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 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

2012 looks to be an interesting year for the already complex political triangle among the United States, Taiwan and China, what with each country undergoing political transitions. Should we expect policy continuity from President Ma Ying-jeou and the likely new Chinese leader Xi Jinping? What about continuity in the United States?

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

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

There’s no need to be defensive; the president made a good call on bin Laden, but his courage in that instance pales next to a record that includes his embrace of American decline, his fear of American leadership, his degradation of the military (and not just the Navy, as the Romney campaign appears to think).

The imprisonment of Mahmoud Salehi marks acceleration in the Iranian government's fight against independent labor.

International pressure and solidarity with Chinese dissidents can undermine the one-party dictatorship in Beijing.