From the article:
The world gave Donald Trump way too much credit on Taiwan. Yes, the outgoing U.S. president made a couple of halfhearted attempts at supporting Taiwanâs independence. But Trumpâs game was all about annoying Xi, not standing up for Taiwanâs democracy. Fact is, Trump would have sold out any ally for a better China trade deal.
I have been following the Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Overseas Chinese passionate devotion to Trump the last few months.
Their reasoning for liking him amounts to the belief that CCP are a bunch of gangsters and the way to deal with them is to act like a gangster. They feel Trump has had them on their toes and to be honest, they are more sensitive to this stuff than me.
If there is consensus in the Chinese speaking world that Trump evoked fear in the CCP, I have now conceded that this is probably also how the Chinese government feel. From our perspective we donât feel that way, but I understand why they view he has been good for Taiwan
I think Trump has been objectively good for Taiwan. From answering that first phone call from Tsai Ing-wen, to pushing back at China in other spheres, to all those weapons deals. Even the withdrawal from TPP probably helped Taiwan more than it hurt. That he does these things for himself is another matter.
I agree. Trump is a fuckwit, but in the current political climate that was probably a good thing.
Thereâs a theory that Mutually Assured Destruction only works as intended if the leaders of nuclear countries are perceived to be batshit enough to press the button. Nobodyâs going to believe that Biden is that sort of person, so we can expect (I think) a lot more nonsense from the rotund one in NK, and probably a lot more bullshit from China.
God I love Aussies
I dont even blame the Falun Gong for being so pro Trump. A lot of their supporters are exiles from China, many older ones who grew up in the Cultural revolution as well. They just fucking hate the CCP with every last sinew of their body and are probably suffering from a lot of trauma.
Its not surprising that they have made a God of the first American president to at least on the surface stick it to them. He is the messiah to them.
Same goes for dissidents like Wang Dan(organizer of Tiananmen Square protests) who is a Trump die-hard. They dont care if he is a good guy, racist or even sane. The only thing they care about is attacking the CCP
Off topic a bit
Really well said. Your theory supports my anecdotal findings after talking to some HK dissidents here who happen to be very pro Trump as well. While I think that their pro-Trump stance is in part due to their media diet (heavily tailored to anyone saying anything anti-CCP no matter what else gets pork-barreled in), I think that trauma and an âat all costsâ mentality derived from it keeps them from modifying their opinions, even with mounting cognitive dissonance and a continued lack of proof that Trump is going to be their savior.
There is a book I recall reading a while back - âPutin Countryâ by Anne Garrels. If I recall correctlyâŚin the book, when she was asking people their thoughts on how Russia ended up becoming the dystopian kleptocracy that it is now, one response she got was a man using this Russian saying:
"When there is a fire, you donât ask who the fireman is.â
This was Putin to many Russians after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and I suspect many that have been and are being oppressed by the CCP see Trump (erroneously, unfortunately) in a similar light. He is idolized as this strongman âfiremanâ that will put out the CCP fire that has burned them, their family, and their friends. I suspect many cannot grasp the fact - due to cultural and language barriers - that Trump is a smoke-blower in US domestic politics and in just about every facet of his presidencyâŚand I fear even when they eventually start to grasp it, the psychological toll of realizing they vested their hope in a farce will be too great to admit to others and perhaps even themselves.
Sadly, it seems that Trump really has not put out any âfiresâ in this region over the past four years, from what I can see. He has done quite a bit of saber-rattling, and he has definitely made some bombastic claims and threats which have consequently escalated tensionsâŚbut last time I checked, HK fell under Trump and Borisâs isolationist watch (Trumpâs hamfistedly aggressive posturing might have catalyzed this), and the trade deficit with China has grown ever larger. The US, under Trump, also shuttered the TPPâŚwhich was supposed to be a check against Chinaâs BRIâŚnot exactly sticking it to the CCP here. Trump has also been mum, and if we are to believe this, he has even gone out of his way not to lift a finger to address human rights violations carried out by the CCPâŚin fact it seems he has turned these gross violations into bartering pieces.
It is amazing how a powerful media machine can influence masses of people thousands of miles away from the US that Trump has done more than just blow a lot of smoke and posture when it comes to him acting in support of their interests. But what else can these persecuted people cling to? I feel terrible for them quite honestly, and I cannot help but wonder if this sizable demographicâs desperation and consequent need for a fireman has been in the calculus for some of these blindingly pro-Trump East Asian rags. Huge attachment rate.
Perhaps another way of looking at it.
If Fa lun gong folk love trump, how bad must the ccp be? This is how cults, followed by religious organisation, start. Trump is, quite unfortunately, the only recent president to fight back against a nazi like situation on a global scale. His motivations and methods aside, only he did it. And i generally very much despise this human being. Trump is a dick, literally no question. But when the ultra PC police eqaulity justice warriors are OK with regimes like the CCP (if they dont like this comment, please ask them to check the country of origin on whatever device they are using to read this) are pro government which supports the CCP, one must ask themselves if they think italy or japan were in the wrong siding with germany. Not that the US and allies are amazingly moral, but the difference is pretty clear to anyone willing to watch.
If the ccp was so pro one China, when do we get it back?!?
Sad to see the world of human rights and compassion forced to.side with TrumpâŚbut for heavens sake, who else is doing anything meningful? No wonder we are in a rush to get to marsâŚ
Amen.
I despise Trump but he called out China and sold Taiwan govt weapons they badly need. Obama didnât do shit even though he mouthed some rubbish about an Asia shift.
He helped Taiwan and thatâs good enough for me âŚIn Taiwan
hmmm yeah weapon sales (at a bit of an arm twisting price for not even the latest and greatest) happened before Trump and they will surely happen after Trump. The increasing aggression by the CCP over the past 8 years would have surely caused a more aggressive US stance against China regardless of who ended up being the 45th president. It is disappointing that people fail to remember this. Trump torpedoing the TPP and turning a blind-eye to human rights violations is hardly âcalling out Chinaâ. The smart thing to do is to follow the actions, not the words, yet society falls for this trick over and over again.
âmouthed some rubbish about an Asia shiftâ?
You might want to look into pivot to Asia a little more in-depth if you somehow think this was a smoke-and-mirrors move by the Obama admin.
Explain please.
I didnât see the US doing jack shit about the south China sea islands and the Chinese influence spreading all over the Pacific islands (goes for both admins but at least Trump admin approved the big weapon sales and called out China infiltration in US )
I donât recall any weapons sales under Obama , happy if you remind me what they were.
True Trump has done some tokenism which Obama didnât. But in the grand scheme of things itâs not much in any case.
There has been no systematic change, or even a sincere push towards it. Whatâs a few more warplanes and weapons? China will manufacture 100 times that in 5 years.
Itâs not a few warplanes and weapons, they are serious capabilities that at least keep Taiwan in the game.
Meanwhile Taiwan can ramp up itâs own systems.
Good reference, so really no difference either way.
Apparently not.
âExports were much stronger than expected in November,â said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics in a report.
âŚ
Chinaâs global trade surplus for the first 11 months of 2020 is $460 billion, up 21.4% from this time last year, already one of the highest ever recorded.
Exports to the United States rose to $51.9 billion while imports of American goods gained 33% to $14.6 billion. The trade surplus with the United States swelled 52% over a year earlier to $37.3 billion
Meanwhile
Publications on the labour schemes frequently include references to policies discouraging âillegal religious activitiesâ and changing thoughts and behaviour.
One 2019 state media report on the cotton picking program proclaimed the success of a participant in âgradually overcoming the disadvantages of the lack of land, deep-rooted thoughts of being lazy, insufficient inner motivation, and low awareness of going out to workâ.
And there ya go, they are winning. They knew it becore covering up the virus and they know it nowâŚsad. orangeman bad, yellowman good.
Such non-sensical hypocrisy. The entire US govt. then needs to be hauled into court for refusing to recognize Taiwan, HK, or continuing with the 1-china policy. Or you knowâŚcontinuing to profit from China.