A look at first lady’s China itinerary

[Rapunzel]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/a-look-at-first-ladys-china-itinerary/2014/03/17/2587027c-ae05-11e3-b8b3-44b1d1cd4c1f_story.html

A look at first lady’s China itinerary


Updated: Monday, March 17, 11:51 AM

Photos of the day: March 17, 2014


FRIDAY: Joins first lady Peng Liyuan at Beijing Normal School; visits Forbidden City; meets with Peng and joins her for dinner and performance.

SATURDAY: Addresses students at Stanford Center at Peking University; participates in virtual discussion with American youth; visits Summer Palace; meets with staff and families of U.S. Embassy.

SUNDAY: Hosts roundtable on education; visits Great Wall.

MONDAY, March 24: Arrives Xi’an, visits Terra Cotta Warriors Museum, Xi’an City Wall.

TUESDAY, March 25: Visits Chengdu No. 7 High School; meets with staff and families of U.S. Consulate.

WEDNESDAY, March 25: Visits Chengdu Panda Base; has lunch at a Tibetan restaurant.

\

[Chieftain]

Have you seen any estimates of what this little jaunt is going to cost, Rap??  They likely will have increased security because of the ongoing 777 mystery, not to mention recent terrorist activities by the Chinese Muslim Uighers...

Gonna cost a fortune...

[Howie66]

Have you seen any estimates of what this little jaunt is going to cost, Rap??  They likely will have increased security because of the ongoing 777 mystery, not to mention recent terrorist activities by the Chinese Muslim Uighers...

Gonna cost a fortune...

Money is NO OBJECT when it comes to the First Ingrate and her self indulgences.

If the money should become a problem, there are always a few Veteran's Hospitals that can be cut from the budget.

[Rapunzel]

http://www.fireandreamitchell.com/2014/03/17/michelle-obama-kids-another-lavish-vacation-china/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FireAndreaMitchell+%28Fire+Andrea+Mitchell!+Exposing+Liberal+bias+cause+the+MSM+doesn%27t+have+to.%29

Michelle Obama and the kids off for another lavish vacation to China

Michelle Obama, the kids, Mama Robinson, and various staff and friends are off for a lavish, tax payer funded vacation to China starting on March 19th. Michelle Obama is keeping up her monthly vacations, vacationing in Hawaii in January, skiing in Colorado in February and now China in March. This trip to China for Mooch and friends will cost taxpayers around the same amount of money as her Spain trip costed in 2010, at least half a million tax payer dollars (just for security.) Good thing Michelle Obama and her buds are getting out of this ‘downright, mean country.’

    The first lady, her mother, her two kids, plus numerous White House aides and security personnel are going to tour China this month, but White House officials are refusing to say how much the taxpayers will pay for the trip.

    However, they did say it would be a thrill for everyone on the trip, including for Michelle Obama’s top aide, Tina Tchen.

    Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/17/michelle-obama-and-family-take-another-taxpayer-funded-trip/#ixzz2wHYLOgl7

    The first lady and the family will travel to China from March 19 to March 26. She will visit the capital Beijing and two northwest cities, Xi’an and Chengdu.

    She’ll be accompanied by her mother, Mrs. Marian Robinson, and daughters, Malia and Sasha Obama.

    The first lady has taken her mother on several previous trips, including to Spain.

    The 2010 trip to Spain cost taxpayers at least $487,000. A 2011 trip to southern Africa cost at least $424,142. The cost estimates were uncovered by Judicial Watch, a D.C.-based watchdog group.

[mountaineer]

There's so little obesity in China, I'm sure she'll be scrambling for something to scold them about.

[mountaineer]

CBS reporting this:

March 18, 2014, 8:27 AM
First lady Michelle Obama faces scrutiny for China trip with daughters, mom

First lady Michelle Obama is getting ready for her third overseas trip without her husband since arriving in the White House, but her journey to China may be watched more closely.

Mrs. Obama will be traveling with three generations. She'll be joined by Sasha, Malia and her mother, Marian Shields Robinson, a subtle gesture to traditional Chinese values. White House officials are calling this visit a "people to people" trip.

In between meetings with university students, the first lady will make stops at the Great Wall of China, the Terracotta Warriors Museum, and even the Chengdu Panda Base.

The highly-orchestrated visit is intended to help soften U.S.-China relations. It also includes a number of events with China's first lady -- less than a year after Mrs. Obama missed her visit to the U.S., which some read as a political snub.

Richard McGregor, of the Financial Times, says this kind of non-political diplomacy can go a long way.

"There are many ways to sort of cut the sausage if you like," McGregor said. "You don't have to have Mrs. Obama to go over there and lecture and chide the Chinese about its human rights record for her to have a positive impact. She should go over there with a different message, a softer message, a more inclusive message."

Critics say her schedule dodges important issues that have strained U.S.-China relations like China's history of human rights violations.

Previous first ladies have confronted those concerns. At a 1995 conference in Beijing, Hillary Clinton tackled them head on. She said then, "All governments here and around the world accept their responsibility to protect and promote internationally-recognized human rights."

And more than a decade later, Laura Bush spoke out against China's treatment of refugees along what was then the Thailand-Burma border.

Anita McBride, former chief of staff for Laura Bush, says the tone of Mrs. Obama's trip will be markedly different.

"She's essentially exporting what she does here at home and bringing it overseas," McBride said.

But McBride also says that's no reason for Mrs. Obama to avoid the tough topics.

"You're a leader," she said. "You're a woman leader, and people look to you and they want you to use your position for something that's good, not only for us at home, but for people around the world."

 There are already some comparison being made to the first lady's 2010 visit to Spain, which was heavily criticized, CBS News' Jan Crawford reports. The trip, which some viewed as really a family vacation, cost taxpayers nearly $470,000. White House and Secret Service officials are refusing to say how much the trip will cost.

Scrutiny? What scrutiny? Why doesn't CBS (even without Sheryl Atkisson) try some actual reporting and explore how much this pointless vacation will cost us?