The Taiwan count down has begun!

[D2D]

Taiwan's vice president accuses China of attempting to influence the country's upcoming election!

Taiwan's presidential elections are set for January 2024!

Taiwan’s vice president and front-runner in upcoming presidential elections accused China on Friday of employing unfair trade practices that could be used to influence the voting.

William Lai, in a meeting with foreign journalists in Taipei, said China "will be hoping to interfere in the elections with all sorts of tactics." If they succeed, he said, "it will be an undermining of Taiwan’s democracy."

His comments come after China announced on Monday that it was suspending mango imports from Taiwan, alleging that authorities had detected pests on the fruit. The trade curb is widely believed to be politically motivated.

Lai said Beijing was engaging in "unfair trade practices against our agricultural products, potentially in an effort to undermine the coming elections."

Taiwan is due to hold presidential elections in January 2024.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/taiwans-vice-president-accuses-china-attempting-influence-countrys-upcoming-election

Nothing new there given China has been running America's elections for a decade!

[D2D]

Democrats have no interest in the freedom of Taiwan!

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Beijing Biden will continue to encourage China to invade Taiwan!

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Chinese electronic spies target Taiwan, Microsoft report claims!

Flax Typhoon group 'living off the land' in compromised networks!

A group of state-sponsored Chinese hackers carried out attacks against dozens of organizations in Taiwan as part of a sophisticated cyber-espionage operation, according to a report by computer software giant Microsoft.

The group, using the code name “Flax Typhoon,” succeeded in maintaining long-term access inside computer networks in Taiwan with the minimal use of malicious software, relying instead on features of the operating systems themselves to maintain access.

“Microsoft attributes this campaign to Flax Typhoon…, a nation-state actor based out of China,” the online report by Microsoft Threat Intelligence released late last week said. The hackers’ behavior “suggests that the threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access to organizations across a broad range of industries for as long as possible.”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/aug/28/chinese-electronic-spies-target-taiwan-microsoft-r/

[Truman62]

And yet you do NOTHING about Russia's interference in 2016 AND 2020!

Why not?

because they are trying to help Idiot Trump win!

[D2D]

You cannot take action against what doesn't exist!

[D2D]

Meta unveils covert China-driven 'spamouflage' operation to undermine the United States!

Meta purged thousands of Facebook accounts that it claims were connected to a widespread Chinese spam operation designed to promote China and slam the West.

The social media giant announced on Tuesday that it had removed more than 7,700 Facebook accounts and 15 Instagram accounts that were part of a campaign known as "Spamouflage." This campaign, which spanned across a multitude of social networks, aimed to post praise for China and attacks on the United States as well as critics of China.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/meta-covert-china-spam-operation-undermine-united-states

[D2D]

Taiwan Announced a Record Defense Budget: But Is It Enough to Deter China?


While Taiwan has significantly increased its defense spending over the past seven years, it needs to invest more to deter China and prevent the military balance from shifting decisively in Beijing’s favor. 

Last week, Taiwan announced plans to increase its total defense spending to a record NT$606.8 billion (US$19.1 billion), equivalent to 2.6 percent of GDP. While this might seem like good news, the reality is that this represents only a 3.5 percent nominal increase over last year’s budget of NT$586.3 billion and a smaller increase in real terms with inflation standing at roughly two percent. Most important, the proposed budget still falls far short of what the island should be investing in defense. Ironically, the smallest growth in Taiwan’s defense budget in half a decade is coming at a time when defense spending should be accelerating to confront the growing threat that Taiwan faces.

https://www.cfr.org/blog/taiwan-announced-record-defense-budget-it-enough-deter-china

Taiwan can expect no effective support from America!

[D2D]

Key Takeaway:
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) conducted a multifaceted informational, military, and economic pressure campaign in response to the transit of the Republic of China (ROC) Vice President Lai Ching-te through the United States in August. This indicates that the CCP aims to use ROC leadership transits as part of a larger coercive campaign to gain political control of Taiwan. The CCP’s threatening messaging, economic coercion, and military coercion in response to Lai’s transit will advance the party’s coercion campaigns to secure political control of Taiwan.

Republic of China (Taiwan) Vice President Lai Ching-te transited through the United States on his way to and from representing the ROC at the August 15 inauguration of Paraguayan President Santiago Peña Palacios.[1] The transits occurred on August 12 and 16. Lai’s transits through the United States were well-precedented. Ten ROC vice presidents have transited through the United States during the last several decades, for example.[2]

The CCP responded to the transits by messaging threats that inaccurately characterized Taiwan’s independence as well as with ambiguous threats about whether the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would respond militarily. The CCP launched military exercises on August 19 and initiated a trade dispute with Taiwan. This multifaceted response indicates that the CCP aims to use ROC leadership transits as part of a larger coercive campaign to gain political control of Taiwan.

https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/people%E2%80%99s-republic-china-used-lai%E2%80%99s-us-transit-advance-unification-campaigns

China's window for military action continues to shrink!

[D2D]

Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, India reject China’s new South China Sea map!

The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and India have rejected China’s newly released map asserting sovereignty over the South China Sea.

About the new map: The map includes a U-shaped line covering most of the South China Sea, a region marked by disputes and significant trade traffic in which trillions of dollars in trade flow through each year. The new map also has 10 dashes that appear to the east of Taiwan. The line extends into the exclusive economic zones of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

“China's position on the South China Sea issue has always been clear,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, according to Reuters. “The competent authorities of China regularly update and release various types of standard maps every year. We hope that relevant parties can view this in an objective and rational manner.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-malaysia-taiwan-vietnam-india-182520101.html

The window for CCP aggression continues to close!

[D2D]

Beijing Biden continues to invite China to expand its borders!

[D2D]

Quadrilateral Coordination: US, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan!

Japan’s daily newspaper Sankei Shimbun reported that the Japanese Ministry of Defense’s fiscal 2024 budget request amounts to an unprecedented 7.738 trillion yen (approximately $52.75 billion), marking a significant escalation from the 6.8219 trillion yen ($46.6 billion) allocated for fiscal 2023.

The proposed budget earmarks 930 billion yen (about $6.35 billion) for ammunition expenses, aimed at augmenting the nation’s sustained combat capabilities. A further 380 billion yen (about $2.6 billion) has been allocated for the initiation of construction for two naval vessels outfitted with the state-of-the-art missile defense system, Aegis Ashore, referred to as “Aegis system equipped vessels (ASEV).”

The budget also includes a 64-billion yen (about $440 million) allocation for the joint development of next-generation fighter jets with the UK and Italy, alongside a 32-billion yen (about $220 million) provision for the development of precision-guided munitions designed for naval and terrestrial targets. Additional budgetary considerations cover the installation of domestically-produced Type 12 surface-to-ship guided missiles on naval vessels, the mass production of hypersonic guided missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers (about 1864 miles), and the formation of a new logistics entity named the “Maritime Self-Defense Forces Transportation Group” to facilitate equipment and material shipments to Japan’s southwestern islands.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/analysis-japan-and-taiwan-amplify-defense-budgets-to-fortify-the-first-island-chain-5485175

Japan and South Korea are forced to make up for America's loss in combat effectiveness!