INTERNACIONAL
Taiwan’s president targets China influence, kicks out pro-Beijing agitators amid rising tensions
KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan — Taiwanese President William Lai is struggling to contain both open hostility and private «wooing» by China. In late March, four Taiwanese soldiers, three of whom were part of a unit that provides security for Taiwan’s Presidential Office, were jailed for up to seven years after being convicted of selling pictures of sensitive information to China.
The verdicts came after last month’s speech in which Lai condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the harshest terms used by a Taiwanese leader in modern history. In his remarks, the president said Taiwan will not be «bullied or manipulated» and promised repercussions against those who make «expressions of loyalty to the enemy.»
Lai, aware of Beijing’s «carrot and stick» campaign, warned Taiwanese to be wary of China’s «United Front,» a political strategy employed by the CCP in which they – with plenty of smiles and often «investment» capital – enter international organizations and various influential groups and plant agents who then build alliances with targeted individuals, political parties and other interests.
TRUMP CABINET PICKS DELIGHT TAIWAN, SEND STRONG SIGNAL TO CHINA
Taiwanese President William Lai visits soldiers and air force personnel in Hualien, Taiwan, on May 28, 2024. (Reuters/Ann Wang)
But Taiwan’s government is swimming upstream against a very strong flow of Chinese covert actions backed by huge sums of Chinese money. Last week, Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu, along with two others from the president’s ruling party, were reportedly detained on suspicion of spying for the CCP.
For many Taiwanese, Lai’s enough-is-enough speech and subsequent actions by his government are a welcome change from a period of perceived vulnerability. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) insiders told Fox News Digital that they feel «Taiwan has been on the defensive for far too long» and that their voters «are tired of us being a punching bag.»
The DPP government is also promising to take a harder stance against what it calls Chinese infiltration. Taiwanese citizens found to have Chinese identity cards have had their Taiwan nationality revoked because it is illegal to be a Taiwan/China dual citizen or dual ID holder.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (AP Photo/Andy Wong/File)
China does not accept Taiwanese passports, so those here who wish to travel there must obtain a substitute passport known as «Taiwan Compatriot ID,» but these are for temporary stays. Some Taiwanese have sought a Chinese ID card to make living and working in China easier, but the days of divided loyalties are over, according to Taiwan’s government.
In the days and weeks after Lai’s address, Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency revoked the visas of a handful of Chinese citizens for making online content that contravenes local laws.
CHINA LAUNCHES LARGE MILITARY DRILLS AROUND TAIWAN TO ISSUE ‘SEVERE WARNING’
Taiwanese National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu, President William Lai and Defense Minister Wellington Koo are shown at the Songshan military airbase in Taipei on March 21, 2025. (I-HWA CHENG/AFP via Getty Images)
Taiwan has some of the most liberal free-speech laws in Asia; here one can stand near government buildings, wave China’s national flag and advocate for communism without fear of arrest. But calling for the «violent overthrow of Taiwan’s government by the military of the People’s Republic of China» is a red line, which internet influencer «Yaya in Taiwan» crossed, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior. «Yaya,» a Chinese national whose real name is Liu Zhenya, lived in Taiwan on a spousal visa and has three children with her Taiwanese husband.
But instead of treating her visa as a privilege, says Taiwan’s government, «Yaya» openly supported the forceful annexation of Taiwan by China. Yaya’s defenders argue that she, and others recently evicted from Taiwan, are being selectively prosecuted.
Yet some here are not buying Lai’s threats. Dr. Huang Kwei-bo, a professor in the Department of Diplomacy at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, told Fox News Digital that all this «get tough with China» talk is mostly political theater: «These dramatic Lai administration policy proposals are firstly maneuvers aimed at regaining control over Taiwan’s parliament, as well as building momentum for upcoming local elections in late 2026.»
Huang also said Taiwan’s ruling party, the DPP, is «crying out to get the Trump administration’s attention in the hope that Trump’s officials will be more willing to endorse the DPP in power and work with, or include, the Lai administration in any ‘countering China’ policy.»
A pro-independence activist displays a flag in the Ximen District of Taipei on Feb. 3, 2024. (SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Taipei-based political risk analyst and lawyer Ross Darrell Feingold said Lai’s moves correspond with the tough-on-China approach of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other China hard-liners in the Trump administration: «The Trump administration will want to see a government in Taiwan that is equally tough on China as the United States, whether in the political, trade or military spheres.»
A broad majority of Taiwanese appear to want tougher measures against acts that threaten Taiwan’s national sovereignty, but some analysts note the new tough talk has arrived just in time for Lai’s party as it hopes to succeed in an ongoing effort to remove opposition Chinese Nationalist Party legislators from office, win control of municipal governments in local elections in November 2026 and then help Lai secure a second term in 2028.
INTERNACIONAL
DHS unloads on anti-ICE Dems after man arrested with manifesto, ‘disturbing’ alleged plot to kill agents
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security is speaking out against immigration rhetoric from Democrats and launching an investigation after a U.S. citizen in Oregon was arrested and found with a manifesto stating his plans to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Last week, the St. Helen’s Police Department north of Portland arrested an 18-year-old during a traffic stop after he was found with knives and materials used to manufacture Molotov cocktails, according to police, Fox 12 Oregon reported.
The individual, Rayden Coleman, is also alleged to have authored a manifesto outlining a plan to kill ICE agents at a Portland ICE office in an attack using Molotov cocktails and a gun. Additionally, Coleman reportedly told investigators about his plan and that he was set to pick up an AR-15 the next day from a licensed dealer to carry out the attack, and he is also reported to have admitted making statements about beheading ICE agents.
«Every day there are more assaults, more vehicle-ramming attacks, more attempts to kill our officers,» Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. «Now, we have an American citizen planning to kill ICE officers with Molotov cocktails and gun them down. It’s disturbing.»
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE OVER ‘DERANGED’ QUESTION TO ICE DIRECTOR ABOUT ‘GOING TO HELL’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploy pepper balls, tear gas, and flashbang grenades as hundreds of protesters march from Portland City Hall to an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 1, 2026. (Sean Bascom/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«Sanctuary politicians comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols have real world consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must end.»
The DHS statement comes the day after several House Democrats railed against ICE during a hearing with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons comparing ICE agents to Nazis and the Gestapo as they slammed the Trump administration over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two anti-ICE activists killed during interactions opposing federal immigration authorities.
ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS says there is an ongoing investigation into the Oregon arrest with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and that Coleman is facing state charges on six counts of manufacturing a destructive device, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
Coleman is being held in the Columbia County jail and is listed as having a bail of $400,000.
ICE officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them, according to DHS, along with an 8,000% increase in death threats.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Getty Images)
As Democrats rally against ICE across the country, Congress has until Friday at midnight to fund DHS, with Democrats threatening to shut down the government if their demands for ICE reforms are not meant and as the days go by, the odds of doing so are becoming increasingly slim.
«I think they (Democrats) are using families as political weapons,» DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exclusively told Fox News Digital last week. «And this is a little bit different, because when it’s the whole government that they shut down, they’re not necessarily just attacking security.»
«This feels like a direct attack on the security of our country, our homeland. And it’s almost as though they’ve gotten so extreme, they don’t care if we’re out there on the front lines keeping our country safe from terrorists, keeping our country safe from murderers and rapists,» Noem added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
immigration,politics,homeland security,illegal immigrants
INTERNACIONAL
Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received «credible reports» of «life-threatening mistreatment» of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
Ali and Kiana Rahmani, children of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, attend the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 award ceremony, where they accept the award on behalf of their mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway on Dec. 10, 2023. (NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS )
Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
«The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,» committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. «Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.»
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
Ali Rahmani, son of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, speaks after receiving the award on behalf of his mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway. (NTB/Fredrik Varfjell via REUTERS)
An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present «to chant norm‑breaking slogans» and «disturb the peace,» Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,» it said.
iran,world politics,personal freedoms
INTERNACIONAL
Alejada de Estados Unidos y con Rusia en la mira, Europa dispara la producción de armamento
La industria militar europea vio con pánico el inicio de la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania. Kiev quemaba en un día más obuses de artillería y munición de los que podían producir las fábricas europeas en un mes. Los arsenales europeos empezaron a vaciarse peligrosamente para sostener al esfuerzo militar europeo. Cuando Rusia atacó, Europa producía menos de 300.000 obuses de 155mm al año. Estados Unidos poco más de 170.000. Rusia disparaba a diario más de 15.000.
Cuatro años después la película es totalmente diferente gracias a una combinación de tres estrategias. Primero se pusieron en marcha fondos públicos que sirvieran de palanca para levantar inversión privada. El programa ASAP de la Comisión Europea, con 500 millones de euros, fue el germen. Los Estados miembros pusieron seguidamente 2.000 millones de euros más y la industria añadió 8.000 millones cuando los ministerios de Defensa empezaron a firmar contratos a largo plazo que aseguraba la venta de todo lo producido, para rellenar arsenales y para seguir ayudando a Ucrania.
La segunda pata fue la diversificación geográfica. Rheinmetall se expandió por el continente y ya tiene plantas en cinco países europeos: Alemania, España, Bulgaria, Hungría y Lituania. Además, desarrolla en Ucrania una fábrica conjunta con un socio empresarial ucraniano. KNDS fabrica ya en Francia, Italia y Letonia. Nammo en Noruega, Finlandia, Suecia y ultima la apertura de una fábrica en Dinamarca.
El tercer paso fue abrir el cuello de botella que frenaba el aumento de la fabricación de obuses. El problema no estaba en fabricar las carcasas metálicas, sino en rellenarlas de explosivos. KNDS usó 41 millones de euros del programa europeo para aumentar su producción de pólvora. Nammo triplicó esa capacidad en tres años en una fábrica sueca.
Europa producirá ya este año más de dos millones de obuses de artillería, más del doble que la industria estadounidense y sólo superada por una Rusia que tiene aportes sustanciales de Corea del Norte.
Para cuando arranque 2027, la producción europea llegará a 2,5 millones de obuses. Washington, en cambio, calculaba alcanzar 1,2 millones en 2025 pero se ha estancado en poco más de medio millón y ahora estima que necesitará todo 2026 para llegar al millón. Europa aumenta su capacidad militar industrial porque sabe que poco puede contar ya con Estados Unidos y que debe seguir armando a Ucrania y rellenar sus arsenales.
El cambio vino de la mano principalmente de unas pocas empresas: Rheinmetall, KNDS, BAE Systems y Nammo. Atraídas por los fondos nacionales y europeos, pero sobre todo por contratos a largo plazo que les aseguran ventas durante lo que queda de década, lanzaron una fuerte inversión en nuevas plantas y en nuevas líneas de fabricación.
El símbolo está en Unterlub, un pueblo de la Baja Sajonia alemana donde Rheinmetall inauguró la mayor fábrica de munición de Europa, construida en menos de 18 meses y con una inversión de más de 500 millones de euros. Sólo de esa fábrica podrán salir, trabajando en un solo turno, 350.000 obuses de artillería al año. Si la fábrica trabajara 24 horas al día triplicando turnos superaría el millón de obuses al año.
En menos de cuatro años los europeos han completado su mayor reconversión industrial militar desde el fin de la Guerra Fría, cuando redujeron rápidamente su producción militar porque no había comprador para tanta arma y tanta munición.
Mientras tanto, Estados Unidos se quedó atrás. En febrero de 2024, Washington dijo que en 2025 estaría fabricando 1,2 millones de obuses. Pero desde septiembre de 2024 su producción está estancada. Según los medios estadounidenses, el problema es que la certificación es más lenta que en Europa, pero sobre todo que la planta que General Dynamics debía poner a toda máquina en Mesquite (Texas) lleva un año de retrasos.
El cambio industrial tiene consecuencias que van más allá de los números de producción. Por primera desde 1945 los europeos estarían en situación de sostener una guerra convencional de alta intensidad con sus propias industrias. Además, Europa puede ahora suministrar a Ucrania casi todo lo que necesita en el plano militar, reduciendo esa dependencia de Estados Unidos. El 80% de la munición de artillería que dispara ahora Ucrania es europea.
La furiosa desmentida de Mauro Icardi tras un polémico video: “Ni mi futura mujer ni yo vivimos de sus payasadas”
Tras la protesta en Santa Fe, Milei evalúa una recomposición salarial para las fuerzas de seguridad
En el paquete de la reforma, el Gobierno busca que se vote el traspaso de la Justicia laboral a la Ciudad
Caputo encendió el freezer: con inflación en alza, renovó deuda y aspiró $1,7 billones del mercado
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona, por la Copa del Rey: hora, cómo ver y probables formaciones
DHS unloads on anti-ICE Dems after man arrested with manifesto, ‘disturbing’ alleged plot to kill agents
El sector industrial advierte que la apertura económica exige eliminar las distorsiones internas
Mirtha Legrand se quebró desconsolada al hablar de la renuncia de Jimena Monteverde a su mesaza
Acuartelamiento policial en Santa Fe: reclamo salarial y temor a un conflicto nacional de seguridad
La advertencia de ATE a los gobernadores que apoyan la reforma laboral: “Firmarán su sentencia de muerte”
POLITICA2 días agoAcuartelamiento policial en Santa Fe: reclamo salarial y temor a un conflicto nacional de seguridad
- POLITICA1 día ago
La advertencia de ATE a los gobernadores que apoyan la reforma laboral: “Firmarán su sentencia de muerte”
- ECONOMIA2 días ago
Cuánto le cuesta a la clase media llenar el changuito y cómo varían los precios de los alimentos entre provincias
