Clinton Should Denounce Chinese Yahoo!

The LA Times is reporting a link between Bill Clinton and the Chinese crackdown in Tibet, via his foundation:

(Senator Clinton's) recent stern comments on China's internal crackdown collide with former President Bill Clinton's fundraising relationship with a Chinese Internet company accused of collaborating with the mainland government's censorship of the Web. Last month, the firm, Alibaba Inc., carried a government-issued "most wanted" posting on its Yahoo China homepage, urging viewers to provide information on Tibetan activists suspected of stirring recent riots.

Alibaba, which took over Yahoo's China operation in 2005 as part of a billion-dollar deal with the U.S.-based search engine, arranged for the former president to speak to a conference of Internet executives in Hangzhou in September 2005. Instead of taking his standard speaking fees, which have ranged from $100,000 to $400,000, Clinton accepted an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity, the William J. Clinton Foundation.

The LA Times seems to be trying to hang this around the Clintons' neck, but links like this are flimsy at best. As long as Senator and former President Clinton make clear that they condemn this activity, this is not a big deal. I wouldn't even call for the foundation to return the money, as it is a charity that does great work around the world, and its beneficiaries should not be made to suffer.

The issue of transparency with regard to the foundation's donors is a tricky one that needs to be addressed, but if donors have requested anonymity, that should be respected. I would suggest that the foundation insist, going forward, that its donors be willing to be identified.

An even greater opportunity exists for Senator Clinton to highlight the "deals with the devil" that the US government, and other US companies, have made in exchange for access to China's markets and cheap goods. I think this classic clip from CBC's Erin Burnett sums it up elegantly.