Hillary Clinton, no slouch politically, appears to be orchestrating the departure of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng after the State Department botched his release from the US embassy on Wednesday. And the Chinese, eager for their own reasons to get the incident behind them, look like they're ready to allow Chen to leave China in order to "study" abroad. New York Times: Speaking at a news conference at the end of two days of economic and security talks that have been overshadowed by Mr. Chen's case, Mrs. Clinton said she was encouraged by a statement earlier on Friday from China's Foreign Ministry that said Mr. Chen could apply to study outside China. The proposal appeared to offer the possibility of a breakthrough in the crisis. Mrs. Clinton said that progress had been made "to help him have the future that he wants" and referred to the ministry's statement as well as a visit by American Embassy staff and an American doctor to Mr. Chen in a Beijing hospital on Friday, the...(Read Full Post)