You can’t escape the news of the school shooting in Uvalde, TX.  But the story has taken several surprising twists.  Apparently there are protocols for this kind of thing.  Police don’t just storm in and take control of the situation.  Despite the fact that the shooter was inside the school, killing children, police were outside arguing with distressed parents.  There’s plenty of video of the police holding panicked parents at bay while nobody knew what was going on inside.  We don’t have the whole story.  It will trickle out through eyewitnesses in the days ahead.  But the press conferences and explanations as to the actions of law enforcement don’t sound very good.  We support law enforcement and expect them to take action against the shooter immediately, especially when the lives of little children are at stake.  Listening to the spokesmen talk about the need for “specialized equipment” while seeing parents held at bay by police is not a very good look.

We have yet to feel the brunt of inflation.  It may cost $100 to fill your tank, but everything we buy is on the rise.  With fuel costing double already, the increase will be applied to every single thing we buy.  We may already be in recession, but it’s not official yet.

You’ve noticed that news from the war in Ukraine is dying out.  Our tormentors voted to insert $40 billion of U. S. aid into the fray.  Surely some of that must go to replace America’s dwindling supply of some items.  Who knows.  At the rate things are going we might need them.  The pretender seemed to say that we’d intervene if China tries to take Taiwan militarily.

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing in the world to outsource the production of electronic chips to a country China says belongs to the regime.  We don’t even want to have to imagine what life will look like if manufacturing is dependent on items that are unavailable.

There is growing evidence that the short supply and soaring prices of gas and diesel is intentional.  It’s looking, and sounding, more and more like this is part of the plan to “save the planet” by forcing everyone into modes of transportation that are impractical, expensive, and anything but “green.”  It’s unbelievable that everybody’s been thrown into an economic tailspin due to canceled pipelines and oil exploration  being placed off limits.  The last thing we need is some nonsense speech about “when this is all over.”  We can’t help but wonder what the world will look like once they’ve “saved the planet.”

The WEF (World Economic Forum) has been meeting in Davos, Switzerland.  The globalist institution has our future all planned for us.  They’d have to run over the Constitution, but there’s not much else standing in their way.  Apparently the powers that be want to give enormous powers over to a global body, one that sees the United States as racist, bigoted and unfair.  We hope there will be another chapter where we become the light of the world.  After all, it’s not the pretender who’ll be around to suffer what he’s wrought.  It’s our kids and grandkids.  They’ll never forgive us if we allow some jaundiced institution like the WEF to eradicate freedom in the United States.

Maybe they’ll be chasing us around about monkey-pox next.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 27 May 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Something huge is brewing, and it promises to be one of the most embarrassing, gut-wrenching experiences this nation has ever endured.  Media companies eventually have to figure out how to save themselves.  When something becomes so well known, or is at long last given credibility by one of media’s “trusted sources,” the dam starts to crack, if you’ll pardon the reference.

As you probably already know, the NYT has run a story admitting that the scandalous laptop computer is authentic.  Horribly, there are videos all over the place where the mainstream claim is that it was planted Russian disinformation.  Some of the videos are of the big guy claiming that he’s never discussed anything, and wouldn’t.  The “appearance” and all that. Brace yourself.  Most of the stuff that threatens to humiliate everyone is so bad it can’t be shown, or even referenced.

World leaders are laughing every time they think about the lack of understanding, and the kindergarten talk that has been on display every time our presumptive vp takes to a podium.  The pretender is about to go overseas to embarrass us further.  That seems a safe prediction.

If there were a concerted effort to weaken, fleece, invade and bamboozle, it’s hard to know what else they could do.  There’s so much damage already, it’s hard to see how we claw back an identity.  Are there really that many gullible, brain-damaged people in the U. S.?  Were people really swallowing the bizarre accusations against the former President, bad actors brimming with righteous indignation all the while?

It looks like nearly all their accusations, they were guilty of having committed.  Some of us haven’t forgotten that outright vitriol that spewed out of the mainstream in their universal contempt for a man who, not only loved the country but wanted it to flourish.  We’re finding out about people who were insinuated into advisory roles who undermined those they were supposed to serve.  That’s a major scandal the historians will have to figure out, assuming they haven’t been canceled and falsely accused too.

Our favorite little Dr. has emerged to say there’s a strong possibility that another wave is on its way, and we have to be “flexible enough” to return to stringent regulations.  Some of us weren’t flexible in the first place, but then again we live in a state that seemed to recognize the folly of authoritarianism elsewhere.  That it would even happen anywhere in the United States was breathtaking.  But there were “consequences.”  People were left without a choice. Obey, or else.  Maybe it’s time to pull up stakes and go somewhere else.  Many did.

It’s not clear whether the mega facilities we just found out about were involved in nefarious experiments, illegal in the U. S., or not.  Some of the aerial photographs of these facilities are shocking.  They’re huge!  The American taxpayer paid for all of it, but was not told.  What on earth!  Ukraine has been almost an euphemism for a money pit, and there are vast sums unaccounted for.  Meanwhile, you might be a “danger” to society if you believe any number of things that are proving out.  They sent the head of an oppressive agency out to speak that blather this week.

We can dismiss some of this as “old news,” and the media will undoubtedly try.  But something tells us that all is not well.  Blatant lies are being dug up, and are going to be on display.  Suddenly (or not so suddenly where we’re concerned) the evidence dismissed as Russian disinformation and banned from discussion on social media sites is proving true.  It should start an avalanche.  But we’ve seen the media arrogantly dismiss the truth as something that can’t be relied upon for years.  They better get it together this time.  No doubt panicked meetings are taking place in tall buildings.  How will they couch information that is reaching critical mass, that they’ve been running away from for years?

Where might the churches be?  They dare not speak of the fact that the great blessings from God are being denounced.  Apparently a bunch of congressmen, we’re talking a hundred and some odd, have sent a letter to the supposed executive saying that global warming, or climate change as they’ve had to re-define, is still the greatest threat.  What did we do to deserve this?

It’s time to face the reality that the Ruler of the universe may not be amused by what’s going on here below.  Maybe there’s a reason everything is going south, and everyone is coming north.  Enemies are suddenly a threat.  Putin keeps dangling the nuclear option.  China is sailing warships near Taiwan.  Russia is “helping” the administration with the re-reinstatement of the Iran nuclear deal.  Under the circumstances, how can this be?  The great deception better be good.  We can hardly wait.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 18 March 2022 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In his first one-on-one interview since assuming his post in Washington, D.C., last July, Qin Gang accused Taiwan of “walking down the road toward independence,” and added, “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict.”

It was an unusually direct statement about the U.S. and Taiwan. Observers say China usually speaks in more general terms, such as saying that the U.S. is “playing with fire.”

Though American eyes may be focused thousands of miles away toward a threatened war in Ukraine, U.S. officials and analysts have voiced increasing concern about Taiwan’s ability to defend itself. This week, 39 Chinese military aircraft flew near Taiwan, the latest of several such demonstrations. It’s widely believed that the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of war, though no formal treaty requires it to do so.

Ambassador Qin spoke of Taiwan at his official residence Thursday, where he welcomed NPR’s team to discuss U.S. relations with China and the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. He is a veteran diplomat who previously served as the chief of foreign affairs protocol for China’s President Xi Jinping.

Qin arrived in Washington last year at a time of bipartisan disappointment with China. It’s widely conceded in Washington that a decades-long policy of engagement with China produced great wealth for many companies but failed to spark democratic reform. Qin told us that any ideas of “changing China” were always “an illusion.”

He spoke of the upcoming Olympics with pride: “Beijing is ready.” These are the second Olympic Games hosted by Beijing, with athletes and others largely living inside a secure “bubble” to protect against coronavirus infection.

A “diplomatic boycott” of the Games by U.S. officials has added tension, though only a few U.S. allies have followed suit, and U.S. athletes will compete. The U.S. announced the boycott in protest of what it terms the “ongoing genocide” of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in western China. Qin rejected such accusations as “fabrications, lies and disinformation.”

He nonetheless asserted that some Uyghurs were terrorists.

“The destination for them is prisons,” he said, while asserting that others had inappropriate thoughts that they were being taught to change in “vocational schools.”

NPR correspondents have documented widespread imprisonment of Uyghurs, as well as efforts to turn them away from their language and culture. NPR has also reported a security architecture in the western province of Xinjiang that is even more intense than in other regions of China, with cameras and police stations that are nearly ubiquitous.

The U.S. has become more vocal in defense of Uyghurs as overall relations have soured. If either side hoped for a reset in relations after the departure of President Donald Trump, it hasn’t quite happened. President Biden has yet to remove Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods, and U.S. diplomats have traded contentious statements with their Chinese counterparts.

Of the many irritants in the relationship, the ambassador described Taiwan as “the biggest tinderbox.” The region has governed itself separately for generations. Unlike the rest of China, Taiwan was not conquered by Communist forces in the civil war that led to the declaration of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The former government took refuge there and, with U.S. support, eventually developed a democratic system.

Beijing has long sought unification with Taiwan and has not renounced the use of force to meet that goal. The U.S. has said it expects the matter to be settled peacefully.

“People on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are Chinese,” Qin said, arguing that his government has no desire for war. However, in a sharp rebuff of any effort by Taiwan’s government to formally declare independence, he said, “China will not commit to giving up the un-peaceful means for reunification because this is a deterrent.”

Even so, Qin said China’s “most important relationship” is with the United States, and he gave a straightforward description of his mission in Washington: “Don’t mess it up.”

Interview highlights

On whether Americans should be concerned about a Chinese attack on Taiwan:
“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States. If, you know the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict.”

On the prospect of military conflict:
“People on both sides of Taiwan Straits are Chinese, so we are compatriots. So the last thing we should do is to fight with compatriots. And we will do our utmost in the greatest sincerity to achieve a peaceful reunification. … But … that Taiwanese authority is working down the road towards independence, emboldened by the United States. So China will not commit to giving up the un-peaceful means for reunification because this is a deterrence.”

On policies and human rights abuses against mostly Muslim Uyghur populations in western China that prompted the U.S. diplomatic boycott of the Olympics in Beijing:
“The actual condition is that Uyghur people as other ethnic groups of people, they enjoy happy life. They enjoy the rights and the freedom guaranteed by the constitution of China. They are a member of the big family of Chinese nation. This co-called genocide or forced labor — these are big lies of the century. There’s no genocide at all.”

On whether Chinese President Xi Jinping believes America’s global status is in decline:
“Nobody in China bet(s) against the United States. Everybody in China, including the Chinese leadership, believe(s) that the United States is one of the most important countries. And the relationship between China and United States is the most important relationship. We must work well at ‘don’t mess it up.’ ”

Correction
Jan. 29, 2022
In this interview, we incorrectly say the U.S. agrees that Taiwan is part of China. In fact, U.S. policy is to simply acknowledge the Chinese government’s assertion that it has sovereignty over Taiwan.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2022/01/28/1076246311/chinas-ambassador-to-the-u-s-warns-of-military-conflict-over-taiwan

The post China’s ambassador to the U.S. warns of ‘military conflict’ over Taiwan first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

January 20 marks the end of the first year of Joe Biden’s presidency, an administration that promised to respect and rebuild the transatlantic alliance after years of neglect and disdain, that declared, “America is back.” But subsequent experience has not reassured all Europeans.

To get a better understanding of the expectations and hesitations regarding the Biden administration’s second year, I conducted interviews with over 50 European and American experts. And it appears that all is still not well in the transatlantic relationship.

Overall, significant achievements were indeed made in 2021 — resolving bilateral trade disputes, launching technological cooperation, coordinating relations with China. “This went about as positively as I hoped it would on the day of his inauguration,” said a former German ambassador to the United States.

“There were lofty expectations, especially among [American] Europhiles, that Europe would be more of a priority in overall Biden foreign policy,” remembered a foreign policy analyst at a Washington think tank. “There was this sense we would see a new day in the partnership.”

But 2021 was also a year marred by friction: Afghanistan, the AUKUS defense pact, the challenges posed by Russia and China, as well as political developments in the U.S. have all “fed a conclusion in Europe that the relationship with the U.S. will never go back to 2016,” said a former U.S. ambassador to NATO — whether former President Donald Trump returns or not. And now the challenge facing the Biden administration is to prove such concerns wrong.

“You have to know that you have no other friends than Europe,” warned a Polish foreign policy expert. “If you screw up talking with us, that undermines the U.S. system of alliances and that is not useful for the U.S.” And when it comes to the looming confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, Europeans worry the U.S. has not yet learned this lesson, and there is fear, especially among Poles, that a deal affecting their futures will be made over their heads.

Moreover, as observed by a former U.S. ambassador to the EU, AUKUS openly said to Europeans that “the China folks in the White House are driving the bus. And they don’t have an appreciation of the EU as a useful partner on things that matter to the U.S.”

As a result, quipped a Berlin-based analyst: “Anxiety, skepticism and bad juju around the pivot to Asia is prevalent everywhere in Europe. The fear is that it will lead to transatlantic decoupling.” And as Washington’s attention progressively shifts to Asia, more incidents sparking Europeans’ sense of abandonment or betrayal may be inevitable.

The first test of this could be Taiwan, which has opened a representative office in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Beijing has imposed economic sanctions on the Baltic nation and threatened to deny multinational firms exporting from Lithuania access to China’s market in retaliation. If Washington stands idly by while Beijing coerces individual EU member countries and corporations in this manner, much-vaunted transatlantic cooperation on China could prove to be a paper tiger.

More broadly, 2022 may prove a test of transatlantic solidarity over economic sanctions on both Russia and China. A Russian invasion of Ukraine would almost certainly precipitate American and European sanctions, including a shuttering of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, and there is growing support on both sides for sanctions against China for its human rights abuses as well. But with the European economy struggling to recover from the COVID-19 downturn, and the EU’s relatively greater dependence on both the Chinese and Russian markets, Brussels and Washington may find it difficult to act together.

Despite all that, the most corrosive development in transatlantic relations in the coming year may yet prove to be the deterioration of American democracy itself and what that says about the reliability of the U.S. as an ally.

The Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance has judged the U.S. a “backsliding democracy,” and, according to a Pew Research Center survey, a median of only 18 percent of the publics in nine European nations believes that American democracy is a good example for other countries to follow.

“No longer in Europe are they talking about who is the sick man in Europe,” noted a worried New York-based foreign policy expert, “it’s America that is the sick man.”

“America still acts as if it is the leader,” concluded a disdainful Social Democratic member of the European Parliament. “But the preconditions for transatlantic leadership have changed fundamentally. America is not as sovereign as it used to be. America needs its allies as much as the allies need the U.S.”

The upcoming 2022 U.S. Congressional election and Biden’s fading poll numbers also have Europeans worried. “There is panic [over] what will happen in the U.S.,” said a Washington-based veteran of transatlantic relations. “Europeans hear that the Republicans may win the House and Senate in 2022, and the White House in 2024.”

“The Biden administration is working in a very narrow window of opportunity,” noted a U.S. expert at a British think tank. “We may only have 10-11 months,” added the Social Democratic member of the European Parliament worriedly, “because after the midterm election, things may be different.”

Then the real question will be, observed a former high-ranking European Union official, “will Biden have any political capital to expend on things that are important for Europe?”

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/all-is-not-well-in-the-transatlantic-relationship/

The post All is not well in the transatlantic relationship first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Look how different the world appears after Donald Trump left office. Biden ordered a precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan and all the administration could do is brag about what an efficient job it did in moving so many troops out so quickly, despite the 13 U.S. service members killed in the last days and the translators and Americans left behind.

China for the first time is building a naval base in the Atlantic Ocean, off the African coast. Beijing is also ratcheting up military flights over Taiwan and again threatening to invade the democratic island nation. Biden’s response is to announce that he will not send government officials to the 2022 Beijing Olympics. That isn’t likely to put fear into the heart of President Xi Jinping.

Iran appears to be proceeding with its program to build nuclear weapons. Why shouldn’t it, given the belief by the religious regime that Allah wants them to have one in pursuit of the destruction of Israel and eventually the “great Satan,” which would be America.

As a Wall Street Journal editorial accurately put it: “The Biden administration’s problem is that it came into office believing that the main threat to world stability was Donald Trump.” The editorial adds: “China is buying Iranian oil in violation of U.S. sanctions, but the U.S. is also doing little about that. (A) Biden official said that was best handled ‘diplomatically’ and that the President had taken it up directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr. Biden weakened Mr. Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran’s nuclear program and has put nothing but diplomatic entreaties in its place.”

Rogue regimes only engage in “diplomacy” if they think they can pick the pocket of their adversary.

The West too often believes everyone wants to be like us. If that were true, wouldn’t they already be more like us?

Evil must be opposed, or it grows in nations, as well as in individuals. The crime wave in America is partly the result of soft-on-crime judges, prosecutors, district attorneys and calls to defund the police. Criminals naturally see this weakness as an opportunity to loot and kill, fearing few, if any, consequences.

Rogue regimes only engage in “diplomacy” if they think they can pick the pocket of their adversary.

The West too often believes everyone wants to be like us. If that were true, wouldn’t they already be more like us?

Evil must be opposed, or it grows in nations, as well as in individuals. The crime wave in America is partly the result of soft-on-crime judges, prosecutors, district attorneys and calls to defund the police. Criminals naturally see this weakness as an opportunity to loot and kill, fearing few, if any, consequences.

Source: https://townhall.com/columnists/calthomas/2021/12/09/putin-knows-biden-is-weak-n2600371

The post Putin Knows Biden Is Weak first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Southwest canceled hundreds of flights, leaving thousands of travelers stranded, then blamed everything from the weather to over-burdened control towers.  Surprisingly, no other airlines had the same weather or traffic problems.  It officially had nothing to do with pilots refusing the mandated vaccines.  You’re required to believe that.

Then it was the turn of American Airlines.  Thousands of travelers were stranded, just like Southwest the week before.  Except they canceled 1700 flights.  It was the weather and those notorious “staffing” problems.  Nothing to do with employee hesitancy to accept mandated medical treatment.

Apparently, everyone isn’t exactly following instructions.  The news has been reporting the same vaccination figures for weeks.  They might have hit a ceiling, but they’re not giving up.  One of the biggest problems is that seemingly all the companies dependent on good relations with the government, airlines for instance, have instituted the “vaccine mandate.”  Whatever happened to all the frightening statistics about infections and deaths?  You don’t suppose it’s fallen off?

You’ve heard the phrase public-private partnership?  We’re seeing it in action right now.  There’s no need to argue Constitutional issues.  Why, these are private companies and they have a right to institute whatever policies they deem appropriate, goes the argument. If someone wants to work for them or acquire their services, the rules must be followed.

The rules no longer need to make logical sense.  Somebody smarter than you will decide what you must do in order to participate.  We are no longer entitled to explanations or logic, and that goes for a whole range of subjects.  The science is settled, and the public will either knuckle under or live with the consequences.  They’re going to “save the planet,” along with countless lives if it ruins  us all.  The international buffoons who attended the ridiculous summit in Scotland barely knew the American representative was there.  They’re busily saving the planet and planning the future.

In Chicago, the mayor was prepared to fire police wholesale for their hesitancy or refusal to get the shot, or the booster, or what is stretching out to be a lifelong submission never-ending mandates.  But a judge has issued a ruling sparing the jobs of police, for now at least.

Critical employees of every description are facing punishment or job-loss unless they comply.  Some are specialists in their field, and cannot be replaced at the drop of a hat.  The supply lines are backed up beyond comprehension.  COVID of course.  Ships are stacked up at anchor, unable to be unloaded.  The docks have a back load of 68,000 containers according to a recent estimate, but population compliance with strict regulations are front and center.

By all means, continue to focus on corona virus mandates that determine whether or not you’re in business; that determine whether you keep your job; that determine whether you’ll be allowed to visit relatives or not; whether or not you’re allowed to attend a sporting event or stage performance or motion picture without proof of compliance.  Don’t think you’ll outsmart the system into a false belief that you’ve complied.  They’ll throw the book at you if you’ve deceived the vaccine police.

With the media and every large corporation and government entity in unison, the demands are coming thick and furious.  A mandate, to be enforced apparently by a familiar four letter agency on businesses, says that everyone will have proof of vaccination or face crippling fines.  Lawsuits are  flying, but how long does a lawsuit take to play out?  This stuff will be overturned, never fear.  Really?  When?  Are you sure?  We’ve been surprised at several outcomes at the highest courts.  You never know.  Meanwhile, lots of people are walking away from careers rather than submit.

Don’t panic.  There is still some sanity, or legal argument that will save our way of life.  But then it seems that the judicial system doesn’t always deliver justice, particularly lately, where government power is concerned.   A religious exemption?  Despite the guarantees of our Constitution, they tell us these are emergency measures that have to be taken to protect the population.  Notice that they go into effect just after January 1^st.  It might not go over so well if the holidays were canceled.  The economy depends on Christmas, unfortunately.  Many businesses derive the bulk of their income from the many aspects of gift buying and all that goes with the busiest of all travel seasons.  Needless to say, somebody somewhere decided that the holidays should go off pretty much normally (as long as everyone’s doing what they’re told) and the hammer should fall afterward.

You might have seen some of the exchanges this week between Senator Rand Paul and the diminutive doctor.  It was pointed out that certain words (gain of function) have been dropped and re-defined on official websites.  But experts agree, Rand Paul doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  That’s about the size of the comeback.  You might say, “But that’s the politics of this world, and therefore none of the church’s business.”  If we neglect to WATCH how the population is being softened up and made to comply with mandates from all directions, what are we here for?  At the rate people are allowing private and government entities to issue orders (with career and income implications), nobody will even notice when the Mark of the Beast arrives.

Religious exemption?  That’s being laughed out of the room.  The government’s job, suddenly, is to protect everyone at all costs.  Just do what you’re told and they’ll protect you.  Scenes from the border make you want to cry.  It turns out there is a plan to pay large sums to “immigrants” who were separated from their families by the presidency they’re erasing from history.  The denials about giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to aliens harmed by Trump policies weren’t very assuring.  Kind of like the “gain of function” denials.  It seems to be a trend.

Meanwhile China is becoming militarily aggressive, and everybody knows it.  China claims Taiwan, and no one dares dispute that claim and expect to remain in the good graces of the Chinese system.  Lots of people in high places are not about to offend those rulers.  It might even be an explanation for a major component of many of the problems we’re facing.  Something’s not right, and that’s a fact.

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 5 November 2021 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Tensions have hit a new high between Taipei and Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own territory, and Chinese military aircraft have repeatedly flown through Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.

Over a four-day period beginning last Friday, Taiwan reported close to 150 Chinese air force aircraft entered its air defence zone, part of a pattern of what Taipei calls Beijing’s continued harassment of the island. Just one incursion was reported on Tuesday.

Asked by a lawmaker on the current military tensions with China at the parliament, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the situation was “the most serious” in more than 40 years since he joined the military, adding there was a risk of a “misfire” across the sensitive Taiwan Strait.

“For me as a military man, the urgency is right in front of me,” he told a parliamentary committee reviewing a special military spending of T$240 billion (S$11.7 billion) for home-made weapons including missiles and warships.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan says it will defend its freedoms and democracy, blaming China for the tensions.

Chiu said China already has the ability to invade Taiwan and it will be capable of mounting a “full scale” invasion by 2025.

“By 2025, China will bring the cost and attrition to its lowest. It has the capacity now, but it will not start a war easily, having to take many other things into consideration.”

The United States, Taiwan’s main military supplier, has confirmed its “rock-solid” commitment to Taiwan and also criticized China. Beijing blames Washington’s policies of supporting Taiwan with arms sales and sending warships through the Taiwan Strait for raising tensions.

Taiwan’s special military spending over the next five years will go mostly towards naval weapons including anti-ship weapons such as land-based missile systems.

Chiu’s comments came after US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan and they agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement.

“I’ve spoken with Xi about Taiwan. We agree… we’ll abide by the Taiwan agreement,” he said. “We made it clear that I don’t think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement.”

Biden appeared to be referring to Washington’s long-standing “one China policy” under which it officially recognizes Beijing rather than Taipei, and the Taiwan Relations Act, which makes clear that the US decision to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing instead of Taiwan rests upon the expectation that the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means.

The comments to reporters at the White House were made after Biden’s return from a trip to Michigan touting a spending package.

The United States urged China on Sunday to stop its military activities near Taiwan.

“The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilizing, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Sunday.

Biden also appeared to be referencing a 90-minute call he held with Xi on Sept 9, their first talks in seven months, in which they discussed the need to ensure that competition between the world’s two largest economies does not veer into conflict.

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/biden-says-he-and-chinas-xi-agree-to-abide-by-taiwan-agreement

The post Taiwan defence minister says tensions with China are the worst in four decades first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

TAIPEI, Sept 1 (Reuters) – China’s armed forces can “paralyze” Taiwan’s defenses and are able to fully monitor its deployments, the island’s defense ministry said, offering a stark assessment of the rising threat posed by its giant neighbour.

Beijing is stepping up military activities around the island, which it views as Chinese territory. It has never renounced the use of force to bring democratic Taiwan under its control.

In its annual report to parliament on China’s military, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry presented a far graver view than it did last year, when the report said China still lacked the capability to launch a full assault on Taiwan.

This year’s report said that China can launch what it termed “soft and hard electronic attacks”, including blocking communications across the western part of the first island chain, the string of islands that run from the Japanese archipelago, through Taiwan and down to the Philippines.

China “can combine with its internet army to launch wired and wireless attacks against the global internet, which would initially paralyze our air defenses, command of the sea and counter-attack system abilities, presenting a huge threat to us”.

China has also improved its reconnaissance abilities using Beidou, China’s answer to the U.S.-owned GPS navigation system, the ministry added.

This means Beijing can monitor movements around Taiwan, helped by China’s regular use of its own spy planes, drones and intelligence gathering ships, it said.

China’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Although Taiwan’s report noted, like last year, that China still lacked transport abilities and logistical support for a large-scale invasion, the Chinese military is working to boost those abilities.

With precision missile attacks that can hit anywhere on the island, China is also capable of “paralyzing” Taiwan military command centers and combat capacity of its naval and air forces, it said.

Chinese spies in Taiwan could launch a “decapitation strike” to destroy political and economic infrastructure, it added.

With the deployment of mid- and long-range missiles and more exercises involving its aircraft carriers, China is trying to position itself to delay “foreign military intervention” in an attack on Taiwan, the ministry said.

President Tsai Ing-wen has made bolstering Taiwan’s own defenses a priority, building up its domestic defense industry and buying more equipment from the United States, the island’s most important arms supplier and international backer.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The post Taiwan says China can ‘paralyze’ its defences, threat worsening first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Greetings from Tyler,

Real life has become a science fiction thriller that we wouldn’t even watch.  It’s too predictable, not believable, and hokey beyond description.  It has ugly proponents who think they’re movie stars, telling us what we should and should not be doing,  They might change their minds in a day or a week, but we’re supposed to hang on their every word, ESPECIALLY when they make no sense!

Two governors in particular are in the crosshairs of the media, the CDC and authoritarians everywhere.  That would be DeSantis of Florida and Abbott of Texas.  Who do they think they are, saying that there will be no mask mandates or “vaccine” passports in their states?  They apparently realize that their citizens have had about enough.  We’ve been chased around over the last two years, many are willing to do just about anything to make it stop.  Take the shot, present papers, whatever.  People want their freedom back, and the ticket (we’re told) is to fulfill whatever requirements are demanded.

Both DeSantis and Abbott are standing in the way of the tyranny that is promoted as if for our own good.  Not so long ago, we were considered responsible enough to look out for ourselves.  But not anymore!  No, we have be to told, scolded, prodded and then punished.  Our representatives will look out for us.  Except they seem to be reeling with newfound power that has turned into a game of Simon Says.  Whether it makes sense to you or not, YOU WILL COMPLY if you want to access any number of goods and services.  It’s not the mark of the beast, but may be a precursor.  The “let no crisis go to waste” crowd has determined that they’ll make life miserable and block participation in commerce unless all requirements are fulfilled.  Where it ends, if it does, is anybody’s guess.

Who knew the CDC had all kinds of law-making power?  Apparently they can order everybody to do whatever they say.  Otherwise you’ll be in line for some kind of punishment, yet to be determined.  The current administration is working on that, and they have nearly every recognizable corporate entity to do their bidding.

You can hardly believe your eyes as you watch French policemen randomly check diners’ proof of “vaccine.”  Unbelievable.  You don’t suppose this nonsense is coming here?  It’s already here.  How in the world is anybody expected to accept all the bullying we’re being subjected to, while tens of thousands of third world refugees are being shipped into American cities and towns?  That’s the argument many are making.  Busloads are transported to cities and towns to take advantage of whatever the local church charity has to offer.  Half a million have come in since May according to the mainstream news.  The government is in effect paying “charities” to infiltrate the immigrants into American society with no requirements whatever.  Meanwhile, citizens have mandates.

Rand Paul says, “They can’t arrest us all.”  He’s urging people to stand against the “petty tyrants” and just say “no.”  If you think the vaccine is a good idea, get it.  But don’t do it because some bureaucrat says you “have to.”  If some business says you “have to” in order to have access, let them know they just lost a customer.  Well you might have guessed, Senator Paul has been “deplatformed.”  That’s but a small example of what we’ve been talking about.  A medical expert, Dr. Dan Stock gave a succinct six minute speech that apparently went viral, having been forwarded like crazy.  He said that we’re getting federal agency advice that contradicts science.  He said “vaccinated “ people can get and transmit the virus without becoming “symptomatic.”  He said several other things that are contrary to  the party line.  At the end, he offers to become an expert witness should anyone find themselves in a legal scrape over the “mandates” flung out across the land.  Youtube has deleted his video for violating “community guidelines,” though it’s still available at certain websites you never heard of.  It’s gone “viral” already.  The mainstream news knows nothing about it.

“Challenge accepted.”  That’s Amazon promising to save the planet.  There are now “global warming” commercials that feature young children leering disgustedly at the camera, and they’re madder than Greta Thunberg. They know that unless all transportation goes to re-chargeable  batteries, the future will be horrific.  Nobody seems to care where that charging energy comes from.  We’re just subjected to dirty looks from children, angry about global warming.  They know best and they’re none too pleased.  Thanks for “accepting the challenge” Amazon.  Major corporations are lauded for having “accepted the challenge.”  They’re going to save the planet ten years early, no less. Nothing has to make sense, you just do what they say and you’ll be fine.  You’ll still be able to access the business community as long as you’ve jumped through all the hoops.  Otherwise, let’s just say things will be difficult.

There’s no way to candy-coat the news coming out of Afghanistan.  As American forces withdraw, the Taliban floods in, killing those they don’t like and taking slaves of the women folk.  Everything was telegraphed in advance.  The Taliban was ready to roll in as soon as American forces departed.  Whatever brave talk there was about the Afghan army maintaining civility is out the window.  Twenty years of arming and training the  Afghanistan army and now those guns and vehicles are in Taliban hands.  Afghanistan is about to be back where it was before 9-11, and that’s the depressing reality.  Those Afghans who cooperated publicly with American forces are being flown to the United States.  The rest of the population is in trouble.  Which explains why they’re so happy and excited when the Taliban shows up.  Whoever has the guns is an honored guest.  It’s a cultural thing.

Is China about to annex Taiwan?  That’s a rising concern .  Who’s going to stop that from happening?  At this point I wouldn’t blame you if you gave up reading this Update.  The fix we’re in domestically and internationally is horribly depressing.  Sometimes maddening.  When Arnold Schwarzenegger this week said, “Screw your freedoms,” it elicited a response that I’d rather not have.  But that’s in essence a tenet of the indoctrination we’re being told to accept before they figure out how to force compliance.  Maybe a mark in the hand or forehead?

Mark

Source: http://www.intercontinentalcog.org/fridayupdates.php

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – 13 August 2021 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

In his speech celebrating the Chinese Communist Party’s 100th anniversary last week, Chairman Xi Jinping proclaimed that China has never bullied or oppressed the people of any other country. Yet that is exactly what Beijing is doing to Taiwan, and its intensifying aggression toward the democratic island is increasingly raising concerns that it will try to take it by force.

The question is not whether the United States should defend Taiwan during war but how to prevent war in the first place. Now is the time to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan security cooperation.

For years, world leaders have been hesitant to respond to China’s military aggression in the region. But Beijing’s escalating rhetoric and military developments are pushing Washington and its allies to work together in ways never done before, such as the joint U.S.-Japanese military planning for a conflict with China over Taiwan. Just Monday, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso declared that in the case of an attack on Taiwan, “Japan and the U.S. must defend Taiwan together.“

“Unifying Taiwan by force” as a Chinese policy has existed since Chairman Mao Zedong coined the term. Though the onset of the Korean War spared Taiwan such a fate at that time, China’s unfulfilled aspirations continue to haunt the Communist Party. In recent years, Xi has tied the annexation of Taiwan, which split from the Chinese mainland amid civil war in 1949, to his “China dream” for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” In the eyes of Communist Party elites, unifying Taiwan is the final piece in making China great again.

The Communist Party now controls the most powerful military in Asia, the People’s Liberation Army, and Beijing’s increasing sense of urgency to annex Taiwan is evident in major changes to its military posture. Beijing understands that the United States is the most significant obstacle to its conquest of Taiwan, and has transformed its force to specifically offset U.S. operational advantages in the Pacific theater. To this end, the Chinese military has developed anti-ship ballistic missiles, attack submarines and an array of air and naval platforms for conducting saturation attacks to overwhelm enemies, all supported by space-based systems that make it more integrated and lethal.

For years, world leaders have been hesitant to respond to China’s military aggression in the region. But Beijing’s escalating rhetoric and military developments are pushing Washington and its allies to work together in ways never done before, such as the joint U.S.-Japanese military planning for a conflict with China over Taiwan. Just Monday, Japanese Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso declared that in the case of an attack on Taiwan, “Japan and the U.S. must defend Taiwan together.“

“Unifying Taiwan by force” as a Chinese policy has existed since Chairman Mao Zedong coined the term. Though the onset of the Korean War spared Taiwan such a fate at that time, China’s unfulfilled aspirations continue to haunt the Communist Party. In recent years, Xi has tied the annexation of Taiwan, which split from the Chinese mainland amid civil war in 1949, to his “China dream” for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” In the eyes of Communist Party elites, unifying Taiwan is the final piece in making China great again.

The Communist Party now controls the most powerful military in Asia, the People’s Liberation Army, and Beijing’s increasing sense of urgency to annex Taiwan is evident in major changes to its military posture. Beijing understands that the United States is the most significant obstacle to its conquest of Taiwan, and has transformed its force to specifically offset U.S. operational advantages in the Pacific theater. To this end, the Chinese military has developed anti-ship ballistic missiles, attack submarines and an array of air and naval platforms for conducting saturation attacks to overwhelm enemies, all supported by space-based systems that make it more integrated and lethal.

What is certain is that the Communist Party is already taking action against Taiwan. For years, it has carried out deliberate and incremental military provocations below the threshold of armed conflict, with the objective of compressing the space in which Taiwan’s military can operate while intimidating its people. These operations have created significant challenges for Taiwanese leaders, who must carefully calibrate their responses according to the level of ambiguity and varying severity.

Such subconflict operations, known as gray zone aggression, include frequent airspace incursions by People’s Liberation Army fighter aircraft, shows of force by Chinese warships around Taiwan, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns designed to demoralize Taiwan’s society and undermine popular support for the government in Taipei.

Soon, it’s conceivable we’ll see escalation short of all-out war. The exchange of fire between Chinese and Taiwanese forces, small-scale missile attacks and Chinese seizure of Taiwan’s outer islands are all possible. If Xi’s bid for a third term at the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th Party Congress in 2022 should fumble due to internal opposition, taking military action against Taiwan could validate his credentials as both a champion of China’s great rise and a strong leader who can stand up to America’s so-called hegemonic forces.

All-out war, however, is unlikely to occur in the near future, as the People’s Liberation Army still needs to address significant operational issues to mount an amphibious invasion of Taiwan. But the Communist Party has proclaimed that the military will be a fully modernized force by 2027, which could be when China perceives a window of opportunity for a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. Factors that could tempt Beijing to such military adventurism include diminished U.S. deterrence and continued failure by Taiwan to implement critical military reforms.

Deterring this potential conflict requires the United States and Taiwan to create uncertainty in the minds of Chinese government elites, while credibly demonstrating the ability to impose unacceptable costs if Beijing should choose conflict. This means Taiwan must rapidly strengthen near-term combat capabilities and defense readiness based on asymmetric warfare.

This could be accomplished by fully implementing and institutionalizing the force modernization priorities prescribed by Taiwan’s Overall Defense Concept, which the U.S. government has strongly endorsed as it would effectively allocate Taiwan’s limited resources on systems that directly improve its defense strategy. The ODC aims to maximize Taiwan’s combat power to survive a Chinese attack, disrupt Chinese operational flow and deny its military mission effectiveness. Taiwan’s defense acquisition should be focused on systems that are cost-effective, affordable in large numbers, mobile, survivable and lethal.

The United States, for its part, should prioritize Taiwan’s defense readiness and work with Taipei to expeditiously reform and implement its defense strategy, while streamlining its acquisition system through establishing a U.S.-Taiwan joint working group that focuses on implementing the ODC.

Moreover, the U.S. should position stocks of munitions, spare parts and other key defense equipment that could directly improve Taiwan’s war readiness. This would also demonstrate U.S. commitment and political will. Congress could model this initiative on the War Reserve Stocks for Allies program that it maintains with Israel.

The post The threat of China invading Taiwan is growing every day. What the U.S. can do to stop it. first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.