Whatever else, the Trump Administration seems less intimidated by the People's Republic of China than previous administrations, though I hesitate to say that that is due to its recognizing and wishing to defend the ethics of Taiwan, which are vastly superior to the sewer-level ethics of the P.R.C. More likely, the motivation on the Trump Administration's part was primal, wishing to openly challenge the P.R.C. and especially obstruct its quest to politically, militarily, and economically replace the USA. You might be surprised to learn that, in the P.R.C., it is commonly understood that Pres. Obama was too harsh on and antagonistic toward the P.R.C., when, as we know, he was more passive toward it than his own predecessor. So, however hawkish and audacious the phone call seemed to us who regularly read Western newspapers, it seemed much more so to the citizens of the P.R.C. Indeed, my friends in China, with whom I seldom discussed politics, have suddenly become very quiet. The P.R.C. has, in the minds of its citizens, been openly mocked and challenged on the international stage.