Orange Chicken

Did Donald Trump sell out Taiwan?

Donald Trump went to China, and now he got were some seeds.

Donald Trump did not receive any help from China on ending the war in Iran or reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but Chinese President Xi Jinping did give him some rose seeds. The Chinese leader gave Trump a tour of the Zhongnanhai Garden, where he admired the roses. I guess he admired them so much that Xi decided to give him seeds so that he could grow his own roses. He didn't even give him roses, just the seeds. You know that Donald Trump does not care about growing some damn flowers.

Trump's trip to China was a total and abject failure and failed to secure any agreements or promises. Trump came home empty-handed.

During the two-day trip, Xi warned Trump that the issue over Taiwan, if handled poorly, could lead to conflict and “an extremely dangerous situation.” After that, Trump didn't even say the dreaded T-word.

China believes that Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, belongs to it and is currently a rogue state. Taiwan believes that it is its own nation. The US tap dances around the issue, not formally recognizing Taiwan while also not officially opposing independence, and selling it weapons for its defense. China, the People's Republic of China, has been threatening to retake the island ever since the communists kicked the nationalists out in 1949.

Congress passed an $11.1 billion arms package announced last December. But after the summit and Xi’s remarks, Trump said he was deliberating how to handle another major arms sale to Taiwan. In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump said the decision would “depend on China,” which would be a huge change in American foreign policy. Big China should not be a factor in our relationship with Little China.

The Taiwan Relations Act, passed in 1979, requires the United States to provide Taiwan with weapons and resist any force or coercion that would jeopardize its security. Basically, the United States is required by law to provide Taiwan with weapons for it to defend itself from China.

Regarding the next arms sale to Taiwan, a $14 billion package, Trump said, “I haven’t approved it yet. We’re going to see what happens. I may do it, I may not do it. I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons.”

Trump said to reporters on Air Force One on the way home, “What am I going to do, say ‘I don’t want to talk to you about it because I have an agreement that was signed in 1982?’ We discussed the whole thing with the arm sales in great detail, actually.” He added that he would make a decision “over the next fairly short period.”

Discussing US arms sales to Taiwan with the Chinese president violates the Six Assurances, a series of commitments made by the Ronald Reagan administration that the United States wouldn’t consult Beijing on weapon sales to the island.

On Sunday, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said that Taiwan “will never be sacrificed or traded away,” which was his response to Trump's suggestion that arms sales to the island nation are a “negotiating chip.”

Lai said, “The United States’ continued arms sales to Taiwan and deepening of Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation are not only necessary but also key elements in maintaining regional peace and stability.”

Lai and Taiwan are discovering what Europe already found out, that Donald Trump is not a good friend or an ally, and will sell you out. He is discovering that Trump prefers bullies, tyrants, autocrats, and dictators over democracies.

And if Trump is using Taiwan as a “negotiating chip,” then they really are in trouble, because the entire world can see the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is the result of his negotiations with Iran.

Donald Trump's failure at negotiating peace with Iran before he decided to start dropping bombs on them hasn't just affected one or two countries, but the entire planet. Donald Trump isn’t just the worst president in the history of the United States, but he is also the worst negotiator.

And after the not-so-subtle threats of conflict by Xi Jinping, Donald Trump showed that he's not the tough guy his supporters believe he is, but is indeed an orange chicken.

This cartoon has put me in the mood for some Panda Express. While it's not authentic Chinese food, it is one of the best options for a diabetic such as myself.

Creative note: I was going to take the day off from drawing, but I also wanted to do a cartoon about Trump's China trip and what an utter fucking failure it was. When this idea hit me, I couldn't resist.

Drawn in 30 seconds:

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