Nationalist Chinese President Tsai Ing-wen called President Trump on Friday to offer congratulations on his election to America’s highest office. The mainstream media went into melt-down mode. The The Democratic National Committee went on the record,
“Donald Trump is either too incompetent to understand that his foolish phone call threatens our national security, or he’s doing it deliberately because he reportedly wants to build hotels in Taiwan to pad his own pockets.”
Or maybe President Trump is not stupid by breaking with decades-long diplomatic tradition?
Isn’t that an interesting signal to send the People’s Republic of China? It’s not a salvo at the PRC, but it is a shot across their bow. The mainstream media and the DNC claim that President Trump is stupid, but he did win the election and spent 1/10th of what Hillary spent.
The PRC didn’t care. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the call was “just a small trick by Taiwan” and that he didn’t think it would change U.S. foreign policy toward China, according to Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV. But the Chinese took notice that it would no longer be business as usual and the $550 billion annual trade surplus that they currently enjoy would not continue. Trump reminded Beijing that “there is another China”.
Washington has pursued a so-called “one China” policy since 1979, when it shifted diplomatic recognition of China from the government in Taiwan to the communist government on the mainland.
Under that policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as representing China but retains unofficial ties with Taiwan.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Friday: “I commend President-elect Trump for his conversation with President Tsai Ing-wen, which reaffirms our commitment to the only democracy on Chinese soil. I have met with President Tsai twice and I’m confident she expressed to the president-elect the same desire for closer relations with the United States.” I think that Sen. Cotton is on the short list for SecState, but nobody is talking much about him with the spotlight on Gov. Mitt Romney at the moment. Watch Tom Cotton. He could easily be president one day.
I’m not personally opposed to America’s one-China policy, but the nature of the business relationship needs to change.
Hopelessly uninformed on all this stuff. Thanks for informing some of us who are dumbbells.
The only thing I know about Taiwan, is the two Taiwanese busboys I worked with at the Hyatt Regency Spindle Top lounge in Houston (eons ago.) They drove us all nuts not doing their jobs and pretending to not understand English. One night the head back-end veteran service bartender got so mad when they wouldn't do what he requested he waved a yuuuuuuuuge knife at them and asked if they understood yet. Surprisingly – they did.
I like it! It's gonna take some subtle diplomacy to keep this principled approach without any missiles getting fired, but it's the right thing to do, in my humble opinion.
My dad was a Color TV engineering manager for RCA in the 70s & 80s, and spent a lot of time working with the manufacturing guys in Taiwan. (Or as they like to call it: China) He would frequently entertain visiting Taiwan engineers at our house in Indianapolis. Two things I remember about them is that they put great hope in America for their ultimate survival against the Red Threat and they were big fans of John Wayne.
I have worked with the Nationalist Chinese Navy on various different things over the years. I always got on with their officers and men. The reds have designs on the island but I don't think that they plan to do anything in the immediate future. The PRC thinks in terms of 50 and 100 year time spans. The US struggles to think 4 years ahead.
Trump just wanted to get the attention of the PRC. Both Trump and the Chinese are pragmatic. The mainstream media is frantic to destroy Trump and PRESIDENT Trump knows their game.
Seem to recall something about four ethnic groups on Taiwan and a lot of friction and unrest.
Adrienne – funny how certain devices have the ability to change the dynamics of our communications with foreign guests. We get a lot of visitors from Canada, Montreal to be exact, who refuse to honor our vehicle and traffic laws. When stopped, they feign ignorance and spout French in a hopeless, heartbreaking way. It always amazed me how waving a pair of handcuffs in front of their faces seemed to break the language barrier and how they suddenly spoke perfect English. It was like a miracle or something.
It's the same with Mexicans – accuse them of being from Iran and watch how fast they habla.
Like Mexico, but to perhaps a lesser extent, China is dependent on US dollars. Let that $550 billion trade exchange start to swing the other way…. The Chinese aren't fools and neither is Trump. Their new Air Force stealth zoomie things and their new South China Sea Armada were financed by the US. It's time we stopped that crap.
China puts on a rich face, but they have their own problems. Stopping that $550 billion fire hose will put a brake on their ambitions. I'm not sure how President Trump will pull it off, but I'm confident that he can. Mexico is vitally dependent on drug money from the US as well as trade. The US received a lot of products including agriculture from Mexico, but it can find other markets. They need us more than we need them.
There will be a lag as American manufacturing gears up to replace what was made in China. I tried once to shop without buying anything made in China. This was after the Chinese shot down our Navy Orion jet. Forget it. Aside from a bottle of maple syrup, some strawberries and a five pound bag of potatoes … nothing. You might as well place a "Made in China" sign in front of Walmart.
Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Radio Shack, etc. etc. etc. Yes, there has to be a process.
Almost forgot. We had a local prosecution where precursor chemicals from China were smuggled into our County. Meth and flakka are two of the biggies.
We can judge Trump's phone call with Tsai Ing-wen on the basis of how much the New York Times – a former newspaper – kvetches about it. The more noise the NYT makes, the more I'm convinced that Trump is on the correct path.
Excellent point.
LL: ALL countries in the world need us more than we need them. Every damn one of them.
President Trump is "stupid."
Imagine the scene in Hillary's Victory Suite as she fell into a drunken psychotic rage, hurling magnums of Moet into the flatscreen and clawing at Mook and Podesta like a wild beast. "Sedate it."
So brimful of hubris it's enough to make the staunchest bellied lib reach for the pan.
You'd think after the dismal results with the election, the MSM would realize that we don't care what they think about Mr. Trump.
Thanks for the info. I wonder if the Taiwanese were as upset as the Okinawans. We did basically the same thing to both of them.
Be safe and you all have a blessed Sunday.
Trump is an astute business man well used to international intrigue and no fool. I'm fine with that.
It reminds me of Nimzovich, the Russian chess master, when confronted by defeat, swept the pieces from the board with the back of his hand while screaming, "Why must I lose to this imbecile?"
Sig, most of the ephedra for used as narcotics precursors is grown in India and China.
The mainstream media (elites all) are not OK with that. They want to drive the engine of state, not our elected leaders. It was obvious last election cycle.
The elite media can't bring themselves to accept that you don't care what they think.
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