I agree with you, but hard to know the intentions behind it. Is he just trolling everybody or is that actually what he thinks? I would actually prefer if he were trolling as that’s a big middle finger to MSM, but either way he is spending his time reading a 16-year old’s twitter account. The president. Of the United States. I feel like I’m watching an episode of South Park.
I think it’s pretty simple. He’ll continue to discredit the MSM while circumventing them by using his social media. Just remember his Twitter account has 16M followers but he will get access to the @POTUS twitter account which is an additional 12.4M
Think how stupid the MSM truly is. Trump says Obama is the leader of ISIS and the MSM follows up by actually fact checking this statement LOL!!!
The Celestian Empire/Red China however you may call it he’s had a pretty consistent inward-looking foreign policy for the last 2000 or so years, focusing primarily on preserving internal order and safeguarding supplies of raw materials for their manufactures/industries. With the exception of their favorite whipping boy - Vietnam, how many Chinese war’s of conquest can you name?
Chinese intervention in the Koran War was primarily focused on strengthening newly established communist rule in China proper, by building a narrative about the resistance to Western imperialists.
Yes, Mao killed millions, and he’s undoubtedly one of the worst butchers in history, but that’s nothing exceptional for China - self-proclaimed younger brother of Jesus caused the deaths of 20-30 million Chinese in the 19th century.
“Two Chinas” is a cornerstone of US foreign policy vis-a-vis the Taiwan/China issue and it goes like this - “you keep your hands off Taiwan and don’t interfere in our military/security cooperation and we’ll keep up the charade of calling it Republic of China”
That small concession in terminology is hugely important to the Chinese - Taiwan, which has a huge symbolic importance for China as it is one of the only places from where a Western colonial power (Dutch in the 17th century) was ousted is thus not occupied by another country but by their Chinese brethren who’ve gone astray.
And finally, if you planning to revise US foreign policy vis-a-vis China, you develop a comprehensive plan to curb their influence in the Pacific rim and Africa, reduce US dependence on Chinese financing and consumer goods, you do not call them out on fucking Twitter on the spur of the moment.
Imagine being the one who got re-tweeted. A 16 year old girl on twitter just became a rock start among her friends, family, classmates, twitter followers, etc. I’d liken it to the exponential expansion of a fairy ring or fibonacci circle.
Now imagine if the fervor to be the next one to be re-tweeted by the President elect or POTUS catches on. That can be a stunningly powerful tool. If he does that once a week, he could pretty much rule the online twitterverse/social media.
“Hahaha I can’t believe that for a second you all thought I might be telling something even remotely connected to the truth when everything I’ve been saying is a complete lie and utter fabrication just to troll the evil MSM”
You are my favorite FP poster here, but I believe you are off base. Basically we have sold Taiwan $25BB in arms going back 35 years. China is not oblivious to this. Pegging their currency rather than allowing it to float like every other country has been written about for decades.
The US has had an influence in the Pacific rim since 1940s unless you don’t include fighting 2 wars, and having security/military treaties with Japan, S Korea, Australia, Philippines, and who else doesn’t count?
I have read and respect the old China philosophy of being the center of Asia as a ‘benevolent’ center of power. Confiscating sea lanes, selling government and corporate info, and supporting murderous regimes are a departure and show be stood up to.
Yes, but like I said the cornerstone of the US foreign policy vis-a-vis the China/Taiwan issue that China turns a blind eye on the massive US arms sales to Taiwan and military cooperation in return for the “Two Chinas” stance.
In case you haven’t noticed, China is in the process of taking over from the US the role of the dominant power in the Pacific Rim.
For example, all those soybean fields in Argentina that bring in much needed foreign currency are going you know where. Hence, China’s soft power projection rises dramatically.
They’ve been buying farmland like crazy in Africa, even settling in countries like Uganda. Also, almost all major construction projects in sub Saharan Africa are won by Chinese companies.
While there are many reasons to fear potential Chinese world hegemony, I believe that politically and militarily China doesn’t represent an immediate threat, in part due to the uneasy marriage of convenience between the US and China.
Therefore, as I’ve said, Chinese power should be fought primarily in the economic arena, at least in the short term. I believe that Trump’s announced “Imperial retreat” we’ll dramatically increase the importance of China in world affairs.
What do you think of leaving Africa to China? As in leaving settlement and infrastructure to them, and once a working economy is established, coming in to establish trade?
Essentially, let China do the heavy lifting, then come in later when the hard work is done? China doesn’t seem to mind the human rights violations or casualties that are involved in taking over a large swath of continent either.
I guess its the history of tribal wars and types of violence that makes most westerners sick at this point in history that makes me just shake my head at the idea of establishing a permanent foothold in Africa as a whole.