RuiThinking: The twists and turns of Trump-Kim summit

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03:04

The ego-driven unpredictability of Donald Trump’s presidency has given Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a hard time obviously as Trump has changed his mind after his cancellation of his meeting with Kim Jong Un and said he would still meet with the DPRK leader on June 12.

I arrived in Singapore twelve days ahead of their scheduled meeting only to be greeted by the joke of a cab driver. He was pouring scorn on the US president without using the word "moron."

What is the driving force behind Mr. Trump to meet Mr. Kim, the DPRK leader? Many argue he wants to win the midterm elections and the Nobel Peace Prize.

But will the DPRK leader collaborate and agree to get his country denuclearized completely, verifiably and irreversibly? Does that mean the Libyan model or a copycat of the Iran nuclear deal? In either case, Mr. Kim will be played.

We don’t know the real reckoning across the aisle.

Then, why does Singapore qualify for the venue of this historic talk, an event if honored decently, will perhaps be similar to that of Richard Nixon in 1972. But Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

Can Trump survive the independent investigations of his sex scandal or the presidential Me Too?

This is not my concern.

Here in Singapore, I would rather list some virtues of the country’s leadership to justify the credibility of the Lee family. Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the late founding father of Singapore, hosted many world leaders. His vision in Asian politics and the fantastic governance of a hub of regional finance and maritime commerce has impressed the whole world since its 1965 independence.

Not only did Deng Xiaoping choose the small country as the first to visit after emerging alive from the chaotic Cultural Revolution, but the well-known 1992 Consensus about the one-China principle across the Taiwan Strait was reached here. President Xi Jinping met with the then outgoing Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou here as well in 2015.

We keep our fingers crossed for the success of the summit. Hopefully, the DPRK under Kim will follow China’s example in opening-up and rejuvenate northeast Asia with a fixed will to make a seismic change. It will be a blessing for his country and the whole of Asia.

The only bad thing of a triumphant summit might be a cheerful Trump winning a second term on a higher approval rating and perhaps getting nominated for a Nobel Peace prize.

Sadly, this is the conclusion of Rui Thinking in Singapore.

Thank you for watching me taking shower here. By the way, this is not the emperor's new clothes, Trump may think the other way around. Bye for now.