Sarah Cook

Independent researcher & consultant; author of UnderReported China newsletter; fmr Freedom House China research director, views my own

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

As @POTUS heads to #China, the agenda should go beyond trade and Iran. Three things he should raise:

1. Transnational repression - incl #Xijinping's links to CCP agents in the U.S.
2. Political prisoners with U.S. family.
3. Industrial scale AI distillation.

Full details in my article below.

[UnveiledChina @Unveiled_ChinaX]

Beijing’s global influence machinery is in overdrive, weaponizing overseas diaspora networks to systematically isolate Taiwan.

A joint declaration issued by the Brazil Association for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China and the Brazilian Chinese Association—along with 67 other pro-Beijing immigrant organizations—has launched a fierce, coordinated attack against Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. The statement fiercely condemns Lai’s recent inaugural address, accusing him of pushing a treacherous "two states" narrative, and aggressively declares that Taiwan remains an inalienable slice of Chinese territory.

This sudden outburst from São Paulo is far from a spontaneous organic movement. It is a highly calculated, textbook manifestation of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front tactics. Beijing systematically utilizes these front organizations across the globe to parrot state propaganda, manufacture artificial international consensus, and stifle democratic self-determination from afar.

The strategy reveals just how deeply the regime's tentacles reach into foreign civil societies. As the geopolitical chess match over the Taiwan Strait intensifies, Beijing is increasingly deploying its weaponized network of global proxy groups to enforce its political will and silence dissent on the world stage.

#UnveiledChina #UnitedFront #TaiwanStrait #Geopolitics #ChinaPropaganda #LaiChingTe #GlobalInfluence #ForeignInterference

[Emily Feng 冯哲芸 @EmilyZFeng]

Absolutely not surprising but a limited leak of a Chinese local surveillance platform drawing off an apparently large national one has a special drop down for tracking for tracking foreign journalists in China… including me. @NetAskari found the data https://t.co/z6v9TrFiPe

[Wanjun Xie @xie_wanjun]

Before Air Force One left China, all members of the U.S. delegation threw away the souvenirs and gifts given to them by the Chinese side, including gifts, badges, brooches, souvenirs, and cell phones.

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

The old Chinese version is different from the English one strikes again!

[Bonnie Glaser / 葛來儀 @BonnieGlaser]

All the issues below were included in the US readout of the day 1 Xi-Trump talks. None of them were included in the Chinese readout:
* increase Chinese investment into US industries
* build on progress in ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the US
* increase Chinese purchases of US ag products
* keep the Strait of Hormuz open to allow free flow of energy
* oppose the militarization of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's effort to charge a toll for its use
* Chinese interest in purchasing more US oil to reduce dependence on the Strait in the future.
* Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.

[Luke de Pulford @lukedepulford]

This is hilarious. They have literally changed Rubio’s name to get around the fact that he remains sanctioned (and therefore barred from) China.

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

Well said. Taiwan is so valuable to the world and its people just as a thriving democracy and incredibly rich cultural place. But for those who feel this isn’t enough for the U.S. to protect it from the CCP’s encroachments, in the AI age its tech capacity and autonomy are vital.

[Hudson Institute @HudsonInstitute]

Taiwan is often described as one more negotiable item in a crowded US-China agenda.

That is a mistake.

The island is the factory floor for US leadership in AI, and Taiwan's autonomy is indispensable to US interests, @alexanderbenard and David Feith argue.

A thread 🧵

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

Good.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

U.S. Delegation in China is under strict “digital lockdown" 🇺🇸🇨🇳

The entire U.S. delegation, led by President Trump, has left their personal smartphones, laptops, and tablets at home.

Instead, officials, aides, and Secret Service personnel are using specially issued “clean” or burner devices with heavily restricted functionality and limited data access.

U.S. federal guidelines strictly prohibit plugging any equipment into unknown USB ports or local charging stations due to the high risk of malware or data theft.

Only verified government chargers and power banks are permitted.

American officials are operating on the assumption that every Wi-Fi network and electronic device in China is potentially compromised.

These extreme digital hygiene measures apply not only to government officials but also to the CEOs of major American corporations accompanying Trump.

China’s embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu has rejected all accusations of cyber espionage.

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

President Trump should totally respond to Xi Jinping’s statement on Taiwan with his own non-negotiable T: transnational repression.

Just today a jury convicted a Chinese agent of running an illegal police station in New York and monitoring dissidents while countering peaceful protesters like Falun Gong practitioners during a 2015 visit that Xi made to the US. Trump should just tell him this needs to stop.

For more on why that’s not only principled but also strategic for the US see my latest article at UnderReported China.

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

Man who ran Chinese police station in NYC convicted. Pretty nice timing for a second big story on prosecution of a China agent - maybe it’ll help get transnational repression and CCP influence on the summit agenda after all.

https://t.co/sCibGk1Em8

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

https://t.co/VpG6l2B3Up

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

President Trump should totally respond to Xi Jinping’s statement on Taiwan with his own non-negotiable T: transnational repression.

Just today a jury convicted a Chinese agent of running an illegal police station in New York and monitoring dissidents while countering peaceful protesters like Falun Gong practitioners during a 2015 visit that Xi made to the US. Trump should just tell him this needs to stop.

For more on why that’s not only principled but also strategic for the US see my latest article at UnderReported China.

[Christopher Walker @Walker_CT]

Taiwan’s democracy is object of an intensive campaign of intimidation and encroachment by Beijing. This piece, with views from @cepa experts Jim Lewis @bueti @Sarah_G_Cook & me, puts the stakes for Taiwan and world into context at time of US-China summit https://t.co/kMrkiWMBOt

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

Man who ran Chinese police station in NYC convicted. Pretty nice timing for a second big story on prosecution of a China agent - maybe it’ll help get transnational repression and CCP influence on the summit agenda after all.

https://t.co/sCibGk1Em8

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

Absolutely. It shows the U.S. can have and use leverage when it wants. I’m sure whoever the official was who had to approve Rubio was gritting their teeth.

[China Uncensored @ChinaUncensored]

This is the best part of the trip

[楊建利/Jianli Yang @yangjianli001]

My latest in The Diplomat.
A 7-Year-Old American Boy Is Trapped in China Because His Father Made Art, by @yangjianli001 https://t.co/ktSnJw5car
In what can only be described as collective punishment, the young son of detained artist Gao Zhen is being prevented from returning home to the United States

[China Commission @CECCgov]

Watch tomorrow's hearing starting at 10am(EST) on the @CECCgov YouTube Channel featuring @JanJekielek @SamuelBrownback @KalbinurSidik and @Eastofethan https://t.co/iXXOj5cfyj

[Christopher Walker @Walker_CT]

“What to Watch at the US-China Summit”- @cepa insights on the Trump-Xi meeting from @bueti @Sarah_G_Cook Jim Lewis and me https://t.co/lRu1zKUSTz

[Bill Bishop @niubi]

A big lesson of my China visit: compute shortages are holding back Chinese AI https://t.co/A2zc5m6gJI "One estimate suggests that OpenAI has about as much compute as the entire Chinese AI industry."

[Sarah Cook @Sarah_G_Cook]

As President Trump heads to #China, the agenda should go beyond trade and Iran. Three things he should raise:

1. PRC Transnational repression targeting Americans - including Xi Jinping's own links to CCP agents being prosecuted in the U.S.
2. A full list of political and religious prisoners with U.S. family or other ties - call for their immediate release.
3. Large-scale AI distillation - the implications go beyond IP theft.

Putting these on the agenda is not only principled, it's also strategic. When Chinese security agencies and tech firms run roughshod over the rights of U.S. citizens, refugees, companies, and U.S. national security, it signals to Xi that the U.S. cannot defend itself. That weakens deterrence on a whole host of other issues.

See my full piece at UnderReportedChina