Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: The Trump administration blocks Taiwan’s president from transiting through the United States, sex scandals abound on the Chinese internet, and Beijing makes a big push on nuclear fusion.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s China Brief.

The highlights this week: The Trump administration blocks Taiwan’s president from transiting through the United States, sex scandals abound on the Chinese internet, and Beijing makes a big push on nuclear fusion.

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly blocked Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te from transiting through the United States on his way to and from Latin America—the first such known refusal of a Taiwanese president in more than three decades.

The move comes as Trump, who is said to have personally opposed Lai’s visit, is attempting to curry favor with Beijing before a potential visit to China.

Because Washington does not officially recognize Taiwan’s government, Taiwanese presidents cannot officially visit the United States. In 1994, Washington modified its previous ban on all visits by Taiwanese leaders to allow “transit visits,” in which Taiwanese leaders nominally stop in the United States on the way to Latin American countries—a handful of which recognize Taiwan.

In practice, though, these are visits to the United States in all but name, with Taiwanese leaders often using them as lobbying opportunities.

Trump’s move could face opposition from Congress. In 2018, Congress passed the Taiwan Travel Act, which supports high-level Taiwanese officials visiting the United States under “respectful” conditions. However, though Congress can still muster some bipartisanship when it comes to pressuring Beijing, Republicans are unlikely to be courageous enough to publicly speak out against Trump’s decision.

This latest move is a slap in the face to the many China hawks who backed Trump, continuing their trend of humiliating themselves in order to please a president whose view on China swings between xenophobia and

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