The Announcement We've Been Waiting For

Yesterday I was about to blog an entry when I found out that blogspot
was blocked! It was confirmed on danwei.... dammit.

Some seem to think it will be blocked for a while with the upcoming
June 4 anniversary. In any case I hope it won't last long as in over
two years I haven't had much trouble posting until now...

Anyway what I was going to say is that more than 100 days after Barack
Obama took office in the White House, the United States may have its
ambassador to China. The announcement will be made on Saturday.

Associated Press has reported that it could be Utah Governor Jon
Huntsman, a Republican.

He is apparently fluent in Mandarin from his years as a Mormon
missionary in Taiwan and has even adopted a daughter from China.

Huntsman is a popular governor who has urged the Republicans to have a
more moderate agenda and understands that the country has to change.

I've asked a few American friends what they think of him, but no one
seems to know much about him at all.

But from seeing his basic background, he seems to be good choice,
understanding not only the language, but also the sensitivities of
dealing with China as well as the Taiwan Straits.

He could be the right person to engage China on a number of levels and
play the game on China's turf.

Stay tuned.