You are mistaken. The Niupu outfit is pretty well known to real Taipei people—especially in Zhongshan District.
Even I have heard of them and I take at most a casual interest in Taipei’s underworld. There was pretty extensive media coverage recently about their leader dying.
I mostly agree, though I think we could argue at the margins. I think China showing a bit more strength might make their bargaining position with Trump a bit stronger, or at least they might think so. For example, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more “inspections” (or even an interdiction) of Taiwanese ships in the waters around Kinmen/Matsu, à la this story.
I’ve also kinda been expecting something like a non-violent takeover by the PLA of Pratas or Taiping Island. For example, PLA Navy ships surround one or both islands, demand the surrender of the troops there, but offer to bring them all back to Kinmen via Xiamen unharmed immediately. Or even allow them to sail away directly, if they don’t start shooting. Or heck, just like Iran’s strike on the American base in Qatar, even notify the Taiwanese govt of the plan first, to let everyone leave. Somehow I couldn’t see the Taiwanese or American governments
escalating from that, but I don’t really know.
Interesting, I did not know that. And I have in fact lived all of my years in Taipei either in or quite near Zhongshan district, many of them almost on Linsen North Road, though I did not personally partake. I also don’t claim to be particularly familiar with this kind of underworld stuff, though I will read news about random topics, including about crime, maybe I just glossed over the name as being unimportant. I have read stuff about the Bamboo Union and Four Seas Gang, and the group that runs the Dajia Jenn Lann temple. I would be curious to read more about the Niupu.
My entire thought process was basically just that I didn’t think any 10+ year semi-culturally-curious immigrant could possibly have lived in NYC without having heard of the Italian Mafia, or the Irish or Jewish mobs, so if the Niupu were sufficiently important, I should have heard of them. But, I guess my logic doesn’t hold.
Slight overlap, but since the targeted subject matter were naval personnel and assets it seems appropriate to drop this article here:
Taiwan tanks problems
You have a non-FB source?
Sorry l only found it on Keelung local news
aww, ok.
As probably discussed many times already, China would probably open multiple fronts in order to keep others occupied so Beijing could focus on Taiwan. Again it highlights what a monumental effort it would be to take Taiwan, with China risking its very existence, and by extent risking the existence of all of its proxies in the process.
Limiting China’s ability to wage war is paramount, and it probably requires containment of energy resources to China and its axis of evil.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China, an official briefed on the talks said, contradicting Beijing’s public position of neutrality in the conflict.
The admission came during what the official said was a four-hour meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Wednesday in Brussels that “featured tough but respectful exchanges, covering a broad range of issues from cyber security, rare earths to trade imbalances, Taiwan and Middle East.”
The official said Wang’s private remarks suggested Beijing might prefer a protracted war in Ukraine that keeps the United States from focusing on its rivalry with China. They echo concerns of critics of China’s policy that Beijing has geopolitically much more at stake in the Ukrainian conflict than its admitted position of neutrality.
Referring to the worst-case scenario in which the US, under the Taiwan Relations Act, is obliged to support or even defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack, Rutte said that NATO, as an alliance, has no “opt-out” option.
However, China would make sure that Russia “keeps us busy here [in Europe]” if they “try anything with Taiwan,” he said.
“That is one of the reasons why we have to stand ready, and we cannot be naive,” Rutte said, adding that “extra defense spending is important.”
I only got to 2 minutes, not very interesting
Really? I really enjoy his analysis. Most of his videos seem to be related to the collapse of China, which he argues is happening slowly and will not be abrupt collapse. For this reason and others related to things going on in the PLA, he argues that invasion of Taiwan won’t be happening.
I didn’t like his voice or speaking style, and after 2 minutes there wasn’t any new analysis except his guesses. He doesn’t really know what is happening in the PLA or in XJP’s mind any more than the rest of us do, is my guess…
We know that an armed invasion of Taiwan before 2028 is unlikely, because it is difficult for the PLA and because a Hong Kong style soft takeover is the best and easiest thing for the CCP. It is a safe guess that Russian progress in Ukraine makes the CCP more cautious.
But we also know that XJP wants this to happen, and he might decide for example that 2026 is the best time to try a light blockade. That wouldn’t be good for investors… It is debatable how volatile the situation is, but the smart 10+ year investment probably isn’t Taiwan.
Purges in the PLA have been happening regularly for over 10 years.