The past two weeks of turmoil and drama in Sino-American affairs may well be the new normal, not an exception to an otherwise placid bilateral relationship. While Friday brought news of a possible deal allowing dissident Chen Guangcheng to leave China to study in America, that deal is no more certain than the earlier, failed deal, announced just days before

The Chen Guangcheng saga gets stranger and stranger, but also is becoming a major diplomatic embarrassment for the Obama administration.

The Obama administration should have cancelled the summit as soon as it learned that China was going back on its word – that is, until Chen and his family could go back to the embassy and get out of China. As the Chen Guangcheng saga gets stranger and stranger, and becomes a major diplomatic embarrassment for the United States

Amb. Bolton’s interview last night on Fox News “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren discussing the latest on Chinese dissident, Chen Guangchen

The real question hanging over all this is whether there was a quid pro quo for Mr. Chen’s release.

The only leverage the U.S. had was to cancel the summit as soon as it learned that China was going back on its word.

What matters for China is not whether Westerners believe the system is cracking. The question is: How do the Chinese view their own system?

As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to China this week for yearly strategic consultations, a daring bid for political asylum has highlighted the seething dissent beneath China’s surface stability.