One thing I have always had against interest groups is their ability to look at a situation as a whole. I am an avid environmentalist, but if there was a scenario in which 1000’s of acres of forest had to be leveled for a group of people to survive then I say go for it.

Likewise, I also fully support human rights:

Amnesty International and a pro-Tibet group voiced shock Friday after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed not to let human rights concerns hinder cooperation with China.

Paying her first visit to Asia as the top US diplomat, Clinton said the United States would continue to press China on long-standing US concerns over human rights such as its rule over Tibet.

“But our pressing on those issues can’t interfere on the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis,” Clinton told reporters in Seoul just before leaving for Beijing.

Clinton’s reasoning is sound enough, but there is actually more to it than Amnesty International is acknowledging:

With the export-heavy Chinese economy reeling from the U.S. downturn, Clinton sought in meetings with Premier Wen Jiabao and other top Chinese government leaders to reassure Beijing that its massive holdings of U.S. Treasury notes and other government debt would remain a good investment.

“I appreciate greatly the Chinese government’s continuing confidence in United States treasuries. I think that’s a well-grounded confidence,” Clinton told reporters at a joint news conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Thinking human rights makes it simple to forget about the bigger problem – China owns us. We really don’t have the position to flex a strong arm with China when they hold that kind of weight over us.

So yes I would love to see China recognize it’s obligations for human rights, but I am a realist. They will have to recognize these obligations on their own. Frankly the U.S. doesn’t have the strength to push China on it, and if we push to hard the backlash will effect the 300 million people here, as compared to the 3 million in Tibet.