Twists & Turns Beyond Ukraine

Iran and Taiwan

Ali Larijani, advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei

A PressTV news report overlooked by many, one of Khamenei’s top confidants and advisors from the Iranian elite, Ali Larijani, was privileged to float this balloon:

“If the US or Israel bomb Iran under the pretext of Iran’s nuclear issue, the Islamic Republic will be forced to move towards producing nuclear bombs. Iranian people will pressure us to develop nuclear weapons,” Larijani stressed….

“The Leader’s fatwa prohibits nuclear weapons, but if the US makes a mistake, public pressure will force Iran toward nuclear armament,” Larijani stressed.

“Western discussions revolve around destabilizing Iran from within. Despite economic discontent, the Islamic Republic enjoys strong public support. The bond between the people and the Revolution is like that between a parent and child,” the Leader’s advisor further emphasized.

The recently published public version of the latest US Threat Assessment states Iran ended its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and hasn’t restarted it. Yes, it has peaceful nuclear energy and medicine programs it pursues under very strict IAEA supervision. Of course, the hypocrisy is staggering with the Zionists having nukes and not being part of the NPT or IAEA supervision regime—the Outlaw US Empire ought to bomb the Zionists. The recent JFK papers release implicate the Zionists in his assassination because Kennedy didn’t want the Zionists to get the bomb—all available evidence suggests the Zionists stole the technology from the USA with inside help from Mossad/CIA assets.

As for attacking Iran, all its assets are buried underneath its massive mountains except for defensive assets that must be exposed—radars and such. The main Outlaw US Empire bomber base is at Diego Garcia, a group of islands about 3,000 miles to Iran’s South-Southeast in the Indian Ocean. But for the bombers to reach Iran, they must be refueled in-flight, which is where they’re vulnerable, and their rehearsals have also been worked for Iranian defense crews since they have the capability to watch. Also, the threat to Iran from Diego Garcia has existed for 45+ years, meaning Iran has had that long to work out a way to defend itself from that vector. NATO intel says Iran lacks a missile with enough range to hit the island, which IMO is an awful assumption. Of course, to Iran’s West lie many major Outlaw US Empire bases that are effectively hostages to Iran if the Empire were to attack.

How rapidly Iran could construct a nuclear weapon depends on what stage the engineering is at. If it must be developed from scratch, perhaps as much as a month will be required. However, if the engineering is already completed and only needs to be married to the nuclear ammunition component, that could be done in perhaps 48 hours or less. Then there’s crafting it into either a gravity bomb or a missile warhead.

The main point here is the Outlaw US Empire has painted itself into a corner policy-wise. It risks major losses—defeat even—if it opts to attack Iran. And its crazy rhetoric tells Iran there’s no grounds for negotiations since it isn’t being respected whatsoever. Trump has reached a point where he must act or lose a vast amount of face.

Now we travel farther to the East or West depending on your perspective to see what’s happening between China and its province of Taiwan that’s being held hostage by Outlaw US Empire-backed demagogues claiming to seek independence, which is actually a lie. What they want is not to become independent but a vassal—a non-protectorate—of the Outlaw US Empire. The parent is not at all amused; indeed, it’s become very serious as today’s events reveal as reported by Global Times:

PLA Eastern Theater Command releases warning cartoons after drills start around Taiwan island

At the top of the article is a 40-seconds-long GIF cartoon from which the three stills below come from. Here’s its text:

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command on Tuesday started joint exercises around Taiwan island. Shortly after, the command's official WeChat account released a series of cartoons titled "Shell," depicting six major PLA weapons crossing the sea and encircling the Taiwan island.

Military affairs experts told the Global Times that the illustrations send a clear warning to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces that pursuing "Taiwan independence" means war and will only lead to getting oneself burned and self-destruction.

The three cartoons, titled "Parasite poisoning Taiwan Island," "Parasite hollowing Island out," and "Parasite courting ultimate destruction," illustrate how "Taiwan independence" separatists exploit the old "Republic of China" framework as an empty shell to poison, harm, and ultimately destroy Taiwan, said experts.

They noted that the release of these cartoons underscores the message of the PLA exercises, which are a powerful response to Lai Ching-te's repeated provocations against the one-China principle, his crazy incitement of anti-mainland sentiment, and his escalating imposition of "green terror" on the island.

The first cartoon, titled " Parasite poisoning Taiwan Island," portrays Lai as a giant green worm, accompanied by smaller "parasites" he nurtures. Together, they exploit the false shell of the "Republic of China" to spread "green terror" from their "Taiwan independence" stronghold, using it to suppress opposition forces from the blue and white political camps and corrode Taiwan from within, leaving a deep crack in the island.

A military affairs expert told the Global Times on Tuesday that the cartoon reveals how Lai uses the name of "Republic of China" as a political disguise to advance the Democratic Progressive Party's "Taiwan independence" agenda, exposing its deceptive and misleading nature.

The illustration also features words encircling the hollow shell - "Betrayed Democracy," "Distorted Freedom," "Collapsed Peace," and "Shattered Prosperity" - underscoring the hypocrisy of Lai's claims of "prosperity, peace, freedom, and democracy" in Taiwan region, said the expert.

The second cartoon, titled "Parasite hollowing Island out," depicts Lai as a demonic figure, tearing down a statue of former Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek, imprisoning opposition figures such as former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je and Kao An-kuo, and seizing Kuomintang party assets.

The cartoon illustrates a series of destructive actions carried out by the DPP since taking power, including removing Chiang statues, revising school curricula, targeting opposition assets, engaging in corruption, suppressing dissent, cracking down on opposition forces, and marginalizing mainland spouses.

The military affairs expert said that Lai's recently unveiled so-called "17 major strategies," heavily influenced by "green terror" and "Taiwan independence" ideology, further expose his true nature that is opposed to peace, exchange, democracy, and humanity.

Under the erosion of Lai and his so-called "parasite army," the "Republic of China" framework he claims to uphold has become nothing more than an empty shell - fractured and on the brink of collapse, said the expert.

The third cartoon, titled "Parasite courting ultimate destruction," conveys that if Lai and his followers continue to recklessly provoke and persist on the path of "Taiwan independence," the protective shell will inevitably shatter, plunging Taiwan into conflict and bringing suffering to its people.

In the illustration, six major PLA weapons cross the sea to encircle Taiwan island, while a giant pair of chopsticks uproots the "parasite" Lai and places him into the flames of war that he himself has ignited. The cartoon shows the "Lai worm" crying out in vain, with nowhere to escape, and labels him as a "pawn," an "abandoned piece," and a "doomed piece," symbolizing his inevitable fate.

The military affairs expert noted that the cartoon sends a direct warning to Lai and "Taiwan independence" separatists in unmistakable terms that pursuing "Taiwan independence" means war and will only lead to getting oneself burned and self-destruction.

The poster concludes with a seven-character quatrain titled "Shell":

Under false cover, green terror spreads;

With foreign backing, separatists run wild.

One family torn across the Straits;

Democracy reversed; prosperity destroyed.

The expert noted that the poem continues the Eastern Theater Command's tradition of using poetry to convey its message. The verse identifies Lai as a creator of danger, condemning the DPP's deceitful tactic of "hiding behind a false shell" and its collusion with external forces to pursue "Taiwan independence." These actions, the expert said, have fueled "green terror" across the island, putting ordinary people at constant risk.

Lai's stubborn stance, provocative rhetoric, and radical measures have severed cross-Straits ties and, through misguided policies, pushed the people of Taiwan into hardship and instability, said the expert. [My Emphasis]

If you haven’t viewed the entire cartoon, I suggest stopping for a moment, clicking this link, muting your sound, or turning it down a lot, click the full screen icon, then the start button. Having watched, you’ll now want to know what “Green Terror” is. The following explanation is from The Diplomat publication that’s mildly anti-PRC:

Demonstrators demanded his release outside the detention center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District, where Ko [former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman] was being held at the time. Conspicuous among the slogans that were chanted at the Tucheng facility by the protesters – mostly members of pro-unification groups – were references to a “Green Terror.”

The phrase, which became popular among Kuomintang (KMT) officials and supporters early in former President Tsai Ing-wen’s first term in office, is controversial. It plays on associations with the White Terror period in Taiwan, where tens of thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered under the dictatorship of former Republic of China President Chiang Kai-shek of the KMT.

One of the earliest high-profile uses of the “Green Terror” term was by Sun Lih-chyun, head of the KMT’s Nationalist Policy Foundation think tank. Accusing Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party administration of stifling criticism by having unfavorable Facebook posts and comments reported and removed, Sun said the social media platform had “entered a period of ‘Green Terror’” since the DPP took office in 2016.

Pan-Blue internet users flooded the wall of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms (then known as Facebook), repeating claims of a Green Terror campaign and warning him that – because it was unfolding in Chinese – he might not be aware of “a serious crackdown on dissent” that was occurring in Taiwan, in contrast to the “great freedom of speech and political opinion” that Americans enjoyed. Tsai had made combating “fake news” a priority and critics charged that she was using this as cover for a crusade against opponents.

The following year, “Green Terror” resurfaced as the slur of choice for the Tsai administration when Wang Ping-chung, a spokesperson with the pan-Blue New Party, was indicted as an accessory to espionage under the National Security Act (NSA). While Wang and his co-defendants were eventually acquitted of attempting to develop a Chinese spy network in Taiwan in early 2021, prosecutors highlighted documents written by Wang in which he vowed to “work under the guidance and assistance of the Chinese Communist Party to unite and integrate the forces working to achieve unification across the Taiwan Strait.”

Repeated references to a Green Terror in this case were particularly sensitive as the NSA had been introduced by the KMT in 1987, at the tail-end of Martial Law. The law was widely seen as an attempt to extend the authoritarian measures of the era, despite government lip service to democracy. At the time, the fledgling DPP remained officially illegal, and the NSA represented a potential obstacle to free speech and a genuine opposition. [My Emphasis]

There’s much more to the article and the curious will want to read it fully. I see it as proto-Banderite activity we know see regularly in the EU, most recently with the arrest of Le Pen. There’re a few gaffs within the article that will make some smile. You’ll discover the Cold War lives on in Taiwan, although today a strong plurality exists for reunification and the main political coalition ruling Taiwan’s Parliament is Anti-DPP. Geoeconomically, Taiwan’s prosperity is dependent on China. The recent meetings between Japan, China and South Korea have resulted in closer cooperation as Japan and South Korea are wary of what Trump has in store as they both recall what happened in 1998 very well when both nations were financially savaged by the Empire when it acted to save its own skin in the Dot.Com Bust/Asian Financial Crisis.

The best example for reunification is the Western Empire’s decline and potential collapse. Increasing trade dynamism between ASEAN, Japan, China, and South Korea provides many opportunities for Taiwan to join with China just as Hong Kong and Macao have. Instead of spending money on useless Outlaw US Empire weapons, Taiwan ought to be allocating monies to increase its economic capacities. Taiwan’s people need to think about where they want to be in 20 years as such an outlook boils down to two possibilities—prosperity through peace or ruin via a failed attempt at independence egged on by a dying empire.

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