Day: November 7, 2025

In our wide-ranging interview with Rep. Neal Dunn, we cover China’s biowarfare program, illicit organ trade, President Trump’s new trade deal with Xi Jinping, how America can accelerate rare earth mineral production, and the strategic significance of Pacific island nations like the Solomon Islands. As a member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the US and the CCP—often referred to as the House CCP Select Committee—he receives intelligence briefings on the multifaceted threats that Beijing poses to American national security. “They’re gathering biological data on all of us,” he says. “One of the most insidious ways they gather biological DNA sequencing on us is they run a set of blood banks in the United States.”He is also working to end American transplant tourism to China. “We don’t want Americans to participate in any way, shape, or form in this kind of organ harvesting and transplantation scheme. … You can actually sit in America, make an appointment for a heart, lung transplant in China right now,” says Congressman Neal Dunn (R-Florida), a former Army surgeon and founding president of the Advanced Urology Institute in Florida. “I want to make that illegal,” Rep. Dunn says. As a starting point, he has introduced the Block Organ Transplant Purchases from China Act, also known as the BLOCK Act, which would prohibit federal reimbursement for organ transplants and related medical services if the origins of the organs cannot be verified, as is the case in co

China’s economy looks calm on the surface, but the numbers tell another story. By the end of September 2025, Beijing’s fiscal deficit had soared to 45 percent — nearly 9 trillion yuan against 19 trillion in revenue — and it’s on track to break 50 percent by year-end. To fill the gap, the government is raising taxes, squeezing citizens, and quietly printing money through “outright reverse repos.” This episode breaks down the data, the debt machine behind it, and why these policies could push China’s economy past its breaking point.

China’s space station suffers a massive debris strike, crippling communications and isolating its crew in orbit. China delays return of Astronauts after debris may have hit the spacecraft. Three astronauts fight to survive as engineers on Earth scramble for solutions. A chilling reminder of the dangers lurking above our planet.#china #space #wion

On October 29, 2011, then-Philippine Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio —and today’s guest — gave an influential speech at Ateneo de Davao University, in which he called out China’s encroachment into his country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Carpio’s speech effectively launched Manila’s campaign to seek international arbitration through Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). These efforts culminated in a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in favor of the Manila over Beijing for sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal, Mischief Reef and other disputed features in the West Philippine Sea. Despite ratifying UNCLOS in 1996, however, Beijing has never recognized this verdict, instead making dubious arguments about “historical rights” to justify its military ambitions and gray-zone activities in the region. To tackle these issues, the Philippines hosted the Manila Dialogue on the South China Sea from November 5 to 7, 2025. In this special episode of Taiwan Talks, we are joined by two distinguished experts from that just-concluded forum, including Justice Carpio and Chatham House scholar Bill Hayton.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 5 attended the commissioning and flag-presenting ceremony of the Fujian, China’s first aircraft carrier equipped with electromagnetic catapults, in south China’s Hainan Province.

0:00 – Intro 8:35 – Trump’s trip to Asia 16:13 – Security and Defense 20:05 – Did Trump achieve his goals? 28:18 – South Korea’s Takeaways 36:08 – Trump-Takaichi Exchanges 41:13 – Progressive vs. Conservative: Lee and Takaichi 48:59 – Trump-Xi Summit President Trump had a whirlwind trip to Asia last week, with stops in Malaysia, Japan and Korea. He met Chinese leader Xi Jinping for the first time in his second term. He reached trade deals with Cambodia, Malaysia and South Korea, framework agreements with Thailand and Vietnam and a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand. He also met important U.S. allies, including the new Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi for the first time, and was warmly welcomed by South Korean president Lee Jae Myung for their second meeting. What are the key takeaways from Trump’s first Asia trip?