Free Republic

The U.S. State Department has removed a statement on its website that it does not support Taiwan independence, among changes that the island's government praised on Sunday as supporting Taiwan. The fact sheet on Taiwan retains Washington's opposition to unilateral change from either Taiwan or from China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own. But as well as dropping the phrase "we do not support Taiwan independence," the page has added a reference to Taiwan's cooperation with a Pentagon technology and semiconductor development project and says the U.S. will support Taiwan's membership in international organizations "where applicable."

United States President Joe Biden on Friday (Dec 20) approved US$571.3 million in defence assistance for Taiwan, the White House said, as the Democrat prepares to leave office ahead of the January inauguration of Donald Trump. The United States does not officially recognise Taiwan diplomatically, but it is the self-ruled island's strategic ally and largest supplier of weapons. China, which has ramped up political and military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, has repeatedly called for Washington to cease sending arms and assistance to the island, which it claims as part of its territory. Taiwanese officials said China last week...

Yesterday was the third day of the Laken Riley murder trial in Athens, Georgia, and the day on which prosecutors rested their case after calling 25 witnesses to the stand. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the case, Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered while jogging on the University of Georgia campus earlier this year. Her alleged murderer, José Antonio Ibarra, is a 26-year-old Venezuelan man who is in the United States illegally. He's been charged with felony murder, malice murder, false imprisonment, hindering a 911 call, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and kidnapping,...

President Joe Biden’s campaign has amassed $155 million in cash on hand for the 2024 election, far exceeding the in-hand total for his Republican opponent, Donald Trump. The president raised $53 million alone last month, which was the strongest grassroots fundraising month since the campaign launched, according to campaign officials. Among those efforts was a contest for supporters to attend a fundraiser on March 28 in New York with Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton that raised $4 million last month. “The enthusiasm we’re picking up as we go around the country is real,” Biden said in a radio interview...

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 House Republicans led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her agency's invitation for foreign adversaries to inspect a sensitive U.S. nuclear testing site. In a letter sent Thursday morning, Stefanik and the other Republicans blasted Granholm for recently offering China and Russia "unprecedented access" to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nevada National Security Site. Bloomberg reported in September that the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration invited Chinese and Russian officials to tour the site to prove the U.S. is upholding a three-decade moratorium against testing...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is setting out Monday on a Western swing aimed at showcasing his work on conservation, clean energy and veterans’ benefits as he seeks to draw an implicit contrast between his administration’s accomplishments and former President Donald Trump’s legal troubles. Biden’s first stop will be the Grand Canyon, where he’s expected to announce plans for a new national monument to preserve more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) and limit uranium mining. After Arizona, he will travel to New Mexico and Utah. The Democratic president will be in Albuquerque on Wednesday and will talk about...

A person who was reportedly on an email chain allegedly involving Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, confirmed to Fox News late on Friday the accuracy of the messages that were reported earlier this week by the New York Post. “One email, dated May 13, 2017, and obtained by Fox News, includes a discussion of ‘remuneration packages’ for six people in a business deal with a Chinese energy firm. The email appeared to identify Biden as ‘Chair / Vice Chair depending on agreement with CEFC,’ in an apparent reference to now-bankrupt CEFC China Energy Co,” Fox News reported....