@findouter2@fermatslibrary Riemann wrote that the axioms of Euclid are “not necessary but of a merely empirical certainty; they are hypotheses; one may therefore inquire into their probability” and use measurement to answer. See my video: https://t.co/FPooCOz3uX
Taiwan fires U.S. HIMARS into Taiwan Strait during Cheng Li-wun's U.S. visit. Is this President Lai’s response?
Taiwan fired 32 test rockets from U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the western coast near Taichung—at a river mouth considered a potential PLA amphibious-landing site. The rockets were launched westward, into the Taiwan Strait and towards the mainland, reported the Wall Street Journal. It is the first time Taiwan has tested the system at a western landing zone rather than at the remote Pacific-facing eastern range traditionally used.
In the same week Cheng Li-wun arrived in Washington to argue for cross-strait peace, the Taiwanese armed forces, under President Lai, escalated. The Lai government’s HIMARS drill comes as Taiwan awaits delivery under the $11.1 billion December 2025 arms agreement (including $4 billion in HIMARS and ATACMS), while Trump holds back a separate $14 billion package as a bargaining chip with Beijing.
Cheng Li-wun’s discussion last night was inspiring! The event was sold out, and she was well received overall, even though many of the questions were stuck in the logic of the past, not the “miracle” innovation that Cheng said will be needed to chart a path forward. Lots of discussion among the audience afterward.
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.
An important step forward toward Taiwan Strait peace was made today, with the meeting of KMT Chair Cheng Li-wun and CPC chief Xi Jinping, the first official KMT-CPC meeting in a decade.
Many thanks to The East is Read for so quickly pulling together the original transcripts. ⬇️
I spoke with @JusperMachogu, who says that by stopping investment in fossil fuels, environmental organizations enforce poverty. Learn how environmentalism is used as neocolonialism and hear a better vision of the world in 50 years.
https://t.co/hQEfS1bPJt
Posting this just days after imposing far harsher sanctions on journalists, including Swiss military and intelligence veteran Jacques Baud, sets a new standard for chutzpah!
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.
📍 Rus ve Amerikalı uzmanlar aynı masada: Bering Tüneli yeni bir işbirliği çağını başlatabilir
🔎 Uluslararası uzmanlar, akademisyenler ve proje danışmanları, EIR News Service @execintelreview tarafından düzenlenen bir yuvarlak masa toplantısında Bering Boğazı Tüneli projesini ele aldı
💬 "Bering Boğazı, insanlığın jeopolitiği aşarak tek bir insanlık haline gelmesi ve hepimizin aynı gemide oturduğunu anlaması yönünde son derece önemli bir adımdır"
💬 "Eğer irade varsa, bir yol da vardır. Bu proje sayesinde, ikili ilişkilerimizin daha iyi bir geleceğine daha yakın olduğumuza inanıyorum"
💬 "Savaşın tek alternatifi büyük bir projedir. Farklı uluslar gerçekten büyük bir şey yaratmak için birlikte çalıştığında, vektör çatışmadan işbirliğine dönebilir"
https://t.co/0UUVWeU8Ia
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.
@AmberRae0982 I'm sure that some can be eliminated…
But I think that cutting investment in NASA reduces our future economic potential.
More important: Knowledge of universal physical principles is what distinguishes us from the animals.
We humans are born to discover!
The White House's proposed cuts to the NASA budget are devastating!
A nearly 50% cut to the science budget.
Say goodbye to Mars sample returns and the DAVINCI+ mission to Venus.
The proposal — not yet finalized as part of the official White House budget proposal — would slash science funding from $7.3 billion to $3.9 billion.
The question isn't whether you care, but whether you should care.
The technologies and production processes developed by NASA have spinoff effects for the whole economy. In effect, NASA costs less than nothing, as its benefits outweigh its costs.
Compare that to the military…
“They're going to run NASA into a very deep ditch if they proceed with this kind of savagery,” said a former NASA administrator, @billnelson. “If you savage NASA science, you have savaged our entire exploration program, and that will affect the human exploration program as well.”
“Effectuating these absurd cuts would destroy NASA’s ability to carry out its fundamental objectives, cut off their societal benefits, and spell catastrophe for the U.S. Earth and space science enterprise by throwing billions in already-made taxpayer investments into the trash heap,” says Rep. @ZoeLofgren, who has a history of supporting investments into science, including nuclear fusion.
@Molson_Hart Your point definitely makes sense. We don't currently have the power to support a large expansion of manufacturing at present.
Thanks again for your helpful post!