Hans Mahncke on X - "Deepseek’s copy and paste operation built on U.S. technology is not the exception, it is the rule. The same pattern runs through every single supposed innovation, from reverse engineering the F-35 and copying Tesla, to now also ripping off SpaceX. Each step relies on Western know-how, only to be repackaged as a homegrown triumph. For crying out loud, they even made Covid using advanced Western biotechnology. But what is truly disgraceful is not just the rampant theft, but the willingness of Western leaders to keep flattering the Chinese regime instead of confronting reality."
Dr. Ben Braddock on X - "China’s distant-water fishing fleet—17,000 vessels strong—is stripping the waters of the Americas, devastating marine ecosystems, and destroying the livelihoods of fishermen. The fleet has a dual-use function as a grey-zone naval force, with vessels documented carrying military-grade surveillance and espionage equipment and engaging in coordinated military exercises. In this essay I outline a policy framework for the United States to confront this threat."
LA\/ENDER on X - "The fishing fleet just proves that all environmentalism over the last 70 years had nothing to do with actually saving the planet and everything to do with the west and politics. Because none of them have or are speaking up or going out to fight the boats. They continue to just lecture the least polluting countries for not using paper straws and getting their nuclear plants shut down."
Michael Kovrig | Facebook - "I was China's hostage for 1,019 days. Here's what Europe still doesn't understand. Beijing arrested me in December 2018, days after Canada detained a Huawei executive at the US's request. It held me in isolation for months, subjected me to daily interrogations, and never produced a shred of evidence. I was freed in 2021 only after the US dropped its extradition case and Meng Wanzhou was allowed to go home. China has never called it what it was: hostage-taking. And here's the part that should concern Europeans right now: the same thug’s logic that put me in a cell is the logic Beijing uses when it blocks canola exports, threatens the German auto sector, or floods EU markets with subsidized goods. It's one strategic playbook for weaponizing interdependence. In a recent Q&A with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, I spoke about what that means as Friedrich Merz prepares to visit Beijing. Every Western leader making the trip right now has a reasonable individual justification. But taken together, their visits send a message that China's behavior has no cost. That reconciliation comes without accountability. That the hostage — whether it's a person or an industrial sector — can be released on Beijing's terms. The war in Ukraine would likely be over by now without China's support for Russia. Think about what that means for Europe. And then ask: why hasn't Europe made China pay any price at all? The honest answer, as I told the SZ, is that European companies are themselves effectively acting as hostages, and EU governments are too afraid to act. That was an understandable position in 2022. In 2026, it's a strategic choice with compounding costs. Merz should go to Beijing. But he should go as one of Europe's representatives, not as a German supplicant. And he should make one thing unmistakably clear: a course correction is required, or consequences will follow."
Blume Industries CEO Balding 大老板 on X - "Because the China "experts" are out in force let's go over this and make simple for our intellectual superiors. I regularly get asked "what book should I read to understand China?" and I always say watch mob movies. They look very puzzled and then I explain: China and the CCP don't operate under a system most normal people can relate to. You want to send a message? You put a horse head in the bed, put one between the eyes, make them an offer they can't refuse. Have I made myself clear? Why do I mention this in light of geopolitical events? Taiwan arm sales don't matter because everybody knows if the PLA moves on Taiwan, Taiwan won't be the deciding factor. So when Trump lands in Beijing he will be able to scroll through pictures on his phone of the Ayatollah, Maduro, and others in his group chat with Xi. Trump doesn't even need to say anything the message is very clear. I guarantee, the PLA is studying everything in Iran and Venezuela very closely. Trump has totally flipped the board and sent a very clear message to Xi. The words literally don't matter. This is the geopolitical equivalent of the horsehead in the bed."
Jan Jekielek on X - "EXACTLY RIGHT: "I regularly get asked 'what book should I read to understand China?' and I always say watch mob movies." Remember, the CCP is a regime that enjoys a large scale murder-for-organs-from-prisoners-of-conscience enterprise, for profit and elite longevity. Talk means little. The only language they understand is expression of power, i.e. being leveraged into a position, or a horse's head in a bed. I wish it weren't true, but it is. We need to be realists."
Meme - Chinese Mission to UN @Chinamission2un: "On the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, we stress the importance of opposing all forms of Islamophobia, and call for dialogue among civilizations and respect for religious and cultural diversity. China will continue to work with Islamic countries, strengthen mutual learning, and advance our shared development and revitalization."
Readers added context they thought people might want to know: "Since 2014, the government of the People's Republic of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as genocide."
Asra Nomani on X - "Hi @MsMelChen @ConceptualJames:
Here are the full remarks that I found of Neville Roy Singham rewriting WW2 history and declaring allegiance to the Xi Jinping, the “CPC,” the Communist Party of China, and the People’s Republic of China. @XVanFleet explained to me that the West just went with CCP and it stuck. Singham is literally standing in Shanghai at the Golden Tulip Hotel in November 2025, later standing at attention to the playing of “The Internationale.” What’s more, he released that days a treatise on which he parroted the CCP’s talking points about WW2, used their name of “Anti-Fascist War” and said “only” 1% of deaths were Anglo-American. I have a full PDF at the bottom of Part 1 in the 5-part House of Singham series, at this link: https://foxnews.com/us/power-coupl e-chaos-how-tycoon-activist-built-revolutionary-base-house-singham Also, I’ve made public there a spreadsheet of every transaction of 223 transactions I found related to the Singham network. And Goldman Sachs closed his donor-advised fund in 2024. There must be more. I’m hunting. I can’t wait to get your review of the propaganda Singham owns under his own name. You’ve seen it all but even your jaws will drop."
Rutaso.Japan🇯🇵🐶 on X - "A former Chinese international student reportedly posted on social media that he had worked part-time delivering meals to Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and claimed that, “If war breaks out, I would poison the food.” The post included an image of the Shindayama military base. This is not a joke. Security concerns must be taken seriously. #Japan #SelfDefenseForces #NationalSecurity #SecurityRisk #PublicSafety #BreakingNews"
George on X - "The biggest loser in everything is China. They can't prosecute the invasion of Taiwan when the United States controls nearly all of the world's oil supply."
Vince Dao on X - "Like it or not, the 21st Century is going to be a power struggle between America and China over natural resources and strategic trade routes. And yes, who wins will affect the daily life of Americans. Ask the British whether losing their empire made their country better or worst. Geopolitics affects your economy, and its downstream social implications, no matter how much you vaguely reply “America First” when anything happens. Trump checkmated China for decades with Iran and Venezuela. His “random” moves on Greenland, rare earth deals, etc. are securing America’s own resource access. He is averting a future crisis by striking when we strong and they are still weak. I too have Iraq skepticism. We all do. But 2003 was 23 years ago. This is a different world, and a different US Military. We have to stop comparing everything to that."
Melissa Chen on X - "If you're wondering why Alysa Liu and her father Arthur faced targeted espionage and recruitment drives by the CCP on American soil, I can explain: It stems from the CCP's ethno-nationalist philosophy that views all people of Chinese descent - regardless of citizenship or generations removed - as part of the "Chinese nation" (中华民族 - zhonghua minzu), bound by blood and heritage. This "once Chinese, always Chinese" mindset equates ethnic identity with loyalty to the party-state. It's why special vitriol is reserved for those with Chinese heritage who are critical about the CCP (like me and many others). Under Xi Jinping, this has only intensified: overseas Chinese are seen as key to the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" tasked with "telling China's story well," integrating into host societies to advance Beijing's geopolitical goals, and serving as "grassroots ambassadors." The Chinese authorities hoped Alysa Liu would follow the path of Eileen Gu, who was successfully recruited to compete for China and has since fulfilled her role in "telling China's story well" - amplifying Beijing's preferred narrative on the global stage through her athletic achievements, high profile presence and dutiful avoidance of saying anything negative about China. The tactics used to co-opt the diaspora include:
> incentives / networks (offered to both Eileen & Alysa)
> monitoring and control (used on Alysa & her dad)
> coercion (used on Alysa's dad)
In Alysa's case, she was subjected to surveillance and espionage not only because she refused to join Team China, but also because her father, Arthur Liu, was a Tiananmen-era dissident who fled to the United States. The CCP goes to great lengths to surveil and intimidate Chinese dissidents living abroad. Alysa Liu's qualification for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics heightened the sensitivity of the situation as the Party sought to ensure that her and her father remain silent on political matters and human rights abuses while in China. Ultimately, the regime sees them, despite being Americans, as assets and extensions of the Chinese nation who must align with its interests. This is strikingly analogous to the Islamic concept of the ummah - a transnational community united by a profound shared identity that transcends national borders. In Islam, the ummah represents the global fellowship of believers, bound by faith, mutual solidarity, and a sense of collective brotherhood. It often fosters a loyalty to the broader Muslim community that can supersede - or at least rival - allegiance to any single state. While both concepts inspire deep transnational cohesion, the ummah arises organically from religious teachings and remains largely decentralized (though often weaponized by imams or government leaders for political goals) whereas the CCP's framework is state-directed, instrumental, and backed by organized mechanisms of influence and control. Liberal societies need to understand this is how the CCP operates."
Mechanical Engineering World | Facebook - "In recent years, China has become the world’s third-largest arms exporter, promising high-tech military gear at a fraction of the cost of Western weapons. However, several real-world conflicts in 2025 and 2026—involving Pakistan, Venezuela, and Iran—have revealed that these "bargain" weapons may not be the game-changers they were advertised to be. Here is a breakdown of why Chinese-made weapons are reportedly failing on the battlefield.
1. Pakistan: The Shield That Cracked
During Operation Sindoor (May 2025), India launched precision strikes against terror camps and military bases in Pakistan. Despite Pakistan’s heavy reliance on Chinese technology (82% of its arms come from China), the defense systems failed to stop the attack. The Radar Failure: Pakistan’s YLC-8E "anti-stealth" radar was supposed to detect advanced jets and missiles from 450km away. Instead, Indian electronic warfare (EW) systems jammed it easily. Missile Malfunctions: The HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles (China's version of the Russian S-300) stayed silent and failed to engage incoming BrahMos missiles. Furthermore, fragments of a Chinese PL-15E air-to-air missile recovered by India showed flaws in the rocket motor and software errors.
2. Venezuela: A "Blind" Defense
In early 2026, a US-led surgical raid successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. This operation was a massive embarrassment for Chinese military tech. Blinded by Stealth: Venezuela had invested over $2 billion in Chinese gear, specifically the JY-27A radar, which was marketed as a "stealth-killer." However, during the US raid, the radars were completely "blind" to American F-35 stealth jets. Maintenance Issues: Reports revealed that over 60% of Venezuela’s Chinese radars were offline even before the raid. This was due to a lack of spare parts and poor technical support from Beijing.
3. Iran: Crumbling Under Pressure
In recent US-Israeli strikes (early 2026), Iran’s air defenses—heavily supplemented by Chinese tech—were reportedly "pulverized." Slow Reaction Time: While Western systems like the Patriot can react in about 6 seconds, Iran’s integrated systems (using Chinese tech) took up to 20 seconds to respond. In modern warfare, 14 seconds is the difference between life and death. Inability to Handle Jamming: Iranian batteries, including the HQ-9B, proved vulnerable to high-end electronic jammers. US and Israeli forces were able to destroy the batteries before they could even launch a counter-attack.
The Big Picture: Why are they failing? Analysts point to four main reasons why Chinese weapons are struggling in real-war scenarios:
"Export Version" Limitations: China often keeps its best technology for its own military. The versions sold to other countries are often "downgraded" and lack the sophisticated software needed to fight modern threats.
Lack of Battle Testing: Most Western and Russian weapons have been tested in decades of actual combat. Many Chinese systems are "lab-tested" or shown off in parades but haven't faced a high-tech enemy until now.
Shoddy Engineering: From inconsistent rocket motors to buggy software, the hardware often suffers from poor quality control. The "cheap" price tag often comes at the cost of reliability.
Poor Integration: A modern defense needs different parts (radars, missiles, command centers) to talk to each other instantly. Chinese systems often struggle to sync with other technology, creating "gaps" that enemies can exploit.
Conclusion. For many countries, Chinese weapons were seen as a smart, budget-friendly way to build a powerful military. However, the recent failures in Pakistan, Venezuela, and Iran suggest that low-cost gear can lead to a high-cost defeat. As a result, China is facing a "credibility crisis" in the global arms market."
Visa-free visits to China are a risk for Canadians - The Globe and Mail - "China’s new visa-free policy for Canadians may appear to signal openness. In reality, it exposes Canadians to risks our government has found difficult to mitigate. Consider Huseyin Celil, a Canadian citizen illegally detained in China for two decades. Mr. Celil, a peaceful advocate for the rights of the Uyghur people, travelled to Uzbekistan in 2006, where he was detained and forcibly transferred to China. There, he was convicted on baseless “terrorism” charges in a sham trial condemned by Canada. China has continued to refuse to recognize Mr. Celil’s Canadian citizenship, thereby denying him the basic protections owed to him under international law, including consular access. His family in Canada has been without meaningful communication or reliable information about his condition for almost two decades. Their uncertainty is continuing; their suffering is immeasurable. His case is an enduring injustice and test of Canada’s capacity to protect its citizens abroad... Until now, visa applications provided at least one layer of precaution. Canadians could receive a decision while still on Canadian soil, offering predictability and some degree of protection. A denial, while disappointing, did not carry the risk of detention. The removal of this process fundamentally shifts that dynamic. Now, individuals must make the decision to travel to China without knowing how they will be treated upon arrival... Consular assistance – the protection governments provide to citizens abroad – is both a right of citizens and an obligation of governments. It is not discretionary, and not limited to situations where the host state is co-operative. By failing to effectively affirm the rights of its citizen, particularly over the last decade, Canada appears to be unable to prevent the gross violation of that individual’s rights. The new visa-free policy intersects with a broader pattern of surveillance, intimidation and foreign interference. The Foreign Interference Commission concluded that China “stands out as the most persistent and sophisticated foreign interference threat to Canada.” Beijing targets democratic institutions, politicians, and the diaspora through intelligence services to advance its interests and manipulate Canadian politics. The PRC views Canada as a high-priority target, not only for foreign interference, but transnational repression, in violation of Canadian sovereignty and security... Convenience cannot come at the expense of protection. If Canada is to deepen its ties with China, it must do so with clarity, consistency and a firm commitment to defending its citizens at home and abroad. When a Canadian can be detained, disappeared, and denied their recognition as a Canadian citizen by a foreign state, visa-free travel is not a benefit – it is a risk. It exposes an uncomfortable truth: Canadian citizenship does not always guarantee protection. If Canada does not confront that reality, it risks leaving its citizens to bear the consequences alone."
The Hill & Valley Forum on X - ""We made a huge mistake. And 'we' being business, government, and military." Jamie Dimon on China: "There was this general assumption they'd become more democratic and more free. And it didn't really happen that way." "Too many people were changing the supply chains just because they're buying a piece of equipment for $10 less." "Business was making a lot of money there and they were like, 'Leave me alone.' It was a mistake." "We need to say: 'Can we, if they ever become an adversary, have all the things we need?' Now's the time to do it." The Hill & Valley Forum 2026 @HillValleyForum @jpmorgan @ChairmanG"
Melissa Chen on X - "This is so rich coming from Jamie Dimon. It's the sound of a man who rode the China gravy train to the end of the line, pocketed the loot, and is only now saying the "right things" because it led his country straight toward a cliff. He and his f
ellow elites sold out America's industrial heartland, its workers, its security, and its future, all while making themselves and some commies very rich and powerful. How many of you know about the "Sons and Daughters" program scandal? From 2006 to 2013, JP Morgan created a special fast-track hiring program that gave cushy internships and full-time jobs to the unqualified kids and relatives of powerful CCP officials and state-owned company bosses. They're collectively known as the "princelings." Bankers kept spreadsheets explicitly tracking which princeling hire led to which big deal. Hooking up the right connected kid suddenly brings you IPOs and investment banking business worth over $100 million in revenue in China. America's biggest bank systematically sold out its hiring standards to suck up to the Chinese regime's elite, bribing them with prestigious Wall Street jobs for their spoiled kids in exchange for lucrative contracts. This is textbook corruption. The US government called it what it was - violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and JP Morgan had to pay a $264 million fine to settle the scandal. For years, JP Morgan made billions in China. Dimon himself joked that JP Morgan would outlast the Communist Party. Now Xi has tightened capital controls, imposed more restrictions and retaliatory regulations, showed state favoritism toward SOEs, and the macroeconomic environment (slowing growth, property sector woes, etc.) has now changed so much that returns for US companies in China are diminishing while compliance and legal risks increase exponentially. So the cynic in me says this isn't a real Come to Jesus moment; that fateful decision to court and do business in China wasn't a well-intentioned error in judgement to "democratize and bring freedom to China." It was just greed. And now the taps have run dry and the bill is coming due for the rest of America."
Martin Varsavsky on X - "The United States has a habit of watching its rivals shrink. The Soviet Union collapsed. Japan, which was supposed to own America in the 1980s, is now a far smaller economy. China looks set to follow. In 2021 China's GDP reached 76 percent of American GDP, and the consensus was that it would pass the US before 2030. That consensus has collapsed. By 2024 the US economy was 29.2 trillion dollars against China's 18.9 trillion, a gap that has widened for three straight years. China's working-age population is shrinking. Its fertility rate has fallen to roughly 1.0, half of replacement. There is no immigration to compensate. Yet America benefits from believing it faces a formidable rival. The belief is what keeps it competing."
David Hazony on X - "Back in the 1990s the Economist had something called the “hubris index” which compared a country’s actual international competitiveness vs. the perceptions of competitiveness held by its industry leaders. Highest level of hubris? New Zealand. Lowest? The United States."
Holly Doan on X - "Chinese police are a law enforcement “partner” just like the FBI, say @rcmpgrcpolice. Details of partnership agreement with Beijing cannot be disclosed “without their permission,” says Deputy Commissioner Brian Larkin. https://t.co/auh0X8VuQb @SenateCA @gignacclement #cdnpoli"
Dean Allison on X - "How is this even possible, it’s a complete failure of judgment. The idea that Chinese police are being described as a “partner” on par with the FBI is outrageous on its own. But being told that Canadians can’t even see the details of that arrangement without Beijing’s permission? That’s not partnership. That’s submission to a foreign authoritarian regime. We’re talking about a government that has been repeatedly accused of interference, intimidation, and operating illegal police stations on Canadian soil and somehow they now get a say in what Canadians are allowed to know about their relationship with our own national police. Who is actually in control here? This isn’t just a transparency issue, it’s a sovereignty issue. Canadians are being kept in the dark while a hostile regime is treated like a trusted ally. Completely Unacceptable."
Chris Ryan on X - "🚨 SHAMEFUL: Carney’s Liberals just voted as a bloc to SILENCE expert witness Margaret McCuaig-Johnston. She was set to testify on Chinese EVs built with Uyghur forced labour and they shut her down. Liberals love preaching “Canadian values”… until the truth about China 🇨🇳 gets in the way. This is what Canadians can expect from Liberal majority on committees going forward. This is what selling out looks like. Video in thread 👇 #ChineseEVs #ForcedLabour"
Melissa Chen on X - "It's fitting that 🇳🇿New Zealand's national bird is the kiwi: Because like the kiwi bird which was isolated with no predators, it lost the ability to fly and became easy prey when threats arrived. New Zealand imbibed the luxury belief that geography equals security, that "international order" is a given, and that someone else (the US or Australia) would always come to the rescue. Then when Chinese naval task forces started conducting live-fire drills near its waters and aggressively militarizing islands nearby, it finally woke up. Today New Zealand's army is small, while their navy barely has any fighting vessels left; their air force has NO fighter force whatsoever. This situation was really supercharged under the former PM Jacinda Ardern. Not only did New Zealand cuck itself by with pacifist posturing, it also indulged in her favorite ideological program, implanting DEI in every domain, and adopting the "Maori ways of knowing" in science curricula (lmao). Then Adern abandoned the country, took her family, and went to Australia (LMAO). Now, New Zealand has to build its armed forces practically from scratch. New Zealand is learning, late, that in a contested world, hard power still matters and predators don't respect flightless birds. This is the consequence of electing people drunk on idealism. Now, the NZ government is pledging billions to recruit personnel, buy helicopters, drones, anti-tank missiles, and boost spending toward 2% of GDP. It's a necessary correction, but rebuilding combat capability from near-scratch will take decades"
China bragged it meddled in 41 candidates’ campaigns in Canada’s 2019 election: report - "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) boasted it successfully managed to get no less than eight of some 41 preferred candidates elected in Canada’s 2019 federal election, an investigative reporter’s findings have revealed. Investigative journalist Sam Cooper, who works for The Bureau, recently made known that he was able to obtain an analysis published in February 2021 by a CCP-run group called All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC), which included the shocking revelations. The 2019 federal election saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government re-elected to a second term. In that election, there were no less than 41 “distinguished Chinese candidates” who were officially endorsed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Toronto-area ridings that saw Trudeau personally campaign... A report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) has shown that there are no less than 11 candidates known to have been directly influenced by China. The main goal of the ACFROC is to “mobilize diaspora networks” that are in line with the will of the CCP, as noted by Alex Joske, author of the 2022 book Spies and Lies. The report said that popular Chinese app WeChat was used to mobilize voters, going all the way back to the 2015 and 2011 elections. According to Charles Burton, an expert in the Chinese language who looked at the ACFROC report for The Bureau, the use of the term “distinguished” to refer to the Chinese candidates who were nominated “implies identification of candidates potentially useful to the United Front’s aims.” “This article clearly aims to guide the agents of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department in their strategic work to gain leverage for China by placing persons of Chinese origin into the Parliament of Canada,” noted Burton."
