Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be making her first trip to China next week. Today’s New York Times previews some of the issues under consideration and the potential pitfalls they see as facing the Obama administration in their dealings with China. While the title of the Times piece is “US Prepares to Broach Hard Issues With China,” it only skirts past human rights and China’s ongoing military occupation of Tibet. It seems the challenges these days is how can the US make sure that China doesn’t shut off the money spigot during tough economic times. As a result, the Times’ Mark Landler gives the distinct impression that Clinton will be disinclined from pressing on human rights issues. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know, but it certainly makes for good Conventional Wisdom.

Clinton and Obama have a unique opportunity to put human rights and freedom above and aside other economic issues. Challenging China to improve the lot of their people and to end their occupations of Tibet, East Turkestan, and Inner Mongolia — as well as relaxing tensions with Taiwa — is the morally right thing to do. And in these economic times, it’s also the hard thing to do. But we elected President Obama because we need leadership that is more comfortable doing what is right than doing what is easy. Secretary of State Clinton’s trip to China is the first real opportunity for President Obama to show that he has the mettle to lead America back to a place of respected, moral greatness. This is an opportunity not muddled by partisan fighting nor cable news bickering, but one that can be made following study and evaluation about what is right and what America’s President and Secretary of State can achieve with the power of their words. They should seize this opportunity and call for a release of political prisoners, relaxation of military presence in Tibet, and the beginning of meaningful negotiations about the future of Tibet with the Tibetan Government in Exile.