Want China Times
Editorial
Date: 2015-04-20
After accepting the office of secretary of state in Obama’s first term, Hillary Clinton clocked
Hillary Clinton gives a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, March 10. (File photo/Xinhua)
nearly 1 million miles and visited 112 countries, making her the US presidential candidate with the most thorough understanding of international politics. Admittedly this is not particularly hard given the willful ignorance of international affairs among the Republican field, but being the most-traveled secretary of state in history is nonetheless a significant achievement that should not be sniffed at.
But Clinton’s strengths in this area will no doubt also be used as a line of attack from the GOP should she secure the Democratic nomination. She has already had to ride out the sustained and cynical attacks over Benghazi, where she was ultimately vindicated. Emailgate may still have some legs and the criticism of the Clinton Foundation for having received donations from foreign governments will no doubt be raised again in the next 18 months.
But if Clinton can succeed in becoming the first woman in the White House, the world should be assured of a knowledgeable and reliable commander in chief over foreign policy. In her past remarks on US-China policy and cross-strait relations, Clinton, in addition to affirming Taiwan’s democracy, said that the core of the US “One China” policy seeks peaceful relations between mainland China and Taiwan while upholding Taiwan’s autonomy. [FULL STORY]