Beijing is to continue to press Taiwan on unification and try to undercut US influence in the region as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) begins his third term, an annual report by the US intelligence community said.
The conclusions were made as part of the “Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community” issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which was presented to the US Congress on Wednesday.
As Xi begins his third term, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would strive to press Taiwan on unification, undercut US influence, and drive a wedge between Washington and its partners, the report said.
Photo: AP
Beijing sees US-China relations as part of an “epochal geopolitical shift,” and therefore views Washington’s measures against it as part of a broader US effort to “prevent China’s rise and undermine the CCP’s rule,” it said.
China was increasingly combining its growing military power with its economic, technological and diplomatic influence to entrench its rule, bolster its territorial claims and pursue global influence, the report said.
However, China also faces challenges from an aging population, high levels of corporate debt and economic inequality, as well as resistance in Taiwan and elsewhere to its “heavy-handed tactics,” it said.
On the issue of Taiwan, the report said that Beijing would this year continue to apply pressure and possibly offer inducements for Taiwan to move toward unification, while also reacting to what it views as increased US-Taiwan engagement.
For example, Beijing could take “stronger measures” to push back on perceived increased support for Taiwan, such as sending more vessels across the median line of the Taiwan Strait or firing missiles over Taiwan proper.
If Beijing succeeds in its goal to establish control over Taiwan, there would be “wide-ranging effects,” the report said, including a disruption of global semiconductor supply chains, “because Taiwan dominates production of cutting-edge chips.”
Beijing would likely continue using its military to “intimidate rival claimants” in the South China Sea and signal that it has effective control over contested areas, the report said.
The report also contained sections on Russia, Iran and North Korea, as well as on the topics of “climate change and environmental degradation,” “health security,” “additional transnational issues,” and “conflicts and fragility.”
Separately, FBI Director Christopher Wray told a US Senate hearing that the Chinese government could use TikTok to control data on millions of American users, saying the Chinese-owned video app “screams” of security concerns.
Wray told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats to US security that the Chinese government could also use TikTok to control software on millions of devices, and drive narratives to divide Americans over Taiwan or other issues.
“Yes, and I would make the point on that last one, in particular, that we’re not sure that we would see many of the outward signs of it happening if it was happening,” Wray said of concerns China could feed misinformation to users.
“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government — and it, to me, it screams out with national security concerns,” Wray said.
The White House backed legislation introduced on Tuesday by a dozen senators to give US President Joe Biden’s administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats.
The endorsement boosted efforts by a number of lawmakers to ban the popular app, which is owned by ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動) and used by more than 100 million Americans.
Other top US intelligence officials including Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, CIA Director William Burns and National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone agreed at the hearing that TikTok posed a threat to US national security.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RSS