Q: So you're going to stop the practice of the CIA having secret camps like the one in Thailand using torture against the suspects?

A: Again, I'm not going to talk about the past. We have moved beyond that. Our government is very committed, very open to internationally accepted norms that we intend to follow. (But did they exist?) I can't talk about any of that, whether they do, whether they don't... (Do you know or is it something you cannot talk about?) By not talking about it, I'm following long-term advice that you don't talk about intelligence matters. My not talking about it doesn't mean yes, doesn't mean no. We don't talk about it. I think we have a very positive relationship with Thailand that we want to look at how we're going to focus on areas where it's going to make a difference to the Thai people and the American people in the 21st century.

Q: Talking about Thailand, are there any areas in particular where we can improve our relations on?

A: Well you know there are a couple where we're working very hard on together. As I mentioned early on during the interview, the trafficking is one that I personally committed to in 1996, I went to the north of Thailand and visited some of the shelters that have taken young girls and I met a young girl, only 12 years old who has been sold by her family. And it wasn't clear whether her family knew what her destiny would be or whether they were told a different story but she was sold and she ended up unfortunately in...basically... the brothels and when she got sick with HIV/AIDS they threw her out and she made her way back home but her family won't take her in. So I met her when she was dying in one of the centers that have been set up for children in her condition. And so that's a very personal experience and I know that Thailand is making a lot of efforts to end that scourge of human trafficking and we want to work with you and do what we can to accelerate those efforts. I think the research work that our doctors and researchers are doing is very important, not only on HIV/AIDS, but other diseases where the facilities and reputation of your institutions and researchers is so high and we have a great partnership there so I think there's a lot of positive work in the future, we're grateful we have a wonderful relationship with the military in Thailand because we want to be ready for disaster assistance and any other crisis that might occur. So across the board, we feel positive and I want the Thai people to know we're positive. I don't want anyone thinking that under our new administration, we are taking Thailand for granted. That's why I'm here with a very strong message of our appreciation for our partnership and friendship.

Q: What is the latest report on the US economy? Has it hit rock bottom?

A: Well actually the reports are we are stabilizing, that we're not out of this yet at all, that we still have very high unemployment particularly in some parts of our country. But our Federal reserve chairman Bernake testified yesterday before the Congress and said we think we should be able to maintain the plateau we're on, we're obviously like the rest of the world at negative growth but we might, by the end of this year pr early next year see a slight positive growth and jobs returning. But we're not out of the woods yet, I think that's the best way of saying.

Q: Are you giving attention to Asia to balance out China because of its economic clout?

A: Well I think that we all want China's remarkable rise to be a peaceful one. We want China to compete peacefully in the economy and the political arena, and therefore the more we involve China in the work we're doing and in organizations like ASEAN, the more opportunities we'll have to create a positive framework for not just China's future but Asia's future. Now I know that a lot of China's neighbors have expressed concerns so we certainly want to strengthen our relationship with a lot of countries that are in east and southeast Asia but what we hope is we all can work together and that China remains focused on raising the economic well-being of their people and competing in the marketplace. That's our goal, we will be starting a significant and strategic economic dialogue with China on Monday, which I will lead along with our Treasury Secretary, so we want to explore areas of cooperation. And I think there are some, obviously we were very pleased to get the cooperation of China with respect to North Korea, which is important because they have a border with North Korea and they have long-standing ties with North Korea and we want to look in other areas to deepen that cooperation.

Q: Some critics said you were too soft on China on the human rights issue.

A: No what I said was, we will always have human rights as a key part of our foreign policy and I raised the tough issues on Tibet and Taiwan, religious persecution, but that's not all our relationship is about. And I think it's important to have a more comprehensive relationship. The Chinese know what we're going to say about Tibet and Taiwan, there's no surprises there. We believe they should allow more autonomy for the Tibetan people, they should respect Tibet's cultural and religious traditions, they should have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives. They know what we're going to say about Taiwan, which is that every intention of following the policies between the United States and China several years ago, and that is the one-China policy and we understand that. But we also have relations in the economic sphere and defense with Taiwan. They know we're going to say all that. So it doesn't help our relationship to broaden if we just come and say the same thing and they say the same thing back and we don't talk about education, health care, the economy, the political challenges we face. So my goal was to try to make sure we had a broader base. It's a broader approach that takes along some of the tried and true but tries to also pick out some new areas. (Did you take a new approach from the Chinese side too?) I think our relations in the last six months have been very positive, now we do disagree, there's no doubt about that, but I think we'll find in this strategic and economic dialogues stating Monday that the Chinese are very willing to talk with us as we are with them to see as many areas of agreements as possible.

Q: The image of the US so far since the Obama administration has changed in a more positive way around the world?

A: I think it has. At least I hope it has. It certainly feels that way when I travel. There is a great sigh of relief in some places that people believe that we will show mutual respect or expect mutual respect that we will listen and try to find common ground. Now we're not going to agree with everybody, that is obvious. We have our own perspective and experience and goals but we want to work in a constructive way. I'll give you an example from our hemisphere. There was recently an action in Honduras where part of the government has removed the president who had been elected and in the past, a lot of people just expect the US to side with the established and we didn't, we said this is unacceptable. We are working very hard to resolve this and it was a surprise to many people in the region. We've opened up talks with Cuba again, which has been on hold for a very long time. So around the world, we are trying to do what we think is actually smart power. Which means you have to work with people and you have to be conscious of what their expectations and goals are. I just came from India, you know India and the US have some disagreements on the best way to deal with climate change but in listening to Indian officials, there are many areas of agreement, so why will we just focus on the disagreements? Let's see how many areas of disagreement we can find and the try to tackle the disagreements. So I think many people around the world feel that we are following through on what the president and I said that we are going to have a different kind of diplomatic presence.

Q: There are reports in the American press that your role has not been outstanding, that you have been sidelined, overshadowed by the president, VP, National Security Adviser... is that true?

A: Well, I don't think so. No I don't think so. I think that we have a great team but it is funny to me having been in the White House with my husband when he was president. The President is the President... I try to be President but I was not successful. I know but the President is the President and I think... (did you try very hard to be President?) Oh yes I tried very hard to be president, yes indeed. But what the president does is to get a team that he believes complements what he's trying to achieve. and I was very surprised when President Obama asked me to be the secretary of state because we have competed very hard in the primary elections and he said look I really need you and I believe we can have a great relationship and we do. It's been a...everything that I could have hoped for... we see each other on a frequent basis, I work closely with the VP and the national adviser , national security and defense and others... but what happens is I broke my elbow... (in June) very sad. I tripped and fell but luckily I did not hit my head. So I hit my elbow and it broke into two places, that was very.. (but you're only 62 this year.) Why do you have to tell everybody that... so once I broke my elbow, there were a couple of trips I was supposed to take and I couldn't take them. It was just to inconvenient and painful and besides I did not want to do anything that would interfere with the important trips I would be taking to India and Thailand and I knew that if I set back my recovery, that might interfere, SO I went to see the President and I said, you know Mr. President, I'm not able to go to Russia with you. I worked very hard to get the meeting set up and everything... It's been a month and a few days after my surgery and I'm much stronger and I really appreciate the chance to do the time to do the physical therapy. So anyway I was not with the President on the trip and everybody said, ah, where is she? She's gone, she's disappeared. Gosh, I'm actually here. But it's one of those things that happen, not to be taken seriously.

Q: How does it feel to work with a former competitor and now the president?

A: You know it's one of the most common questions I'm asked in Asia. And think about it, I mean, we really worked hard against each other, to defeat each other. And we said some things about each other that were not the nicest things. But in our country when the election is over, we try to work together for the good of the country and in our system, when the president asks you to serve, you feel that you really should because you want to help the president succeed. So the president has asked Republicans to serve, not just Democrats like me who competed against him. The VP Joe Biden also ran against him for a while so the President has tried to have a very unified approach to his administration.

And when I was in Indonesia, it was such a common question because in many countries, the hard fought political competition continues. They don't talk to each other, it's very personal, lines are drawn. So the Indonesians kept saying, how do you work with somebody you ran against? I said, that's what we have learned through all these years of democracy, that the country must come first, that politicians come and go. People win and lose elections. But once the election is over, you can still have policy disagreements and we do, as is obvious, but we should try to get along and try to pull along in the same direction for the good of the country. I have no problem with that at all.

Q: How many days did it take you to make that decision?

A: It took a while because I love being a senator from New York and once my campaign ended a year ago in June, I was very happy with the idea of going back to representing New York. So right after the elections when the President won, he called me and I said there are other people who would be so much better, go and talk to the other people. I gave him names and as you have seen, watching him on TV, he's very persuasive.

First of all, despite our hard-fought campaign we agreed on most things. We magnified our differences because you have to have to. Then we talked about how we would proceed, he gave me an enormous amount of authority as secretary of state, really everything I asked for so I can do the job he wanted me to do and I was running out of excuses.

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TRANSCRIBED BY ASIA NEWS NETWORK BANGKOK-OFFICE

22 JULY 2009