Free Republic

The ruling National Party of Honduras conceded defeat on Tuesday The ruling National Party of Honduras is conceding defeat in Sunday's presidential elections, a senior party figure said Tuesday, leaving leftist candidate Xiomara Castro poised to become Honduras's first female leader...

China has “enforced maritime management and exercised sovereign jurisdiction” over an uninhabited reef in the disputed South China Sea, planting the country’s flag on the tiny sand bank just kilometers from a key Philippine military outpost. Photographs released by Chinese state-run media on Saturday showed China Coast Guard officers unfurling the flag as part of an effort to effectively seize Sandy Cay reef, which Beijing calls Tiexian Jiao, earlier this month. The reef, located in the flash point Spratly Island chain, is also claimed by Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sandy Cay also sits just over 3 kilometers from Thitu...

The second possibility would involve massive Chinese missile strikes devastating Taiwan’s defenses and overloading its Patriot and other missile defense systems. Beijing’s army of “patriotic hackers” would crash the ROC power grids and shut down the internet and phone networks. Simultaneously, 100,000 PLA troops would hit the island’s beaches. Given the 12-hour time difference with Washington, “before the US wakes up.” Beijing’s objective would be to “seize [the capitol] Taipei in days and present the world with a done deal.”

TAIPEI, April 6 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te on Sunday offered zero tariffs as the basis for talks with the U.S., pledging to remove trade barriers rather than imposing reciprocal measures and saying Taiwanese companies will raise their U.S. investments. President Donald Trump announced across-the-board import tariffs on Wednesday, with much higher duties for dozens of trading partners, including Taiwan, which runs a large trade surplus with the U.S. and faces a 32% duty on its products. The U.S. tariffs, however, do not apply to semiconductors, a major Taiwanese export.

The Asia-Pacific sits restless—China’s shadow stretches long and heavy across the region, yet the headlines skim past it like it’s nothing. Ukraine’s grind chews up column inches day after day, Middle East flares snatch the cameras with every burst, but Beijing’s stacking chips steady—too steady to brush aside. A military officer’s eye catches one truth cold as steel: threats don’t always shout loud; they simmer low, and this one’s simmering hotter than most notice. This isn’t some dusty old tale—it’s a slow fuse burning under the world’s clamor, coiled tight, ready to catch fire if ignored too long. China’s running...

The United States must act as if the Chinese regime’s ambition to annex Taiwan by 2027 is a “realistic potential,” Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) said late last week.It follows a recent remark by the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, at an annual defense conference that Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s goal to invade Taiwan in 2027 has driven the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) investment “in land, sea, and air based nuclear delivery platforms, and infrastructure necessary to support a major buildup of their nuclear forces.”Meanwhile, rumors of escalated purges within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the...

President Barack Obama’s first act as a Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2009 — nine months after he took the oath of office — was to try to wriggle out of accepting it. “The morning the prize was announced, his staff investigated whether anyone had failed to travel to Oslo to receive their prize,” writes Nobel insider Geir Lundestad in “The World’s Most Prestigious Prize” (Oxford), out this month. Apparently, the president was among the 61 percent of Americans who believed he didn’t deserve it. “It is true, Obama did not do much before winning,” Lundestad, 74, a member of...

How Donald Trump @POTUS continues to be undermined & put at risk due to a lack of vetting in his administration. Want to see another vetting failure at the NSC which further exposes the way people with close proximity to Trump haters have been elevated to national security and intel roles in the Trump admin, despite a documented history of unethical behavior and associations? Meet Ivan Kanapathy. 2 months ago, Ivan was selected to work under NSC Director @MikeWaltz47 as the NSC Director for Asia, where he is responsible for crafting the Trump administration’s approach to China and Taiwan. This...

Shares sagged Thursday in Asia, apart from China, after President Donald Trump announced he will slap 25per cent tariffs on imported cars. Trump said he was raising duties on auto imports to encourage more manufacturing in the US, but the impact will be complicated since US automakers and even foreign manufacturers with factories in the U.S. Source many of their components from around the world. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 1per cent to 37,662.36. Toyota Motor Corp stock dove 3.2per cent, while Honda Motor Co stock dipped 2.8per cent. Nissan was down 2.6per cent. Mazda Motor Corp shares dropped 6.5per...

New imagery has appeared of one of China’s new ‘invasion barges,’ which involves a temporary pier that can be connected to other vessels via a barge, or series of barges, with jack-up supports for more stability. The development of jack-up barges is widely seen as part of preparations for a possible invasion of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China.

If President Donald Trump can negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, communist China could become the next target of the United States, analysts say.During a phone call on Feb. 24, Chinese leader Xi Jinping reaffirmed the “no limit” partnership he declared three years ago with Russian President Vladimir Putin.In a show of unity, Xi told Putin that their nations are “good neighbors” and “true friends who have been through thick and thin together,” according to Beijing’s readout.Analysts said the warm sentiments expressed as the war in Ukraine marks its third year reflect the Chinese regime’s serious concerns.“Xi Jinping’s...

President Donald Trump is expected to announce a $100 billion investment from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to bolster chip manufacturing over the next four years in the U.S, NBC has learned. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news. TSMC, which supplies semiconductors to the likes of Nvidia and Apple for artificial intelligence use, would help support the Trump administration’s efforts to make the U.S. an artificial intelligence hub. Last month, Trump announced a multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure project with Oracle , OpenAI and Softbank. Trump has repeatedly called out and accused Taiwan of stealing the U.S. chip manufacturing business and touted...

Even as the Trump administration is trying to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine (and saying some things in the process that aren't remotely fair), the administration also seems to be hinting it is changing the US's long-held position on Taiwan. The change to a State Department fact sheet was small but significant.The fact sheet, produced by the department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the U.S. opposes "any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-Strait differences to be resolved by peaceful...

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."

When a president builds his cabinet, the public tends to focus on the big names—the high-profile, flashy positions. And sure, those are important. But there are other roles that are just as critical—maybe even more so—but they slip under the radar because they don’t come with headlines or media hype. That’s the problem. The quiet nominations, like Elbridge Colby’s, fly way under the radar, making them easy targets for sabotage by GOP RINOs and the Deep State. And by the time we realize what happened—when Trump’s policies start failing, and when the betrayals start to stack up—it’s too late. And...

Statements by Adm Paparo, head of the of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command - warns about Beijing’s plans. "Two months ago Beijing practiced sealing off the First Island Chain, which runs from Japan south to Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia. The goal is to cut off Western support for Taiwan in a blockade or invasion. A military exercise in October 2024 was practice for a blockade. " "Adm. Paparo said this week that China’s “aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan right now are not exercises, as they call them. They are rehearsals” for “the forced unification of Taiwan to the mainland.” "Taiwan has to...

"Ukraine and Europe must be part of all negotiations" A group of nations including Ukraine, Poland, the UK and EU demanding... 12 people have been hurt in a grenade attack on a bar in Grenoble, France... The Trump Administration Justice Department suing New York State and top officials... A federal judge ending his pause on the Trump Administration buyout program for federal employees... British politics the latest "You Gov" poll puts Reform UK at 26 percent, Labor at 25 percent and... In Ukraine US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant has given Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky... A US military plane crashing... An...

Democratic strategist David Axelrod said President Trump’s remarks about taking over Gaza may give China ideas “as they eye Taiwan.” On Tuesday, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he floated the idea of the U.S. taking over the Gaza Strip. He suggested Americans should be responsible for cleaning up and rebuilding the destructed region. Axelrod joined CNN on Tuesday and noted that world leaders typically don’t invade other countries because of the message it sends worldwide. He highlighted Trump’s 2022 comment when he called Russia’s move to invade Ukraine “genius.” If another country can “roll in” and...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed on Tuesday how to build ties with Donald Trump, prospects for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and Moscow's firm support for Beijing's position on Taiwan. Xi and Putin, who spoke for an hour and 35 minutes by video call after Trump was sworn in as U.S. president on Monday -snip- Putin, 72, speaking from his Novo-Ogarevo residency outside Moscow and Xi, 71, speaking from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, called each other "dear friends", and Xi told Putin about a call with Trump...

Washington -- President-elect Donald Trump wants to travel to China after he takes office as part of his effort to deepen relations with Beijing, and also has talked to advisors about visit to India, a media report said Saturday. Trump, who arrived at the Dulles International Airport aboard a special plane along with First Lady Melania and son Barron, had during his election campaign threatened to impose additional tariffs on China. “President-elect Donald Trump has told advisors he wants to travel to China after he takes office, according to people familiar with the discussions, seeking to deepen a relationship with...