There are reports around Washington that the White House is
taking the news of China's intrusion into Google seriously, convening high-level
meetings to take the hardest look yet into the vulnerability of American
government and corporate assets to Chinese
government cyber espionage.
And what is the State Department doing to confront the
Chinese government on a diplomatic level? Apparently, discussing it over some
dim sum.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley proudly announced at Wednesday's press conference:
"We have had a
discussion today here in Washington with officials from the [Chinese] embassy.
We raised the issue. And as the secretary said, it is a serious issue. You
know, the incident raises questions about both Internet freedom and the
security of the Internet in China. And we've asked them for an explanation."
The sharp State
Department press corps pressed Crowley for details about the meeting. That's
where his story unraveled a bit.
How many State officials met with how many Chinese officials?
Apparently one of each; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Shear met with the Chinese DCM. And
did the meeting happen at the embassy or at the State Department? Neither.
"It might have
been at lunch," Crowley said, inspiring a round of laughter by the reporters.
It's not clear even whether the lunch was about the Google attacks, or if it
just came up.
Still, there
are signs that the State Department is planning to take the Chinese to task
over the incident. Today there are reports that State will send a formal
protest to Beijing about it (State didn't respond to requests to confirm).
And Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton will give what
is being billed as a major speech on "Internet freedom" on Jan. 21. A State
Department official previously told The
Cable that the speech was going to be about innovation on the Internet.
Clinton dined with Google CEO Eric Schmidt just last week, but State isn't
saying whether they are coordinating their response.
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