Chinese president Hu Jintao visited the White House this week. Much of the focus was on economic issues like currency manipulation, protecting intellectual property, and lifting the Chinese government preference for contracting only Chinese companies in aerospace and renewable energy fields. The goodwill between our nations was symbolized by a $45 billion export package. Obama addressed human rights only toward the end of his press conference remarks, prioritizing trade, global and regional security, environmental issues, and nuclear proliferation. Predictably, Hu focused on the latter, and discussed human rights only in terms of national sovereignty.
The media, on the other hand, zeroed-in on rights. Only two American reporters were given the opportunity to ask questions. The first reporter, from the AP, asked:
President Obama, you’ve covered the broad scope of this relationship, but I’d like to follow up specifically on your comments about human rights. Can you explain to the American people how the United States can be so allied with a country that is known for treating its people so poorly, for using censorship and force to repress its people? Do you have any confidence that as a result of this visit that will change? … And, President Hu, I’d like to give you a chance to respond to this issue of human rights. How do you justify China’s record, and do you think that’s any of the business of the American people?
Hu Jintao didn’t answer the question, not having heard it due to a technical translation problem, but the American press would not be deterred. The second (and final) question from an American journalist, from Bloomberg this time, reiterated: “President Hu, first off, my colleague asked you a question about human rights, which you did not answer. I was wondering if we could get an answer to that question.”
I was a bit surprised, given the zeitgeist themes of losing domestic manufacturing to overseas workers, the exchange rate issue, and the overall trade imbalance; that the media returned to censorship and political speech–a rather traditional scolding for an untraditional Communist state. Americans are, for better or worse, preoccupied with political rights (even for citizens of another country). Sometimes it seems more important for a politician to be Christian and pro-life/choice/guns/privacy than well-educated, competent, and possessed of a clear plan for the future. In college, students are expected to have a liberal arts education–in literature, philosophy, and history, but not necessarily in science, math, and economics. Our core values are in the h
umanities. It’s no surprise that our leaders reflect our values, and for their legislative and policy decisions to reflect their educational expertise.
I was curious to see whether this correlation between educational values and leadership carries for other countries, and did a little impromptu research. I looked at the top 9 leaders of each country, and found their undergraduate major and/or graduate field. I started with the U.S., China, India, Singapore, and Germany. I would be interested in seeing others; however, I lack the language skill or Googling will to look them up.
I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but perhaps it should come as no surprise, given the results, that the Chinese government is less concerned about humanitarian issues than economic growth, infrastructure development, and technological advancement.
| United States | (first nine in order of succession, modified Senate pres.) | |
| Barack Obama | President | law |
| Joe Biden | Vice-President | law |
| Nancy Pelosi | Speaker of the House | political science |
| Harry Reid | Senate Majority Leader | law |
| Hillary Clinton | Secretary of State | law |
| Tim Geithner | Secretary of the Treasury | economics and East Asian studies |
| Robert Gates | Secretary of Defense | history |
| Eric Holder | Attorney General | law |
| Ken Salazar | Secretary of Interior | law |
| China | 9 members of standing committee of politburo | |
| Hu Jintao | President | hydraulic engineering |
| Wu Bangguo | Chairman of Standing Committee | electrical engineering |
| Wen Jiabao | Premier | geology and engineering |
| Jia Qinglin | Chairman of Nat. Com. Of CPPCC | engineering |
| Li Changchun | head of propaganda/media affairs | electrical engineering |
| Xi Jinping | Vice President | chemical engineering |
| Li Keqiang | First Vice Premier | law |
| He Guoqiang | Secretary of Central Commission for Discipline Inspection | inorganic chemistry |
| Zhou Yongkang | Secretary of Central Political and Legis. Comm. | geophysical survey |
| India | top 9 cabinet ministers | |
| Manmohan Singh | Prime Minister | Economics |
| Pranab Mukherjee | Minister of Finance | law/history |
| P Chidambaram | Minister of Home Affairs | statistics/law/business |
| AK Anthony | Minister of Defense | law |
| Sharad Pawar | Min. of Agri. | commerce |
| Veerappa Moily | Minister of Law/Justice | law |
| SM Krishna | Minister of External Affairs | law |
| Virbhadra Singh | Minister of Steel | horticulture |
| Vilasrao Deshmukh | Minister of Heavy Industries | law/finance |
| Singapore | ||
| Lee Hsein Loong | Prime Minister | mathematics, public admin. |
| Teo Chee Hean | Deputy PM, Defense | electrical engineering, comp sci. |
| Wong Kan Seng | Deputy PM, National Security | business |
| Goh Chok Tong | Senior Minister | economics |
| Sunmugam Jayakumar | Senior Minister | law |
| Lee Kuan Yew | Minister Mentor | law |
| George Yeo Yong-Boon | Minister for Foreign Affairs | engineering, business |
| Tharman Shanmugaratnam | Minister of Finance | economics, public admin. |
| Mah Bow Tan | Minister for Nat. Dev. | industrial engineering |
| Germany | first 9 in list of German cabinet | |
| Angela Merkel | Chancellor | physics |
| Guido Westerwelle | Vice-Chancellor, Foreign Minister | law |
| Norbert Röttgen | Minister of Environment | law |
| Rainer Brüderle | Minister of Economics | economics |
| Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg | Minister of Defense | law, journalism |
| Kristina Schröder | Minister of Family Affairs | sociology, history |
| Ronald Pofalla | Minister of Special Tasks | law |
| Thomas de Maizière | Minister of Interior | law |
| Annette Schavan | Minister of Education | education, theology |
