Free Republic

The fourth-century a.d. Chronicles of Huayang, the oldest surviving Chinese geographical survey, records that Sichuan was once the domain of the Kingdom of Shu. According to these chronicles, one Shu king, who is described as having bulging eyes, taught his people how to cultivate silkworms, while another had the ability to communicate with fish. For thousands of years, the Kingdom of Shu was known only through such semilegendary accounts. Then, in 1927, a father and son dug a ditch at the site of three earthen mounds near the banks of the Yazi River in central Sichuan, 25 miles northeast of...

A letter recently uncovered showcased Minnesota Governor and Democrat Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz bragging about Minnesota’s connection to several top Chinese leaders. The 2021 letter, discovered by Fox News Digital, was originally posted by the Minnesota International Chinese School. “Minnesota has a longstanding relationship with the people of China,” Walz (D-Minn.) wrote. “The state has promoted Minnesota’s connections with China and has hosted numerous senior Chinese leaders for decades. Thousands of Minnesotans claim ancestral connections to China, which has helped foster numerous ties between Minnesota and China.” “These ties are rapidly expanding through the growth of education, trade, and...

Trump was right on China in 2016, and he’s right in 2024. The U.S. needs to economically decouple and stop funding the military it’s most likely to face in a future conflict. During his 2016 campaign, President Trump promised a tough stance on China. Democrats and mainstream media criticized his approach, claiming his trade restrictions and tariffs triggered a “destructive” and “failed” trade war. Now, as the 2024 election approaches, Trump pledges an even tougher approach to China, with 100% tariffs. Critics are reviving old arguments, suggesting that it would be better for the U.S. to elect Kamala Harris and...

Dr. Jill showed up to the White House Halloween celebration on Wednesday night dressed as a panda. “On Wednesday, October 30th, the President and First Lady are hosting a Halloween event that will welcome local students and military-connected children to the White House for trick-or-treating. A teacher for 40 years, including years spent as a reading specialist, First Lady Jill Biden created this year’s theme, “Hallo-READ!,” with the White House’s festive décor featuring famous literary tales and spooky story time. Dr. Biden’s theme encourages families and children to once again grab a flashlight, pick out their favorite Halloween book, and...

Military, economic, political, and technological ties between #Russia, #China, #Iran, and #NorthKorea have deepened. Their shared objective is now to establish an alternative to the existing #PaxAmericana.

The number of China's billionaires has dropped by a third since 2021, according to an annual rich list, as difficulties for the country's economy and government crackdowns took their toll. Hurun, a private research group that has tracked Chinese billionaires since 1999, said the total peaked in 2021 with 1,185 billionaires, a figure which fell to 753, a decline of 432, or 36% of the total. It comes as some of China's superrich choose to lie low or leave the country, finding covert ways to take their money with them.... China's economy has been grappling with a prolonged housing crisis,...

In February 2023, Israeli-American journalist Gal Luft published an extraordinary post on X revealing the Biden family’s alleged ties to Chinese military intelligence. Since then, Luft has been arrested, released and rearrested. Meanwhile, the bombshell allegations were never investigated.

A University of Michigan student who is not a U.S. citizen is facing criminal charges for allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot at an early voting site in Ann Arbor. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit announced the criminal charges on Wednesday, Oct. 30. The student later contacted the local clerk‘s office, asking if he could get his ballot back, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The student is being charged as an unauthorized elector attempting to vote and for perjury for making a false affidavit for the purpose of...

General Motors CEO Mary Barra said there are so many companies trying to sell EVs in China right now that it's driving a price war that isn't sustainable. Barra made the comments at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, responding to a question about the explosion of EV sales in China. More than 120 brands sold EVs in China in 2023 compared to around 60 in the US — putting into perspective just how much competition there is for GM and other manufacturers. The EV market in the country is oversaturated, Barra said Tuesday, echoing comments she's...

As red states like Florida, Indiana and Missouri pass laws banning their state investment boards from involvement with Chinese funds, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has allowed his state’s backing of Beijing to grow. As governor of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Walz — the Democratic vice presidential candidate — has significant authority over the selection of members of the Minnesota State Board of Investment (SBI), who are typically either elected or appointed by a comptroller or treasurer in other states. Since Walz became governor in 2019, SBI appointees have directed roughly 70% of the approximately $1.3 billion moved into Chinese...

The Chinese Communist Party saw Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a prime “target” for its influence operations in the US, according to internal Department of Homeland Security communications shared the same day that Vice President Kamala Harris picked him as her running mate. “You all have no idea how this feeds into what prc [the People’s Republic of China] has been doing here with him and local gov,” a DHS official wrote Aug. 6 on an internal “Nation State Threat — National Functional Team” chat, which a whistleblower recently disclosed to a congressional committee. “It’s seriously a line of the...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is under scrutiny following its noncompliance with a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. The subpoena, issued on September 30, 2024, requests specific documentation regarding Minnesota Governor Timothy Walz’s connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “According to recently received whistleblower disclosures, we’ve learned of a non-classified, Microsoft Teams group chat among DHS employees and additional intelligence reports that contain information regarding a longstanding connection between the CCP and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz,” the Oversight Committee in September. “Specifically, through whistleblower disclosures, we’ve learned of a non-classified, Microsoft Teams group chat...

A tomb dating back approximately 5,000 years, presumed to be the grave of a prehistoric king, has been discovered at a ruins site in Central China's Henan province with more than 350 artifacts unearthed to date.Located in the Wangzhuang ruins in the city of Yongcheng, the tomb covers more than 17 square meters, a super large size for that period.The Wangzhuang ruins belong to the middle and late periods of Dawenkou Culture (4000-2600 BC) of the late Neolithic Age...The tomb, measuring between 4.52 to 4.8 meters in length and 3.47 to 3.68 meters in width, features both inner and outer...

Oversight Committee @GOPoversight 🚨 WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURES ABOUT WALZ’S CCP TIES 🚨 Because of DHS’s lack of compliance with our legal subpoena and unwillingness to cooperate in good faith, @RepJamesComer is releasing a small portion of the Department’s internal communications received from a whistleblower about Governor Tim Walz. The information shows DHS officials with subject matter expertise discussing the CCP’s targeting of Governor Walz on the same day VP Kamala Harris picked him to be her running mate. A whistleblower has provided further information to the Committee that indicates officials from DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis and Homeland Security Investigations...

Indonesia seize luxury yacht Equanimity sought in 1MDB probe: Police JAKARTA (REUTERS) - Indonesia on Wednesday (Feb 28) seized a luxury yacht on the island of Bali sought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of a multi-billion dollar corruption investigation linked to Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). “We have been inspecting the crew since yesterday and now we are taking action since we have received approval from the court to seize the boat,” Agung Setya, director of economic and special crimes at the Indonesia’s criminal investigation bureau, told Metro TV. Television footage in Indonesia...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel appeared in court on Thursday and told reporters he is innocent of criminal charges that he conspired to funnel foreign funds into Barack Obama’s 2012 presidential re-election, while also plugging his upcoming album.... ...Last week, the Justice Department unsealed charges against Michel and Low Taek Jho, a wealthy Malaysian businessman with a tabloid partying reputation known as “Jho Low,” alleging they conspired to steer foreign campaign contributions into Obama’s 2012 campaign. It is a crime for foreign nationals to make political contributions in U.S. federal, state or local elections. Federal prosecutors...

This is a very crucial moment in history and a man like this does not appear to have the character and integrity to do one of the most important jobs in the world.”... enna Wang, 58, told The Daily Mail she had a secret fling she had with Democrat VP candidate Gov. Tim Walz when he taught in China. Walz and Wang had to keep their fling a secret because her father, CCP official Bin Hul, would have disowned her for being with a Westerner. Wang came forward with the story because of all the lies that have surfaced since...

"It’s a forward operating base for long-range bombers, and a port for ships, so that navy ships can sally forth from there," said Peter Layton, a defense and aviation expert at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia. "Certainly places in Japan and the Philippines are a lot closer (to China)... but a lot more exposed."

A small Ohio town is the latest victim of the Biden-Harris administration’s open border policy after 3,000 migrants from the West African nation of Mauritania moved in in the past year — lured by TikTokers who are posting instruction videos with maps of the Cincinnati suburb. The influx has nearly doubled Lockland’s population of 3,500 in a matter of months, local officials say. “With the federal government’s open border policy, these immigration population outbursts have been left for small villages like Lockland to have to deal with,” Mayor Mark Mason told WCPO.

Chinese hackers tried to break into the cellphones of former President Donald Trump and GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance by compromising US telecommunications systems, a shocking breach revealed 11 days before the US election. The sophisticated hacking campaign targeted Verizon and may have gained access to data or messages sent by Trump, 78, and Vance, 40. The hack was first reported Friday by the New York Times. Trump and Vance were only informed of the situation this week, though it remains unclear how many communications — encrypted or unencrypted — were obtained or may be still accessible by...