Momentum grows for dropping 'President' from title of China's leader; Remove 'veneer' of...

The Washington Times ^ | hursday, November 28, 2019 | Ben Wolfgang

[E. Pluribus Unum]

FULL TITLE: Momentum grows for dropping 'President' from title of China's leader; Remove 'veneer' of legitimacy

The Trump administration, with a simple change in rhetoric, has signaled a subtle shift in its approach to China in recent weeks — and in the process has deepened a rift with the Communist Party leadership in Beijing.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a major foreign policy speech late last month in which he referred to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as “general secretary” rather than “president.” The seemingly minor tweak, national security sources and analysts say, carries a much deeper meaning and suggests China hawks in the administration are employing unprecedented bluntness in calling out the lack of democracy and free elections in China.

The policy does not appear to have spread throughout the administration. President Trump referred to “President Xi” when speaking to reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office about the prospects of a trade deal. But sources see growing momentum in Washington to describe the Chinese leader as someone not bound by the will of his people or other democratic checks and balances.

China’s leader technically wears multiple hats. Mr. Xi, 66, is general secretary of the Communist Party of China; president of the People’s Republic of China, a largely ceremonial position making him head of state in protocol terms; and chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission. As part of a concerted drive to cement his power and extend his term, Mr. Xi also secured the title of “core leader” from the Communist Party three years ago.

[Phil DiBasquette]

I agree, “President Winnie The Pooh” sounds silly

[captain_dave]

That the Chinese want their leader called “president” shows they know he is illegitimate and that their system and communist party are fake. It’s the same with vege-burgers and vege-hotdogs. It’s fake food unsuccessfully pretending to be real food. Like the democrats here: fake, fake, fake.

[dp0622]

Thanks for the insight from both of you regarding Nixon and China.

I was born in ‘68 and I don’t know if you guys were older during Nixon’s presidency, but I have found that those who lived through something offer assessments that wikipedia and history books don’t.

[reed13k]

I refer to Taiwan as ROC :)

[The_Media_never_lie]

Thanks for the insight from both of you regarding Nixon and China.

I was born in ‘68 and I don’t know if you guys were older during Nixon’s presidency, but I have found that those who lived through something offer assessments that wikipedia and history books don’t.

---

You are welcome.

Yes, I am 69.

[Reeses]

Nixon was a disaster. Here he is with his longtime Chinese communist girlfriend 20 years his junior, a relationship started when Nixon was Eisenhower's vice-president and she was a bar girl.

[Zhang Fei]

https://people.com/archive/marianna-liu-admits-she-knew-nixon-in-hong-kong-but-says-there-was-no-spying-and-no-romance-vol-6-no-14/

[SoCal Pubbie]

JFK used his brother, the attorney general, to conduct secret contacts with the Soviet ambassador during the Cuban missile crises. Maybe they should dig Jack up and impeach him.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/rfks-secret-role-in-the-cuban-missile-crisis/