China’s Reaction to Tsai-McCarthy Meeting Indicates Chinese Calculation
Although leaders on both sides attempted to make it low-profile, the meeting between Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy still received considerable attention. On route to Guatemala and Belize, Tsai stopped in New York and Los Angeles to meet with the leaders of both U.S. parties as she made her seventh transit through the United States as Taiwan’s president.
TikTok: Is a Ban Imminent?
Last month, TikTok CEO Shou Chew was barraged with questions from American lawmakers in a 5-hour-long Congressional hearing, amid a bipartisan call to ban the popular entertainment app entirely. In the U.S., it has always been widely condemned that China censors apps such as Youtube and Facebook. However, it seems that America is well on its way to doing the exact same thing, under the guise of privacy and content concerns.
Pakistan’s Compounding Crises Push it to the Edge
Pakistan is spiraling toward the brink of collapse. While the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and confrontation with China continue soaking up international attention, Pakistan’s multiple existential crises have gone largely unnoticed by international observers. But it shouldn’t. Currently, simultaneous economic, political, and environmental crises combined with a renewed terrorist movement threaten to collapse the country. As the world’s fifth-largest country and nuclear power, a Pakistani collapse could spiral into a catastrophic human rights disaster and destabilize the entire Indian subcontinent.
