{"id":337,"date":"2008-12-06T15:02:46","date_gmt":"2008-12-06T09:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/?p=337"},"modified":"2008-12-06T15:02:46","modified_gmt":"2008-12-06T09:02:46","slug":"the-us-congressional-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/2008\/12\/06\/the-us-congressional-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. congressional visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

What should Bhutan not learn from the United States?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley with Senator McCain at a banquet on Wednesday<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

6 December, 2008 – <\/strong>Three U.S. senators, including the Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, were all praise for Bhutan and the Bhutanese leadership but cautioned against environmental degradation, political promises, and rapid commercialism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t look after our environment as well as we should have and now suffer problems like the polluted Colorado river,\u201d said Senator McCain of Arizona, pointing out that the Thimphu river looked pure in comparison. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut added that the melting of glaciers in Bhutan could have severe consequences.<\/p>\n

Senator Graham of South Carolina pointed out that, in a democracy, politicians make promises that they can\u2019t afford. \u201cBack in the United States and other democracies, there have been a lot of programmes created that future generations have to pay for it,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I would caution the people of Bhutan to make sure that you understand that you have a responsibility to make that your government doesn\u2019t go beyond their means and make your children pay for it. That\u2019s something we\u2019re learning in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

As special as Bhutan was, Senator McCain pointed out that rapid change could also have negative impact. \u201cThis is one of the most incredible countries. I worry a little because Bhutan is getting so famous that people will come to you and commercialism can be a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 15-member congressional delegation received audiences with His Majesty the King and His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo. They met the prime minister, chief justice, and opposition leader. The talks, they said, covered everything from environment to politics and democracy and the situation in South Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe senators kept repeating how impressed they were with the Bhutanese leaders,\u201d an official of the U.S. embassy in India told Kuensel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing that I would take away from this trip is that the people of Bhutan are well represented in their elected representatives and in their Monarchy,\u201d said Senator Graham. \u201cWe travel all over the world and I don\u2019t think I have ever met a group of people, that are more informed and have a more sophisticated view of the world and the region than the people here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have an extraordinarily quality of leadership here, beginning with the fourth and fifth Kings and the leadership of this democratically elected government,\u201d Senator Lieberman added.<\/p>\n

Bhutan\u2019s democratisation was a focus of the U.S. senators\u2019 interests, with Senator McCain describing the transition as being \u201cvery, very, very impressive\u201d. He described it as the fruit of the 27-year vision of His Majesty the fourth Druk Gyalpo. Sustained enthusiasm for democracy requires that parents teach their children the responsibility that comes from being a free people, he said. \u201cIn a democracy, the people matter. Take responsibility, be informed, and stay enthusiastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Graham said that, in a very difficult neighbourhood, this effort of democracy could be an inspiration to other people. \u201cI feel better having been here\u2026 all is not bad in the world. This is a good new story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator McCain said that, on their return, they would see how they could expand education possibilities for Bhutanese in the U.S. The delegation was happy that both the prime minister and opposition leader and many others were educated in the U.S.<\/p>\n

At a banquet, hosted by Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley, Senator McCain reflected on the recent U.S. election. While he was still getting over his loss, he said that he knew his country much better after the extensive campaigning. He repeated to Bhutanese parliamentarians what he had told the American press: \u201cAfter the elections I slept like a baby. I woke up every two hours and cried.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyonchhoen Jigmi Y Thinley said Bhutan was proud that the congressional delegation had decided that Bhutan was worth visiting during their busy trip. The interaction would go a long way in deepening the relations between the two countries, he said.<\/p>\n

The prime minister congratulated the U.S. for electing a great man as president. \u201cBarack Obama will be a great president because he had a great adversary in Senator McCain, who showed wisdom and magnanimity, he added.<\/p>\n

By Kinley Dorji & Passang Norbu<\/strong> (Source: www.kuenselonline.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What should Bhutan not learn from the United States? Lyonchhen Jigmi Y Thinley with Senator McCain at a banquet on Wednesday 6 December, 2008 – Three U.S. senators, including the Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, were all praise for Bhutan and the Bhutanese leadership but cautioned against environmental degradation, political promises, and rapid commercialism. … Continue reading The U.S. congressional visit<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,14],"tags":[205,401,467,925,974,1275,1351,1413],"class_list":["post-337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-sustainable-development","tag-bhutan","tag-democracy","tag-elections","tag-monarchy-gross-national-happiness-gnh","tag-new-king","tag-senator-john-mccain","tag-sustainable-development","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bridgetobhutan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}