In 1983, I was part of a group of Congressional staff members visiting Taiwan off the coast of mainland China. As a chief of staff for a member of Congress, I was able to visit the nation that had remained separate from their Communist neighbors but had to remain vigilant because the mainland was always threatened to bring them, by force if necessary, into their fold.

The Taiwanese I met and talked to at length for the weeklong stay were determined to keep their independence and the U.S. provided weapons and other help, through our nation’s intelligence agencies.

At a dinner with Taiwan’s defense minister, we were presented with watches emblazoned with his name and title on the face. I still have that watch in the case it came in.

A colleague and I noticed that the country’s military carried the then-unrealsed version of M-16 combat rifles. We asked the head of America’s trade office about how they had weapons that were still in development.

“The M-16 had problems with jamming while firing. Colt (the manufacturer), was still struggling with correcting the problem but weapon engineers in Taiwan found the problem and corrected it,” he said. “They were waiting for us to pay for the design of the fix.”

We also noticed that public “VD Clinics” were often found right next to barbershops in downtown Taipei. I asked our guide why.

“If you just want a haircut, go to a hair cutters shop. Barbershops are houses of prostitution where the ladies do their thing with men in barber chairs,” he said.

Several in our delegation had plans to visit mainland China after our visit to Taiwan, but those who did had to have second passports because one with a stamp showing entrance to Taiwan would cause denied entry to the mainland.

This week, America’s convicted felon and serial liar president Donald Trump visited the president of China for a two day “summit” to discuss trade issues and the war with Iran. Trump, sources say, also backed off of America’s long-time commitment of support for Taiwan. We don’t know for sure, because the meetings with president Xi Jinping were behind closed doors. Trump packed Air Force One with fellow billionaires, including controversial Tesla owner Elon Musk, to try and win trade concessions. Sources also say Trump wants to do business in China to enrich his company and family.

Xi Jinping threatened Trump, telling him to avoid interference with his country and Taiwan, saying doing so could bring “confrontations.” How Trump, a known coward and liar, responded is unknown.

Trump’s unconstitutional war against Iran has strained America’s relations with allies, who were not consulted before hand and Persian Gulf states like United Arab Emigrates, Kuwait and others are keeping him at arm’s length.

Trump left China to head back to Washington today. His first meeting with the press was: “They had a ballroom. I want to make sure we have one too,” he said.

Without consulting Congress or the General Services Administration, called in bulldozers to tear down the East Wing of the White House for a no-bid contract to build a lavish ballroom. It may or may not happen, depending on final action by federal courts.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon reminded him that the White House is not his, but belongs to the people. “The White House belongs to the people of America, not you,” he said.

Gen. John Kelly, who served longer as Trump’ s chief of staff, now calls the disgraced president “a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy”.

In other words, Trump is a fascist wannabe dictator. Sad times for America and the world.