Ripples of Alex Wong's Visit to Taiwan

choi

(1) Kensaku IHARA 伊原 健作, US Signals a Sea Change on Taiwan 4 Decades After Severing Ties. Nikkei Asia Review, Mar 24, 2018
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics ... after-severing-ties

three consecutive paragraphs:

"The US president has played his 'Taiwan card,' said Fan Shih-ping 范世平, a professor at National Taiwan Normal University here.

"Just a few days earlier, Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a proponent of international cooperation, and named hawkish CIA Director Mike Pompeo to replace him.

"The new diplomatic team has been quick to take a hard line on China, said Fan.

My comment: The quotation is the only thing new, there is no need to read the rest. Also ignore whatever outsiders (outside White House) may say, which is speculative. I do not believe Trump is playing card; the move is ideological, or at least preference.

choi

(2) Bill Bishop, Trump's US-Taiwan Policy Shift. Axios, Mar 23, 2018.
https://www.axios.com/us-policy- ... 1-85e43722e3df.html

My comment:
(a) When Mr Tillerson was fired, I thought about Susan Thornton's nomination, too. Of course, president Trump nominated her, and she might or might not be recommended by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. But Ms Thornton many times has not sided with pro-independence force in Taiwan.
(b) United States Department of Commerce Official Ian Steff to Visit Taiwan March 22-27. American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), Mar 22, 2018 (news release No: PR-1807)
https://www.ait.org.tw/united-st ... taiwan-march-22-27/
("US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing Ian Steff is visiting Taiwan from March 22-27.  While this is not Steff's first trip to Taiwan, this is his inaugural visit in his official capacity as Deputy Assistant Secretary. The purpose of his visit is to explore ways of collaboration to strengthen the bilateral trade, commercial, and investment relationship between the United States and Taiwan. While in Taiwan, he will meet with senior political and business figures")

News media in Taiwan reports his visit with his English name -- no Chinese name (yet).
(c) Ms Thornton has been a lightning rod in the Trump administration.

in chronological order:
(i) Robert Kuttner, Steve Bannon, Unrepentant. American Prospect, Aug 16, 2018 (online publication).
https://prospect.org/article/steve-bannon-unrepentant
("I'm changing out people at East Asian Defense [which some interpreted to mean East Asia hand in Departments of State and of Defense]; I'm getting hawks in. I'm getting Susan Thornton [acting head of East Asian and Pacific Affairs] out at State") (brackets original)
(ii) Bannon left White House on Aug 18, 2017. Whether he resigned, was forced to resign, or was fired was in dispute.
(iii) Curt Mills, Steve Bannon Declares War On Susan Thornton. National Interest, Dec 21, 2018
https://nationalinterest.org/fea ... usan-thornton-23745

Two consecutive paragraphs”

" 'The Breitbart crowd intend to highly contest Susan Thornton's nomination, as it stands in complete opposition to everything POTUS [President of the United States] laid out' in the National Security Strategy, a source close to Bannon emailed me Tuesday night.

"As I reported on Monday, the president's National Security Strategy unveiled this week was seen as something of a coup for Bannon and many other China hawks (including President Trump's uber-hawkish National Trade Council director [Navarro; Trump set up NTC, which had been nonexistent]). The document 'reads like a Peter Navarro "Powerpoint"!!!'

(iv) Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury; Inside the Trump White House was released officially on Jan 5, 2018

(c) Axios
(i) Axios (disambiguation)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axios_(disambiguation)
(mat refer to "Axios (website), a media startup by the founders of Politico")

Click it and the new Web page says, "The site's name is based on the term Greek: ἄξιος (áxios), 'worthy' "
(ii) Ancient-English dictionary:
* ἄξιος (Romanization: áxios; adjective masculine): "worthy"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ἄξιος
(iii) Vardar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vardar
(Vardar (Macedonian spelling) or or Axios (Greek spelling; a river; section 1 Etymology; unclear)