First, Obama did not openly criticize the Chinese government’s notorious human rights record, nor did he use his influence to persuade China to release any prisoner of conscience, as his US predecessors always did when visiting the country. While Obama toasted President Hu, Liu Xiaobo, a famous Chinese dissident, remained shut away in an unknown location, having vanished last December because of his leading role in drafting a written appeal for constitutional rights.
首先，奥巴马并没有公开批评中国政府恶劣的人权纪录，也没有利用自己的影响力去劝告中国释放在押的政治犯，而这两点都是他的前任到访中国时常有的举动。当奥巴马与胡锦涛推杯换盏之时，刘晓波这个中国著名的异见分子依然被关押在某个不为人知的地方，而他在去年12月被人间蒸发的原因则是带头起草了一份有关维护人民宪法权利的书面宣言。