Opinion | One old wizard, two difficult US presidents

 

By Augustus K. Yeung

 

INTRODUCTION

The world took a deep breath as Nancy Pelosi, the old wizard, made her quiet entrance which was followed by an equally quick exit – the Harry Porter way of stick-riding in and out of Taiwan, the “forbidden island”, much earlier than expected, saving China’s PLA and the US 7th Fleet from trading bullets, cannon balls and bombs.

If you wonder why all these hassles, or “much ado about nothing” as Shakespeare satirically put, perhaps revisiting the US presidential debates between Biden and Trump in 2020 would shed light on, or help to decode the colorful but sad destructive dramas that have since become acts and scenes that dominate American domestic, punctuate its China policies, sending business firms swearing and cursing.

“Two [US presidential] candidates trade accusations over China and coronavirus pandemic,” reported Robert Delaney, the Post’s bureau chief in Washington, “Trump blames outbreak on Wuhan for economic woes. Biden says president coddled Beijing.”

MODERATOR: THE COUNTRY WOULD BE BETTER SERVED IF…

The president interrupted and bullied. His democratic rival, Biden called the president a “clown”. Chris Wallace, the moderator, despaired. “The country would be better served,” the veteran journalist said to Trump, “if we allow both people to speak with fewer interruptions…

The president’s non-stop interruption might have worked had the bulldozing made Biden look small. It did not. Instead, it served to align Biden with Wallace – and through the moderator, with viewers at home.

Trump laboured to talk over them both. The effect of the chaos was that Biden could do little affirmatively to make his case for president. But as the front runner, the onus was not on him to do wo. Instead, he stood in for the onslaught, at times laughing Trump off, at others belittling him.

These two presidential candidates have downgraded their stature as statesmen or leaders of a great nation. The win of Joe Biden over Donald Trump only served to accentuate the chaos to a constitutional crisis to the nation, leading to the Trump-inspired riot on Capitol.

HEARING ON JAN. 6: THE CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP…

The group of lawmakers investigating the Trump inspired Jan. 6 Capitol riot would like as many Americans as possible to learn jarring and previously unknown details about the attack. Therefore, they decided to hold a public hearing during prime time, when many people are sitting in front of their TVs at home.

Which candidate won the presidential election? It depends. If you ask Trump he said: “This [election] is going to be a fraud like you’ve never seen,” said Donald Trump on his predictions that mail-in voting will be a ‘disaster’.

Joe Biden responding to one of Trump's many attacks: “You’re the worst president America has ever had,” implying that Trump was going to lose the re-election.

This hearing, though, may lead to America’s trial of the century…

US ADDS 25 MORE CHINESE ENTITIES TO TRADE BLACKLIST

Living in the dark shadow of his arch-rival, Joe Biden, the new US president, thinks it is best to adopt a hostile foreign policy that bashes China by banning and blacklisting Chinese entities. But he has not taken into consideration his punitive bans stand in the way of the world’s scientific-technological and economic advancement.

A Beijing marine technology company said its technology could help nations monitor submarines and frogmen defending coastal cities was among the latest batch of 25 mainland entities that the US government has added to its trade blacklist.

Beijing Highlander Digital Technology has confirmed it was added to Washington’s Entity List following the US Department of Commerce’s earlier announcement that the firm allegedly acquired US-origin items for use in military applications, which made it a national security threat, according to a report on Wednesday in a social medial channel run by Chinese local media outlet Zhejian Daily.

Highlander is primarily engaged in the research, development and production of electronic navigation and communications equipment, and automation systems for the maritime electronic surveillance systems. Its Hong Kong-based unit, Laurel Technologies, is one of China’s leading suppliers of hydrographic survey and ocean mapping instruments and services.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said on Tuesday it added 36 entities to the country’s trade blacklist. These include companies and individuals from China, Pakistan, Russia, and Vietnam, among others.

Shenzhen-listed Highlander said it might issue a statement detailing the possible impact of US sanctions on its business, according to the report.

One can expect the company to state: “The world would be better served if the two US presidents would govern the country with fewer trade interruptions,” although it did not immediately respond to a request for comment; its shares in Shenzhen closed down 6 percent on Wednesday.

CONCLUSION

Former US President Donald Trump, his Democratic rival, and Joe Biden face off during the first televised debate ahead of the US election.

The event in Cleveland, Ohio, was one of the most acrimonious presidential debates ever, with Trump subjecting Biden to a stream of personal attacks and repeatedly interrupted both his opponent and Chris Wallace, the moderator.

The two candidates tussled over issues such as China, Covid-19, and the economy in the US – but the president’s combative style left little time for substantive discussions on any of the major debate topics.

The US presidential election might have over, but the feud between the two gentlemen from Washington continues, spilling all over as toxic technological and commercial fallouts on China, a business-minded rising economy, a nation that seeks to play constructive role in building worldwide prosperity and peace talks. Instead, it was not only the focus of the bitter presidential debate, it has also seriously interrupted China trade ever since.

Why should Chinese business firms, be bruised and given black eyes? Why keep picking on China by involving an 82-year-old lady House Speaker, who unnecessarily landed on Taipei, the “forbidden city” for yet another American evening TV talk show?

 

 

The author is a freelance writer; formerly Adjunct Lecturer, taught MBA Philosophy of Management, and International Strategy, and online columnist of 3-D Corner (HKU SPACE), University of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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