I salute both of you for very careful statements.

I think we're going to have to start talking more realistically about what those timelines are and calm people down.

I contacted the White House when I was on Guam, trying to make the point that this isn't simply a transportation issue; it's a national security issue.

this is, I think, a fresh opportunity to try to bring some consistency into our policies.

if we are not consistent in how we deal with these incidents, such as locking up dissidents and these sorts of things, in a country like China, then the rest of the region does not believe we're serious about what our policies really are.

We tend to focus on human rights, which are separate from governmental systems, in terms of analysis.

I believe, that the time has come to undertake a comparative assessment of how our policies toward Asian governments effect our relationships.

Burma is not Vietnam. Vietnam is not Burma.

It would be an enormous mistake for any administration to neglect this critical dimension of our foreign policy.

With respect to human rights situations inside China, these are the numbers that I received from my staff, from the State Department's report on human rights.

We have clearly articulated, from a governmental perspective, different standards, in terms of electoral process, openness of the media, freedom of movement, et cetera.

The nongovernmental impact of the United States is enormous in Asia.