“Bowman’s nomination for vice-chair for supervision is a gift to the banking industry. Under her leadership we can expect loosening capital requirements, lax bank supervision, and neglect of emerging risks to the financial system, including from climate change.

“At a moment when insurance markets are driving instability across the country, the potential for a financial crisis driven by climate change has never been higher. The Federal Reserve needs a vice chair for supervision who is attuned to the risks climate change poses to financial stability and is willing to exercise their authority to mitigate these risks both for the financial institutions under the Federal Reserve’s supervision as well as the broader financial system and economy. During her tenure at the Federal Reserve, Bowman has been unwilling to take the steps needed to stem these risks.”

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

Bowman’s appointment was yet another gift from the Trump administration to the banking industry, with the American Bankers Association praising her as a “principled voice for sensible regulatory and monetary policy.” In a March interview with Fox News, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said he would be “excited to see [Michele] Bowman appointed” and that the “industry would be excited.”

“Bowman is a gift to the big banks looking to dodge regulation. Her nomination is a sign-off on the industry’s fight to undo key measures keeping money in the pockets of consumers and protecting them from predatory bank practices. Between McKernan at the CFPB and Bowman at the Fed, Trump is setting up an administration that only serves himself and his billionaire donors.”

—Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk.

Previously, Bowman opposed a rule from the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency seeking to update the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure banks adequately provide credit and banking services to minority and low- moderate-income communities, and voted against a rule introduced by federal regulators seeking to increase the capital requirements of large banks, helping “reduc[e] the risk that a bank failure triggers system-wide financial instability.”

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

Authorities in China are moving to seize more than 3 billion yuan (US$435 million) in assets belonging to a former high-ranking official from the northeastern province of Heilongjiang who has fled to the United States, claiming to be a persecuted critic of the government.

According to the Mudanjiang Intermediate People's Court, former Jixi vice mayor Li Chuanliang stands accused of holding illegal assets including real estate, companies and engineering equipment worth 3.1 billion yuan, according to details it published in the Oct. 11 edition of the People's Court Daily, a specialist legal newspaper.

Li, 61, who has served as vice mayor of both Jixi and Hegang cities, stands accused of embezzling public assets, accepting bribes and appropriating public funds by awarding contracts to companies he secretly owned, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.

Li fled China in 2018, two years before China issued an international "red notice" arrest warrant for him via Interpol.

But unlike many former officials targeted by ruling Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, Li has fought back, lawyered up, had the red notice canceled, and claims he is being persecuted because he witnessed widespread official corruption during his time in office.

Now, the authorities are moving to confiscate what they say are his "illegal gains," something that usually takes place only after a person has been convicted of corruption by a court.

"Since the investigation began in 2020, authorities have frozen over 1.4 billion yuan (US$197 million) of his funds and seized 1,021 properties, 27 parcels of land, eight forest plots, 38 vehicles and 10 sets of mechanical equipment," the China Daily reported.

The confiscation of the assets will go ahead if Li fails to present himself for trial within the next six months.

‘Let the bullets fly’

But Li told Radio Free Asia that he hasn't received any legal papers regarding the alleged case against him.

"They haven't actually taken any action against me," he said in an interview on Tuesday.

"The point of weaving this yarn about these assets and these apartments is firstly revenge, secondly, robbery, thirdly, to intimidate and fourthly, to send out a warning," Li said. "Let the bullets fly -- I'm a free agent now and have the opportunity to clarify and explain."

"I think the whole system is rotten to the core, and that these officials are lawless," he said. "I definitely want more democracy, more freedom, more transparency, more openness, and more justice in China."

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While the investigation began in 2020, Li hasn't even been able to hire a lawyer in China to represent him.

"They would need to formally prosecute me and notify me before I can hire a lawyer," Li said. "But they never have."

Since Li fled the country, the authorities have prosecuted dozens of Li's relatives and former associates instead, according to a lawyer representing one of them, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

The lawyer said that the authorities are acting illegally, and that many of the accused had done nothing wrong.

"You say this person has committed a crime, so you need to convict him first," a lawyer representing the family who asked not to be identified told RFA Mandarin in a recent interview. "Only then can you start the process for confiscating his assets, according to the Criminal Procedure Law."

"Right now, they're trying to confiscate his assets before the trial has even been held, which is totally illegal," the lawyer said, adding that they are worried the authorities could try him in absentia.

Online searches by RFA Mandarin turned up no cases against Li filed by the Heilongjiang provincial state prosecutor's office, which approved his formal arrest in absentia in September 2020. 

Guilty by association

The sheer scale of the allegations has sparked a storm of outrage on Chinese social media platforms, but Li claimed many of the properties listed were legitimately owned and operated by him and his relatives.

"A lot of those funds and assets were run in total compliance with the law and regulations by either myself, my relatives or my friends," Li told Radio Free Asia. But he said he had never heard of many of the assets listed by the Mudanjiang court.

"I don't know anything about a lot of them, but they may belong to my partners or their affiliated companies," he said. "All of the assets I know about are unproblematic."

The lawyer said some of the properties listed were part of a residential complex developed by Li but still unsold, but that the authorities had listed each apartment separately, giving the impression of a much longer list.

He said the government appears to be considering the assets of anyone connected to Li as fair game, as if they were guilty by association.

"How come everyone else's money is all included in there?" he said. 

Xia Ming, politics professor at New York's City University, said Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive typically targets Xi's political rivals, rather than seeking to root out rampant graft throughout the system.

"Xi Jinping wants to enhance his personal reputation and build his legitimacy by playing the anti-corruption card, but I don't think it's working," Xia said, adding that public anger is simmering over the current economic downturn.

"This decline has done damage to everyone, and people are disgusted," he said. "They link the current failure of Xi's anti-corruption campaign to the incompetence and hypocrisy throughout the Communist Party system."

Criticizing the Chinese government

In a 2022 statement, Li's U.S. lawyer Michelle Estlund said he was being targeted for giving media interviews criticizing the Chinese government after he arrived in the United States.

Li fled to the United States in 2020 with the assistance of the U.S.-based Chinese Democratic Party, Estlund's law firm said in a news release at the time. 

"Upon his arrival to the United States, Mr. Li spoke out against the Chinese government and its corruption," the statement said. "He gave multiple interviews, criticizing both the CCP and the Chinese government’s corruption and its attempts to cover up certain aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak."

The authorities filed the first charges against Li "a few weeks" after his first media interview, it said.

In 2020, Li gave an interview (in Chinese) to RFA Cantonese, in which he spoke about rampant official corruption during his tenure, with officials snapping up confiscated private-sector assets like coal mines after targeting the owners with allegations of corruption or other wrong-doing.

"The local leaders have the final say in who gets investigated; they are selectively anti-corruption," he said. "Take a look at some of these departments and check out their families' assets; take a look at what they're wearing, what kind of car they drive, where they live and what kind of food they eat."

Li is now challenging the Chinese authorities to take him to court in the United States, and make all of the evidence against him public.

"I just want everything to be made public, for an open trial, and for the chance to defend myself in public," he said.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Joshua Lipes.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Chen Zifei and Wang Yun for RFA Mandarin.

Before his cable news commentary went viral and Harris ushered him into the national spotlight, the former soldier, football coach, and high school teacher was in the midst of an unexpectedly ambitious and productive second term as the chief executive of the North Star State. A progressive with a rural background and a penchant for coalition building, Walz was able to wield a precarious Democratic trifecta to achieve a slew of progressive priorities. The biggest of these took place just a few months after the 2022 midterm elections, when Walz signed a law that requires the state’s utilities to get 100 percent of their electricity from clean sources by 2040. The legislation quickly catapulted Minnesota, a blue state with purple inclinations, to the top of the state-level climate action leaderboard. 

“It’s not about banking political capital for the next election,” Walz said last year. “It’s about burning political capital to improve lives.” Yet Walz appears to have political capital to spare — as of February, he has a 55 percent approval rating in his home state. 

As governor, Walz also signed bipartisan legislation to reform Minnesota’s permitting process for clean energy projects, funded a clean energy jobs training program for minority and low-income Minnesotans, approved new clean transportation standards, and enacted a law directing $240 million toward replacing the state’s lead water pipes. In other states, Republicans (and even some centrist Democrats) have sought to cast politicians overseeing ambitious climate agendas as hellbent on raising energy prices and as generally being out of touch with the general public. But Walz’s reputation as an everyman and his skill as a communicator may have shielded him from the typical anti-climate attacks. 

“I think he has a really well-rounded climate record,” said Paul Austin, the head of the Conservation Minnesota, a state environmental nonprofit. “He’s a person who tries to bring people together across communities and geographies to find solutions that work for everybody. That’s been part of his hallmark.” 

Walz’s experience in Minnesota could be a boon to Harris as she crafts an on-the-fly legislative agenda that builds on progress made by the Biden administration. Biden’s crowning policy achievement, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, is sending billions of dollars to states and tribes for clean energy projects and deployment. It’s unlikely that Congress will pass another law like it in the short term. That’s particularly true if Trump is reelected, but it’s a safe bet even with Harris in the White House — polls suggest that whichever party controls the Senate, House, or both, will likely have a razor-thin majority. Much of the climate action we’ll see in the next few years will likely come from states. 

Many states already led the way on climate change when Trump was in office, before the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. But many more states are poised to spend money on renewables and climate projects now that federal clean energy incentives are flowing across the country. “It’s great to have the help of someone who has served as governor and has seen how the federal government works and delivers from the other side,” Austin said. “He’s going to bring a lot of experience about how states and the federal government work together and how that can be smoothed out and improved.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The climate vice president? What Tim Walz brings to the Harris ticket. on Aug 6, 2024.

This content originally appeared on Grist and was authored by Zoya Teirstein.

“By selecting Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Kamala Harris chose a principled fighter and labor champion who will stand up for working people and strengthen this historic ticket,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “We know that Gov. Walz will be a strong partner in the Harris White House, fighting every day to improve the lives of workers in communities across America. Gov. Walz isn’t only an ally to the labor movement, but also our union brother with a deep commitment to a pro-worker agenda.

“The labor movement stands united behind the Harris–Walz ticket, and we are ready to help lead the effort to defeat Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their anti-worker Project 2025 agenda in November.”

Background:

Gov. Tim Walz is a former public school teacher and union member who has proven that a pro-worker agenda is a winning agenda, especially in competitive states. He has delivered on a comprehensive, pro-union legislative package and created the gold standard for state governments aiming to do right by workers.

We know Walz will deliver for working people across the country as vice president, just as he has throughout his career. Gov. Walz has enacted some of the most pro-worker packages of legislation of any state in the country, including laws to:

• Guarantee paid family and medical leave and mandate paid sick days.
• Prohibit noncompete clauses.
• Bar employers from holding anti-union captive audience meetings.
• Strengthen protections for meatpacking workers and Amazon warehouse employees.
• Strengthen the collective bargaining power of teachers’ unions, including allowing bargaining over educator-to-student classroom ratios.
• Create a statewide council to improve conditions for nursing home workers. (The Guardian, 6/7/23 and Minnesota Reformer, 5/17/23)

Gov. Walz also has:

• Reached a historic deal with Uber and Lyft that amounts to a 20% increase in driver pay and provides statewide wage and worker standards, even in the face of threats from Uber and Lyft to end service in Minnesota.
• Invested $2.6 billion in much-needed infrastructure projects that create good, family-supporting jobs that pay prevailing wages.
• Issued Executive Order 23-07, which established the Governor’s Committee on the Compensation, Wellbeing, and Fair Treatment of Transportation Network Company Drivers.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

• Former President and former First Lady Michelle Obama endorse Vice President Harris’ Democratic presidential nomination bid.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets Trump at Mar-A-Lago.
• Paris holds its Olympic opening ceremony, attacks on the city’s high speed rail service strands thousands of travelers.
• California’s Park Fires scorches more than 178,000 acres and forces thousands from their homes.
• The UN Security Council discusses the Middle East War.
• Gazans struggle to find clean water amid war conditions.

The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – July 26, 2024 Former President and former First Lady Michelle Obama endorse Vice President Harris’ Democratic presidential nomination bid.  appeared first on KPFA.

This content originally appeared on KPFA - The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Thae, 62, as secretary general of the country’s Peaceful Unification Advisory Council on July 18, making him the first defector to hold a vice-ministerial position in the South Korean government.

Thae was born in Pyongyang in 1962, graduated from Pyongyang Foreign Language Institute and Pyongyang University of International Relations, and was a professional diplomat who worked at the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While working as an attaché at the North Korean Embassy in the UK in 2016, he defected to South Korea with his family. 

Four years later, Thae won a seat in the National Assembly, representing Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam district. He became the first North Korean escapee who had previously served in the North Korean government to join the legislative body.

---

“North Korean residents are also proud citizens of the Republic of Korea,” he said on social media, using the official name of South Korea. “North Korean escapees can hold any position for the country and people without any discrimination or prejudice.”

He said the appointment was meaningful in that it shows the North Korean people that those who have escaped can achieve success in the South.

Since the division of the two Koreas more than 34,000 people have fled the North to resettle in the South, according to statistics from the South Korean Ministry of Unification.

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The news of Thae’s appointment was inspiring to Kim Sukyong, who himself escaped North Korea in 1998 and settled in the United States. 

 “When I heard this, it was clear that South Korea is a democratic country where if you have the desire and ability, you can become anything,” said Kim, who serves as vice chairman of the Unification Education Division of the Washington Chapter of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council.

She said that North Koreans who learn of Thae’s success will expect more freedom in their own lives.

“People who were begging on the streets in North Korea can come to South Korea and get famous,” she said. “Those who arrive (in South Korea) by boat can study hard there and succeed. It shows that … South Korea offers more opportunities and freedom than North Korea. People in North Korea will come to realize this.”

 A number of North Korean escapees have entered high-ranking public positions in South Korea in recent years.

In May, Ko Yonghwan, a former first secretary at the North Korean embassy in Congo and the first North Korean defector to become a South Korean diplomat, was appointed as the president of the National Institute for Unification Education (NIU) under the Ministry of Unification. 

Ko, who defected from North Korea in 1991, was appointed as a special aide to the Unification Minister in September last year.

Kim Dong Su, who defected in the late 1990s and formerly served as the third secretary at North Korea's mission to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was appointed as a director of the Korea Hana Foundation under the Ministry of Unification in 2022. In 2023, he was further appointed as a central committee member of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council.

In addition to the appointed high-ranking officials, North Korean escapee Park Choong-kwon is currently elected member of the South Korean National Assembly, following in the footsteps of Thae, Ji Seong-ho, who also won a seat in 2020, and Cho Myung-chul, who won a seat in the 2012 legislative election.

After his election in April, Park Choong-kwon told RFA that if North Koreans were to learn about the young North Korean elite who became a South Korean National Assembly member after defecting, it would likely be a significant shock to them.

 Translated by Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Kim Jisu for RFA Korean.

“From being a staunch abortion advocate as vice president to holding the Trump administration accountable as a U.S. senator to combating corruption as the California attorney general, Kamala Harris has proven she is a champion for working people and our democracy. That’s why MoveOn members have overwhelmingly and enthusiastically endorsed Vice President Harris for president and are more fired up than ever to defeat Donald Trump this fall once and for all.

“The Biden-Harris administration has delivered real wins for our communities, including passing life-changing investments to protect our climate, making health care more affordable, and taking down wealthy special interests. Under the Harris administration, we know all of this historic progress will continue and we can trust our rights, freedoms, and democracy will remain protected under her people-first agenda.

“In 2020, we defeated Donald Trump and MAGA extremists at the ballot box, and now it’s time for us to come together once again to stop Trump and his Project 2025 takeover from throwing America back into four more years of chaos.”

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

Kim met a Russian military delegation, led by the vice minister, Aleksey Krivoruchko, in Pyongyang on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA.

“The talk shared recognition of the importance and necessity of the military cooperation between the two countries to defend mutual security interests,” the KCNA said.

Kim reiterated his firm support and solidarity for Russia’s war with Ukraine and stressed the need for the militaries of the two countries to “get united more firmly” to develop bilateral relations, the news agency added.

Krivoruchko is the first known ranking Russian military official to visit North Korea since a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim.  

The two met in Pyongyang for talks aimed at bolstering their economic and security relations and underscoring their shared defiance of Western sanctions. Under a new partnership treaty announced at their summit they  agreed to offer each other military assistance “without delay” if either were attacked. Russia has been cozying up to North Korea since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The United States has accused North Korea of sending Russia weapons for use in its Ukraine war but both North Korea and Russia deny that.

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More balloons

The military in U.S. ally South Korea resumed propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea in response to the North’s latest launch of trash-carrying balloons into the South.

The broadcasts took place from Thursday evening to early Friday in areas near where the balloons were launched, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS, said on Friday.

Since late May, North Korea has sent more than 2,000 trash-carrying balloons into the South in retaliation for the launch by anti-North Korea activists of balloons carrying propaganda leaflets towards the North.

“The military’s response going forward will fully depend on North Korea’s actions," the JCS said, without providing further details. 

On Thursday, the JCS said the latest North Korean balloons appeared to be traveling toward the northern part of Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul, advising the public to not touch any fallen balloon and to report them to the military or police.

South Korea resumed loudspeaker broadcasts last month as it fully suspended a  2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement in response to the North’s launch of waves of trash-carrying balloons.

Edited by Mike Firn.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.

Security approached a few of the audience's peace activists, pulled them aside before Vice President Harris arrived onstage, and forced them to leave. After Harris was introduced and seated, the activists set off a chain of disruptions that led to the illegal detainment and physical assault of some of the activists by security. The activists were told they were under arrest, despite no one having Miranda rights read or anyone showing badges or authority to make an arrest. Activists were being illegally detained and were told to turn over their IDs. When activists asserted their First Amendment rights and attempted to leave the premises, some were physically restrained with excessive force, and the gates of the building were locked by security, illegally imprisoning the peaceful demonstrators.

CLICK HERE FOR FOOTAGE OF DISRUPTIONS AND ASSAULTS AND ASSAULTS

At one point, a security guard put one of the activists in chokehold until others were able to get him to release him. As clearly shown in the video, this act of violence was unprovoked and completely unnecessary.

The coalition of organizations demand The Jimmy Kimmel Show address and apologize for the unnecessary use of brutal force that left the man bruised and swollen.

CODEPINK Inland Empire member Rachael O'Neill explained, "We reject business as usual as the Israeli government carries out a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, all with the unconditional support of the Biden/Harris administration. We took this action today to put pressure on the administration to back up their words with actions: stop arming Israel and support a permanent ceasefire resolution at the UN."

After being detained in the building's atrium, security finally unlocked the gates and released the activists without further incident. They joined the other previously removed activists outside for a Free Palestine rally.

The protest comes as the genocide in Gaza enters its ninth month, with reports of nearly 40,000 Palestinian lives lost. Activists criticize the Biden administration for its continued support of Israeli military actions. Organizers note that Harris has taken to the campaign trail to talk about the need to protect women's rights while signing off on sending bombs that have killed and maimed over 20,000 women and children in Gaza.

The demands for immediate action - an arms embargo and cessation of aid to Israel, alongside a call for a permanent ceasefire to end the ongoing violence and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank - are echoed across the country as the movement for a Free Palestine grows and Israel's apparent intent to cleanse Palestinians ethnically becomes more evident.

Images, videos and interviews with the activists are available upon request.

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

The president's remarks were characterized as perhaps his most direct criticism of the Israeli military's conduct since it began its large-scale war on the Gaza Strip just over four months ago, following a deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

But critics argued that Biden's words will ring hollow as long as his administration continues to arm Israel's military unconditionally, oppose global efforts to enact a lasting cease-fire, and reject evidence that Israel is committing genocide. Since October 7, the U.S. State Department has twice bypassed Congress to send lethal weaponry to Israel and is working to gut lawmakers' oversight of foreign military financing for the country.

"It's maddening to hear him say stuff like this," wrote journalist Mehdi Hasan. "Now he says Israel is going 'over the top.' Before he said they were doing 'indiscriminate' bombing. But throughout it all, he arms them, funds them, defends them, enables them, and refuses to call for a cease-fire."

Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, said that if Biden truly feels Israel has gone too far in its assault on the Gaza Strip, he should "do something about it."

"'Over the top' is how you might describe an action movie that was more violent than you were expecting, not an atrocity you've been backing to the hilt," Duss added.

Biden's press conference came as the Israel Defense Forces ramped up its bombardment of Rafah—where more than half of Gaza's population is currently living in overcrowded and increasingly horrific conditions—ahead of an expected ground invasion. Israeli airstrikes on the city, located near Gaza's border with Egypt, hit two houses on Thursday, killing and wounding multiple people.

John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told reporters Thursday that the Biden administration would not support an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah, which was previously deemed a "safe zone" for displaced Gazans.

"I think you all know more than a million Palestinians are sheltering in and around Rafah," Kirby said. "That's where they were told to go. There's a lot of displaced people there. And the Israeli military has a special obligation as they conduct operations there or anywhere else to make sure that they're factoring in protection for innocent civilian life."

"I could tell you that—absent any full consideration of protecting civilians at that scale in Gaza—military operations right now would be a disaster for those people, and it's not something that we would support," Kirby added.

But the White House has not publicly said there would be any consequences if Israel decides once again to ignore the administration's stated concerns and go ahead with the Rafah assault.

In late October, Biden administration officials privately urged Israeli leaders to rethink its plans for a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, but Israel launched the deadly invasion anyway—and U.S. support for the country's military did not waver.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted to begin debate on White House-backed legislation that would provide Israel with more than $10 billion in additional military aid as famine and disease spread across the Gaza Strip and the death toll grows.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) opposed advancing the legislation, warning in a statement Thursday evening that "so long as this bill contains $10 billion to enable [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's right-wing government to continue its horrific war against the Palestinian people, I will keep voting no."

"The taxpayers of the United States cannot continue to be complicit in this humanitarian disaster," said Sanders. "We should not provide another penny to allow Netanyahu to continue this incredibly destructive war."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams and was authored by Newswire Editor.

Taiwanese voters elected Vice President Lai Ching-te from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, as their new president on Saturday, signaling a continuation of the island’s policies aimed at preserving its de facto independence, despite increasing tensions with China.

Nonetheless, the results were split between three main candidates, and Lai and his party will face a challenging journey in managing the escalating pressure from Beijing.

As of 09:10 p.m. local time, with the vote still being tallied, Lai had received 5.57 million votes, or 40.1%, while Lai’s main opposition Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang, or KMT, had received about 4.66 million votes, or 33.5%. Ko Wen-je of Taiwan’s People’s Party, or TPP, considered an “alternative option,” garnered 3.68 million votes, or 26.5%.

In a press conference on Saturday night after his win, Lai thanked the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in democracy and likened it as the “first victory for the global community of democracy.”

“We have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy; this is our unwavering commitment,” said Lai, thanking his opponents for demonstrating the spirit of democracy.

Hou, Beijing’s preferred candidate, conceded the election by saying he respects the final choice that the Taiwanese people made.

“I would not only like to extend my congratulations to Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim [Lai’s running mate] for being elected, but also hope that they will live up to Taiwanese people’s expectations of a ruling party,” said Hou, calling for all parties to unite, and urged the DPP to build a new and efficient government that Taiwan could trust.

Separately, Ko noted that despite the defeat, the election has turned the TPP into a significant force, highlighting a positive outcome from the setback.

“Every vote represented an endorsement of us. This is also the first time in Taiwan, amid the blue-green [KMT-DPP] structure, that a three-party situation has emerged. It shows that Taiwan needs another voice.” 

Voters from the island of 24 million people journeyed back to their hometowns to participate in the presidential and legislative elections on Saturday. They cast their votes in a variety of locations, including schools, temples, parking lots and community centers. 

Taiwanese also voted for representatives in the 113-seat legislature. As of 09:10 p.m. local time none of the seats had been officially declared but Lai acknowledged that the DPP had failed to hold onto a majority.

Viewed with suspicion

Lai, a former physician and mayor of Tainan, is viewed with suspicion by China’s ruling Communist Party.

China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that should be politically reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. The democratic island of Taiwan has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese civil war.

China has dialed up diplomatic and economic pressure on the island since the incumbent Tsai Ing-wen’s administration first came to power in 2016, as Tsai and her party refuse to acknowledge that Taiwan and the mainland belong to “One China.”

During the election period, China’s actions, such as floating balloons through Taiwan airspace and deploying aircraft carriers in the critical Taiwan Strait, heightened its unpopularity in Taiwan. These military maneuvers, viewed by Taipei as intimidation tactics, exacerbated the already tense relationship.

China also has successfully swayed several of Taipei’s diplomatic allies to shift their recognition to Beijing. As a result, only 13 countries currently maintain official diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

Dialogue, not confrontation

Lai’s election triumph doesn’t solve the issue of Beijing’s aggression and is more likely to heighten tensions. Nevertheless, Lai expressed confidence that despite dwindling official recognition on the world stage, support for Taiwan’s de facto independence remains robust.

During his Saturday winning speech, Lai said that he has the important responsibility to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, while keeping the cross-strait status quo.

“We will use changes to replace obstructionism, dialogues to replace confrontations,” said Lai, adding Taiwan “will stand on the side of democracy” between democracy and authoritarianism.

“Taiwanese people resisted the efforts from external influence to this election and trusted only that they themselves had the right to choose their leader,” he said. 

In response to the election result, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said on Saturday the victory of Lai would not change the basic landscape of cross strait relations.

In a statement carried on China's state Xinhua news agency, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the results showed the DPP cannot represent mainstream public opinion on the island.

George Ren, a political analyst, believes that Lai’s win would not deal the Chinese Communist Party, or CPP, an unknown card, as a Ko victory could.

“I’d be more concerned if the DPP was able to warrant a majority win in the legislature. If there was one, it would be easier for Lai to implement his policy, which means the CCP may have some countermeasures,” Ren said.

He also pointed out that the bigger worry is implementing domestic policies in the legislature that address issues critical to the voting public such as policies to improve infrastructure and housing construction. 

Economic worries

The DPP has recently faced criticism for becoming the establishment, particularly from the younger generation. Under Tsai’s rule, issues like slow wage growth, high housing costs, and power shortages have become points of contention. 

In November, Taiwan’s statistics bureau reported a reduction in the island’s 2023 GDP growth forecast to just 1.42%, the lowest since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Furthermore, Taiwan is grappling with soaring housing prices, ranked among the highest globally, while its wage levels were among the lowest compared to other developed economies, according to March figures.

Addressing these challenges will be a primary focus for Lai and the DPP moving forward.

The president-elect said he will “prioritize issues that have consensus with other political parties and would embrace them as long as they benefit the people.” 

Edited by Mike Firn and Malcolm Foster.

Updated to add percentages of votes won, and add a statement from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson.

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang and Elaine Chan for RFA.

“CPJ is delighted to announce Lydia Polgreen as the incoming vice board chair and welcome four distinguished journalists to our board,” said CPJ Chair Jacob Weisberg. “They represent a tremendous range of knowledge and experience, and share a fundamental commitment to press freedom and safety around the world.”

“Lydia’s decades-long experience as an international correspondent and as a media executive leading a team of hundreds of journalists worldwide makes her uniquely qualified to understand the challenges journalists face to report the news globally during a period of unprecedented attacks on the press,” said Weisberg.

Weisberg added: “All four new board members are not only accomplished journalists but passionate about the role that a free press plays in the world. We look forward to working with them to keep journalists free and safe. As a correspondent in the Middle East, a foreign editor, and now editor of the Financial Times, Roula is one of the UK’s most distinguished journalists. Alan is one of America’s most admired business journalists, with a storied career at the Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Maria, the co-founder and CEO of Rappler in the Philippines and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is an inspiration to me and so many others in our field. Jacqueline is a leader at Bloomberg, where for more than two decades she has managed coverage from the Americas to Europe to North Africa.”

Lydia Polgreen is an opinion columnist for The New York Times. She previously served as managing director of Gimlet, a podcast studio at Spotify, and as editor-in-chief of HuffPost, leading a team of hundreds of journalists publishing 16 editions in nine languages across the globe.

Roula Khalaf is editor of the Financial Times. She was previously deputy editor from 2016 to 2020, overseeing a range of newsroom initiatives and award-winning editorial projects and leading a global network of over 100 foreign correspondents.

Alan Murray is CEO of Fortune Media, where he oversees all of the company’s operations. Prior to joining Fortune in 2015, Murray was president of the Pew Research Center and spent almost two decades at The Wall Street Journal.

Maria Ressa co-founded Rappler, the Philippines’ leading digital-only news site. As Rappler’s CEO, Ressa faced political harassment and numerous arrests during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. In 2021, Ressa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

Jacqueline Simmons has held various news reporting and managerial roles at Bloomberg in Europe and the U.S. since starting in 1996. Currently, as editorial lead, she oversees 30-plus bureaus in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as multi-platform content strategy and planning.

CPJ’s board of directors is composed of journalists, media executives, and leaders from related professions in the United States and around the world.

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About the Committee to Protect Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. CPJ defends the rights of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

More information about CPJ’s board of directors can be found here.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Arlene Getz/CPJ Editorial Director.

But the claims are false. Hsiao has been seen in public speaking Mandarin fluently on many occasions. It is true that Hsiao used to hold American and Taiwanese passports, but she renounced her U.S. citizenship after becoming a DPP legislator in 2002.

The claim was shared here on the popular Chinese social media platform Weibo on Nov. 25.

“The female toad [referring to Hsiao] is preparing to become the vice president of Taiwan. But she can’t even speak Mandarin,” reads the claim in part. 

The claim was shared alongside a 50-second clip that shows Hsiao making a public speech in English. 

Keyword searches on Google found the clip was taken from a recording of the “2024 Presidential Election International Press Cvent with DPP Vice-President Candidate Bi-khim Hsiao” held on Nov. 23 in Taipei. 

Hsiao, Taiwan’s former representative to the United States, was recently announced as the running mate of the DPP candidate William Lai in next month’s Taiwanese presidential elections. 

Born to a Taiwanese father and an American mother in Japan, Hsiao is Taiwan’s first vice presidential candidate of foreign descent since the island began holding direct elections in 1996. 

Since the announcement, a wave of misinformation about Hsiao has appeared on Chinese and international social media. In an attempt to influence public opinion concerning Taiwan’s upcoming election, these comments echo statements from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office labeling both Lai and Hsiao as Taiwanese separatists. 

For instance, some online users claim that Hsiao is an “unreliable” choice for Taiwanese vice president since she still holds U.S. citizenship.

Such comments follow a second round of Chinese sanctions against Hsiao in April 2023, prohibiting her from entering Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao and banning companies in these regions from engaging in business with enterprises affiliated with her. 

But the claims are false. 

Mandarin ability and citizenship

The video, shared in the false Weibo post, only shows a portion of the press conference where Hsiao was speaking in English.

Throughout the conference, the vice president hopeful was seen exchanging questions and answers in both English and Mandarin with participants. 

For instance, at one-minute and 54-second mark of this video published by the Associated Press, Hsiao can be seen answering a reporter’s question in Mandarin.  

She has been seen in public speaking Mandarin fluently on many occasions, as seen here and here.

The claim that Hsiao holds U.S. citizenship is also false. While Hsiao used to hold passports of the U.S. and Taiwan, she renounced her U.S. citizenship after becoming a DPP legislator in 2002.

Narrative control through social media censorship

AFCL found that the substantial number of Taiwanese voices in support of Lai and Hsiao are invisible to many online users in mainland China, amplifying the misinformation on the candidates.  

As with all online speech in China, internet censorship has carefully screened information about Taiwan’s upcoming election, so that only facts and perspectives in support of Beijing’s official viewpoints are allowed to be disseminated on social media. 

Apart from that Taiwan is a key target of repeated cyberattacks organized by China, with analysts expecting such disinformation campaigns to increase in the lead up to the presidential election, according to a report by The New York Times, citing a research from the Digital Society Project. That research, seen by AFCL, shows Taiwan is one of the countries being affected the most by foreign governments’ dissemination of false information.

“China’s disinformation efforts directed at Taiwan generally seek to divide and demoralize Taiwan society,” the report said.  

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) was established to counter disinformation in today’s complex media environment. We publish fact-checks, media-watches and in-depth reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers’ understanding of current affairs and public issues. If you like our content, you can also follow us on Facebook and X. 

This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Rita Cheng for Asia Fact Check Lab.