Pelosi's Nobel Diplomacy

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi flew to Oslo Norway to participate in the Nobel Peace Prize award to Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. This high profile attendance by the second in line to the U.S. Presidency is important as Beijing barred the Peace Prize winner and his wife from attending the Nobel awards ceremony.  Nor was Liu permitted to designate a representative to collect the coveted prize for him.

Moreover, the Chinese government has threatened countries that support the Peace Prize Laureate with “consequences”.  So far, Russia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Morocco, Iraq and the Peoples Republic of China have declined to participate in the ceremonies.

Liu was designated the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights.  Liu is paying the price for his courageous calls for democracy in China and the end to one party rule as he is serving his fourth sentence as a political prisoner.

The Nobel Peace Prize has lost much of its luster after it was awarded to unworthily awared to Yasser Arafat, the eco-bloviations of Al Gore, Jr. and last year’s speculative vote for Hope and Change to President Barrack Obama.  The Nobel Peace Prize Committee have rediscovered their rightful role and gave plaudits to someone who was not political figurehead but someone who truly sacrificed for his conscience.

Normally, Congressmen meddling in foreign policy is something to be frown upon.  But Speaker Pelosi is acting as part of the American delegation.  It shows Pelosi’s longstanding concern about Chinese human rights abuses.  And such a high level representation from the legislative branch sends a signal to Beijing of the seriousness of their affronts to human rights.

But Pelosi had better hussle back to Capitol Hill before the tax rate compromise collapses in the House and everyone pays marketedly more to the IRS after January 1st.