February 16, 2017

Did China Reward Trump For Endorsing One China Policy?

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Judd Legum has a tale to tell:

Here’s an AP story on the trademark award:

The government of China awarded U.S. President Donald Trump valuable rights to his own name this week, in the form of a 10-year trademark for construction services. The registration became official on Feb. 14 and was published in a trademark registration announcement on the website of China’s Trademark Office on Wednesday.

Trump actually won this case on November 14, so the motivating factor may have been Trump’s election win, not his reversal on the One China policy. On the other hand, the trademark only became effective because there were no objections in the 90 days after winning the case. If Trump had persisted in refusing to endorse One China, it’s quite possible that an objection would have magically found its way into the record.

Who knows? As with everything Trump, the truth is murky.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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