Al-Jazeera said it “has had to close” its English-language bureau in Beijing since Chinese authorities refused to renew the visa and press credentials of correspondent Melissa Chan. The expulsion does not affect the network’s Arabic-language bureau.

It was an exercise in grass-roots democracy in which sections of the public could question a political leader in public about issues of interest and concern to them. It was also an exercise in public diplomacy in which a political leader takes advantage of the opportunity provided by such interactions to explain his or her thinking and views on issues of public concern.

With U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having visited India this week in an effort to secure its cooperation on a range of international issues, it is time to start thinking of India not as a beneficiary of the world's charity (though it still is) -- but as a major donor.

Even our soft power is not as uncontested as we may like to think. The global marketplace of ideas, fertilized by the Internet, ensures that different countries and cultures illuminate their own paths, affirm their own traditions and provide competing visions of the world to come. Yet, no new grand "-ism" is taking shape and no one country is becoming the new paragon.

China's mixed human rights record is not just bad for its citizens. It is a strategic weakness that complicates its foreign relations and diminishes its soft power. The state's harsh treatment of individuals and minorities regularly disrupts its bilateral relationships.

Successful public diplomacy requires leadership, imagination, resourcefulness, and determination. The Public Diplomacy Alumni Association (PDAA, formerly USIA Alumni Association) recognizes outstanding achievement by individuals and teams at overseas posts and at State Department headquarters that display these qualities, among others.

While the Israeli government has threatened military action against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons that could wipe out the small nation - something Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has touted-, regular Israeli citizens are opting for a pre-emptive strike - of love.

In China, this media push is known as "soft power." While many believe editorial restrictions will prevent Chinese media from competing on a world stage, it already reaches a wide audience. Over 2.5 million copies of China Daily's advertising supplement have been distributed in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the U.K. Daily Telegraph.