The Economist (March 20)
Last week China slapped down democracy in Hong Kong. The imposition of tight mainland control over the territory is not just a tragedy for the 7.5m people who live there, it is also a measure of China’s determination not to compromise over how it asserts its will.” But China has pressure points. It is “more tightly coupled with the West than communist Russia ever was. This presents the free world with an epoch-defining question: how should it best secure prosperity, lower the risk of war and protect freedom as China rises?”
Tags: China, Communist, Compromise, Control, Democracy, Hong Kong, Imposition, Mainland, Prosperity, Risk, Russia, Territory, War
The Economist (August 10)
“Since the trade war began in 2018 the damage done to the global economy has been surprisingly slight.” No longer. “This week the picture darkened as the confrontation between America and China escalated, with more tariffs threatened and a bitter row erupting over China’s exchange rate.” Compromise is essential. “But for that to happen President Donald Trump and his advisers must rethink their strategy…. America cannot have a cheap currency, a trade conflict and a thriving economy.”
Tags: China, Compromise, Confrontation, Damage, Exchange rate, Global economy, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, U.S.
Chicago Tribune (April 5)
“Trump is terrible at making deals. His threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border offers the latest example…. Trump tried to get Mexico to pay for his cherished wall and failed. He tried to get Congress to provide $5.7 billion to construct it and failed despite putting the country through a 35-day government shutdown.” The President “is good at making demands and issuing threats, but those are useful only if you know how to bargain and compromise. He fails at making deals because he has never learned that in negotiations, as in war, the other side gets a vote.”
Tags: Border, Compromise, Demands, Failed, Making deals, Mexico, Negotiations, Shutdown, Terrible, Threats, Trump, U.S., Wall
New York Times (November 17)
“Everything is up in the air in the Britain’s tumultuous politics right now.” The Brexiteers “savage Mrs. May’s deal and offer no practical suggestions for anything else. This is an utter failure of responsibility. Yes, the prime minister’s deal is pitiful, an awkward compromise that will hobble Britain’s economy and diminish our power. But the truth is—and everyone knows this—there is no better, purer Brexit available without a permanent economic hit.”
Tags: Awkward, Brexiteers, Compromise, Economy, Failure, May, Pitiful, Responsibility, Savage, Tumultuous, UK
The Guardian (July 8)
“Theresa May’s fragile deal would be a disaster for Britain.” The Prime Minister secured “a fragile domestic political compromise only by confecting a solution that no one thinks the EU will accept. And even in the unlikely event that the EU were to sign on the dotted line, there is no disguising that while it may be better than dropping out with no deal, the Chequers agreement would be a terrible outcome.” Britain would no longer have a say “in shaping the rules of the world’s most successful trading bloc…in exchange for becoming a rule-taker in whatever scrappy free trade deal we can negotiate.”
Tags: Compromise, Deal, Disaster, EU, Fragile, May, Negotiate, Outcome, Rule-taker, Trading bloc, UK
New York Times (May 12)
Fast-track approval and the Trans-Pacific Partnership are “pitting President Obama against many members of his own party and some Republicans. Though the two sides have major differences, a compromise is still possible and would be good for the American economy.”
Tags: Approval, Compromise, Economy, Fast-track, Obama, Republicans, TPP, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (February 6)
“The Greek effort to divide and conquer by negotiating individually with other EU members instead of with the bloc as a whole is going nowhere.” Nevertheless, there may still be “room for a prudent compromise that might involve a bridge deal to allow time for a permanent agreement, followed by some easing of the terms of bailout loans in exchange for a commitment to economic reform.”
Tags: Bailout, Compromise, Economic reform, Effort, EU, Greek, Loans, Negotiations
Wall Street Journal (October 20)
“On the eve of Tuesday’s talks with student leaders of the democracy movement, Hong Kong’s embattled Chief Executive has a message for the world: No compromises, and no apologies. Which means that Hong Kong’s upheavals are likely to continue.”
Tags: Apologies, Compromise, Democracy movement, Hong Kong, Leaders, Leung Chun-ying, Students, Upheavals
Washington Post (September 17)
“Afghanistan is teetering between a political implosion that could ignite civil war in Kabul and a power-sharing deal that could give the country another chance for stability.” Official election results will soon be announced, but due to voting irregularities a “winner-takes-all approach” is unsustainable. “It is up to Mr. Abdullah and Mr. Ghani [the two candidates] to show that Afghanistan can have a future under moderate, pragmatic leaders who are able to compromise.”
Tags: Abdullah, Afghanistan, Civil war, Compromise, Election, Ghani, Implosion, Kabul, Leaders, Moderate, Power sharing, Pragmatic, Results, Stability, Voting
Financial Times (July 24)
“With pressure mounting to act swiftly, commercial interests and jobs at stake and national pride in play, there is a danger that the EU’s effort to respond coherently to Russian actions will get bogged down in acrimony. Avoiding that fate requires a willingness to compromise and some clear thinking.”
Tags: Act, Clear thinking, Commercial interests, Compromise, Danger, EU, Jobs, Pressure, Pride, Russia, Swiftly
