb&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=Buffer#.UrOb4NIW3fU

 

Wherever their origins lie and whether they speak Chinese, they are representatives of Washington. Their first ID is politician, and the one and only mission they have is to maximize their country's interests in China.

In other words, it doesn't matter who will take office, because these politicians Washington sends to China will not alter the foundation of Sino-US relations, which are shaped by the extensive economic interdependence and geopolitical competition together. Their individual influence on this bilateral tie is limited.

It is too early to make comments on the new ambassador, no matter, if it be Baucus or not. But a breakthrough on mutual trust is what is absent from Sino-US relations. It needs to be included within the next ambassador's agenda.

 

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...

from ABCNews

 

Chinese Media Outlet Uses Racial Slur at US Envoy

"Let's bid goodbye to the smog, and let's bid goodbye to the plague. Farewell, Gary Locke," ended the article, which was clearly inspired by Mao Zedong's 1949 piece, "Farewell, Leighton Stuart," that scoffed at the last American ambassador under the collapsing Nationalist government in Nanjing.

The piece shocked members of the Chinese public, who denounced the editorial as distasteful and offensive.

 

 

the Shanghaiist -

China News editorial calls outgoing US ambassador Gary Locke a 'rotten banana'
Link to comment
Guest ExChinaExpat
Posted (edited) · Hidden by warpedbored, March 2, 2014 - No reason given
Hidden by warpedbored, March 2, 2014 - No reason given

They didn't like the "yellow banana" from the start. Is there a way to compute the logic of an administration that blames the murder of our American ambassador to Libya on a video that "offended" Muslims? Then, the new boss, same as the old boss says:

 

 

 

In Washington, top diplomat John Kerry paid tribute to Locke as "a champion of human dignity and a relentless advocate for America's values." Asked about the China News Service commentary, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday: "We are not going to dignify the name-calling in that editorial with a response."
Edited by ExChinaExpat (see edit history)
Link to comment
Posted · Hidden by Randy W, March 2, 2014 - No reason given
Hidden by Randy W, March 2, 2014 - No reason given

 

They didn't like the "yellow banana" from the start. Is there a way to compute the logic of an administration that blames the murder of our American ambassador to Libya on a video that "offended" Muslims? Then, the new boss, same as the old boss says:

 

 

 

In Washington, top diplomat John Kerry paid tribute to Locke as "a champion of human dignity and a relentless advocate for America's values." Asked about the China News Service commentary, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters Friday: "We are not going to dignify the name-calling in that editorial with a response."

 

Uh, wrong site for posing political questions, Jesse. You know better.

Link to comment

Pretty sad to see Locke treated that way. I voted for him for governor when I turned 18, and thought it was a nice coincidence that we were in Beijing at the same time.

 

One of his last interviews in the Chinese-language media was with Men's Health China. Here's a translation of it – I was impressed by his polite (political?) answers.

 

 

Gary Locke Talks Family, Fitness and His Reasons for Leaving China

 

Editor’s Note: Gary Locke has held the position of US Ambassador to China since 2011, and in November 2013 announced he was resigning the post to be with his family. Before he leaves, Locke agreed to an interview with Men’s Health China, editor in chief, Lin Dan. In this translated article Locke talks family, fitness and his reasons for leaving China.

Gary Locke, while serving as the US ambassador to China, has been a highly visible figure and has been able to maintain a good reputation amongst the Chinese people. Locke is an ABC, or American born Chinese, and has been the most hands-on ambassador to China. He has become a model example of how native Chinese can also achieve the American dream. Editor in chief of Men’s Health China Lin Dan invited Locke to sit down and talk about his time as ambassador. Lin decided to uncover a new side to the ambassador and spoke with Locke about health rather than politics.

LD: Do you run? What do you think of the Beijing weather for running? Do you run outside?

GL: I ran outside a few times in Beijing with my daughter but I’m not very good at running. I love outdoor sports like golf and I like to be outdoors in general, whether it be working outside the house, climbing mountains in Seattle or walking along the Great Wall.

LD: Is this only if the weather is good?

GL: Bad weather does not affect me. I’m from Seattle which is a very rainy city. In Seattle, even if it is rainy, windy or cold, we play sports outside like golf, soccer or go jogging.

 

Edited by lhp (see edit history)
  • Like 1
Link to comment

I grew up in China and returned as an entrepreneur in 2011. Let me just say the seeing the events unfolding here makes me a bigger fan of America. Gary Locke was well liked just for being an educated, classy American - low key, budge-conscious, and polite. After people realized that this wasn't to make some sort of political statement, they began to question: why don't our officials stop acting like they are above all of us? I think this is what ticked off the official media: he erected a standard few Chinese officials have the class to meet.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

I grew up in China and returned as an entrepreneur in 2011. Let me just say the seeing the events unfolding here makes me a bigger fan of America. Gary Locke was well liked just for being an educated, classy American - low key, budge-conscious, and polite. After people realized that this wasn't to make some sort of political statement, they began to question: why don't our officials stop acting like they are above all of us? I think this is what ticked off the official media: he erected a standard few Chinese officials have the class to meet.

 

VERY well said - thank you!

 

The ability and tendency to piss off a few Chinese officials is not necessarily a bad quality at all in a Chinese Ambassador.

 

His influence has definitely been felt, and in a lasting way.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...