Unlike Japan and South Korea, China is not a U.S. colony. So is a game of one-upmanship between the world’s two largest economy. I believe the orange clown will fold like a ladder first. Xi doesn’t need to worry about elections in his party.
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Apple Stock Sell-Off Continues After China Unveils Matching Tariffs
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Lately, all these events have left me deeply anxious and frustrated with the United States—and especially with Trump. I have to say, MR will never be a place for political posts, and of course, this isn't one either, even though I'm Taiwanese.
I've read plenty of Western perspectives—mostly from friends in the US and Europe. I'm still trying to unpack how Japan and South Korea are reacting, but as someone who understands China extremely well from a Taiwanese standpoint, I can say with confidence: China will go all in against the U.S. And strangely enough, despite the huge ideological divide across the Taiwan Strait, I’d argue that Taiwanese and Chinese people can probably sit down and talk more easily than many of you imagine. Whether it's cultural roots, ethnicity, cross-strait exchanges, intermarriage—these ties run much deeper than most Westerners would assume. Just speaking from personal experience, several of my colleagues are married to people from China—I even know their families.
From my perspective as a Taiwanese citizen, this new round of U.S. tariffs has completely shattered my trust—not just in Trump (as I initially wanted to say), but in America. Why? Because roughly half of Americans actively support Trump, and the other half seem unable to stop him. So I can only say: I’ve lost trust in America.
I still remember when Trump restricted Ukraine’s use of F-16s—that was when I saw Europe start canceling F-35 orders. I think most of you already understand the implication.
But even that didn’t fully shake my belief in the idea of “Make America Great Again.” What finally did it? Trump’s decision to slap a 34% tariff on Taiwan. That number—it’s disappointing. Is that how you treat a friend? The answer is pretty clear now.
As long as China remains a constant presence, Taiwan will always be America’s punching bag—a convenient target for exploitation. For decades, America has sold us overpriced, downgraded military equipment. We’ve paid billions in protection money, and accepted U.S. meat products—ones even Australians and Europeans refuse to eat. And what did we get in return? No FTA.
Now it’s even worse—outright blackmail. TSMC was pressured to build fabs, invest billions, and basically rescue Intel (which was wrecked by Wall Street).
And what did Taiwan get back?
TSMC stock crashing. The entire Taiwan market dropping. A 34% tariff.
Recently, I saw that China, Japan, and South Korea have sat down to discuss a regional economic bloc. This is, to my knowledge, unprecedented. Whether they're just putting on a show or genuinely aiming to reshape the region—we don’t yet know. But one thing is certain: this is extremely bad news for the United States.
The so-called "Indo-Pacific defense strategy" is falling apart. And what was the value of that strategy anyway? Democracy? Freedom? Human rights?
Those Reagan-era slogans have all been thoroughly dismantled in just a few weeks.
So I ask—do Taiwanese people really need to keep buying into these “values”?
If China no longer exists as a geopolitical constant for Taiwan, then Trump’s bullying collapses immediately.
And then I remember seeing Trump’s Treasury Secretary warning the world not to retaliate—calling this the “tipping point,” urging people to “wait and see,” insisting “it won’t get worse.”
Honestly? I’ve never seen a bureaucrat act like that.
It felt like watching a parody… like kids playing house. Unreal.
Of course, this isn’t a political post. That would never happen on MR.
These are just hallucinations, really—random fragments of thought.
And if these hallucinations have caused any discomfort to the fine gentlemen here,
then perhaps it’s only because… the hallucination was too vivid.
My apologies.
I've read plenty of Western perspectives—mostly from friends in the US and Europe. I'm still trying to unpack how Japan and South Korea are reacting, but as someone who understands China extremely well from a Taiwanese standpoint, I can say with confidence: China will go all in against the U.S. And strangely enough, despite the huge ideological divide across the Taiwan Strait, I’d argue that Taiwanese and Chinese people can probably sit down and talk more easily than many of you imagine. Whether it's cultural roots, ethnicity, cross-strait exchanges, intermarriage—these ties run much deeper than most Westerners would assume. Just speaking from personal experience, several of my colleagues are married to people from China—I even know their families.
From my perspective as a Taiwanese citizen, this new round of U.S. tariffs has completely shattered my trust—not just in Trump (as I initially wanted to say), but in America. Why? Because roughly half of Americans actively support Trump, and the other half seem unable to stop him. So I can only say: I’ve lost trust in America.
I still remember when Trump restricted Ukraine’s use of F-16s—that was when I saw Europe start canceling F-35 orders. I think most of you already understand the implication.
But even that didn’t fully shake my belief in the idea of “Make America Great Again.” What finally did it? Trump’s decision to slap a 34% tariff on Taiwan. That number—it’s disappointing. Is that how you treat a friend? The answer is pretty clear now.
As long as China remains a constant presence, Taiwan will always be America’s punching bag—a convenient target for exploitation. For decades, America has sold us overpriced, downgraded military equipment. We’ve paid billions in protection money, and accepted U.S. meat products—ones even Australians and Europeans refuse to eat. And what did we get in return? No FTA.
Now it’s even worse—outright blackmail. TSMC was pressured to build fabs, invest billions, and basically rescue Intel (which was wrecked by Wall Street).
And what did Taiwan get back?
TSMC stock crashing. The entire Taiwan market dropping. A 34% tariff.
Recently, I saw that China, Japan, and South Korea have sat down to discuss a regional economic bloc. This is, to my knowledge, unprecedented. Whether they're just putting on a show or genuinely aiming to reshape the region—we don’t yet know. But one thing is certain: this is extremely bad news for the United States.
The so-called "Indo-Pacific defense strategy" is falling apart. And what was the value of that strategy anyway? Democracy? Freedom? Human rights?
Those Reagan-era slogans have all been thoroughly dismantled in just a few weeks.
So I ask—do Taiwanese people really need to keep buying into these “values”?
If China no longer exists as a geopolitical constant for Taiwan, then Trump’s bullying collapses immediately.
And then I remember seeing Trump’s Treasury Secretary warning the world not to retaliate—calling this the “tipping point,” urging people to “wait and see,” insisting “it won’t get worse.”
Honestly? I’ve never seen a bureaucrat act like that.
It felt like watching a parody… like kids playing house. Unreal.
Of course, this isn’t a political post. That would never happen on MR.
These are just hallucinations, really—random fragments of thought.
And if these hallucinations have caused any discomfort to the fine gentlemen here,
then perhaps it’s only because… the hallucination was too vivid.
My apologies.
As it should
Trump himself, in his first term, signed the current trade agreements with Canada & Mexico.
The same agreements he's now violated.
To be clear -- He's unhappy with trade agreements HE SIGNED
He's completlely untrustworthy and thus no other actors on the world stage should believe anything he says or agrees to.
He's a con man and a grifter ... and always has been.
Those of us around long enough remember his reputation way way way before any of his political aspirations.
I usually don’t side with Supreme Leader Xi on anything—
but let’s be real, this time he’s probably falling asleep with a smug grin every night.
Lets face it: Almost everything, including Penguins and products from Leshoto and Eswatini, imported to the U.S. will face ridiculously high tariffs and the American people will have to pay it. No way out.
Trump will lose on this in my opinion because tariffs will hit companies profits and they are not about to take a hit on their profits. They will increase prices, prices that many Americans will not be able to afford, then the anger will start to grow because many Americans will not be able to afford things they once were able to afford. They will blame Trump for this. Trumps popularity rating will take a nose dive and his advisors will be telling him to reverse the tariffs.
Trump cannot force a company to operate in the US because that is what he is trying to do, get companies back into the US.
Trump cannot force a company to operate in the US because that is what he is trying to do, get companies back into the US.
Good. I hope they fall more and more and more. They will never be poor, but that's all they care about so let them suffer. When all the tech billionaires went to lick Trump it was ok.
Too bad about the regular people, but they were going to get the big one no matter what.
Too bad about the regular people, but they were going to get the big one no matter what.
Time to give another look at the M2s, since I just saw an article that Asahi Linux is having more obstacles with the M4 than with the M1 and M2. That matters to me because I'd hope to keep using it even after Apple ends support, just like I kept using my 2007 blackbook for many, many years with Xubuntu. Don't know why they don't even mention the M3, but it's possible nobody thought they were going to make any more products with it, until they did just recently.
Blame the democrats for once again putting up extremely unpopular candidates in a popularity contest.
I'm not saying it's right but it is what it is, and if the democrats want to win they should do what it takes to win.
No, I blame Trump for lying.
He claimed he knew nothing about Project 2025 (which was deeply unpopular) and he's now flat out "doing all of it".
It was a close election.
Had he not been lying through his teeth, I doubt he would have won.
I hoping he raises tariffs on china again and again and again and again.
I don't need a new iPhone.
Taiwan tarrifs charged to the US: 64%
Ours to Taiwan: 32%
Is that what you do to a "Friend"? We are not your buddies and we are not your personal charity piggy bank.
Democrats don't care about logic. Their TDS replaces all reason and intellect.
The democrats aren’t great by any means, and clearly the corruption that’s rife throughout US politics badly needs addressing, but voting Trump out of distaste for them is perhaps the textbook example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Trump fell asleep when watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Anyhow, history repeats itself (read: Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act). US citizen are in for a treat. :-(
That's great, but I'm pretty sure the courts will put an end to this nonsense next week.
Sure, I knew someone would eventually bring up that ridiculous "64%" number. I just didn’t expect to see it this soon.
Honestly, I could’ve ignored you—after all, everyone knows that in your world, even islands inhabited only by penguins and seals (last visited by humans over a decade ago) are somehow stealing your jobs, your opportunities, your competitiveness, and yes—your precious trade balance. And that brings me to the point.
The "64% tariff" claim is simply a misunderstanding—or a deliberate misrepresentation. It’s not an actual tariff rate, but a rough trade deficit ratio. Taiwan's real average tariff on US goods is around 4.6%, while the US applies about 2.5% on Taiwan. Taiwan has made massive concessions over the years—on pork, beef, tech access, even TSMC. If anything, Taiwan’s been the loyal friend. So this “64%” number isn’t just wrong—it’s a distraction from the real problem: bad faith policy, not bad trade math.
But anyway, it doesn’t really matter. We’re now seriously exploring something far more grounded—a friendly dialogue with China. More and more, we’ve come to accept a reality: the China constant.
Personally, I don’t care how you or Trump plan to wreck the world, but you did get one thing right—America shouldn’t be our friend. Confucius once said: A friend must be honest, sincere, and wise. None of which can be found in Trump—or in you.
You and your kind enjoy the privileges of the dollar hegemony, ride the printing press while U.S. national debt hits historically absurd levels, yet live comfortably without a shred of urgency. Until one day, you wake up shocked to discover that even penguins are apparently stealing your jobs, your competitiveness, your assets.
That’s when it’s time to talk tough, time to put the madman back in the White House. You’ve done everything—except ask how you got here in the first place.
To be honest, I regret writing out this entire hallucination. There are many ways to interpret the world. But for people who always prefer the simplest explanations—the kind politicians love to sell—trying to reason with them is foolish. And here I am, being exactly that fool.
But I do wonder if Trump chose the number '64'% on purpose. It’s… not a random number, and it certainly doesn’t make things easier between us and China.
Sorry—there was an error in my previous edit. It's now been corrected.
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That IS one of their main goals. The economic policies of the Trump administration aren't designed to help the US economically--they have other goals.
One of Trump's key "advisors" is paranoid conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, whose "advice" to Trump just got three of the US's top national security people fired after she told him they were "disloyal" to him. Loomer is an avowed white "Christian" nationalist who says the US was founded as a white nationalist ethno-state. Trump is rewarding these people for their help in getting him elected so he can avoid prison. These people want to isolate the US from the rest of the world as much as they can, to drive out "impurities" and bring in a corrupt regime mentality like that of Viktor Orban's Hungary, Alexander Lukashenko's Belarus, and of course Putin's Russia. A weakened US can't and wouldn't stand up to "rulers" like that, and that's the direction the people enabling Trump want.