It seems like just six months ago that Portland's mayor, Sam Adams, was joyfully celebrating 60 years of Communist rule in China. On his blog, the mayor declared, "This is a seminal year for China and for Portland-Chinese relations." Since then, Portland has hosted an exhibition of modern Chinese art and the mayor attended the ribbon cutting at the first retail store in the U.S. for China's version of Nike.
Fast forward to today. With a flip and a flop and a slap in the face, the mayor tried his hand at crafting U.S. foreign policy by issuing a proclamation that March 10 is "Tibet Awareness Day" (pdf).
What the mayor hoped would be feel good--but empty--gesture toward the Free Tibet bumper sticker crowd, turned into an firestorm that threatens to engulf much of Oregon's business community.
In the wake of the announcement, some government agencies have threatened to pull the plug on televised Trailblazers games.
One business owner who regularly travels to China to meet with suppliers and customers has informed this blog that he may cancel his upcoming trip because his business partners do not want to speak with him. He is now worried that this latest blow-up will drive him out of business.
Commissioner Randy Leonard first urged the mayor to make the proclamation based on his assessment that the desires of 100 Tibet supporters vastly outweigh the viability of Oregon's business community.
According to his blog, Commissioner Leonard was asked by a reporter if he was concerned that the proclamation in support of Tibet would damage Portland's economic relationship with China, the state's biggest trading partner. In response, the commissioner said, "We should not have to sacrifice our principals of free speech and religion to do business with China." Tell that the next firm that loses business with a Chinese customer.
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