China Archives - The National Memo

Trump’s ‘Eighth Wonder’ FoxConn Deal Crumbles

January 31, 2019 2:13 am

Reprinted with permission from Shareblue.

As has happened so many times in his past, a deal announced by Trump has completely collapsed into a humiliating mess.

Foxconn will not be building a mega-plant in Wisconsin to make advanced liquid crystal display panels. “In terms of TV, we have no place in the U.S.,” Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, told Reuters.

The announcement is a complete reversal from the grandiose promises Trump made about the jobs and manufacturing boom the Foxconn deal he put together would bring to the country.

In July of 2017, Trump hosted Foxconn at the White House to announce the deal, which he described as “a major jobs announcement.” Later he cited the announcement as part of how in his first year he was “making America great again.”

Back in June 2018, Trump was the ringleader in a loud public ceremony to announce the facility, which he said would be “the eighth wonder of the world.” The Foxconn complex would be an example of how his administration was “reclaiming our country’s proud manufacturing legacy,” the serial financial failure announced.…

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Trump’s Unsecured Phone May Be ‘Largest White House Breach Ever’

October 28, 2018 3:51 am

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

President Donald Trump’s decision to keep using an unsecured iPhone, despite the recommendations of national security officials, has left at least one former George W. Bush administration official aghast.

In an interview with Fast Company, former Bush White House chief information officer Theresa Payton said that Trump’s phone “may be the largest White House breach ever.”

In an email sent to Fast Company, Payton said that giving rival foreign powers direct access to the president’s thinking during his personal phone calls with friends would be an unprecedented security disaster.

“This stunning revelation by the NYT is one that has sweeping ramifications for intelligence and the security of the American people,” she said.…

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Trump Farm Bailout Will Pay Millions To Chinese Firm

October 24, 2018 3:53 am

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

Donald Trump’s plan to defeat China on trade is a complete disaster. His tariffs against China have devastated the agricultural sector, killing jobs in parts of the country that voted for him, and forcing him to implement a billion-dollar bailout of American farms.

But nothing better underscores Trump’s incompetence than a new report in the Washington Post, detailing an embarrassing oversight in the eligibility for that bailout program:

Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based pork producer acquired in 2013 by a Chinese conglomerate now named WH Group, can apply for federal money under the bailout program created this summer, said Agriculture Department spokesman Carl E.

6 Countries Trump Has Already Insulted And Provoked

Here’s a list of six countries and major international institutions that Trump and his team have threatened—injecting anything but stability into international affairs. Certainly this behavior is silly, unnecessary, and stupid. The question is, will these provocations and others to likely follow lead to serious new international conflict.

China Lodges 'Stern' Protest After Trump Call With Taiwan President

China's Xinhua news agency said Trump should know Beijing can be "cooperative" if Washington respects China's interests, including the issue of Taiwan.

President Trump Sued Over Foreign Government Payments To His Firms

The lawsuit filed in federal court by the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington contended that Trump is "submerged in conflicts of interest" because of ties with countries such as China, India, and potentially Russia. It seeks to stop Trump from accepting any improper payments, citing a constitutional provision known as the "emoluments" clause that bans them.