Could Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China change the communist nation’s longstanding anti-Masonic laws?
Report: Branstad to be U.S. Ambassador to China from KCCI
The People’s Republic of China banned Freemasons shortly after the success of the communist revolution. Interestingly, Trump’s nominee for ambassador to the PRC is a practicing Freemason, a group that was targeted (among others) by Mao’s communist party due to its secretive nature and foreign roots. According to Time, the only Chinese Masonic lodges in existence today are all based in Taiwan. Although derided by the Chinese Communist Party for its secretive nature, Freemasons are also controversial because of their associations with past colonialism, arriving to China along with British imperialism. Brent Morris, author of “The Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry” says “You’ve got a dual-edged problem: part of it is the residue of colonialism and part of it is the meeting in private.”
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has reportedly accepted an invitation by the incoming Donald Trump administration to be the Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China and will have to await confirmation by the US Senate next year before officially taking the post. Governor Branstad has a personal relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that began when the two of them met during a diplomatic trip Xi Jinping took to Iowa. Governor Branstad is currently serving his 22nd year as governor of Iowa and is the nation’s longest-serving governor. Branstad accepted the nomination in the wake of the incoming president’s gaffe concerning the Republic of China, better known as Taiwan.
Trump spoke with Taiwan’s President on the phone in a breech of protocol that is over three decades old. Though Taiwan split from the mainland in 1949, the People’s Republic of China still considers Taiwan part of its sovereign territory and not as an independent nation. Interestingly, Freemason’s avoid discussing topics of religion and politics, even though the group has long dealt with the insidious insinuation that they are a part of vast conspiracies throughout history. Simon LaPlace, executive secretary of the Masonic Service Association of America, says the group focuses on community service and improving the individual. “Masonry flourishes in those countries where freedom and individual rights are permitted…That’s why in a lot of totalitarian countries, masonry is not permitted.”
[Time – Donald Trump’s Pick for China Envoy Is a Member of the Freemasons, Who Are Banned by Beijing]