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The Ukraine Crisis Is A Wake-up Call For Taiwan And Japan

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised the concern that China’s leader Xi Jinping may be emboldened to invade Taiwan soon. Such fear has shifted attitudes and strategic thinking in Taiwan and its ally Japan.

The last time Taiwan faced military assault by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was in 1958. On August 23, under Chairman Mao Zedong’s directive, the PLA heavily bombed Quemoy, Matsu, and other surrounding offshore islands. The PLA’s bombardment of Taiwan only stopped after the United States demonstrated its will to defend Taiwan by sending six aircraft carriers, three heavy cruisers, 40 destroyers, and two air force divisions to Taiwan strait.

Since then, the Taiwanese people have enjoyed several decades of peace and prosperity. The Chinese Communist Party changed tactics and had hoped that deepening economic ties between Taiwan and mainland China would eventually “reunite” Taiwan with the motherland peacefully. To the CCP’s disappointment, a poll shows that most Taiwanese don’t identify as Chinese.

China’s Xi Jinping vowed never to rule out taking Taiwan by force. The PLA has increased both the frequency and the number of fighter jets it sent near Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), hoping to intimidate the Taiwanese people. Still, most Taiwanese didn’t take Beijing’s military threat seriously until Russia invaded Ukraine. (Read more from “The Ukraine Crisis Is a Wake-up Call for Taiwan and Japan” HERE)

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Third Wave Coming? China’s New COVID Lockdown Could Determine Fed’s Interest Rate Hike

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China’s COVID lockdown of Shenzhen, the southern financial and manufacturing hub that neighbors Hong Kong, came as a shock.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged five percent to its lowest level since 2016. The Hang Seng tech index crashed 11 percent. Chinese stocks that trade in New York fell sharply, with videogame maker NetEase, e-commerce giant JD.com, search and AI giant Baidu.com, farm-tech firm Pinduoduo among the worst performing stocks in the Nasdaq composite.

No market is an island, especially when China is involved, so the closing of Shenzhen sent a shockwave rippling through U.S. stocks. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 262.59 points, or 2 percent, to its lowest level since December 2020. Shares of Apple fell 2.7 percent, Amazon declined 2.5 percent, and Google shares tumbled three percent. Nothing calamitous, however. The S&P 500 was down just seven-tenths of a point, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average actually rose on the day. (Read more from “Third Wave Coming? China’s New COVID Lockdown Could Determine Fed’s Interest Rate Hike” HERE)

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China Changed Supply Chain Strategy With Russia 3 Months Ahead of Ukraine Invasion, Suggesting It Had Foreknowledge: Analyst

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Around three months ago, China changed how it ordered goods from Russia in a way that would insulate Beijing in the event of Western sanctions on Moscow, according to a supply chain analyst citing insider information.

This move suggested that China had foreknowledge of Russia’s plan to invade Ukraine, and had made contingencies to ensure it could still import Russian commodities amid sanctions, he said.

In about November or December, China began buying all of their Russia-origin cargoes—grains, crude oil, and petrochemical products—on a “free on board origin” basis, meaning that China would hold claim to the goods as soon as they were loaded onto the ship, said Ross Kennedy, founder of Fortis Analysis. . .

In large shipments by sea, sellers, rather than buyers, would commonly assume responsibility for the goods until they are delivered to the purchaser, he said. They also typically cover the cost of shipping and insurance, and warrant that the goods will safely reach the destination. . .

“And the reason you would see that happening is because there is a fear that sanctions on products coming from a certain country, in this case, Russia, would impact those country’s ability to buy those products.” (Read more from “China Changed Supply Chain Strategy With Russia 3 Months Ahead of Ukraine Invasion, Suggesting It Had Foreknowledge: Analyst” HERE)

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Former US Defense Contractor CEO, Israeli Brother Charged With Allegedly Exporting Military Technology to China

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The former CEO of a San Diego-based company that manufactures tungsten components for the U.S. military has been charged alongside his brother on accusations of violating arms export laws, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.

Joe Sery, 77, who used to own and run Tungsten Heavy Powder & Parts, and his brother, Dror Sery, 70, have been indicted on charges relating to a conspiracy to export sensitive information about defense systems to China and India without a license. Joe Sery was arrested Friday, while Dror Sery remains a fugitive, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The company specializes in providing fragments and weapon-grade components made of tungsten, a rare metal, for the military.

According to the indictment, from 2016 to 2019, Joe Sery contracted with various aerospace and defense firms for military projects, including the construction of an Advanced Rapid Response Weapon, a 155-millimeter Bi-Modal Warhead, a R9E Warhead and an 81-millimeter Cowling Cone. (Read more from “Former US Defense Contractor CEO, Israeli Brother Charged With Allegedly Exporting Military Technology to China” HERE)

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China Largely Ignores Biden’s State of the Union Speech

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President Joe Biden had very little to say about China in his first State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night, and Chinese media returned the favor by saying very little about Biden’s speech.

China’s state-run Global Times counted only two mentions of China in the speech, neither of them terribly confrontational (Biden added a third in the remarks as delivered). The Chinese paper dismissed Biden’s address as a weak imitation of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s famed “Iron Curtain” speech that unsuccessfully sought to use Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to rally the divided American political parties behind Biden’s presidency.

The Global Times quoted Fudan University professor Shen Yi mocking Biden’s claims of leadership against Russia:

“If the US has been prepared for Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, why is Washington still discussing with other countries on how to sanction Russia on SWIFT? If US intelligence agencies can make correct early-warnings about Russia’s operation, but the White House failed to fully prepare for sanctions, the US’ capability and national strength are in trouble,” Shen said.

Biden said in his speech that “Our forces are not going to Europe to fight in Ukraine, but to defend our NATO Allies.” But Shen said this is another pointless line that shows Biden’s weakness. “This means the US will leave Ukraine alone even though Kiev pinned high hopes on Washington. To defend NATO? Did Russia say it wants to invade NATO?”

(Read more from “China Largely Ignores Biden’s State of the Union Speech” HERE)

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DOJ Shutting Down China-Focused Anti-Espionage Program Due Racism Concerns

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The Biden administration is shutting down a Justice Department program that focused on countering Chinese espionage, following stumbles in a series of criminal cases and accusations that it amounted to racial profiling.

Officials said Wednesday that the three-year-old effort, known as the China Initiative, was being cast aside largely because of perceptions that it unfairly painted Chinese Americans and U.S. residents of Chinese origin as disloyal.

“By grouping cases under the China Initiative rubric, we helped give rise to a harmful perception that the department applies a lower standard to investigate and prosecute criminal conduct related to that country or that we in some way view people with racial, ethnic or familial ties to China differently,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen said in remarks prepared for delivery at George Mason University in Virginia.

However, Justice’s top national security official insisted that the decision amounted to a reframing and recalibration — not an abandonment — of a muscular law enforcement response to the national security threat posed by the People’s Republic of China. (Read more from “DOJ Shutting Down China-Focused Anti-Espionage Program Due Racism Concerns” HERE)

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Elon Musk Can’t Get Enough of China: Tesla Plans to DOUBLE Production in Communist Country

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A recent report claims that Tesla plans to start the development of a new facility in Shanghai as soon as next month, more than doubling its production capacity in China. Elon Musk has frequently praised China’s genocidal communist regime. In one meeting with the government, Musk said “I love China very much and I am willing to come here more.”

Reuters reports that Tesla plans to begin construction on a new plant in Shanghai soon as part of its efforts to grow its presence in China. The new facility will more than double its production capacity in China to meet the growing demand for its vehicles in the country and other markets.

The new plant will give Tesla the capacity to produce as many as 2 million cars per year at its Shanghai facility, which is the company’s main export hub. The new plant will be located near the existing production plant in Lingang, Pudong New Area.

Tesla reportedly plans to produce around 1 million vehicles this year. The company aims to bring its weekly production at the Shanghai facility to around 22,000 vehicles in the coming months. This would result in around 1.1 million vehicles produced over a full year at the Shanghai facility, more than doubling its original projected capacity. (Read more from “Elon Musk Can’t Get Enough of China: Tesla Plans to *Double* Production in Communist Country” HERE)

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Report: Biden Turned Over Intelligence to China on Russia’s Plans to Invade Ukraine, China Gave It to Russia

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Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration turned over intelligence to communist China for months about Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine in an attempt to get China to convince Russia to not invade, according to a report.

“Over three months, senior Biden administration officials held half a dozen urgent meetings with top Chinese officials in which the Americans presented intelligence showing Russia’s troop buildup around Ukraine and beseeched the Chinese to tell Russia not to invade,” The New York Times reported. “Each time, the Chinese officials, including the foreign minister and the ambassador to the United States, rebuffed the Americans, saying they did not think an invasion was in the works. After one diplomatic exchange in December, U.S. officials got intelligence showing Beijing had shared the information with Moscow, telling the Russians that the United States was trying to sow discord — and that China would not try to impede Russian plans and actions.”

The report comes after Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine late this week and fighting has already reached the country’s capital city of Kyiv, although U.S. officials claim that Russia’s advance has been slowed down some by Ukrainian resistance.

The meetings in which the Biden administration turned over intelligence to Beijing started after Biden held a video summit with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping in mid-November. (Read more from “Report: Biden Turned Over Intelligence to China on Russia’s Plans to Invade Ukraine, China Gave It to Russia” HERE)

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Taiwan Reports Chinese Aircraft in Its Air Defense Zone After Russia Invaded Ukraine

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Nine Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defense identification zone, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Thursday, on the same day that Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Tawian reported eight J-16 sorties and one Y-8 reconnaissance aircraft flying over an area to the northeast of the Pratas Islands, at the top end of the South China Sea, which prompted the island nation to scramble its air force. According to Reuters, the number of aircraft involved in the incursion is smaller than the last large-scale incident, when 39 Chinese aircraft flew into Taiwanese territory on Jan. 23.

China claims Taiwan, the seat of the exiled Republic of China government, as its own territory, and over the past two years it has regularly conducted fly-over missions in Taiwanese air space.

Taiwanese fighters were deployed to warn the Chinese aircraft to back off and air defense missiles were set up to “monitor the activities,” the defense ministry said, according to Reuters.

The government in Taipei is paying close attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the response from Western governments over concerns that China may use the situation to move against the island. (Read more from “Taiwan Reports Chinese Aircraft in Its Air Defense Zone After Russia Invaded Ukraine” HERE)

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Report: Government Officials Secretly Believe Lab-Leak Caused COVID Pandemic

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A British chemical weapons expert is alleging that behind closed doors government officials in London believe a lab-leak led to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army officer who commanded the United Kingdom’s Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment, told the Telegraph that he believes the official view within the British government is that a lab-leak theory was most likely the cause of the global pandemic. However, he said there’s significant concern about coming out and saying so publicly.

“I think the official view [within Government] is that it is as likely as anything else to have caused the pandemic. A lot of people like myself think it is more likely. I think attitudes have changed a little bit. The zoonotic transfer theory just didn’t make sense,” he told the Telegraph. “There is a huge amount of concern about coming out publicly, but behind closed doors most people think it’s a lab leak. And they are coming round to the fact that even if they don’t agree with that, they must accept it’s likely, and they must make sure the policies are in place to stop it.”

De Bretton-Gordon submitted evidence to the government for its new biosecurity strategy to handle “accidental release and dual-use research of concern, where life science research is capable of being misapplied to do harm.” One type of dual-use research is the kind of gain-of-function research that was happening at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) prior to the coronavirus pandemic, where dangerous pathogens were being genetically altered to make them more dangerous to humans. (Read more from “Report: Government Officials Secretly Believe Lab-Leak Caused COVID Pandemic” HERE)

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