Dear Slate, yes there are chocolate bars in China
Cinematheque: Mulan is finally Chinese again! (and other film news)
Protest in Guangzhou: Why would you burn garbage?
Barbie Spa: For the cosmopolitan plastic beauty in you
Obama in China: Long gone, and still headlinin'
By Rich Yu
U.S. President Obama appointed former Washington State Governor, Gary Locke, to the post of Commerce Secretary today. Locke will be the second Asian American to join the top White House brass, after Stephen Chu - who became the Secretary of Energy in January.
Despite Locke’s terrible haircut and scrutiny from haters in the US who fear that the China’s currency policies threaten American jobs, Gary is an undeniably experienced veteran in Chinese-US Trade.
Locke, a third-generation Chinese American, the first Chinese American Governor in American history, and all-around-nice-guy has been crucial in pushing through billion dollar trade deals on behalf of Microsoft, Weyerhauser and Boeing in China.
From Bloomberg News:
“Locke understands the benefits of trade up close and personal,” said Christopher Padilla, a former undersecretary of commerce and a managing director of C&M International, a trade and investment consulting firm in Washington. “But the question will be how he reacts to the enormous protectionist pressures he will face.”
With America’s economy in the crapper, Gary will need all the luck he can get.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
post to facebook
An excellent choice by Obama and crew. Locke is well spoken, intelligent and very experienced.
He gave the Democratic Response to Bush's 2003 State of the Union address while Bush was popular then. He was pretty much stonewalled and left political life afterwards. I do feel sorry for this guy. I hope that he does get elected.
@ your point, locke actually received a considerable amount of racially charged death threats from right wing crazies because of his response. his decision to not run for a 3rd term was a surprise for all, and in my opinion, he could easily have won again.
Locke has a Shanghai connection -- his parents-in-law live in the city.