Day: January 5, 2026

On 3rd January, the U.S. military conducted a cross-border operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. While Venezuelans celebrated this development, the mood in China was quite different, with some expressing deep dismay.

00:00 Introduction00:23 China Reacts To Venezuela Strikes 03:42 Telescope Innovations06:36 Property Crisis: An Updated Deep Dive

In the final days of 2025, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) staged some of its largest-ever maritime drills near Taiwan. Dubbed “Justice Mission 2025” and accompanied by Chinese propaganda denouncing “Taiwan Independence separatists” and “external forces”, the drills were intended to simulate a blockade of Taiwan. It was latest in a series of attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to coerce and pressure the Taiwanese people and their democratically elected government. But what did these drills actually accomplish? Based on the nonchalant response of the Taiwan public, the answer appears to be: not much. In this episode, we discuss the latest PLA drills, China’s pressure campaign against Taiwan, and the effect (or lack of) that it is having on Taiwan’s government and society. Host: Ethan LiuProducer: Tina Hsu Our guests: Shen Ming-shih Institute for National Defense and Security Research (INDSR) Research Fellow Raymond Sung Taiwan National Security Institute Board Member Chapters:00:00:00 – China’s Drills Fail To Intimidate00:01:24 – What Did PLA Exercise Accomplish?00:13:32 – China Uses Pressure, Force00:17:33 – Taiwanese Unfazed by Threats

The CCP’s military exercises near Taiwan have never been so aggressive. What are they planning? And how close are they to the real invasion?

US strikes in Venezuela are fueling debate over whether the operation could set a precedent for other conflicts, including a potential Chinese move against Taiwan. TaiwanPlus spoke with Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, who says Beijing is unlikely to alter its strategy toward Taiwan based on events elsewhere.

China has quietly launched its invasion of the US. But it’s not flashy. It starts in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or CNMI for short, which is just to the north of Guam. And in particular, Saipan, where a major World War 2 battle was fought.