Ted Cruz and Texas Governor Meet With, and Give Offensive Gift to, Taiwanese Leader
On Monday, China said it “firmly opposed” Sunday’s meeting between Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Cruz and Tsai reportedly discussed “arms sales, diplomatic exchanges and economic relations,” while Abbott’s conversation was more focused on agriculture and gas trade. Abbott also presented a culturally offensive gift.While Tsai stuck to an appropriate vase, Abbott gave Tsai “a clock bearing the Texas state seal.” In Mandarin, the phrase “give a clock” sounds like “attend a funeral,” and so giving a clock is, per Foreign Policy Asia editor James Palmer, “basically the Chinese equivalent of ‘Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.’” In other words, it is highly taboo.In fact, in 2015, Baroness Susan Kramer, then-British minister of state for transport, gave Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je a pocket watch on a visit to Taiwan. Though Ko noted that he did not believe in such superstitions, he also joked that he might sell it to a scrap metal dealer. Kramer apologized, insisting that she did not know of the taboo. “I had no idea a gift like this could be seen as anything other than positive: In the U.K. a watch is precious — because nothing is more important than time,” she said.Tsai seems to have let the gaffe slide. Perhaps she is not superstitious, or perhaps she is using it to keep track of the time until U.S. President-elect Trump comes into office and the U.S.-China-Taiwan relationship changes, perhaps dramatically.The meeting comes weeks after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump offended Chinese officials by speaking with Tsai on the phone. It appears Trump may intend to use the “One China” policy as a bargaining chip with China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, in doing so, “they are lifting a rock only to drop it on their feet,.” China, as recently as Sunday, warned it would take revenge for any U.S. cessation of the One China policy, though it did not clarify what that revenge would entail. Please Subscribe: https://goo.gl/ONDGRM
On Monday, China said it “firmly opposed” Sunday’s meeting between Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Cruz and Tsai reportedly discussed “arms sales, diplomatic exchanges and economic relations,” while Abbott’s conversation was more focused on agriculture and gas trade. Abbott also presented a culturally offensive gift.While Tsai stuck to an appropriate vase, Abbott gave Tsai “a clock bearing the Texas state seal.” In Mandarin, the phrase “give a clock” sounds like “attend a funeral,” and so giving a clock is, per Foreign Policy Asia editor James Palmer, “basically the Chinese equivalent of ‘Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.’” In other words, it is highly taboo.In fact, in 2015, Baroness Susan Kramer, then-British minister of state for transport, gave Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je a pocket watch on a visit to Taiwan. Though Ko noted that he did not believe in such superstitions, he also joked that he might sell it to a scrap metal dealer. Kramer apologized, insisting that she did not know of the taboo. “I had no idea a gift like this could be seen as anything other than positive: In the U.K. a watch is precious — because nothing is more important than time,” she said.Tsai seems to have let the gaffe slide. Perhaps she is not superstitious, or perhaps she is using it to keep track of the time until U.S. President-elect Trump comes into office and the U.S.-China-Taiwan relationship changes, perhaps dramatically.The meeting comes weeks after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump offended Chinese officials by speaking with Tsai on the phone. It appears Trump may intend to use the “One China” policy as a bargaining chip with China. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, in doing so, “they are lifting a rock only to drop it on their feet,.” China, as recently as Sunday, warned it would take revenge for any U.S. cessation of the One China policy, though it did not clarify what that revenge would entail. Please Subscribe: https://goo.gl/ONDGRM