US ends 5 cultural programs with China in further escalation
By: AP - No Author Indicated
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
US ends 5 cultural programs with China in further escalation
WASHNGTON (AP) — The departing Trump administration has ended five cultural-exchange programs with China that it says were being used for Chinese propaganda and had no benefit to the United States.
© Provided by Associated Press FILE - In this Sept. 16, 2018, file photo, American flags are displayed together with Chinese flags on top of a trishaw in Beijing. China on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020 accused critics in the U.S. government of "an escalation of political suppression" against Beijing following a report of new visa restrictions on members of China’s ruling Communist Party and their immediate family members. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
The terminations follow new visa restrictions announced by Washington limiting stays in the U.S. by members of China's Communist Party and signal further erosion in relations with Beijing in the final weeks of President Donald Trump's time in office.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the exchange programs he ended were fully paid for and operated by the Chinese government “as soft power propaganda tools.” They provided “carefully curated access to Chinese Communist Party officials, not to the Chinese people, who do not enjoy freedoms of speech and assembly,” he said in a statement late Friday.
© Provided by Associated Press Secretary of State Mike Pompeo puts on his mask after speaking to the media prior to meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah at the State Department, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020 in Washington. (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP)
The State Department terminated the Policymakers Educational China Trip Program, the U.S.-China Friendship Program, the U.S.-China Leadership Exchange Program, the U.S.-China Transpacific Exchange Program and the Hong Kong Educational and Cultural Program. Each program allowed U.S. officials to travel in China at Beijing's expense.
Pompeo said the U.S. welcomes “the reciprocal and fair exchange of cultural programs” with China and mutually beneficial ones will continue.
This past week, the U.S. announced new time limits on visas for members of the Chinese Communist Party and their families, cutting the period their travel documents are valid to one month from 10 years.
The Trump administration has taken a variety of punitive measures against China as disputes sharpen over human rights, the coronavirus pandemic, trade, technology, Taiwan and many other issues. Trump's steps are subject to being reversed after Democrat Joe Biden becomes president on Jan. 20.
If you intend to comment on this article, it is important that you make sure you are familiar with the RED RULES for all articles and comment wall on this site. They may be seen by clicking on the group avatar at the top right of this page.
Tags
Who is online
90 visitors
It's not the Chinese people who will be disadvantaged by the latest roadblock Trump is erecting in Biden's path, it is America that will be the loser, which is par for the course for pretty well everything Trump has been doing.
No biggie. The MAGAs don't believe in culture. Gawd has a new image. The coiffured hair.
It's kind of hard to judge the programs without being part of them and it doesn't look like participants were looked at.
So apparently we aren't just cutting off all cultural programs with China. Maybe it's not a crisis.
I think the position of the Trump administration has been pretty clear since before he was even elected. He wants the US to have a positive relationship with China based on equity and reciprocity. Of course, those things are in the eye of the beholder, but I think that clearly means that the US won't just obediently comply with everything China might want.
For sure not in the eye of THIS beholder. Step by step he is doing his best to make sure Biden will be hampered in having a positive relationship with China - and as I see it, THAT is his intention.
Tacos1, any and all opportunities for positive communications with and dialogue between those who have differences is bound to help narrow the gaps of understanding and mutual benefits. Trump and Pompeo are doing anything they possibly can to build walls, not intercourse.
Apparently they didn't think these particular communications were positive. Unfortunately, there is no detail in the announcement about how they came to this decision, so we might not ever know what drove the decision.
I think the choice between causing damage and fighting or meeting to discuss differences should be obvious to governments that are not primitive.