Response: China's gamble for global supremacy in era of Trump

I felt like this article really covered the topic of the Current World Issues class currently. To summarize this rather long article, it just talked about how the Chinese thought about the decline of America's economy, global influence, and political stability. For China, according to Xin, they didn't necessarily compete for the top, it was more of the front-runners backing down and pushing China to the top. It was also mentioned how China thought Socialism was better than America's Capitalism after seeing the political disunity among the American people. China has been supportive for Globalism for quite a time now and this "era of Trump" would be a great opportunity to take leadership in the global market. BBC really doesn't have a bias or side in issues outside their country, so I feel like this article was fair. The purpose of this article was to show how China thought about the political unrest in America and how it is an opportunity to strive for global supremacy. The article was really intriguing to read as Xin even compared Trump to Mao, a former dictator of China. Anyways, peace.

China's gamble for global supremacy in era of Trump

At his inauguration last week President Trump reframed the American mission from leadership of a global rules-based system in the interests of all, to 'America first'. Meanwhile the leader of Communist China rebranded his prickly protectionist power as the defender of globalisation and shared values. So after week one in this upside down new world, how stands China's bid for global leadership?

'Trump confirms socialism is the way'

A week is just a week, but when it comes to strategic focus, China is on course. It's easier to look laser sharp when the competition is in disarray. Here the internal difficulties of the US and the European Union are helpful to China.

As Chinese Foreign Ministry official Zhang Jun put it in a discussion with foreign journalists: "If people want to say China has taken a position of leadership, it's not because China suddenly thrust itself forward as a leader. It's because the original front-runners suddenly fell back and pushed China to the front."

In the past week alone, a bitter row over the size of the crowd at the Trump inauguration, followed by street protests the next day, underlined the divisions of the world's superpower even at the very moment which was supposed to heal.

For China's citizens, brought up to see street protests as dangerous, this was another symptom of dysfunction in a political system they've been taught to distrust.

And next, an American president echoed Beijing's message that the mainstream American media can't be trusted.

So it's been a week to put a spring in the step of China's communists, to shake off the inferiority complex of an autocratic political system, and even to advance the claim that China's system is superior.

Among business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Xi talked the language of global togetherness, but back home his Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the People's Daily, lost no time in declaring the bankruptcy of Western politics.

"The emergence of capitalism's social crisis is the most updated evidence to show the superiority of socialism and Marxism," it said.

This ideological inoculation is invaluable for Xi Jinping ahead of the vital Communist Party Congress which will clarify China's leadership line-up for the next five years.

What's more, greater political confidence at home allows him to focus out.

The inauguration of a billionaire celebrity promising to make America great again through building walls confirms the view of some in Beijing that the United States is in terminal decline, and that this is a moment of opportunity for China.

President Xi's favourite slogans are the "China Dream" and the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese people". But it's all happening faster than his predecessors could have imagined.

It's less than two decades since China fully entered a US-led world of global capitalism.

When China joined the World Trade Organization, it complained bitterly about living under rules made by the US and its friends, while fully expecting to live under those rules for decades to come.

But November's American presidential election finished what the 2008 financial crisis had begun: a shift in worldview. And now we are one week into the new leadership mission set out by President Xi at Davos.

In comparison, Xi Jinping looks balanced

A word about character.

In China there are some who compare Mr Trump's character and leadership style with China's Chairman Mao. They point to the former's relentless tweeting as a new version of the latter's daily deluge of quotations.

They note other similarities: the unpredictability, distrust of media, and overwhelming self-confidence.

Some admire and some despise, but Donald Trump, they say, is a great disrupter in the Maoist mould.

All of which is a discussion which takes some of the heat off President Xi at home. Until recently critics accused him of Maoist tendencies after his relentless concentration of titles and power and his frenetic media personality cult.

But as China's citizens look out on a world of strongmen this week, their own president may seem comparatively sober, predictable and experienced: not too much the Caesar, nor too little, for a global leader in our age.

China becomes the voice of globalisation

Meanwhile Mr Xi's outward facing message, that China wants a world of fair trade and globalisation, got a boost this week from several quarters, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The Chinese-led development bank said it is set for expansion. It currently has nearly 60 members and now says another 25 are likely to join this year.

Two years ago when the AIIB was launched, it became a symbol of the pulling power of China's money and nimble diplomacy when US allies lined up to join despite strong US opposition.

This week, AIIB president Jin Liqun told journalists, it was China's turn to contribute to the world: "China needs to do something that can help it be recognised as a responsible leader."

But in the long view, if this week is to be remembered as a tipping point towards Chinese power, it will not be because of anything announced in Beijing but because of what happens in Washington.

One of President Trump's first acts in office was to sign an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact which the Obama administration had insisted would cement US leadership in Asia.

"Protection will lead to greater strength", said Mr Trump. But in an open letter, outgoing US ambassadors in the region disagreed.

"Walking away from TPP may be seen by future generations as the moment America chose to cede leadership to others in this part of the world and accept a diminished role."

Certainly in response to the Trump announcement, US ally and TPP signatory Australia immediately said it hoped to recast the trade agreement without the US, and said China might be invited to join.

China remains unchallenged in Asia...

Asia is the key testing ground where the US stands in the way of China's ambitions.

Since the end of World War Two, Washington has insisted that the US is in Asia for the good of all and invested decades in diplomacy and defence to maintain the liberal international order.

On the campaign trail, Mr Trump expressed impatience with that investment. And having withdrawn from the TPP, the Trump administration will have to find a new way to nurture key allies and partners in the region and to reassure them that 'America first' does not mean everyone else last.

But at the same moment, China's diplomats and bankers are stepping up their efforts and their focus does not waver.

Last year, Beijing turned an international legal defeat over the South China Sea into a diplomatic triumph by charming and disarming the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

In the Trump era, it has other US allies in its sights. Only this week, Thailand confirmed funding for the purchase of a Chinese submarine.

... and not afraid to defend itself

But on security, the week also saw a cloud on China's leadership horizon.

The new White House spokesman Sean Spicer seemed to echo warnings to China from incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he sketched out a position on the South China Sea.

"We're going to make sure that we defend international territories from being taken over by one country," said Mr Spicer.

It's not clear exactly what he meant or exactly what Mr Tillerson meant, but a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman immediately restated China's claim to sovereignty in the region, and insisted that Beijing would be resolute in defending its own rights and interests.

If the Trump administration is to push back against China in the South China Sea it will need support from US allies who ask themselves whether Mr Trump has the strategic focus necessary for such a risky undertaking.

China will naturally encourage those doubts given its preference for making domination of the South China Sea a fait accompli with as little fuss as possible.

But there are many players, many unpredictable variables and many wrong moves in this game.

One week into the new world order, China's leaders may feel some things are playing into their hand. But it will be many months, perhaps years, before they can judge whether China's global gamble is a win against Trump's America.

Work Cited

Gracie, Carrie. "China's Gamble for Global Supremacy in Era of Trump." BBC News. BBC, 27 Jan. 2017. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-38766887>.

Response: Millennial women against Trump to take to streets on his inauguration day

Although I am a South Korean, I have said I was a Clinton supporter because her agenda was more supportive to Korea's relationship with America. Now this article basically talks about how Donald Trump's views are very anti-feminist and that pisses off a lot of women. Now that he is about the become president, people are seen and heard to be openly protesting against this. To be fair, I understand why they are doing so and they have good reasons behind their actions. However, I feel like the action of not accepting a president is non-democratic and not respectable. Everyone thought Donald Trump was crazy when he said he wouldn't accept the results of the election if Clinton won. Now her supporters who condemned that are doing the exact same thing. This is South China Morning Post, it probably has no real bias and posted this to inform people of what's going on in America. China is pro-Clinton however, but the article seem to just state factual things and not have an opinion.

Millennial women against Trump to take to streets on his inauguration day

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 17 January, 2017, 1:10am

UPDATED : Tuesday, 17 January, 2017, 1:10am

Millennials, some so young they need their parents’ permission and others with babies in tow, will join women’s protests this weekend as their generation for the first time faces challenges to rights they have known most of their lives.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend the Women’s March on Washington and sister marches in other cities around the world on Saturday, the day after Donald Trump is sworn into office as US president.

The display of unity is a show of opposition to Trump’s potential impact on women’s rights, particularly abortion access, health insurance, child care and workplace policies that could take a heavy toll on young women, activists say.

“Everything that can affect the population in general is going to affect millennial women,” said Jamie Kenney, 34, a New Jersey writer and mother of two young children.

“Because we are young and because our careers aren’t established and because most of us have uteruses, it’s going to hit us in ways that it hits everybody and in ways that are going to be unique and harder to overcome,” said Kenney, who planned to attend a women’s march in New York City.

Along with the main march in Washington, more than 270 others are planned in the United States and in 33 other nations, with more than 500,000 people expected to join, organisers say.

The marches call for reproductive rights such as access to abortion and contraception, equal pay, affordable childcare, an end to violence against women and rights for gay, lesbian, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people.

Trump has come under fire for his attitudes toward women that emerged as he campaigned for the presidency. In a 2005 tape that came to light during the campaign he brags about groping women and making unwanted sexual advances.

He says he opposes abortion and has vowed to pull government funding from Planned Parenthood, a major provider of women’s health care. He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a national insurance programme that pays for most birth control methods for women.

“Millennial women have taken all of those things for granted,” said Elisabeth Kelan, a professor at Britain’s Cranfield School of Management and author of a book on millennials entitled “Rising Stars.”

“It’s a real turning point for this generation,” she said.

Most millennials, 73 per cent, have an unfavourable view of Trump, according to the Pew Research Center.

Typically defined as those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, they number around 74.5 million in the United States, according to Pew.

The Trump presidency will have a lasting effect because people form political identities in early adulthood, said Benjamin Knoll, an associate professor of politics at Centre College in Kentucky who specialises in public opinion and voting patterns.

“For the younger ones now in college and their mid-20s, they’re going to come of age at a time when we have Donald Trump as president,” he said.

A millennial himself at 34, Knoll said he would attend a local women’s march with his 8-year-old daughter.

Alessandra Rizzo, 16, plans to ride the bus to the Washington march after her father agreed she could go with a friend, accompanied by her friend’s mother.

“I can’t vote,” Rizzo said. “So the march is just a way for me to express my dislike of what’s going on.”

Trump’s scepticism about climate change and his intention to make abortion illegal are most troubling, she said.

“I’ll be at the age of having to worry about this when he’s the president, and that’s just very scary to me,” she said.

Bibliography

"Millennial Women against Trump to Take to Streets on His Inauguration Day." Donald Trump Inauguration. South China Morning Post, 17 Jan. 2017. Web. 16 Jan. 2017. <http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2062647/millennial-women-against-trump-take-streets-his?spm=0.0.0.0.vg6vmD>.

Response: Kentucky moves toward requiring ultrasound before abortion

Before anything else, I will affirm my position as a Pro-Life believer in the matter of abortion. This article talked about how the new Republican (obviously) of Kentucky made law a bill that required women to undergo an ultra sound informative session before the process of abortion. The bill was passed by an overwhelming majority of 83-12. The opposing opinion was that the women would be scared from the informative session and will be scared to abort the baby. I find this article very satisfying as it shows how deliberately unreasonable Pro-choice people can be. To make a decision, whether it's buying a new laptop, paying for your kid's school fee, or aborting, it is always better for the decider to fully know and understand what they are doing. To be ignorant of knowledge shows plain stupidity and creates a higher risk of regretting the decision once it's made. The article in of itself didn't have a bias as it simply stated facts. The website is rather unfamiliar to me, so I do not know what bias it has and which political party it sides with. The article's purpose was simply to inform people of a political decision but it restored faith in humanity for me. Also, even if I was Pro-Choice, I would like this ultra sound informative session because I would want to make the best CHOICE given the complete knowledge/details of the situation.

Kentucky moves toward requiring ultrasound before abortion

By Steve Bittenbender | LOUISVILLE, KY.

Kentucky's new Republican House majority took the first step on Thursday toward requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound, acting swiftly to capitalize on winning control of the chamber for the first time in almost a century.

The 83-12 vote on the bill came on the third day of the state's 2017 General Assembly session, the first in which the Republican Party has led the House of Representatives since 1921.

The bill requires a physician or qualified technician to perform the ultrasound and position the screen so the woman may view the images. The medical staff will be required to describe what the images show, including the size of the fetus and any organs or appendages visible.

Sponsors say the bill will better protect the health of women and provide the materials necessary for women to make an informed choice. Abortion rights advocates contend such laws are designed to frighten and shame those seeking an abortion.

Some 25 states have laws regarding ultrasounds and abortions, but only three states require medical staff to display and describe the images, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit group focusing on health issues.

While Kentucky's bill passed easily, some supporters criticized the new House leadership for pushing the legislation through so quickly that it might open the state to a lawsuit if,

as expected, the bill becomes law.

"I think that had we had a chance to discuss this bill, we might have come up with something that was not going to open this state up to millions of dollars in litigation" costs, said Democratic state Representative Angie Hatton.

The state's Republican-controlled Senate passed another measure that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. After passing the ultrasound bill, the House approved two measures strongly opposed by labor groups. The first was a proposal that would allow workers in union shops to receive union benefits without having to pay dues, The second measure would repeal prevailing wage laws Republicans say add expenses to state and local construction projects.

Leaders in both chambers plan to meet this weekend to pass bills to be sent to Republican Governor Matt Bevin for approval, House Republican Caucus spokeswoman Daisy Olivo said.

(Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)

Work Cited. 

Bittenbender, Steve. "Kentucky Moves toward Requiring Ultrasound before Abortion."Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 05 Jan. 2017. Web. 06 Jan. 2017. <http://www.reuters.com/article/us-kentucky-abortion-idUSKBN14P2IW>.