Biden ‘Democracy Summit’ Went All Kinds of Wrong After Disastrous Taiwan Insult – Opinion

Joe Biden held a “Summit for Democracy” last week on December 9-10, “which brought together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector” to “set forth an affirmative agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle the greatest threats faced by democracies today through collective action.”

Here’s what it sounded like in a supercut from Biden where he coughed, mumbled, slurred, and gaffed all over himself, as he talked about how the Build Back Better bill “evaporates the confidence” in government. He’s doing a great job at that.

SUPERCUT!

Biden entered his “Democracy Summit” firing on all cylinders pic.twitter.com/uPZ3IyMTz6

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 9, 2021

That sounds like a lot of people just talking for talking’s sake, unless they are truly standing up against oppressive nations.

Instead of resisting those oppressors they simply kowtowed to them.

One of the panels at the summit featured a White House video feed that showed Audrey Tang (Taiwanese minister) giving a slide presentation. During Tang’s presentation, there was a map showing Taiwan as a separate country in a separate color than China. The feed showing Tang and the map suddenly disappeared. When the feed came back, it just showed a sign with Tang’s name but without Tang or the map.

The Summit for Democracy 12/10 – Irony

1. Taiwan Minister’s Map shows Taiwan Separated from China
2. The video feed will be cut once it returns to her
3. “Any views expressed by members of this panel are their own and may not reflect those held by the US government.” pic.twitter.com/WYwSGhzFQ4

— Peznt Journalist (@PezntJournalist) December 13, 2021

From Reuters

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Friday’s slide show by Taiwanese Digital Minister Audrey Tang caused consternation among U.S. officials after the map appeared in her video feed for about a minute…The sources, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the video feed showing Tang was cut during a panel discussion and replaced with audio only – at the behest of the White House. The White House was concerned that differentiating Taiwan and China on a map in a U.S.-hosted conference – to which Taiwan had been invited in a show of support at a time when it is under intense pressure from Beijing – could be seen as being at odds with Washington’s “one-China” policy, which avoids taking a position as to whether Taiwan is part of China, the sources said. The State Department said “confusion” over screen-sharing resulted in Tang’s video feed being dropped, calling it “an honest mistake.”

But it wasn’t a mistake. Notice also the chyron running on the bottom of the video toward the end, “Any opinions expressed by individuals on this panel are those of the individual, and do not necessarily reflect the views US gov’t.” So, in other words, it wasn’t just a glitch, it was a choice they were then trying to cover themselves with China. So at a summit on democracy and how to deal with oppressive governments, they’re bending over for China as opposed to standing by our ally Taiwan.

China may also have been disturbed by the map depicting them as “closed” to civil rights along with North Korea.

One source claimed that the map generated an immediate email flurry among U.S officials. In response, the White House National Security Council contacted the State Department to express concern about the fact it seemed to list Taiwan separately. Washington complained to Taiwan’s government, which in turn was angry that Tang’s video had been cut. [….]

“They choked,” the source said of the White House reaction. Another source involved directly in the summit stated that the White House instructed the operator to act on the instructions. “It was clearly policy concerns,” the source said, adding: “This was completely an internal overreaction.”

Imagine the digital authoritarianism faced by China challenges. This panel was held during the Digital Authoritarianism Panel. It’s a wonderful example. The Biden team is not afraid to bow down once more to China. So, instead of sending a strong message to China that their nonsense would not be tolerated, the Biden team sent exactly the opposite message, telling China that they can push us and Taiwan around — and we will cave.

But it’s all part of a despicable, larger policy of not allowing Taiwan to display its own symbols of sovereignty that the Biden Administration has imposed.

Senator Ted Cruz (Republican-Texas) and Sen. Tom Cotton, (Republican-AR), were two of the critics who criticized the Biden administration for its actions.

Our friend Taiwan is no longer under the control of China’s Communist Party.

Why?

They do it all for the Biden admin. 🤡🤡🤡 https://t.co/z3473OOJAa

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) December 13, 2021

Our duty is to continue standing alongside Taiwan and helping it secure autonomy. We also need to maintain the status quo.

Biden can’t bow to Beijing. pic.twitter.com/kBQEcYm48y

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 14, 2021

This was something I stated last week as we discussed the unsuccessful Olympic diplomatic boycott. The Biden Administration claimed they would take action against China. Either you are all in — with a full boycott — and full action against China or you are not. It is necessary to take out all China’s critical infrastructure and other interests and then make China pay for it. Because right now, their influence is everywhere – even over our own politicians, like Joe Biden.