INTO THE LION'S DEN! (I mean, @AsiaSociety) How is the KMT's Chairwoman Cheng so good at this? She turned up at the Asia Society to face tough questions from @orvilleschell and @dannyrrussel, two professional China skeptics. But she gave bold, impeccable answers, and lots of hearty laughs! This is just my gloss...please go into the video for the exact quotes there's great English interpretation. -- On One-Country-Two-System: 1C2S was famously NOT mentioned the entire time she was in Beijing. But this is the first time I heard her say definitively that 1C2S is NOT on the table. She dismissed the comparison to Hong Kong, saying HK was a colony, so the UK have to hand over possession to China. Taiwan is already autonomously governed by the ROC. So there's no issue of handover. THEREFORE, reading between the lines, what she is saying is essentially we are going to keep doing status quo, but we are going to take Taiwan independence off the table. This create a lot of space for things to be sorted out. While she was saying this I was thinking...wait...is Beijing OK with this? Because it's basically sounding like Status quo is on the table as long as we also say nice things about China once in a while and keep a relationship going. Taking independence off the table is not a big deal because Lai wasn't going to declare independence anyhow. But he has attempted to salami slice by saying "Taiwan is already independent." By saying "no we are not, there is only one China" Cheng is unslicing that salami. -- In fact, according to the Republic of China constitution, there is only one China. -- Her goal is not a particular end state but to fight for the best lives for the people of Taiwan. As for the eventual structure one day maybe down the line, that will test the wisdom and creativity of the Chinese people. There's never been anything like this before? Well there wasn't an EU-like structure before they started the EU. -- If there is a referendum tomorrow, of course the Taiwanese people are going to reject reunification. This is because the ruling DPP has been in power for the past 10 years and has cultivated an antagonistic attitude towards China. -- However, polls bear out that most people are pro-engagement and approving of Cheng going to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping. -- "I have a roadmap step-by-step and it's the most pragmatic solution possible. The unrealistic ones are the ones who think there is a military solution for our problems. That's going to run into a wall and result in failure. -- You can only Make America Great Again by figuring out a way to live with China, not by going to war. Trump can be one of the most important politicians in this century by resolving tensions between China and the United States. -- Great little dig at Lai Ching-te: Taipei and Beijing is so far and I managed to go and meet with Xi Jinping, but President Lai and I are both so close geographically in Taipei but he won't come and meet with me. Now here's the rub...everybody can see this and I know there are a lot of Chinese people who is going to find her rejection of 1C2S unacceptable. But I feel like she probably already have some sort of consensus with the PRC. They might also have been wanting to ditch the 1C2S formulation because it's too tightly associated with HK now and HK is associated with the 2019 riots anyhow. It helps her a lot domestically to be able to say "1C2S? Absolutely not." I would call her formulation Status Quo where the " " would be engagement. "We don't want to be left alone, we want to work together." I mean, honestly? It makes sense. A lot of China's anxiety is that Taiwan would be turned into an attack dog at the bidding of the US. But what about America? It's not as if they've given up their first island chain business. But here's the thing...status quo is not a terrible outcome for America for the time being. Iran is still a headache. I think they'll have a cow or at least blow up TSMC if true unification is on the table, but Status Quo I think they can live with.

Freedom of speech is the foundation of our strong and vibrant European democracy. We are proud of it. We will protect it. Because the @EU_Commission is the guardian of our values.

This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump cut General Secretary Xi Jinping down to size. China looks a lot less fearsome today.

The argument that increasing tarrifs will cause adaptation by local industry assumes all parties consider the tariffs PERMANENT (even if we ignore the immediate impoverishment from decline in trade, the clumsiness in the abruptness). The problem is that everyone w/ a functioning brain (including people on the traditional "right") by now realizes that Trump is a bit deranged, erratic, & these moves are likely to be transitory. He could be booted out; the 4 year mortality of an unfit 78 y.o. is >20%. A huge discount ratr. Heavy investments take > 5 years, more than the political cycle & initially require more imports. Huge capital commitments require a bit of certainty. Some products s.a. wine may take >10 years, olive oil >12 years.

LIBERATION DAY RECIPROCAL TARIFFS 🇺🇸

NEW: I’ve obtained new footage of the abduction of Tufts student Runeysa Ozturk which includes audio of her kidnappers.

President Trump should pardon Edward Snowden. He is a national hero for exposing egregious violations of the Constitution by the Bush and Obama administrations.