Kevin Rudd’s diplomatic orgasm
Funny story from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s early days in the foreign service: Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat and self-avowed Sinophile, told students at the Australian National University about an error he made as a junior envoy in Beijing. “Apparently, what I’d said as I sought to elevate his expression into a more classical ...
Funny story from Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s early days in the foreign service:
Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat and self-avowed Sinophile, told students at the Australian National University about an error he made as a junior envoy in Beijing.
“Apparently, what I’d said as I sought to elevate his expression into a more classical form, was that China and Australia are currently experiencing fantastic mutual orgasm,” he said, delivering a speech late Thursday.
“Ever since then, our Chinese friends have remembered my visits to Beijing, (saying) ‘Ah, you were the one…’,” added Rudd.
“Perhaps that explains some of the challenges in our current relationship with the Chinese.”
Chinese-Australian relations have been somewhat less than orgasmic lately.
More from Foreign Policy


No, the World Is Not Multipolar
The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.


America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want
Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.


America Can’t Stop China’s Rise
And it should stop trying.


The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky
The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.