Xi Jinping and Donald Trump

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Da Hsuan Feng <dahsuan () gmail com>
Date: Sun, Nov 5, 2017 at 7:39 PM
Subject: Fwd: Xi Jinping and Donald Trump
To: ??旋副校? 台?清?大? <dahsuan () gmail com>





*Xi Jinping and Donald Trump:  Grassroot vs. Aristocratic*

Da Hsuan Feng



In a few days (November 5-8, 2017), President Donald Trump and his massive
entourage will be paying a visit to Beijing. Obviously, his one-on-one
meeting with President Xi Jinping, who just was reelected to be the
President and the Chairman of the “Communist Party’s Political Bureau
Standing Committee), will receive global attention.

I am sure that meeting with all its political and geopolitical meaning and
implications will be discussed ad infinitum by professionals, for sure far
more competent than I.

What intrigue me is, from all that is known and written about these two
individuals, how different they are.

*Donald Trump*

As is well known, Donald Trump was born wealthy, and before he became a
President, he was already well known for his “Trump business” all over the
world. Unlike the other extraordinarily successful entrepreneurs, such as
Bill Gates, Donald Trump was visible is the world of gaming industries,
media, especially television, industries. He was, and still is, a member of
New York City’s upper echelon. He is not known to move in the grassroots
American communities. In one of CNN’s recent comment about Donald Trump, it
says that “During his 14 seasons as the force behind NBC's "The
Apprentice," the phrase "You're fired" became synonymous with Donald Trump,
who cast himself as direct and combative in the make-believe board room.”  I
think this is one of the best, if not the best comments which portray
Trump’s “all powerful, aristocratic” mindset. Indeed, it is probably not
difficult to surmise that Donald Trump is as far from the “grassroot” as
anyone can be.

I don’t have more to say about Donald Trump because in all my years in the
United States, while I have known some well-to-do Americans, I can’t say I
know anyone who is remotely like him. From the wealth point of view, I am
sure most Americans would view Trump from the bottom of the well of wealth!

Interestingly, his rise to power is essentially propelled by a segment of
the American grassroots. Perhaps that’s where his genius lies.





*Xi Jinping*

Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun was one of the founding members of the
People’s Republic of China, and was once the Vice Premier of China. One may
interpret he and his father could be the Chinese version of Bush 41 and
Bush 43 of the United States.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  His
father Xi Zhonxun was purged and was jailed during the Cultural Revolutions.
I will not belabor this since this is all well known. I just want to say
that in this case, being Xi Zhongxun’s son is no “cake walk!”

Some of Xi Jinping’s professional posts can give us a glimpse of his
“grassrootness!” a party leader of a prefecture of Hebei Province in
Northern China, various positions, including and eventually the Governor of
in Fujian Province in Southern China, Zhejiang Province party chief and so
on before ending up in the Central Government. He career tells us he saw
China at all levels and dimensions.

During his Hebei phase of his career, he made a trip to the United States
to study US’s agriculture. There he spent two weeks in a small town of
about 23.000 people in Iowa known as Muscatine. This town is on the banks
of the Mississippi river, and across the river is the state of Illinois!  Nasty
people may refer to Muscatine as “middle of nowhere!”

During those two weeks, Xi Jinping did not stay in fancy hotels, if there
were such a thing in Muscatine. He stayed with Elanor and Tom Dvorchak, who
as far as I could surmise are just downright honest and hardworking
Midwesterners in the bread basket state of Iowa.

Remarkably during those two weeks, Xi Jinping was with Elanor and Tom, he
lived in their son’s room, who was off to college at the time.

For two weeks, everyday Xi Jinping put on his boots and toured the farms of
Iowa, and in between he met with folks of the Rotary Club of
Muscatine.  Apparently
Xi was so down to earth that Elanor and Tom, and probably the town folks of
Muscatine all enjoyed his compamy. According to Elanor, Xi would eat
whatever they put on the table. This comment stuns me because many Chinese
who just came from China could not stomach non-Chinese food, never mind
about Midwestern family cuisine!

This experience of Xi Jinping tells me that Xi Jinping had a grassroot view
of the United States. People such as Elanor and Tom could be some of my
friends, simple, down-to-earth, honest and wholesome!

The fact that Xi Jinping did that tells me that he can be grassroot and can
view grassroot America at its level.



*Xi Jinping and Donald Trump*

Well, these two men will be meeting again, as leaders of two of the most
powerful nations in the world. Their interactions not only will have impact
for China and the United States, it will have impact on the world at large.

These two men cannot be more different in demeanors. One could view nations
at its grassroot level, and one without any experience to do that.

How will the outcome be?

I wonder?



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