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Essay by Eric Worrall
China’s suspension of climate cooperation, in response to Nanci Pelosi’s Taiwan visit, is giving climate change worriers a taste of the thuggish geopolitical bullying Taiwan has endured over the years.
China suspends climate change cooperation with US and sanctions Nancy Pelosi in retaliation for Taiwan visit
Lawrence Chung in Taipei Teddy Ng in Hong Kong and Amber Wang in Beijing
Published: 11:56pm, 5 Aug, 2022China has suspended cooperation with the United States in the fight against climate change as part of a range of measures in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which also included sanctions on the House Speaker and her family.
Regular dialogues between the world’s two most powerful armed forces have also been cancelled, making it harder for them to prevent accidental conflicts. Beijing also said it would stop cooperating in tackling the drugs trade, fighting crime and repatriating illegal immigrants.
Pelosi, second in the presidential line of succession, is the most senior US politician to have been sanctioned by China after she became the first house speaker to visit the island in 25 years.
…
Shi Yinhong, an international relations professor at Renmin University, called the latest measures “unprecedentedly severe” and said China-US relations have now sunk to rock bottom.
“The sanctions against Pelosi show how angry Beijing is,” he said.
But Shi noted that Beijing used the word “suspension” regarding climate change and other areas of cooperation, leaving the door open for the two sides to normalise their ties “if Washington takes the first step”.
…
Read more: https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3187927/china-suspends-climate-change-cooperation-us-and-sanctions
I can’t help thinking China has miscalculated by issuing this threat.
China is forcing the Biden Administration to choose between competing values, US support for liberal democracies vs the Biden administration’s obsession with climate change. Democrats will have to admit that climate change is a secondary priority.
The unthinkable alternative, the possibility of the USA delivering a close friend and ally into the jaws of a monster, just to restore climate cooperation, would shatter the USA’s international reputation.
There is something strangely clumsy about this latest Chinese provocation. In my opinion there have been hints over the years that some influential voices in the current Chinese regime might be struggling to understand the US political system, that they might be attempting to interpret US politics through the lens of assuming Biden is an absolute tyrant like Xi Jinping. They must have seen and puzzled over Pelosi’s open defiance of Biden, when she made her Taiwan visit. Perhaps they are worried that if Biden falls, Pelosi, whom they must think of as a Taiwan hawk, might replace him – a genuine possibility under US law.
Obviously this is very speculative, but the Chinese regime might even hope this climate ultimatum will help Biden reassert his authority over Congress, and in return deliver China a clear path to attack Taiwan.
Correction (EW): h/t Tom Halla – The order of Presidential succession is controlled by US law, not the constitution.
Pelosi represents the California group think on Climate. That is the reason China focuses its response to her Taiwan visit on climate. It is a pretty lame threat anyway as China pays no regard to so called man made Climate Change, so there will be no difference anyone can measure due to their lack of ‘cooperation’
As for speaking or not to their American opposite number.re military matters. Well would you want to talk to a so called military leader who thinks transgender rules are the most important aspect of their defence roll?
The results (projections) from the IPCC are an unweighted average of 96 different models from various government labs. The equations and initial conditions vary widely as do the results, of course.
Guess which two gov models closely track observed warming (which is hardly catastrophic).
Hint: the US is not one of the two, but a government mentioned in the article is..
I really don’t understand what’s going on here.
Putin intervenes in Ukraine and the west goes apoplectic saying it’s the prelude to China invading Taiwan.
Chinese military activity ramps up in the South China Sea but seemingly more as a watching brief rather than direct action against Taiwan.
Biden staff stand off from Taiwan with a carefully worded statement distancing the US in a clear attempt to diffuse the tension.
Then Nancy, seemingly unnecessarily, flicks Biden and China the bird and blows the entire situation up by visiting Taiwan and pledging support for it’s freedom and democracy, putting the west on even more of a war footing than with Russia.
Why on earth was Nancy allowed to go to Taiwan on an official visit? And if it wasn’t official, why was she making statements about America supporting Taiwan?
It really is astonishing that she was even allowed to go, and even more astonishing that she wasn’t sacked the moment she stepped off that plane.
How can a single individual be allowed to take America (and much of the west) to the brink of war with China with a recklessly provocative visit to Taiwan?
She is fire proof it would seem. Remember this is the Speaker of the House who has an official role in State process.
She decided the best thing to do at a previous well attended and broadcast live event was to tear up the Commander in Chief’s speech to the nation, as a personal statement of contempt for the office of President of the United States of America.
Despite her actions on camera, she still retained the job of Speaker.
What more needs to be said. One set of rules for the underlings and another set of rules for the seniors?
took everyones eyes off her dirty trades on markets over chips and he hubbys drink/drug driving fiasco didnt it
With her term as Speaker rapidly coming to a close, and her husband’s DUI case coming up for trial she may have delusions about trying to secure her place in history.
See Tucker Carlson recently – he did an interview with Col. Douglas Macgregor, a well respected USMC observer – Taiwan, Formose was used at least 5 times a springboard/aircraft carrier to assault China, including by Japan.
https://www.revolver.news/2022/08/tucker-biden-wants-another-war/
Any offensive buildup is automatically so viewed.
Noting Carlson’s apparent confusion – the best guess is Pelosi stole his thunder. Looks like he has political ambitions, a known China-hawk, trailing Pompeo’s fanaticism.
So the Dem’s did something desperate, Carlson and co. flounder, the world ratchets towards nuclear armageddon, as Pilger warns.
How exactly is Biden supposed to sack Nancy? Only the members of the House can vote to replace her as Speaker of the House, and short of an impeachment by both houses of congress, only the voters in her district can retire her at the next election.
Only someone who knows nothing about American politics would believe that Nancy speaks for the government.
There is no law that says that Nancy can’t travel to China if she wants, therefore there is no one who has legal authority to prevent her from going.
You might want to read up on American government a little more before posting.
Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate cannot be impeached. However, either the House or Senate can expel a member with a two thirds vote.
China fully understands Pelosi does not speak for a soverign US gov’t, just for a global oligarchy like the one it faced in 2 opium wars.
Only a complete and utter fool would say that British Empire is the US gov’t.
“How can a single individual be allowed to take America (and much of the west) to the brink of war with China with a recklessly provocative visit to Taiwan?”
No more provocative than any other visit by a member of Congress.
The Chicoms want to make a big deal out of it because they think it will be beneficial to their goals.
The Chicoms are not going to start a war over a Nancy Pelosi visit. I see a lot of shaking knees in the West. The Chicoms see that shaking, too. That’s what they want to see. They want to bully people into doing what they want, and it seems there are a lot of people out there eager to give the Chicoms their lunch money.
Scared? That’s the way the Chicoms want you. And all they have to do to accomplish their goal is to use harsh language. Western weaklings are easy to scare and control.
Sorry, I realize I’m late to the party and the conversation is dead, but I’ll comment anyway. It is unclear to me why Pelosi would go. What was the point – what personally did she have to gain?
“Allowed” to go? Are you under the impression that the President of the United States has the authority to forbid members of congress from travelling, or to keep them from advocating policy positions that he disagrees with? Neither is true. The reverse is also true — nothing Nancy says is in any way binding on the United States government, her official powers are entirely restricted to the house of representatives.
Obviously China understands the “Science” rather better than Biden and has zero fear for the future. The USA should carefully check its data!
whats its indicated to china and others is the hag will be running for president and doing her smarm around to get backers in place. taiwans people are a lesser concern than the strategic placement of the island itself
and semiconductors are handy too. you guys really need an age limit on pollies. china really doesnt give a rats re co2 scam and its handed them a lovely get outta jail card. meanwhile Taiwans now copping the aggro due to a busybody sticking her nose into things she should stay out of.
Given China’s ‘ contribution ‘ was to do nothing and judge it’s self if it had this. There is no big loss.
To President Xi and in the words of Brig. Gen. McAuliffe, ‘NUTS!’
Mr. Worrall wrote:
With all due respect, I don’t think the Chinese are that stupid. They understand perfectly well that the U.S. is utterly manic and bipolar— like all democracies, it has wild periodic swings in behavior.
The result is that neither its word nor its politicians are consistent, reliable or trustworthy.
As Russia’s Lavrov says, the “West” is non-agreement capable. No treaty or letter is worth the paper. It is an infantile imperial kindergarten in breakdown mode, playing with nuke toys.
Well said.
h/t to Patrick Lawrence an exceptional American writer.
https://thescrum.substack.com/p/infantile-imperialism
HIROSHIMA AT 77: John Pilger — Another Hiroshima is Coming — Unless We Stop It Nowhttps://consortiumnews.com/2022/08/06/hiroshima-at-77-john-pilger-another-hiroshima-is-coming-unless-we-stop-it-now/
Speculation? Why has Australia, which Pilger hails from, gone absolutely suicidal?
I think some here are hyperventilating on their CO2 and have lost all sense of reality.
Thanks to Pilger for the reality shock.
As for Mike Pompeo visiting Taipei all the time, he is a well known Rapture religious nutcase. Look it up. Has he presidential ambitions to finally finish off the world rapturously?
There is something seriously awry in Taipei :
Character-Forming by 6,000 Falun Gong Practitioners on Freedom Square
https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2015/11/30/153883.html
The Epoch Times is owned by the Falun Gong, regularly quoted by PRC-China bashers.
I’ve been in Taipei on business, the people I dealt with were hard working, considerate and honest. If that is what Falun Gong does to a place we need more of it.
Get the trains running on time, perhaps?
I wonder how much US$ aid is airlifted in there per year?
TSMC will eventually be a PRC thriving enterprise, that is if the DPP does not try a Kiev gambit.
I suspect Taiwan will still be there when China is dust. Vicious dictatorships like the Soviets usually only last 90 years or so, China’s time is almost up.
Nanci Pelosi’s hubby has just apparently bought a chunk of NVidia shares, so Nanci was naturally checking up on the NVidia factory in Taiwan and grubbing for some insider info.
Actually, I think the announcement was pretty strategic. I think the prevailing view n China was to allow the West to decarbonize while China benefits. However, the other side of that is that the United States is using Climate Change to stich-up international alliances (NWO/OWG, etc).
Countries were going along with this (despite the deleterious consequences) because they thought they had no other choice. And as China was hemming and hawing, the US could claim China was “more or less” onboard.
Now, with this announcement (the biggest CO2 emitter on the planet being off the reservation, the effort is futile) , they have a choice. Countries can either decarbonize themselves with the West or go with China (BRICs). Or they can wring energy and economic concessions from the US for their cooperation.
It is a huge selling point for the SCO and BRICs membership… Go with China and a low cost energy future or hobble your economy and future development with the Western Green Agenda.
Mwahaha! Good one, Mr. Worral! Good to see someone has a sense of humour left!
I especially liked the bit where Eric pretends there is a divide between liberal democracy and obsessive climastrology. That quip about supportive invasions was a bit risqué, but hey…
I’ve always said satire is the way to deal with them ganggreenies.
Abandon Taiwan or we’ll do what we were going to do anyway; we just won’t pay the alarmist lip service.
How can you suspend something you weren’t doing in the first place?
Sorry to our European friends, but it’s time for the US to forget about Russia and focus on China. Pull all of our troops and nukes out of Europe. Our European NATO partners never meet their military spending targets, and turn around and engage in economic warfare with us, and undermine us every chance they get. If China attacked the US, do you really believe that European NATO countries would come to our aid? Nope, it’s a one way street for them. Let Europe defend themselves against Russia, they are not a legitimate threat to us. We need to focus on China.
Why is war with China needed?
Is that question even comprehensible?
Who have they ever invaded?
You know when you leave out Tibet(still hold it), Korea(lost a million men there), Vietnam(got their ass handed to them) and India(still on going) you chart speaks volumes. Are you that unread of just a propagandist.
Like they were ever going to do anything but pretend to do something to get everyone else to commit economic suicide.
The CCP had no intention to do anything ” climate change “. They are just leading the gullible Western nations along by their noses. Send us your money and we’ll send you crap to help destroy your energy security, then we attack, suckers.
Send in Elizabeth Warren to end it all. And I do mean all.
China has never been on board in reality – just talk. Now they can use this as an excuse to keep doing what they’ve been doing all along.
But now Democrats are going to have to explain to Americans how the push for green everything is going to make any difference globally if China is going to continue to put CO2 in the air.
I respect that the author has made these I assume good faith efforts to interpret the unseen or obscured political realities taking place currently, and specifically in relation to piglosi’s supposedly ‘objected to’ Taiwan stunt.
I submit that in reality biden isn’t actually ‘president’ in any meaningful sense as would tylically be understood. The highest probability is that piglosi was sent to Taiwan by the calculations of individuals unknown to the general public. We do know now that piglosi’s son (basically a hunter biden, corrupt and it seems morally depraved) went along for the little adventure, most likely to score some easy cash off some insider idiot.
That the CCP has terminated cooperating with the ‘climate crisis’ scam is, for purely economic reasons likely only temporary.
This entire dumpster fire with China, Russia and domestically is only going to burn much, much hotter as we continue being misruled by a very deeply foul, vile and deranged cabal of monsters unlike anything humanity, at this scope and scale, has ever faced.
“The unthinkable alternative, the possibility of the USA delivering a close friend and ally into the jaws of a monster.”
What a despicable nonsense. Taiwan is part of China and ‘1 country 2 systems’ guarantees self-government.
On the other side, the Donbass region in Ukraine received a similar status through the Minsk agreement. But Ukraine never implemented Minsk, the US supported this malicious behavior, and the Kiev regime instead waged an 8 year long bloody war against Donetsk & Lugansk.
Proving, once again, that China doesn’t believe in global warming, despite their rhetoric that earns them money and friends. They know “climate change” is global propaganda. And so should we.