Steve Yates (葉望輝)

As a "fentanyl father" I am deeply grateful for President @realDonaldTrump making real accountability for this scourge an immediate priority. I also appreciate pathbreaking work by the @committeeonccp and @heritage teams in amplifying the evidence and outlining real policy action steps.

Great perspective from @tozzi_piero: Lee Tung-hui and the Taiwan alternative - go.shr.lc/3NSlmBl - @washtimesoped

@lrozen Thats right. The nuclear weapons fatwa also was a lie!

BREAKING: China has launched flares at a Philippine Coast Guard plane, with Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Rear Admiral @jaytaryela on board, flying near Mischief Reef in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Philippines. The plane was filming the massive scale of the illegal land reclamation by the Chinese government in the area. China established control there in 1995, initially claiming that it was “only building a shed for fishermen.” Today, they have built artificial islands with a total reclaimed area of 1,379 acres (558 hectares) which they have developed into China’s largest military outpost in the South China Sea, featuring runways, hangars, radar systems and air defense systems. In 2016, the United Nations arbitral tribunal ruling (Philippines v. China) under UNCLOS declared that Mischief Reef is falls within the Philippines’ EEZ and that China’s claims and activities there violate Philippine rights. China rejected the ruling. The reef lies only 120 nautical miles from the Philippines and is more than 600 nautical miles away from China. China continues is aggression and land theft from the Philippines under its “ten-dash line” lie 🇨🇳🇵🇭

I would like to offer to pay the salaries of TSA personnel during this funding impasse that is negatively affecting the lives of so many Americans at airports throughout the country

How Thucydides Trap Helped Beijing @GrahamTAllison has become an unwitting enabler of Beijing’s preferred framing. He was famous for the “Thucydides Trap” thesis at precisely the moment Beijing needed it most: 2015, just as Xi Jinping was beginning to popularize his worldview of “the East is rising, the West is declining.” Instead of framing the struggle for what it is — a contest between liberal democracy and authoritarian dictatorship — Allison packaged it as a tragic, almost mechanical clash between an established power and a rising one. That framing did Beijing a huge favor. It blurred the moral and ideological core of the competition. It shifted attention away from the nature of the CCP regime and turned the story into one of American anxiety, insecurity, and jealousy about China’s rise. In other words, it moved the focus from Beijing’s system to Washington’s psychology. No wonder the CCP values him. He provides intellectual cover dressed up as sober realism. That is why he gets such privileged treatment in China. To Beijing, he is not merely a foreign academic. He is a useful part of the united front propaganda ecosystem. Beijing loves giving photo ops to people like this. It lets them go home and imply they have access, relevance, even influence in Beijing, within their academic, business, and policy circles. The reality is less flattering: they are not shaping China. China is just using them.

This is a huge development and proves Iran has missiles longer than the 2,000 km range previously believed. It also proves two other things. First, that its so-called space launches actually were tests to develop long range missiles, including ICBMs. And second, Iran has been getting a lot of help with its missile program, probably from Russia, China, and North Korea. @A1Policy

𝗩𝗗𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗚𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡. Victor Davis Hanson has spent fifty years studying how wars end. When he says the tide is turning, it's worth listening to why. His argument isn't based on what the Pentagon is saying. It's based on how everyone else is behaving. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀. VDH's rule: Europeans never agree to go anywhere near a conflict unless they think the winning side has already been determined. They didn't help in the early days. Now they're starting to move. That movement is not idealism. It's a calculation. They've looked at the battlefield and decided which way this ends. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗹𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. The Saudis, the Emiratis, the Qataris — these governments have survived for generations by reading the regional climate with precision. When they expel Iranian military attachés, when they intercept Iranian missiles over their own capitals and say nothing about American strikes, when the UAE reaffirms its $1.4 trillion investment commitment to the United States mid-war — they are not making ideological statements. They are placing bets. And they are betting on the United States. 𝗔𝗹 𝗝𝗮𝘇𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗮. This is the one that should stop you cold. Al Jazeera — the Qatari state media network, historically critical of American military action, the network Tucker Carlson and the anti-war right love to cite against Israel — is now calling the U.S. bombing campaign brilliant and effective, and saying it has been underestimated. When the media outlet of a nation that hosts both the largest American air base in the Middle East and a Hamas political office starts praising American military effectiveness, the message is unmistakable: 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. A-10 Warthogs and Apache helicopter gunships are now flying strike missions in Iranian airspace at will. VDH's point: you only deploy those aircraft when there is effectively no air defense left to threaten them. They are slow, low-flying, close-support platforms. Their presence confirms what the Pentagon has been claiming — Iran has no meaningful air defense remaining. Iran's strategy now is rope-a-dope. Run out the clock. Wait for American public opinion to shift. Hope the midterms create political pressure on Trump to stop. It is the only play they have left. VDH's conclusion: if Trump sees it through — and he believes he will — the regime falls. Not in years. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻. 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗼, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝘆. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮.

Last year, a guy I know told me that the Chinese government had been caught red-handed executing political prisoners and selling their organs to desperate buyers all over the world. He told me this had been going on for a long time and that the world wasn’t paying attention. Actually, that’s not entirely true. @JanJekielek isn’t just a guy I know. Jan is the senior editor of The @EpochTimes, a well-respected writer, and the host of a show called American Thought Leaders, which I’ve been honored to appear on several times. So, when he told me with a straight face that the Chinese government was up to its communist armpits in a 9-billion-dollar organ harvesting scheme, I couldn’t dismiss him as a crackpot. And when he told me that dozens of hospitals had been built adjacent to dozens of prisons for the express purpose of expediting the transplant procedure and that most of the prisoners being executed and violated were members of the Falun Gong, a peaceful group of dissidents whose only crime was a failure to fall in line with the Communist Party, I couldn’t dismiss him as a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist. Instead, I researched his claims as best I could, talked to a few contacts in the state department, and concluded that Jan might very well be on to something. I then invited him on the podcast to discuss the matter in detail in a conversation that went viral. Shortly thereafter, Jan got a book deal, and that book, Killed to Order, just came out this week. Well, I’ve read it, and it’s fantastic. Fantastic and horrifying. Horrifying, and I’m sorry to say, true. Here’s what I wrote when Jan asked me for a blurb. “A lot of what you’re about to read I heard directly from Jan, when he first appeared on my podcast to talk about the multi-billion-dollar human organ trade in China. I had no idea that our conversation would go viral, ruffle so many feathers, or lead to this extraordinary book. Spoiler alert: as you read, you will likely experience the same mix of incredulity, horror, and disbelief that I did when Jan explained to me precisely how and why this atrocity has continued to unfold since 2000. But with every chapter—every page, really—your skepticism will be challenged with some very uncomfortable facts, and you will be confronted with a simple choice: to accept the claims herein as true or not. Frankly, I wish the evidence were flimsy or circumstantial or refutable. I’d prefer to live in a world where human beings are not wrongly imprisoned and routinely harvested for their parts. But I’m afraid that’s not the case. The evidence in this book is compelling and credible, and the evidence demands a verdict, no matter how uncomfortable or upsetting the truth might turn out to be. Such are the hazards of pulling one’s head from the sand and having a look around at a world in desperate need of improvement.” Obviously, I recommend his book, which you can order here. bit.ly/4bDsyJo Obviously, I invited him back on the podcast, which you can listen to here. bit.ly/TWIHI475JanJek… Obviously, I think the subject matter is important and worth your time. I hope you’ll share it.

President @realDonaldTrump & PM @takaichi_sanae reaffirmed that #TaiwnStrait peace & stability are indispensable to regional security & global prosperity. As a key node in the first island chain, #Taiwan🇹🇼 will continue working with the #US🇺🇸 & #Japan🇯🇵 to uphold the status quo.

The "geopolitical dilemma" of supply chains: Journalist and author @PatrickMcGee_ speaks with host Steve Yates about over-consolidation in China.

This is ignorant and idiotic.

If you haven’t seen it yet, this is worth your time: The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom (full film), produced by @ActonInstitute youtu.be/bRkuv-fOV7k?si…

Tune in to hear @SteveYates share his expertise on the intersection of Iran, China, and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Today, @Garymarx welcomes @SteveYates, Senior Research Fellow for China and National Security at the @Heritage Foundation, former White House Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs, ex-President of Radio Free Asia, and host of @TheChinaDesk Podcast on Federal Newswire. Amid Iran conflict fallout, they discuss Ukraine’s global military relevance: Ukrainian know-how now aiding Middle East allies against Iranian drone/missile swarms. They explore how U.S. awareness of Putin supplying Iran with intelligence could reshape Russia-Ukraine peace talks. The conversation pivots to Russia-China dynamics: historical rivalries, ethnic/civilizational differences, long border anxieties, resource competition in Russia’s Far East, Chinese labor migration tensions, and the fragile “no-limits” partnership. Essential for grasping Ukraine’s strategic edge, authoritarian alliances’ limits, and interconnected global threats.

Concur.

Well...

I am so honored to have been a part of this important event. No one but @Heritage could have hosted this honest of a conversation about what it means to be a conservative woman and to challenge the indoctrination of feminism EVERYWHERE. Thank you to @JCNSeverino @CarrieGress @emlwaters @maryricehasson for an excellent panel discussion and to @RepMaryMiller and Judy Lopez for kicking it off with wonderful comments. So proud of the work you all are doing. Thank you! youtube.com/watch?v=w2aD9d…

The 90% model: Author and CEO advisor @DrRam_Charan speaks with host @SteveYates about how China has gained control over the solar industry.

The Chinese-backed network behind disruptive anti-ICE and anti-Israel protests is now mobilizing against U.S. action in Iran, write Tal Fortgang and Stu Smith. thefp.com/p/the-foreign-…

CHINA TELLS U.N.: Hong Kong political prisoner Jimmy Lai “received a fair trial for his offenses endangering national security.” FORGOT TO MENTION: Jimmy Lai's only crime was running a pro-democracy newspaper that dared to criticize Beijing.