Will Trump run again … and win?

 All bets are off in the United States of Fear, Rage, and Peril.

Marwan Bishara Senior political analyst at Al Jazeera.4 Oct 2021

The fear and rage that gripped the US capital under the presidency of Donald Trump have left the country in peril, its democracy ill, and its immunity weak.

Trump may have been excised from office in November but Trumpism has not been eradicated. After months of post-elections recovery, it is back with a vengeance, slowly metastasising throughout the country’s body and soul.

Less than a year after winning “the battle for the soul of America”, President Joe Biden is slipping in the polls while his predecessor’s numbers are, well, rising. In fact, according to a recent poll, Trump is already ahead of Biden, albeit by a small margin of 48 to 46 points.

These numbers may flip again in favour of the Democrats if they are able to pass the New Deal-like infrastructure and reconciliation bills in Congress before the end of the year, which will inject trillions of dollars into the US economy.

But even the effect of such legislation may prove transitory, depending on a number of economic and political factors, and on the Republican opposition to the socialist “nanny-state” policies on the federal and state level.

Meanwhile, 14 Republican-controlled states under Trumpian influence passed 24 new laws that assert their control over the running of elections and make it easier to overturn elections results.

Trump continues to reject the last election results and is yet to officially declare his candidacy, but everything he says or does is campaigning. He is holding rallies across the country and on October 9, he will hold one in the state of Iowa, where all presidential bids start.

Back in July, journalist Michael Wolff, who wrote three damning books about Trump, concluded after a bizarre and unexpected dinner invitation by the former president, that his run in 2024 is a certainty.

But for now, the brand mogul cherishes stoking the media speculations and public anticipation, which helps heal his bruised ego and keeps the donation money flowing. His Political Action Committees, PACs, have raked in more than $82m during the first half of this year.

But what will he run on? What will be his message, his mantra?

My guess is that he will start by doubling down on his “rigged election” false claim, and will ask his followers to “Reverse the Steal” in order to “Make American Honest Again”.

He has got to go with the big lie all the way to the polls – or not go at all. Anything less outrageous, less audacious, less offensive will not work. Besides, he clearly cannot help it, anyway.

The man, whom US media has called the “liar in chief” who “steals credit […] invents history and spins conspiracy theories”, will do what it takes to win. So smug, he will portend to teach America a lesson in honesty and truth – his alternative truth.

Trump’s penchant for deception is well illustrated in author Bob Woodward’s trilogy, Fear, Rage, and Peril, the last co-written with fellow journalist Robert Costa. In the three books published over the past three years, the Washington Post newspaper veteran journalist goes to a great length to show how even Trump’s closest advisors and allies think he is “a (expletive) liar”.

Trump’s own personal lawyer, John Dowd thought he is such a pathological liar that he cannot even be trusted to testify to former Special Counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into Russian meddling in the US elections without perjuring himself.

But it is not only lying; politicians are known to lie. The man portrayed rather convincingly in the trilogy, is incredibly devious, utterly incompetent, and terribly dangerous.

Woodward interviewed hundreds of people associated with the Trump administration, leading members of his cabinet and his party, as well as leaders of Congress and the military. According to him, many of them thought Trump is, simply put, unfit to be president of the United States.

They called him crazy, paranoid, suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. His close ally and Attorney General, William Barr rebuked him, saying suburban voters “think you are a f***ing a**hole”.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the military, General Mark Milley, thought Trump was so erratic and dangerous during his last months in office, that he may take decisions that could lead, albeit unintentionally, to confrontations with the likes of China or Iran with the potential use of nuclear weapons.

Trump directs his venom against friends and foes alike. Over the past few years, he has never hesitated to humiliate Republican leaders, even war heroes, regardless of political repercussions. Even today, as he plans a rerun for the White House, Trump continues to degrade influential party leaders including his own former Vice President Mike Pence, and the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

All of this begs the question: if Trump is so offensive, so incompetent and so dangerous to the country, why does he continue to maintain such a strong grip over the Republican party even after leaving office? And, why are Republicans running for Congress in 2022 either seeking his endorsement or trying to escape his wrath? Why is he likely to be the party’s official candidate in 2024?

To be sure, a lot depends on next year’s midterm elections.

A victory on November 8, 2022, that allows for a Republican majority in either or both Houses of Congress, will render Biden a sitting duck president and boost Trump’s chances come November 5, 2024.

Come to think of it, a Republican defeat could also propel Trump to the top of the 2024 list as the most likely saviour of the party’s influence against visibly ageing Biden or against his vice president,  the lightweight Kamala Harris.

Trump may have been a terrible president but he has proven himself a talented populist. His uncanny fearmongering is the main source of his influence and the driver behind his popularity, especially among the Republican base. Funnily enough, Trump allegedly did not even know what “populist” meant when he first began to think about running for office, as one hilarious anecdote at the beginning of Woodward’s first book illustrates.

The fact that Trump received 75 million votes after four disastrous years that included mismanaging the pandemic and leading to an economic crash, and social unrest, and that he continues to be so popular with the party base, despite damning media reports, is a testimony to his ability to rally support, albeit by dubious means.

Paradoxical as it may be, this ostentatious bling-bling billionaire has convinced the majority of his party base and much of the country’s white working class that he is their best if not their only ally against the snobbish, selfish elites who manage America’s decline.

In fact, he has garnered the support of the majority of white Americans, against the federal bureaucracy or as he has called it, “the Deep State”, which stands accused of assaulting their rights, freedoms, culture and, well, privileges.

Trump has mastered the politics of fear and fury as Woodward’s books show. In the epilogue to Peril, the third book in the trilogy which was published in September, the author recounts an earlier conversation with Trump, the bombastic and confident outsider as well as the petty and cruel insider, who is tantalised by the prospect of power and is eager to use fear to get his way.

“Real power is, I don’t even want to use the word ‘fear’,” Trump says, and he adds, “I bring rage out, I do bring rage out, I always have.”

But Woodward is so focused on demonising Trump that he fails to see or highlight the cynicism of his influential detractors. He goes to a great length exposing the former president but says little about Washington’s elites that enabled him.

But Trump’s populism would not have been as effective if it were not for the cynicism of his detractors. The ruling elites who pretend to be “holier than thou”, while robbing the country blind; who preach political correctness but lack political decency; who hold onto power even if it means presiding over the US’s decline.

In that vein, Woodward’s trilogy constitutes selectively edited accounts of those complicit with Trump, who talked only after they were fired by Trump, or after Trump was fired by the American people. They are taken at their word and excused about the rest.

When Woodward recounts Trump’s various exchanges with Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs executive-turned-White House-economic adviser, the former president is portrayed as an idiotic protectionist who roots for US manufacturing, while the laissez-faire, free-trade investment banker is seen as a brilliant man.

But is it really OK, for example, that the US imports such a shocking amount of the antibiotics and other basic medicines it needs from China? No less during pandemic times?

Woodward seems to have never met a Wall Street executive or an Ivy League school graduate he did not like. Same for the generals, the congressional leaders, and the establishment figures: they are either right or excused for their wrongness. Bottom line, Trump is evil but the establishment is good, even if run by a corrupt self-serving elite, be it, Democrat or Republican.

When Trump demands justification for any of the hundreds of military bases around the globe or demands immediate troops withdrawal from any part of the world, he is portrayed as a fool, ignorant of national security interests and processes.

Any shrinking of US overseas military commitments is so preposterous in the eyes of Woodward and his beloved generals that it does not even merit comment.

And that is why as long as it is business as usual in Washington, as long as the ruling elites continue to be satisfied with managing US decline, Trumpism will persist and metastasise and there is no stopping Trump and co laughing their way to Washington, again.

In sum, Trump will certainly run. And if he wins, as he may well do – my fingers trembling as I type – his victory will spell the death of American democracy with grave consequences the world over.

Why is Joe Biden Resetting his China Policy?

Why is Joe Biden Resetting his China Policy?

Joe Biden’s most recent 90 minutes call with China’s Xi has created the impression of a US attempt to reset its ties with China. The White House readout says that a “broad, strategic discussion” has taken place resulting in a mutual agreement to engage 

“openly and straightforwardly” on areas where their interests converge as well as where “our interests, values and perspectives diverge.” The tone adopted by Joe Biden is completely different from the previous call between the two leaders in which Joe 

Biden vowed to protect “the American people’s security, prosperity, health, and way of life, and preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific”, underscoring America’s “fundamental concerns about Beijing’s coercive and unfair economic practices, the crackdown in Hong Kong, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, and increasingly assertive actions in the region, including toward Taiwan.” Fast forward to September 2021: Biden’s focus has dramatically shifted from opposing China to “responsibly” managing bi-lateral ties to preserve “peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world”, ensuring that their “competition does not veer into conflict.”

Why has Joe Biden changed his China narrative? For one thing, America’s debacle in Afghanistan has seriously damaged its credibility as the sole super-power of the world. The loss of this credibility means that the US, its military might notwithstanding, 

lacks the necessary support from its allies to pursue yet another global adventure. As it stands, it is specifically the US withdrawal from Afghanistan that has put its ties with Europe/NATO on the line. There is an increasing desire in Europe to assert its strategic autonomy, a line of action that extends to the continent’s ties with China and Russia managed independently of the US influence. Similarly, the US push to revive its damaged ties with Southeast Asia, too, has failed to elicit the level of support it thought it will be able to get. For the Southeast Asian nations, it remains that the US has little more than conflict with China to offer, a lacuna that the Joe Biden administration has so far failed to address. On the other hand, Southeast Asia has been very consistent in showing an extreme lack of appetite for pursuing an aggressive policy vis-à-vis China. In short, it does not share the US's desperation to contain China.

The US failure in securing the desired, cold war level of support from the allies in Europe and Southeast Asia has left the US with no option but to redefine its overall foreign policy approach. Media reports in the US have called this foreign policy shift a “pragmatic realism” or the so-called “Biden doctrine.” The most recent readout shows that the “Biden doctrine” is looking to recast its ties with China in less ideological terms. While the Joe Biden administration still wants to “compete” with China, the fact that Biden, who actually made the recent call and initiated the contact after seven months of disconnection, emphasized “responsible” competition shows how Biden is consciously dialing down the US reliance – and insistence – on the military-backed hard competition. In other words, while Biden remains the realist that prizes hard power, he is growing conscious of the need to pursue US interests in ways that are less costly. In the absence of willing allies in Europe and Southeast Asia, the Biden administration cannot singlehandedly confront and contain China from the Oval Office in the White House.

What has also added to the necessity of reframing the US policy is the hard-line and stubborn stance taken by Beijing towards US unilateralism. China has been confronting the US through all possible means. Despite sanctions, China has made investments in Iran and continues to buy its oil. Two weeks ago, when John Kerry, Biden’s climate envoy talked to China’s foreign minister, he was clearly warned that deteriorating US-China relations could seriously undermine cooperation on climate change. Wang Yi was blunt and frank when he told Kerry that US-China cooperation on climate China cannot be separated from the broader trajectory of their overall ties.

China’s refusal to compartmentalise its ties with the US to deal with areas of cooperation and conflict separately has left the Biden administration in a quandary. In July, the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was handed over a long list of complaints from China which showed how the US was trying to contain, undermine and suppress China’s development and interests around the world.

China’s stark refusal to bow down to the pressure the US has been exerting ever since 2016 means that the US has not enough diplomatic or economic options to achieve success. The fact that its allies in Europe and Southeast Asia, too, have refused to offer unconditional support means that the US is unable to pursue a hard policy vis-à-vis China that relies on creating a strong ring of military alliances around China. Given the failure to win over allies, the Biden administration’s much anticipated ‘Asia Pivot 2.0’ seems to have hit a roadblock; hence, the emphasis on a new policy.

While the US could ideally compete with China on the economic front, there is no denying that a shift from military competition to the economic competition itself requires a major policy shift. Biden’s attempt to dial down the rhetoric indicates this very shift, although it is yet to develop and announce a programme to boost US economic ties with its allies in Southeast Asia. Unless the Biden administration can actually develop such a programme, the actual prospects of its success against China will remain grim. Failure to do so could actually push the US once again towards hard competition.

Salman Rafi Sheikh, research-analyst of International Relations and Pakistan’s foreign and domestic affairs, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

French Church abuse: 216,000 children were victims of clergy - inquiry

 

Some 216,000 children - mostly boys - have been sexually abused by clergy in the French Catholic Church since 1950, a damning new inquiry has found.

The head of the inquiry said there were at least 2,900-3,200 abusers, and accused the Church of showing a "cruel indifference towards the victims".

Pope Francis "felt pain" on hearing about the inquiry's finding, a Vatican statement said.

One of those abused said it was time the Church reassessed its actions.

François Devaux, who is also the founder of the victims' association La Parole Libérée (Freed speech), said there had been a "betrayal of trust, betrayal of morale, betrayal of children".

The inquiry found the number of children abused in France could rise to 330,000, when taking into account abuses committed by lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools.

For Mr Devaux it marked a turning point in France's history: "You have finally given institutional recognition to victims of all the Church's responsibility - something that bishops and the Pope have not yet been prepared to do."

According to the Vatican statement, the Pope learnt about the report after he met visiting French bishops in the last few days.

"His first thoughts are for the victims, with a deep sadness for their wounds and gratitude for their courage in coming forward," it read.

"His thoughts also turn to the Church in France, and that, in recognising these terrible events and united by the suffering of the Lord for his most vulnerable children, it can take the path of redemption."

The report's release follows a number of abuse claims and prosecutions against Catholic Church officials worldwide.

The independent inquiry was commissioned by the French Catholic Church in 2018. It spent more than two-and-a-half years combing through court, police and Church records and speaking to victims and witnesses.

Most cases assessed by the inquiry are thought to be too old to prosecute under French law.

'Victims were not believed'

The report, which is nearly 2,500 pages long, said the "vast majority" of victims were boys, many of them aged between 10 and 13.

It said the Church had not only failed to prevent abuse but had also failed to report it, at times knowingly putting children in contact with predators.

"There was a whole bunch of negligence, of deficiency, of silence, an institutional cover-up," the head of the inquiry, Jean-Marc Sauvé, told reporters on Tuesday.

He said that until the early 2000s, the Church had shown "deep, total and even cruel indifference" towards victims.

"The victims are not believed, are not listened to. When they are listened to, they are considered to have perhaps contributed to what they had happen to them," he explained.

He added that sexual abuse within the Catholic Church continued to be a problem.

While the commission found evidence of as many as 3,200 abusers - out of a total of 115,000 priests and other clerics - it said this was probably an underestimation.

"The Catholic Church is, after the circle of family and friends, the environment that has the highest prevalence of sexual violence," the report said.

Olivier Savignac, head of victims association Parler et Revivre (Speak out and Live again), was abused at the age of 13 by the director of a Catholic holiday camp in the south of France.

He told the Associated Press news agency that before the abuse, he had thought of the priest as "someone who was good, a caring person who would not harm me".

"We keep this, it's like a growing cyst, it's like gangrene inside the victim's body and the victim's psyche," he said.

The inquiry found that about 60% of the men and women who were abused had gone on to "encounter major problems in their emotional or sexual lives".

US, Taliban hold first talks since Afghanistan withdrawal

AJ-9 Oct 2021

The discussions in Qatar’s capital, Doha, will revisit the agreement the Taliban signed with the US last year.

The meeting on Saturday and Sunday will be the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August

Senior Taliban officials and United States representatives have discussed “opening a new page” in their countries’ relationship as they kicked off talks in Qatar, according to Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister.

The in-person meetings that began in Doha on Saturday are the first since US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August – ending a 20-year military presence – and the Taliban’s rise to power.

Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, said the focus of the Afghan delegation was humanitarian aid, as well the implementation of the agreement the Taliban signed with Washington last year which paved the way for the final US withdrawal.

The minister said the Afghan delegation had asked the US to lift its ban on the reserves of Afghanistan’s central bank. He added that the US would offer Afghan people vaccines against COVID-19.

The Taliban delegation will later meet representatives from the European Union.

A spokesperson of the US State Department said on Friday evening that the talks were not about recognising or legitimising the Taliban as Afghanistan’s leaders, but are a continuation of pragmatic talks on issues of national interest for the US.

He said the priority was the continued safe departure of Afghans, US citizens and other foreign nationals from Afghanistan, adding that another goal was to urge the Taliban to respect the rights of all Afghans, including women and girls, and form an inclusive government with broad support.

The State Department did not disclose who would travel to the Qatari capital from the US side.

Since the Taliban took power, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K), has ramped up attacks on the group, as well as ethnic and religious minorities.

On Friday, an ISKP suicide bomber killed at least 46 minority Shia Muslims and wounded dozens in the deadliest attack since the US departure.

Al Jazeera’s Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Doha, said expectations of a breakthrough at the talks should be “tempered” because there is still quite a “chasm” between what the US wants and what the transitional government in Afghanistan wants.

“The Taliban is describing its delegation as high level and is being led by its acting foreign minister,” she said. “On the US side, there will be diplomats from the state department, members of USAID and of the intelligence department.”

Notably absent, Ghoneim added, is Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been the US’s point person in talks with the Taliban for years.

Terrorist threat

The US-Taliban agreement of 2020, which was negotiated by the Trump administration, demanded the Taliban break ties with “terrorist” groups and guarantee Afghanistan would not again harbour terrorists who could attack the US and its allies.

The Taliban has said it does not want US anti-terrorism assistance and warned Washington against any so-called “over-the-horizon” attacks on Afghan territory from outside the country’s borders.

The Biden administration has fielded questions and complaints about the slow pace of US-facilitated evacuations from Taliban-ruled Afghanistan since the US withdrawal.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Xi stresses peaceful reunification Taiwan

 

By Yang Sheng and Chen Qingqing Oct 09, 2021 Global Times

Xi stresses peaceful reunification, Calls Taiwan secessionists 'serious threat' to national rejuvenation

At a gathering marking the 110th anniversary of the 1911 Revolution held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Saturday, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Taiwan question will be resolved along with national rejuvenation and warned that secessionists are a serious threat to that mission, and that those who betray the country will face the trial of history.

Analysts from both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan told the Global Times that Xi's remarks sent a clear and strong signal to the secessionist group within the island and foreign forces who are supporting or encouraging Taiwan secessionism - the national reunification of China will and must be realized and no one can stop the process, the Chinese mainland has both strength and unshakeable determination to realize this common hope for the whole Chinese nation. 

The Communist Party of China (CPC), who inherited the 1911 Revolution leader Sun Yat-sen's idea and unfulfilled mission in national rejuvenation and reunification, wants to address Taiwan question by peaceful means, but whether the question to be solved peacefully or not, the secessionists who betray and try to separate the country, will eventually be punished, commentators noted. 

The Revolution of 1911, which was initiated by revolutionists represented by Sun Yat-sen, ended the 2,000 years of imperial rule in China and paved the way for profound social changes and ideological emancipation. Sun is hailed as a great national hero, patriot and a great pioneer of China's democratic revolution, according to Xi's speech. 

The aspiration of national revitalization that was deeply held by Sun, longing for a bright future for the Chinese nation that was cherished by the pioneers of the Revolution, and the great dream that the Chinese people have aspired and striven toward in modern times have all become or are becoming a reality, Xi said.

He noted that the 1911 Revolution commemoration will inspire national rejuvenation endeavor. 

Chinese communists were the most steadfast supporters, loyal partners and faithful successors of Sun, Xi said, noting that the complete reunification will be realized along with the country's national rejuvenation. 

Huang Chih-hsien, an attendee from Taiwan who witnessed Xi's speech at the Great Hall of the People and an expert on Taiwan affairs, told the Global Times on Saturday that "it was truly touching when I saw the mainland is sincerely commemorating Sun and the 1911 Revolution, while the Taiwan authorities are trying to forget or stay away from Sun and his political ideals, some of them even trying to cut off ties with the Chinese mainland and Chinese nation." 

Sun is the founding father of the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Republic of China (1912-1949), and after Sun's death, his successor Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the revolution and Sun's policy to work with the CPC, and launched massacres and a civil war against the Communist Party of China (CPC). Eventually the KMT was defeated by the CPC and escaped to Taiwan in 1949. 

Warning to secessionists

National reunification by peaceful means best serves the interests of the Chinese nation as a whole, including compatriots in Taiwan, Xi remarked at the gathering.

"Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should stand on the right side of history and join hands to achieve China's complete reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," Xi said. 

It has become a common practice for the Chinese mainland to solemnly commemorate the Revolution of 1911 at its decadal anniversaries such as the 100th and the 110th anniversaries, but this time, Xi delivered very strong and sharp remarks with a clear message to "Taiwan independence" secessionists, Yok Mu-ming, former president of the pro-reunification New Party of Taiwan, told the Global Times on Saturday. 

"If those secessionists don't stop, the mainland will take relevant measures," Yok said. Yok even predicted that the Taiwan question "will be resolved within two years." 

He also mentioned on his personal social media accounts earlier that the deadline for solving the Taiwan question will be 2024. "Hopefully, we'll embrace the reunification and the national rejuvenation together."

A Beijing-based expert on Taiwan affairs who asked for anonymity said the CPC and the Chinese mainland have repeatedly shown great patience and sincerity in solving the Taiwan question peacefully, and that Xi's latest remark is also signaling to compatriots in Taiwan, as well as the international community, that the mainland's sincerity and policy remains unchanged so far.

But unfortunately, the current situation is like an old saying in China, "the trees prefer stillness but the wind will not cease," he said.

"There are some forces, especially the separatist ruling Democratic Progressive Party on the island and the US that are encouraging the DPP to seek secession, are trying to challenge the mainland's sincerity and patience by increasing the degree of provocation, including strengthening military cooperation and diplomatic interactions," said Li Fei, a professor with the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University.

"All of these dangerous acts have challenged the bottom-line of the mainland and seriously offended the Chinese people, the US and the Taiwan secessionists are trying to hijack the people on the island to seek their own interests under the risk of war," Li said.      

Xi sent severe warning to the secessionists at his speech that, "Taiwan independence" secessionism is the biggest obstacle for the national reunification, and also a serious threat to national rejuvenation. "Anyone who intends to betray and separate the country will be distained by the people and judged by the history," he said, receiving rapturous applause from the audience. 

Three long rounds of applause sounded through the Great Hall of the People when Xi mentioned Taiwan question and sent warning to the secessionists. 

The anonymous expert in Beijing said this is a strong signal and warning to agitators on the island and leaders of the DPP and other secessionists - whether the Taiwan question to be resolved by peaceful mean or non-peaceful mean, secessionists will be judged and punished eventually.

"Maybe there is no need to wait that long, some of them might get punished during the process of the national reunification. We, the mainland, have enough strength and determination to make them pay for their crime of secessionism," he said.

Huang who hails from Taiwan said the political parties on the island today should also be loyal to Sun's idea, but unfortunately, they have failed to inherit the mission, and some of them even try to forget Sun, to betray his dream of national rejuvenation and reunification and to serve US hegemony to contain mainland and seek secessionism.

The DPP and the authorities under its control even "try to stop and threaten the people from Taiwan from attending the gathering for commemorating the 1911 Revolution," Huang said, stressing that "this is truly laughable," urging people in Taiwan to "wake up" and see "who is walking on the path started by Sun and who has betrayed Sun's ideals."

Destined to be reunified 

The ceremony was held amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Straits after US media reported that there were two dozen US troops secretly deployed on the island of Taiwan, helping to train local troops while the secessionist DPP has been colluding with external forces in escalating the confrontation by engaging in salami-slicing tactics. 

Xi emphasized that the Taiwan question is a Chinese internal matter, which can't be interfered by any external forces. Nobody should underestimate Chinese people's determination, will and capability in safeguarding sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

The Taiwan question arose out of the weakness and chaos of the Chinese nation and will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality, Xi said, noting that the historical mission of achieving complete reunification will be realized and must be realized. 

Li said with the increasing of China's national strength, the difficulties in realizing national reunification or resolving Taiwan question will be reduced day by day, whether for peaceful solution or the non-peaceful ones.

"Although the US is still being vague on its policy on the matter and trying to use Taiwan question as a card to contain China, one day, when the mainland decides to solve the question once and for all, Washington will abandon the Taiwan secessionists and run away, just like abandoning the former Afghan government and Hong Kong rioters and separatists," said the anonymous Beijing-based expert.

Root cause of tensions 

Mainland's high-profile commemoration of the 110th anniversary of 1911 Revolution sparked slanderous comments from DPP authorities, which called the commemoration "distortion of history."

In response to such comments, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson of Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Saturday that the DPP's provocation in seeking secession is the root cause of current tensions across the Taiwan Straits, and biggest threat to regional peace and stability.

"Taiwan independence" secessionism is a dead end, and has nothing to do with so-called "democracy and freedom."

"DPP authorities insist on their secessionist stance and gang up with foreign forces to betray the interests of the Chinese nation. These behaviors are completely against the spirit, moral integrity and unfulfilled wishes of Sun Yat-sen. What qualification do they think they have to make comment on Sun and 1911 Revolution?" Ma said.

உ.பி.யில் விவசாயிகள் மீது ஜீப் ஏற்றிப் படுகொலை! கழகம் கண்டனம்!!

உ.பி.யில் வேளாண் சட்டங்களுக்கு எதிராகப் போராடிய விவசாயிகள் மீது ஜீப் ஏற்றிப் படுகொலை செய்த பாசிச பாஜக கும்பலை கண்டிக்கிறோம்!

மோடி கும்பலே!

விவசாயிகளைப் படுகொலை செய்த மத்திய அமைச்சர் மிஷ்ரா, அவரது மகன் மற்றும் சகோதரனை கொலை வழக்கில் உடனடியாக கைது செய்!

விவசாயிகள் மீது கொலை வெறி தாக்குதல் நடத்த தூண்டிய ஹரியானா முதல் அமைச்சரை கைது செய்!

கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள விவசாயிகள், பிரியங்கா காந்தி உள்ளிட்ட அனைவரையும் விடுதலை செய்!

நாடு முழுதும் விவாசயிகளுக்கு எதிராக தொடுக்கப்பட்டு வரும் தாக்குதல்கள், பொய் வழக்குகள் மீது நீதி விசாரனை நடத்து!

உச்ச நீதிமன்றமே! விவசாயிகளின் போராட்ட உரிமையை பறிக்காதே, மோடியின் பாசிச ஆட்சிக்கு சேவை செய்யாதே!

உ.பி.யை ஆளும் பாசிச பாஜக யோகி கும்பலை பதவி விலகக் கோரி போராடுவோம்!

வேளாண் சட்டங்களை திரும்பப் பெறக் கோரி பாஜக அமைச்சர்கள் எம்.பி.க்களை முற்றுகையிடும் விவசாயிகளின் போராட்டங்களை ஆதரித்து களமிறங்குவோம்!

மக்கள் ஜனநாயக இளைஞர் கழகம், தமிழ்நாடு