China tells US to stop trade talks with Taiwan
BEIJING — China’s government on Thursday accused Washington of jeopardising peace after US envoys began trade talks with Taiwan aimed at deepening relations with the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing.
Talks that started Wednesday cover trade, regulation and other areas based on “shared values” as market-oriented economies, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.
It did not mention China but the talks add to gestures that show US support for Taiwan amid menacing behaviour by Beijing, which threatens to invade.
Trade dialogues “disrupt peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said a foreign ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian.
He called on Washington to “stop negotiating agreements with Taiwan that have sovereign connotations and official nature”.
Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war that ended with the ruling Communist Party’s victory on the mainland. They have multibillion-dollar trade and investment ties but no official relations.
Beijing says Taiwan has no right to conduct foreign relations. The United States has diplomatic relations only with Beijing but extensive informal ties with Taiwan.
THE US intelligence community believes Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health is suffering and that he’s being treated for cancer, according to a new report.
The assessment, attributed by Newsweek to high-ranking officials at three separate intelligence agencies, comes after months of speculation that the Russian strongman is suffering from terminal ailments, the reports.
“Putin is definitely sick,” an official from the office of the Director of National Intelligence told the outlet, while noting, “whether he’s going to die soon is mere speculation”.
Two other officials – one from the Defence Intelligence Agency and one retired Air Force officer – also claimed to have access to a comprehensive intelligence assessment of Mr Putin’s health, and said the outlook for the Russian leader is bleak, according to the report.
The assessment supports the theory that Mr Putin was missing from the world stage for much of April because he was undergoing treatment for advanced cancer, the report said.
“Is Putin sick? Absolutely,” the retired Air Force officer said.
“But we shouldn’t let waiting for his death drive proactive actions on our part. A power vacuum after Putin could be very dangerous for the world.”
The intelligence community also reportedly believes that Mr Putin is increasingly paranoid about his hold on power – and that he may have survived an assassination attempt in March.
“Putin’s grip is strong but no longer absolute,” one of the senior intelligence officers said.
“The jockeying inside the Kremlin has never been more intense during his rule, everyone sensing that the end is near.”