China on Tuesday warned the US that it will pay a "heavy price" for its attempts to show support to Taiwan's independence as a delegation of ex-American defense officials landed in Taipei amid apprehensions that Beijing may attempt action against the self-ruled island akin to Russia's military assault in Ukraine. Yesterday, China issued a statement saying US Nukes in South Korea are "unacceptable" and it is time for those weapons to be sent home.

Taiwanese media reports said a five-member delegation headed by former US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Admiral (retd) Mullen was received by Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, raising concerns in Beijing over the US efforts to step up its engagement with Taiwan, which China firmly affirms as part of the Chinese mainland.

China in recent months ratcheted up military preparations sending hundreds of its air force jets into Taiwan's Air Defence Zone besides beefing up its naval force keeping the self-governing breakaway island on tenterhooks.

Officials in Taiwan and the US say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has drawn fresh attention to China's threat to forcibly annex the self-governing island.

Besides Mullen's visit, former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was due to arrive in Taiwan Wednesday.



Hal Turner Editorial Opinion

What's going to happen when China completely cuts off the US?

When 260 million Americans can no longer get their prescription medications because the raw materials for those medications come from China...

When 85+% of electronics are no longer available...

When 75+% of automotive parts are no longer available...

When 80+% of medical supplies are no longer available...

We in the US are COMPLETELY screwed, we hardly make anything any longer.

It is important to note that the reason we don't make anything here anymore is all those folks who, for years, talked-up "Free Trade." They told us that removing Tariffs on foreign-made goods would cause foreign countries to remove Tariff's on American-made goods, thereby increasing sales and creating jobs here in America. We bought their talk and went the "Free trade" route.

What we didn't realize was that the "Free Trade" crowd had no intention at all of being able to sell to other countries; what they REALLY wanted was to move manufacturing jobs OUT of America, use cheap labor in third world countries, then ship the same products back here to America tariff-free. The money they saved by using cheap, third-world labor, went in their pockets as additional profit.

The only thing "free trade" got America was complete destruction of our manufacturing, and grotesque outflow of American consumer dollars to foreign nations.

Now that we __may__ be facing a World War 3 situation with Russia and China, we find ourselves with no manufacturing base to support a war, and little to no raw materials, either.

The "Free Trade" crowd got us here. The nation will be lucky to even survive if actual war breaks out.