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Chinese commentator Gu Zhixuan from Guancha, an ultra-nationalistic Chinese website, recapped in detail the political career of Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, in a video posted on Guancha's YouTube channel on April 2, 2021. He called Blinken a "diplomatic hawk," who is "good at nothing but put his hands in everything." Gu also described the recent exchange between Blinken and Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Anchorage as a "slap in Blinken's face" by Yang Jiechi, made "with real strength."
Gu Zhixuan: "Hello, everyone. I'm Gu Zhixuan from Guancha, accompanying you to see the world. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave a TV interview last weekend."
CNN Journalist Dana Bash: "Do you consider China the United States' biggest adversary?"
Gu Zhixuan: "Blinken again began to beat around the bush, saying that such a description was too one-sided, and that while the U.S—China relationship was becoming increasingly confrontational, there was still a lot of cooperation. But in the end, it came back to the U.S. rhetoric of uniting allies to counterbalance China.
"The 'old bro' was just given a 'diplomatic etiquette lesson' by our diplomats in Alaska, so how did he turn around and start practicing Taiji again? As a matter of fact, this is also a Blinken family tradition. Born into a family of American diplomats, Mr. Blinken, while being good at practically nothing, made his way into politics and eventually became the U.S. Secretary of State. Through his connections in Washington, he profited handsomely from all sizes of American 'garlic chives'.
"In this episode of 'Digestion Time', we will reveal to you the 'high-society life' of this playboy from New York, Blinken. Many people like to use the term 'old money' to explain the American elite. Their basic characteristics are that they come from a wealthy family, inherited a large sum of money, live in a countryside mansion, and graduated from prestigious schools from childhood all the way to adulthood. By this standard, Blinken is one notch above 'old money' he is from a classic 'old political power.'
"The Blinken family is a model of the 'upper-class Jews.' Born into such a family, young Blinken's life sounds exactly like his name, 'bling, bling.' Blinken's personal story replicates the template of American high society too. He grew up attending exclusive private schools in Manhattan, and then went to Harvard to study sociology through family alumni connections. Like many descendants from rich and famous families, Blinken was heavily involved in campus activities, wrote many articles for the school newspaper, and met a fellow student named Laurence Grafstein, whom I'll tell you about later.
"After graduating from Harvard, young Blinken went on to study law at Columbia University, and graduated with his J.D. in 1988, just in time for the U.S. presidential election that year. His father arranged for young Blinken to get into politics, raising money for the Democratic Party candidates. In his spare time, young Blinken also played in a band. But the Democrats' opponent was a veteran Republican, George H.W. Bush, the Democrats were soundly defeated, and Blinken got nothing to show for his efforts.
"Although his first battle was lost, young Blinken was from a family of power and didn't have to worry about work like the rest of us do. Remember Grafstein I mentioned earlier? He had a friend named Stephen A. Oxman, who at the time was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian affairs. When Oxman needed an assistant, Grafstein suggested young Blinken. 'I know a buddy who used to write with me and has some good ideas. Want to give him a try?' So young Blinken made his way to the National Security Council, where he was soon spotted by Robert Boorstin, then the 'chief White House speechwriter'.
"Later Blinken became the White House's 'Senior Director of Speechwriting.' The main job, as the title implies, was to write speeches for the president. The person who writes for the president is not only a good writer, but also a person who knows policy like the back of his hand, even better than the president himself. In 1995, there were two famous couples in the White House: the first couple everyone had heard of was Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The second is Blinken and Hillary's special assistant, Evan Ryan. Blinken and Ryan got married in Georgetown, one of the most famous and affluent neighborhoods on the edge of Washington, D.C.
"It's worth mentioning that Georgetown is next to D.C., but it still has no subway. The main reason is that the rich people there are afraid of the poor people flooding in via subway and disturbing their living environment. In 2001, Mr. Blinken's uncle, Alan Blinken, ran for the Senate and lost, but the young Blinken made his way into the Senate, becoming chief of staff of the Foreign Relations Committee. Coincidentally, Joe Biden was also in the Senate at the time and was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. As a result, Blinken became Biden's 'right hand man', serving as an advisor.
"In 2003, with Blinken's help, Biden voted to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, and approved the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the end, except for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, almost all other objectives failed. In 2008, Blinken helped Biden run unsuccessfully for president. But his luck turned, Obama reached out for a helping hand, and picked Biden as his running mate.
"In a roundabout way, Blinken returned to the White House as a national security advisor to the vice president. In the Obama era, Mr. Blinken was a typical diplomatic hawk, pushed for the armed intervention in Libya, guiding U.S. policy in Syria, and supporting Saudi Arabi's intervention in Yemen. As it turned out, we all know the result: Libya is still in civil war, Syria has become Russia's backyard, and the Houthis in Yemen are still alive and well, and there is nothing the Saudis can do about it.
"In 2014, Blinken became Deputy Secretary of State. This coincided with the Crimean crisis and Blinken's tough stance on Russia, which led to a freeze in U.S.—Russia relations until this day, also helped China and Russia move closer strategically. Mr. Blinken's performance is a perfect illustration of what It means to be 'good at nothing but put his hands in everything.' No other diplomat can come near that record.
"In 2014, Robert Gates, a former Defense Secretary and once a colleague of Mr. Blinken, published a book in which he said that Mr. Biden has perfectly avoided all the right choices. Mr. Blinken, as an advisor to Mr. Biden, cannot escape the blame. For America's elite, Trump's rise to power in 2016 was a political surprise, but for Obama's old inner circle, Trump's 'passionate administration' made their status even more salient.
"Biden started making money from his book after he left the post of vice president, and the Biden couple went on speech tours and made $15 million between 2017 and 2019, a 'small goal' if converted to RMB, an operation known as extreme hedging. Unfortunately, Blinken was a deputy foreign policy advisor in the Obama era, and if he ever publishes a book on his own work, it probably won't be widely read. Blinken's profile on Twitter reads, 'Husband, dad, [very] amateur guitarist, and the 71st Secretary of State.' The first two identities are conventional, trying to be a family man and all. But placing a hobby before his official title seems more or less unprofessional to me.
"Blinken loved rock and roll and the Beatles so much that his mother went so far as to get him an autograph by John Lennon, from Yoko Ono herself. Such a display of 'high society' privilege! Being Secretary of State is simply part of the package that comes with it, no big deal, and there's nothing to brag about.
"Coincidentally, 'Tiger Yang', who slapped Blinken's face with real strength during the recent confrontation between China and the U.S. in Anchorage, also likes to play string music in his spare time and sings a good Pingtan. Born into an ordinary family in Shanghai, Yang Jiechi had worked his way up to become a leader in the diplomatic cause of the People's Republic of China. When he declared to Blinken, 'The Chinese people will have none of that,' he was acting on behalf of the interests of the people."
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