Far East Watch
‘Epoch-making’: Xi Jinping urges home-grown AI breakthroughs – but flags risks South China Morning Post
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China’s investigation into its top general is taking President Xi Jinping’s years-long corruption purge into his innermost circle, underlining that even close personal ties do not offer protection…
from japantoday.com
The world watches closely as the brave people of Iran protest against the Islamic Republic (IR) regime. Regime security forces have killed thousands of people as part of a crackdown on the protests, with an estimate placing the death toll for January 8 and 9 at more than 36,500. President Trump urged Iranians to “keep protesting,” telling them that “help is on the way.”
China made a major announcement over the weekend, saying it was investigating the army’s top general for suspected serious violations of discipline and law.
Gen. Zhang Youxia was the highest military member just below President Xi Jinping.
The Defence Ministry said Saturday that authorities were investigating Zhang, the senior of the two vice chairs of the powerful Central Military Commission, China’s top military body, and Gen. Liu Zhenli, a lower member of the commission who was in charge of the military’s Joint Staff Department.
The U.S. and Taiwan recently reached a historic trade deal. Taiwanese companies will invest at least $250 billion in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest chipmaker, pledged $100 billion in U.S. investment in 2025. Taipei will provide an additional $250 billion in credit guarantees to Taiwanese companies.
China Rewards Central American Allies With Major Projects While Nicaragua Gets Little La Prensa – Noticias de Nicaragua y el mundo
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China’s Military Purge ‘Rivals the Cultural Revolution’ as Top Generals Vanish Vision Times
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Xi’s Power Wanes Amid Sweeping Party Purge and Succession Uncertainty Vision Times
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A South Korean court on Friday sentenced former president Yoon Suk Yeol to five years in prison on charges that included obstructing attempts by authorities to arrest him following his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
The Seoul Central District Court found Yoon guilty of mobilizing the presidential security service to block authorities from executing an arrest warrant that had been legally issued by a court to investigate him for his martial law declaration.
Taiwan has deployed coastguard vessels after four Chinese boats entered waters near Kinmen Island, sparking further fears over an invasion. The Coast Guard Administration condemned China’s attempt to use routine gray-zone conflict tactics to create false information about its jurisdiction, seriously undermining regional peace and stability.
According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard, the Kinmen‑Matsu‑Penghu Branch, unusual activity was seen near Kinmen in the afternoon. In a press statement, it explained that around 2 pm, personnel in the 12th Patrol District detected Chinese Coast Guard ships gathering in two separate areas just off Kinmen’s southern coastline. In response, Taiwan’s Coast Guard quickly sent out its own patrol vessels, moving them into nearby restricted waters so they would be in position ahead of any potential developments.
Keir Starmer warned he’s being manipulated by China in ‘spy hub’ plan Daily Express
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China’s Communist Party calls for reinforced anti-corruption efforts The Hans India
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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships arrived in South African waters for a week of naval drills starting Friday off the coast of Cape Town as geopolitical tensions run high over the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and its move to seize tankers carrying Venezuelan oil.
The Chinese-led drills were organized last year under the BRICS bloc of developing nations and South Africa’s armed forces said they will bring members of the bloc together to practice maritime safety and anti-piracy operations and “deepen cooperation.”
China, Russia and South Africa are longtime members of BRICS, while Iran joined the group in 2024.
The Iranian navy was taking part in the drills while protests grow back home against the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group — which also includes Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates among others — would take part in the drills. A spokesperson for the South African armed forces said he wasn’t yet able to confirm all the countries participating in the drills, which are due to run until next Friday.
President Lee Jae-myung Advocates Korea-Japan Middle Power Solidarity Post-Summits 조선일보
from news.google.com
Simultaneous disruption and progress, with a relentless Taiwan-focused capability development deadline.
That’s the overriding theme of the 25th edition of the Department of Defense’s China Military Power Report, released on Dec. 23, 2025. Despite extensive leadership purges and ongoing disciplinary investigations across China’s military and defense industry, the 2025 report concludes that China continues to make progress toward General Secretary Xi Jinping’s 2027 “Centennial Military Building Goal” and associated warfighting capabilities against Taiwan.
The report shows China’s military undergoing simultaneous disruption and advancement, with leadership purges and procurement-related investigations generating short-term turbulence even as Xi’s armed forces surge forward.
Chinese vice premier meets Disney CEO Xinhua
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Taiwan invasion to increase China threat for India in Ladakh? Expert on Xi’s war strategy, plan B | Hindustan Times Hindustan Times
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A team of researchers in China has just pulled the curtain back on a new sodium-sulfur battery design that could fundamentally change the math on energy storage. By leaning into the very chemistry that has historically made sulfur a headache for engineers, they have managed to build a cell that is incredibly cheap to make but still packs a massive energy punch.
The design, which is currently being tested in the lab, uses dirt-cheap ingredients: sulfur, sodium, aluminum, and a chlorine-based electrolyte. In early trials, the battery hit energy densities over 2,000 watt-hours per kilogram – a figure that blows today’s sodium-ion batteries out of the water and even gives top-tier lithium cells a run for their money.
China warns satellites from Elon Musk’s Starlink are ‘safety and security’ risk South China Morning Post
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China’s Xi renews promise to take back Taiwan 1News
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China Courts Ireland to Mend Strained Ties with EU Modern Diplomacy
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China Social Media Hails US Maduro Move as a Taiwan Template Bloomberg.com
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US deploys two aircraft carriers to Western Pacific amid China’s Taiwan drills News On AIR
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China signals it won’t give an inch to the US in Latin America MSN
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China’s cargo ship spotted with drone launch system, raising military concerns newskarnataka.com
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A growing number of ultra-wealthy Chinese nationals are turning to U.S. surrogates to have children on American soil, taking advantage of America’s largely unregulated market and birthright citizenship, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
In one such case, Chinese video game billionaire Xu Bo has sought parental rights for at least four unborn children in Los Angeles, having already fathered or arranged surrogacy for at least eight additional children, according to the WSJ. The trend coincides with intensifying debates over the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of U.S. citizenship for anyone born in the country, a policy the Trump administration has sought to reinterpret.