I see that a Judge issued today a temporary stay on the executive order banning visas for foreign students at Harvard. Would love to hear more about any impacts on Stanford that has produced so many graduates like Elon Musk and other technological pioneers. I see some resemblance between what Trump is doing to the Chinese "cultural revolution." Ours is really a counter cultural revolution against science, medicine, law and higher education generally. It is disturbing to have Scott Bessent and even more alarmingly Steve Witkoff serving as principal ambassadors when they are patently unqualified to serve in those roles. I live in Palm Beach County and Witkoff is known here for developing golf course communities for the uber wealthy. The initiation fee for the one in Palm Beach County is $500K and his new one in Dade County has an initiation fee of $1 million. There is no room in the Trump diplomatic corps for people like former ambassadors George Kennan and Michael McFaul.
The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s did not work out well for the Chinese people, according to the limited online research I conducted. And the countercultural revolution being waged by the Trump regime against “science, medicine, law, and higher education generally,” as you so aptly put it, Jeff, likely won’t end well for the American people.
However, the one good thing that might come out of this whole thing, at least for those of us who are fortunate enough to live to tell about it, that is if anyone does live to tell about it, is that the misery and suffering that Trump and Republicans in Congress are about to cause the American people with their horrendous budget and will continue to cause them with their other horrific policies may lead to millions, maybe tens of millions of Americans, reassessing their values and priorities including many Americans who identify as MAGA.
Our ignorance and degeneracy as a people is the only reason our nation is in the awful situation it is in. And Americans (including me) reassessing our values and priorities and continuing to be awakened from our apathetic torpor is the only thing that will get us out of it.
The utter willful ignorance of it all shocks me. And now they are trying to export MAGA tomfoolery to Germany, Eastern Europe and God only knows where else. And we have done all these stupid things before in the Know Nothing Party, America First movement before World War II and the McCarthy era. If you know nothing about the history of your own country, you are doomed to rinse and repeat.
I am writing from "across the street" at Tsinghua University. Professors here are under no illusions with respect to our president or the present world situation. Students here are buried in their work and a bit unaware. I greatly appreciate your work and your insights.
Sadly the US is becoming a pale shadow of its former self on the world stage-one of the consequences of a profoundly ignorant president whose only interest is using the presidency to enrich himself and his cronies! An excellent article and I really appreciate your assessment of what is happening in other countries. Keep up the good reporting!
This article is worth a read! I went through it again carefully. It may seem casual, but every indirect critique hits its mark,a slow-burning approach. Yet it’s all factual, even leaving the reader in a dilemma! Haha! The technique is different, but the effect might be even better, because sighing cuts deeper than ranting! A counterattack through the aesthetics of regret!
Thanks for the informative summary of your China visit. The reaction to Trump's fly-by-night tariff "plan" is clearly backfiring there, which shows that he has no idea what he's doing.
Do you think the Renmin University invitation to do PhDs there will get a lot of response? I can't imagine that studying there would be a straightforward affair, but if the US continues on this anti-immigrant student campaign, maybe Renmin will succeed.
Thank you for this informative report. You write “several Latin American leaders were also in town to participate in the 4th China-CELAC Forum. Lula da Silva from Brazil was there. Gabriel Boric from Chile attended. So too did Gustavo Petro from Colombia, who also formally joined Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) while in Beijing.”
I am curious Mr. McFaul, did Perú participate in 4th China CELAC Forum, if so who attended?
Thank you for this column. How did the Chinese press cover your visit, and what were people saying, what is the attitude towards Ukraine and Crimea? Was there any basketball, etc., that people enjoy playing with Americans? I understand that Beijing is with SEA countries, and it's home rule and politics are insular and have been as a trend for a long time. Did you discuss issues such as Hong Kong, the Tibetan people and Uighurs, Russian policies, North Korea and the Kuriles, . . . ? Beijing also has no dearth of important C.C.P. political officials from everywhere, and it seems an opportunity or two to meet with these was foregone given busy itineraries. Are you studying, politicking, seeing old friends, meeting freshmen and sophomores? Despite U.S. tariff policies, the P.R.C. economy has nothing to worry about for a while and will do fine, and the government assures this -- the talk about trade policies and antagonisms does appear to be hype.
I see that a Judge issued today a temporary stay on the executive order banning visas for foreign students at Harvard. Would love to hear more about any impacts on Stanford that has produced so many graduates like Elon Musk and other technological pioneers. I see some resemblance between what Trump is doing to the Chinese "cultural revolution." Ours is really a counter cultural revolution against science, medicine, law and higher education generally. It is disturbing to have Scott Bessent and even more alarmingly Steve Witkoff serving as principal ambassadors when they are patently unqualified to serve in those roles. I live in Palm Beach County and Witkoff is known here for developing golf course communities for the uber wealthy. The initiation fee for the one in Palm Beach County is $500K and his new one in Dade County has an initiation fee of $1 million. There is no room in the Trump diplomatic corps for people like former ambassadors George Kennan and Michael McFaul.
The Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s did not work out well for the Chinese people, according to the limited online research I conducted. And the countercultural revolution being waged by the Trump regime against “science, medicine, law, and higher education generally,” as you so aptly put it, Jeff, likely won’t end well for the American people.
However, the one good thing that might come out of this whole thing, at least for those of us who are fortunate enough to live to tell about it, that is if anyone does live to tell about it, is that the misery and suffering that Trump and Republicans in Congress are about to cause the American people with their horrendous budget and will continue to cause them with their other horrific policies may lead to millions, maybe tens of millions of Americans, reassessing their values and priorities including many Americans who identify as MAGA.
Our ignorance and degeneracy as a people is the only reason our nation is in the awful situation it is in. And Americans (including me) reassessing our values and priorities and continuing to be awakened from our apathetic torpor is the only thing that will get us out of it.
The utter willful ignorance of it all shocks me. And now they are trying to export MAGA tomfoolery to Germany, Eastern Europe and God only knows where else. And we have done all these stupid things before in the Know Nothing Party, America First movement before World War II and the McCarthy era. If you know nothing about the history of your own country, you are doomed to rinse and repeat.
I am writing from "across the street" at Tsinghua University. Professors here are under no illusions with respect to our president or the present world situation. Students here are buried in their work and a bit unaware. I greatly appreciate your work and your insights.
Sadly the US is becoming a pale shadow of its former self on the world stage-one of the consequences of a profoundly ignorant president whose only interest is using the presidency to enrich himself and his cronies! An excellent article and I really appreciate your assessment of what is happening in other countries. Keep up the good reporting!
This article is worth a read! I went through it again carefully. It may seem casual, but every indirect critique hits its mark,a slow-burning approach. Yet it’s all factual, even leaving the reader in a dilemma! Haha! The technique is different, but the effect might be even better, because sighing cuts deeper than ranting! A counterattack through the aesthetics of regret!
A new perspective, rarely explored.
I was shocked by the author's shift.
These two memes speak volumes.
President Trump lives rent-free in the minds of Chinese social media users.
Of course, when combined with memes from the 1.0 era,
there might be a richer context to explore.
A scholar’s antennae are like lightning rods.
Thanks for the informative summary of your China visit. The reaction to Trump's fly-by-night tariff "plan" is clearly backfiring there, which shows that he has no idea what he's doing.
Do you think the Renmin University invitation to do PhDs there will get a lot of response? I can't imagine that studying there would be a straightforward affair, but if the US continues on this anti-immigrant student campaign, maybe Renmin will succeed.
Thank you for this informative report. You write “several Latin American leaders were also in town to participate in the 4th China-CELAC Forum. Lula da Silva from Brazil was there. Gabriel Boric from Chile attended. So too did Gustavo Petro from Colombia, who also formally joined Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) while in Beijing.”
I am curious Mr. McFaul, did Perú participate in 4th China CELAC Forum, if so who attended?
Some days feel like they were storyboarded by Mike Judge.
And not in a good way.
Thank you for this column. How did the Chinese press cover your visit, and what were people saying, what is the attitude towards Ukraine and Crimea? Was there any basketball, etc., that people enjoy playing with Americans? I understand that Beijing is with SEA countries, and it's home rule and politics are insular and have been as a trend for a long time. Did you discuss issues such as Hong Kong, the Tibetan people and Uighurs, Russian policies, North Korea and the Kuriles, . . . ? Beijing also has no dearth of important C.C.P. political officials from everywhere, and it seems an opportunity or two to meet with these was foregone given busy itineraries. Are you studying, politicking, seeing old friends, meeting freshmen and sophomores? Despite U.S. tariff policies, the P.R.C. economy has nothing to worry about for a while and will do fine, and the government assures this -- the talk about trade policies and antagonisms does appear to be hype.