Tag: china

United States Activates TikTok Ban Starting Sunday

The US government has confirmed that the TikTok ban will take effect this Sunday as part of a measure to protect national security from alleged espionage risks posed by ByteDance, the app’s Chinese parent company.

App stores will be required to remove the app, preventing new downloads within the country. Existing users may continue using it temporarily, but additional restrictions could be imposed soon. According to the Department of Commerce, the decision is necessary to safeguard the data of US citizens from unauthorized access by the Chinese government.

Social media platforms are buzzing with reactions. Influencers and content creators are lamenting economic losses and the limitation of their reach on a platform that has revolutionized the digital industry. Many are already migrating to alternatives like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to maintain their market presence.

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China plans to build enormous solar array in space — and it could collect more energy in a year than ‘all the oil on Earth’

Chinese scientists have announced a plan to build an enormous, 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) wide solar power station in space that will beam continuous energy back to Earth via microwaves.

The project, which will see its components lofted to a geostationary orbit above Earth using super-heavy rockets, has been dubbed “another Three Gorges Dam project above the Earth.”

The Three Gorges Dam, located in the middle of the Yangtze river in central China, is the world’s largest hydropower project and generates 100 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. According to one NASA scientist, the dam is so large that, if completely filled, the mass of the water contained within would lengthen Earth’s days by 0.06 microseconds.

The new project, according to lead scientist Long Lehao, the chief designer of China’s Long March rockets, would be “as significant as moving the Three Gorges Dam to a geostationary orbit 36,000km (22,370 miles) above the Earth.”

“This is an incredible project to look forward to,” Long added during a lecture in October hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), as reported by the South China Morning Post. “The energy collected in one year would be equivalent to the total amount of oil that can be extracted from the Earth.”

Despite recent advances in the cheapness and efficiency of solar power, the technology still faces some fundamental limitations — such as intermittent cloud cover and most of the atmosphere absorbing solar radiation before it hits the ground.

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US Lawmakers Call For Curbs On Clinical Trial Collaborations Linked To Chinese Military

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has asked the U.S. government to consider new rules restricting U.S. biotech companies from conducting clinical trials with entities linked to the Chinese military.

In a Jan. 9 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said the proposed restrictions will “help ensure U.S. biotechnology does not fall into the hands of the PRC,” referring to the acronym of communist China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

The letter, signed by Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), chair and ranking member of the committee, respectively, along with Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), said biotech competition between the United States and the PRC “will not only have implications for our national and economic security, but also for the future of healthcare and the security of American medical data.”

The letter cites Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plan—which “identifies dominance in biotechnology as critical to ’strengthen the PRC’s science and technological power’ and calls to deepen military-civil science and technology collaboration in the sector”—and a publication by a former president of the Chinese military’s National Defense University, which discussed the potential to create new synthetic pathogens that are “more toxic, more contagious, and more resistant.”

The lawmakers praised the proposals issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security in July 2024 to expand export controls to military and intelligence end users as “a welcome update.” They suggested the measures could be further strengthened by requiring a license to conduct clinical trials with medical institutions linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

“Specifically, we recommend updating the definition of ‘Military End User’ to state medical infrastructure owned or operated by the national armed services of the PRC and other countries as appropriate constitutes a military end-use if a U.S. person is seeking to engage with the institution to conduct a clinical trial,” they added.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Commerce Department for comment and did not receive a response by publication time.

The letter is a sign of growing concern over China’s role in the biotechnology industry.

In August 2024, the same committee wrote to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking the agency to ensure that U.S. clinical trials are not contributing to human rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang region or aiding the transfer of U.S. critical intellectual property to the PLA.

Citing official data, the letter said U.S. biopharmaceutical companies over the past decade had run hundreds of clinical trials that had at least one Chinese military entity among the research partners and conducted trials in hospitals in Xinjiang, “where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is engaged in genocide of the Uyghur population.”

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Chinese Navy Reveals a Naval Artificial Intelligence “Dreadnaught” Moment

There have been “Revolutions in Military Affairs” (RMAs) over the ages.  RMAs are pivot points when something changes warfare dramatically.  In the naval arena, one of the most memorable RMAs was the introduction of the HMS Dreadnaught in 1906.

It was said, “Dreadnought made every other exist­ing battleship obsolete, and her name became generic for similar fast, modern vessels. All battleships laid down before her were pejoratively labeled “pre-dreadnought.”

The Chinese Navy (PLAN) has revealed a new vessel that may represent the modern, naval “Dreadnaught” moment.  The “Killer Whale” (or Orca), autonomous surface combat vessel has recently been shown in China, cruising on the river from its Guangzhou Shipyard.

This vessel is the largest military purpose USV built to date.  It is little coincidence that Guangzhou was the location of the shipyard.

Guangzhou is the Silicon Valley region of China, and the Orca is not just an autonomous warship, but a floating combat data center.

This vessel reflects significant data collection, data analysis, and AI-enabled autonomous actioning.

AI and Autonomy are trending topics, but the Orca is far ahead of any other AI-enabled, autonomous vessel publicly known to date.

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Mass Protests Break Out in China After Student’s Death

Protests broke out in China’s northern province of Shaanxi on Thursday, a week after a teenage boy fell to his death from a school dormitory.

The protest was unusually large and fierce for subjects of the authoritarian Chinese Communist regime. Security forces responded with vicious beatings, while government censors frantically deleted videos of the scuffles posted to social media.

The victim of the January 2 dormitory accident, a 17-year-old identified only by his surname “Deng” (as is common in Chinese media), was a third-year student at the Pucheng Vocational Education Center.

According to local officials, Deng was awakened on the night of his death by other students talking loudly in the dormitory. He launched into a “verbal and physical altercation” with another student, which was broken up by a school official.

What happened next is uncertain. Deng’s body was discovered by another student outside the dormitory building later that evening. The sliding window of a bathroom overhead was open, and a wooden stool was reportedly discovered under the window.

The police conducted a hasty autopsy and decided his death was not a “criminal case.” The school issued a statement describing his death as an “accident where a student fell from a height.”

Deng’s family rejected this account of the young man’s death, insisting that he was “bullied on campus” and his body displayed injuries that were inconsistent with death from a fall. The family said police hustled them away from viewing the body before they could perform a thorough examination.

The family also said the school told them its surveillance system was mysteriously “damaged” so there was no security footage from the night of Deng’s death to review. When his relatives took possession of his cell phone, they found some of his photos had been deleted without explanation.

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U.S. Sanctions Chinese Cybersecurity Firm Over Cyberattacks

US sanctions Beijing-based Integrity Technology Group for aiding “Flax Typhoon” hackers in cyberattacks on American infrastructure, freezing assets and banning US dealings.

The US Treasury Department has sanctioned Integrity Technology Group, a Beijing-based company, accusing it of involvement in cyberattacks against American infrastructure. The decision, announced on January 3, 2025, has escalated tensions between the US and China over cybersecurity issues.

What’s Behind the Sanctions?

Integrity Technology Group, also known as Yongxin Zhicheng Technology Group, is alleged to have worked closely with the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group “Flax Typhoon.” US officials claim the company played a key role in cyber activities targeting government systems, businesses, and critical infrastructure. Over 250,000 devices worldwide were reportedly compromised in these incidents.

The sanctions freeze the company’s assets in the US and prohibit American entities from doing business with it. By cutting off financial ties, the US aims to limit the group’s resources for continuing cyber operations.

Official Statements and Responses

The US government has stated that these actions are part of ongoing efforts to protect national security and hold cyber offenders accountable. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commented, “This sends a clear message to entities enabling malicious cyber activity: we will not tolerate these actions.”

China, however, has rejected the accusations. A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “baseless” and accused the US of deflecting blame for its own cybersecurity issues. Integrity Technology Group has denied the allegations, claiming it operates within legal bounds and condemning the sanctions as damaging to its reputation.

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FBI Confirms Cybertruck Bomber Matthew Livelsberger Sent Shocking Email Claiming China’s ‘Gravitic Drones’ Threaten U.S. East Coast, Warning of Impending Attack

The FBI has verified the authenticity of an email sent by Matthew Livelsberger, the individual behind the recent Tesla Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

In the email, Livelsberger alleged that China has deployed advanced “gravitic drones” capable of launching attacks along the U.S. East Coast.

“We have confirmed that the document that [Livelsberger] sent to the podcast, we know that he was the one that sent that document,” said FBI Special Agent Spencer Evans, adding they have not yet addressed “into what’s legitimate, what’s not.”

Investigations also revealed that Livelsberger utilized artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, to plan the attack.

He sought instructions on calculating the amount of explosives needed and how to purchase a phone without revealing his personal information.

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It Begins: China Cuts Undersea Internet Cables to Taiwan

In September, a group of journalists (including me) were hosted by Taiwanese national security experts to discuss the developing crisis of Chinese aggression toward Taiwan.

The portion of the week-long visit at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, the Taiwanese Defense and Security Think Tank akin to MITRE, Rand, or The Aerospace Corporation, contained an urgent and compelling message.

“We will be quarantined within six months and the first step of the operation will be China cutting our undersea cables to interrupt our communications with the world” was what Senior research fellows at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research in Taiwan, Drs. Tzu-Yun Su, Shan-son Kung, and Charles C.J. Wang, shared.  Their observations were prescient because that has now happened.

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‘Respiratory Virus’ Allegedly Overwhelming Chinese Hospitals is Nothing More Than a Common Cold

A little-known virus is supposedly rampaging through China, bringing back memories of the nightmare that was the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemics.

According to MailOnline, the wave of infections is straining hospitals across the country, prompting a resurgence in the use of face masks.

Videos posts on social media show seemingly overcrowded medical facilities struggling to manage an influx of patients, with reports of some creamtoriums being overwhelmed with bodies.

Scenes of parents holding sick children in long queues for late-night pediatric care have emerged, drawing hysterical comparisons to the early days of the coronavirus pandemic that broke out five years ago.

While there are said to be a string of viruses including flu, influenza, rhinovirus and COVID-19 that people are suffering from, many scientists believe the surge is caused by a little-known virus called human metapneumovirus (HMPV).

However, its symptoms are generally similar to that of a common cold and most people are expected to make a full recovery without medical treatment.

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“TIME TO WAKE UP!”: ‘Cybertruck Bomber’ Had Several Manifestos, Warned Of Drones Using ‘Gravatic Propulsion’

The details surrounding Cybertruck bomber Matthew Livelsberger continue to drip – with two ‘manifesto’ letters found in the Cybertruck itself, and another ‘manifesto’ he emailed to former Navy SEAL Sam Shoemate.

In the letters found in the Cybertruck, Livelsberger described the USA as “terminally ill,” and said his actions were meant as a “wake-up call,” and not a terrorist attack.

The most intriguing, however, is the email he sent to Shoemate – in which he warns that the “drones” seen around the United States over the last month are using “gravatic propulsion systems,” which only China and the United States possess.

Shoemate shared the email on Shawn Ryan’s show, writing on X, “I knew taking this public would insert me into the “glowy boi” conspiracy cycle, especially since I’m an intelligence officer,” adding “I had no choice. Dude dumped it in my inbox. When I saw his name in the news, I had little choice but to hand it over to the feds. I knew the FBI wouldn’t release it, or at least without an agenda attached, so I took it to Shawn Ryan because he has the platform to handle the magnitude of this information and will do so as objectively as possible.”

According to Livelsberger’s email:

“China has been launching them from the Atlantic from submarines for years, but this activity recently has picked up. As of now, it is just a show of force and they are using it similar to how they used the blloon for a sigint and isr, which are also part of the integrated comms system,” he writes.

“…they are the most dangerous threat to national security that has ever existed. They basically have an unlimited payload  capacity and can park over the WH if they wanted. It’s checkmate.”

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