Cadence of Conflict: Asia, December 28, 2020

Anymore, it’s not only bad news about China, but continued action in both military and trade. The pressure Washington puts on Beijing keeps finding new ways to keep turning up. Sanctions continue to increase. Military attention rises. And, Japan puts pressure on Biden to decry the “aggressive China”, calling Taiwan the next, likely target.

Just the same, Taiwan continues as the poster boy, especially with the pandemic China takes the blame for. Just when the Chinese government thinks they get a break, the opposition simply moved and grew. Western powers have effectively sneaked up on the Chinese, whose policies isolate them from the experience necessary to understand Western thinking. Western news audiences are being conditioned to support military action against China, no matter which party advocates it. As news watchers, we must see this trend as it has snowballed over the last decade. The Western world is moving toward war against China as Russia remains safely out of the spotlight.

Trade & Tech

Alibaba U.S.-Listed Shares Tumble Most Ever on China Monopoly Probe // Bloomberg

US restrictions on SMIC will strike at the heart of China’s advanced chipmaking ambitions // CNN

China

Singaporean woman faces execution in China as family launches last desperate appeal // CNN

China forces firms like Alibaba to process stolen US data: Report // Business Insider

Taiwan

IHF praises Taiwan’s virus response // Taipei Times

Taiwan imposes new regulations after first Covid case since April // Guardian

China aircraft carrier sails through Taiwan Strait a day after US warship // SCMP

Military Faceoff

Report on Navy Laser, Railgun and Gun-Launched Guided Projectiles // USNI News