Miscommunication at Foggy Bottom

U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher took heat from Congress for his chilly reception in Beijing two weeks ago. But what Christopher's critics didn't know is that the advance foray by one of his deputies that so irritated the Chinese was carried out without Christopher's knowledge. The Secretary was unaware that John Shattuck, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights, was meeting a week earlier with Chinese dissident leader Wei Jingsheng. The U.S. embassy arranged the visit at the last minute and expected Wei to keep it secret.