We In Real Trouble With Trump

The story is told that Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, got to see Donald Trump, the President Elect of the United States, as the first foreign visitor because he happened to be speaking on the telephone to him after having gotten a phone number from a golfing buddy.   Mr. Trump said to him well why you don’t stop over.  Mr. Abe did.  No contacting the State Department, no contacting the White House to coordinate.  There is a new sheriff in town and he does what he wants.  On Friday 2 December came the news that Mr. Trump had had a telephone call with the new President of Taiwan, which the United States does not recognise as a country but with which they have close commercial and political ties.  Taiwan is considered a rebel province of China.  The Chinese in their diplomatic articles ask each one of the countries to agree to the One China policy. That was settled with the United States when Richard Nixon, then President of the United States and a Republican decided to give up their formal support for Taiwan.  Now Mr. Trump threatens to up end that by going direct to a rebel leader so to speak and talking to her on the phone.  No doubt the Chinese will be livid.  It appears that this will be the new normal from this man who now is about to become president.  Having become President on a racist and misogynist platform, he is going to up end the rules of conduct between states.  These rules are in place for a reason: so that there will be no mistakes as to identity and of thought and that respect is duly paid to the individuals and countries involved.  Wars have been started on less.   Well we shall have to adjust as a small country.  Even in these times, there is little respect as such for sovereignty of small states so imagine what will happen next.