NPR: Bill Clinton and China Are Linked Via His Foundation

Bill Clinton and China Are Linked Via His Foundation

Will Bill Clinton's business dealings be a problem for his wife's presidential campaign?

The Los Angeles Times reports a firm that donated to former President Clinton's foundation has been accused of collaborating with the government in its crackdown on Tibetan activists.

Sen. Clinton has taken a strong stance against China's internal crackdown on the Tibetan people.

"But her recent stern comments on China's internal crackdown collide with former President Bill Clinton's fundraising relationship with a Chinese Internet company accused of collaborating with the mainland government's censorship of the Web. Last month, the firm, Alibaba Inc., carried a government-issued 'most wanted' posting on its Yahoo China homepage, urging viewers to provide information on Tibetan activists suspected of stirring recent riots."

When Clinton addressed a conference of Internet executives in Hangzhou in September 2005, he accepted an unspecified private donation from Alibaba to his international charity, the William J. Clinton Foundation.

"This is a perfect example of why it's critical for both Clintons to provide prompt and complete disclosure of all their sources of income, not just personal sources but also his foundation," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director for the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, a government reform advocacy group.

Sen. Clinton's campaign deferred to her husband's foundation when asked about the donation. A spokeswoman for the foundation said, "President Clinton is not involved with Alibaba and is opposed to censorship and the repression of political dissent." But critics point out that even when he was specifically asked by Human Rights in China and Reporters Without Borders to raise Internet freedom issues in the speech, he did not.

11:16 AM ET | 04-14-2008 | permalink

Comments

Were Bill Clinton's ties to China a problem when he was President?

(Spying at Los Alamos, Chinese-American fundraising scandal)

Sent by Harold | 1:15 PM ET | 04-14-2008

Typical, what do you expect from the Clinton's. This aspect of them will never change, wake up America! Should we have to tolerate four or eight more years of this, or worse.

Sent by Robert Jasensky | 1:34 PM ET | 04-14-2008

Gee, Hilary just told us that he denounced China's One Child Policy. Wow! The complement vice pays to virtue.

Sent by Matthew Scallon | 6:09 PM ET | 04-15-2008

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