Life Sentence: Two Former Chinese Defense Ministers Involved in Corruption!

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends, where truth matters. Excited to be with you on this Friday, June 28th. Got an interesting topic, uh, I was aware of, of the something was going on with these two generals in China because I did a video way back And one of you guys put a comment, he said, Dr. O, what happened to— at that time was the foreign minister, right? Remember, because when he took over that position, that guy was also under Qian. Qian was under investigation. But today I'm going to focus only on the two generals, Li Changfu and Wei— uh, his name is— let me, let me so I can pronounce it correctly here. Let me show it. Uh, that's General, former General Wei Fang Fang. Fang, please help me pronounce it correctly. So anyway, this is what I'm going to be talking to you about and provide the big picture. But there is a reason to why I decided to do this topic, and you will find out why. But first, let me say hi to my favorite people, all of you, the community here. So you too UTUZ, hello to you as well. Willie Holman, as always. Uh, China, the side you don't see. The official nation People's Newspaper said, uh, one of their kids sold secrets to foreigners. I, I don't know yet, but I'm going to share with you what I know and we just go from there. Uh, all right, let me— Truth Seeker, uh, Timeline Dunkley, New York City. Uh, Dr. O, did you see President Biden and Trump talk? No, I decided not to watch debate because there will be no substance, so I'm not wasting my time. And, and I don't— yeah, I don't watch TV, so— but thank you for asking. Uh, M, good to see you. Ahmed City, as always. Macian Dorcier from Chicago. Laval, Saint-Mamphou, salut à tous! Salutations de l'île de Maurice, meaning hello to everybody from the Maurice Island. Good to see you, man. Good to see you here. Uh, J Damu. Wow, look at guys where this gentleman joining us from, the Pacific Islands. Wow, good to see you, man. Francis Tango, as always, and Won KC, as always. Farhad Razavi, thank you. And Tennis John Smith from New Zealand, good to see you as well. Barry, Sue, good to see you. Seti, uh, go, uh, go, go, yeah, I hope I pronounced it correctly. Uh, and Dimpy Nza from Babylon, good to see you. Melgon and Common Sense, good to see you as well. Oh, Jane Huang, thank you so much, man, truly appreciate you for that. And speaking of this, at the end I'm going to say something specific about, uh, uh, one of you guys sent some major donation. I mean, I was just floored. So anyway, Tiger Slug, good to see you. Army with Harmony, as always. Jamie Arden and David King. All right, let's get into our topic, guys. As I said, to the surprise of many, of course it's not inside China's political parties and all that political establishment, rather, uh, the two former defense ministers, uh, and, and let me share a picture here with you, uh, this is the first one is, uh, former General Wang Feng, that's the one, I hope I pronounce it correctly here, and the second one is Li Shangfu, General, former General Li Shangfu. So I, I don't know what the tradition in China, whether you still call them by their title or not, if Here in the US, we keep using the title. What for? Like, like President, so if you served and you're done, that's it. To me, you use the title, for example, in academia. If you earn a PhD, then that's up whether people want to address you as doctor or not. So that's— so I don't know what was the tradition in China, whether you call them generals or not, former generals. So anyway, but this is what I am going to be talking about., this decision now that the, the ruling Communist Party decided to, uh, expel them out. This is no different than what happened with the former justice, uh, chief in China, which I will talk to you about some. And this is now the case with these two former generals, is that they are most likely to spend their time in prison for life. Now, I do know I do know, based on the system inside China, that, that penalty is part of it. And you know what, guys? Rightly so. I don't shy away from saying this. I express my opinion. It's because corruption— when you become a, a public figure, you know, you're working on behalf of the people, you are held at a different standard. You know, you can't be looking after your own interest at the of the people you are representing. You can be abusing power, you know. And there is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this, is to, to show the discrepancy that exists between China and the US when it comes down to something like this. And I'll, I'll get into the detail of it as we move, uh, forward. So like I said, this one here, guys, this, uh, uh, picture right here Uh, this is, uh, uh, Li Jianfu. That was, uh, during the— I, I believe it was the opening, the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies, uh, the Changrala Dialogue. You know, this was held, uh, I believe in 2023, June, somewhere around that time. So, and this is where, uh, this picture was taken from, and I'll give credit to— because we gotta give credit to the, uh, whoever owns the right. And this one is— we give credit to Vincent Chan, or Chan, it's T-H-I-A-N, from AP, Associated Press. So I give credit to Vincent for this picture here. So, so the idea that, uh, uh, uh, they are now being expelled but also being It's going to be spending, uh, life in prison, and rightly so. You can't get corrupted and, and, and, and assume that because you are in possession of power, you end up abusing it. And this is one of the reasons why I wanted to do this one, is to highlight the idea that, uh, for example, Lee Chang Fu, this gentleman here, Lee Chang Fu here, the assumption that the has abused his authority. Why? Because he end up enriching himself by taking bribe in exchange for granting favors in violation of military and party discipline. That's just like blatant disregard for the law, uh, because that's how they operate in China. And as a matter of fact, this is not about just China. In any country, when you serve in a higher position, You gotta hold yourself accountable for that. Your actions matter, your behavior matters, what you say matters. And something like this, taking bribe, I mean, that's just, uh, uh, so Li predecessor, who was Wei Feng, this is the other general, this guy here, Li Feng was also accused of similar charges. Another word corruption. So, uh, and those charges have been leveled now against them after conducting investigation. So interesting enough is that the articles that I read, and I will share with them with you, I will share them with you, all of them use the term overaccusation. In other words, they had to make sure the investigation is conducted thoroughly. Remember, when this guy was removed from his position way back. So, and this is why, uh, this, uh, uh, under the rule of the president, President Xi, uh, and the party for that matter, because what happened with the title of President Xi, he's also the head, the chairman of the armed forces. So the Central, the Central Military Commission, that's how it's known. And this is why we all know what President Xi did when he came to power. What did he do? Crack down on, on corruption. So because it was a saying, I read it somewhere on, on my Twitter feed, uh, I read that, uh, uh, something that, uh, uh, President Xi once said, if you want to be rich, don't work in the government. And he's right. Now whether how this will be interpreted, uh, it depends. But that's what it was said, that, uh, so, so sort of, yeah, you, you, you come to work for the government for the welfare of people, you know. That's, that, that, that's the message, uh, for this one. So, so these two generals apparently didn't honor that kind of commitments to that. So, and this is what happened, uh, when President Xi embarked on this corruption And frankly, I wish we had something like that here. Our system is corrupted to its core. I mean, uh, don't even get me started on that. And I might do— I might do a video on this on the other location because things are out of hand, out of control. But this is nothing new, and I am going to touch on history here for my country on this side, where— why corruption has sort of now came up, or I mean it became the norm. And I'll take you in history back to after World War II after I finish up some stuff here. So, so, uh, Lee Chang-foo is being— has been investigated for corruption and bribery, and this is what is— was announced. This is why he was removed from office in October. 2023. Yeah, you all remember when he didn't show up for a few months and everybody was wondering. Some say, well, he may be sick. Some said— and I was even asked about it. I said, I don't know. I, I am not— I don't have that kind of information. I can't speculate. I can't assume. I can't— uh, till the facts become evident and clear to me, then I will come and disclose that. But that's what happened. The investigation was conducted at that time. All this time, we— the other guy, the other general, was placed under investigation also in September and was suspected— and I put this in quote according to the article, and I'm gonna put, uh, share the link with you, uh— suspected of— and I put this in quote— serious violating— seriously violating political and organizational discipline by helping others gain improper benefits in personal arrangements, end of quote. What a powerful stuff, because this is what we see in my country here, in my system, the corrupted one that is, because we are corrupted to the core. And there is no, no, no, no ifs and buts, because it is. I mean, tell me if you are an American watching this, tell me if you have not noticed how, for example, members of Congress, they enter into Congress and within 4, 5, 8, 6 years, all of a sudden they are millionaires. More power to them if they came from money. I got nothing against that. There are some who came from money. I am not, you know, more power to you. But to fraud the people, it's like what's going on right now. We all know what's going on with our system here. So this is where you wish— for me as an American, I wish we had a system like what they're doing right now in China. I'm not talking about the political system. Their political systems are very different. China has its own, we have our own. What works for them works for them. But there are some, some, some things that doesn't matter what system you have. When you do right, you do right in whatever system. When you do wrong, doesn't matter what system you're in. Same thing here. And look how we handle corruptions. I mean, I do know that the guy in, uh, in the Senate Committee, uh, of Foreign Relations Committee, his name is, uh, Hernández, Menéndez, Menéndez. It was, was involved in corruption, and now they postponed the, the, the trial. I think it was postponed from January till June, and I don't even know if the trial took place or not. You don't hear nothing about it, and it's going like nothing happened. So instead, take those guys, conduct the investigation. If found guilty, you put them in jail, or you know the other alternative. You all know, guys, but I'm not gonna say it here. Yeah, you do this from here. That's it. You know, I'm not a heartless— it's what's right and what's wrong. There is no in-between. You get involved in corruption, you're gonna pay the the price for it. Simple as that, you know. And if it were up to me, I'll decide to do that on a Sunday after church, even though I'm not a religious guy, but I'll do it on publicly. So it is what happened, uh, with the— with this one here, because we, we shouldn't be confusing them, uh, this one here, this is General, former General We Fang Fang Fang Ji. If, if you speak Chinese, please type in that in English alphabet so I know how to pronounce it. I would greatly appreciate it. So what, what happened? What he was found— he was found to be accepting a huge amount of money and valuables in return, constituting the suspected crime of taking bribes. There is no I'm going to share a personal story with you just to make things in perspective for you. Back in the day when I was in the military, so, uh, and, and yeah, I had this order was sent to me. I had to show up for in front of a, a colonel because we need to talk to a general. Why? Because a foreign delegation was coming over here. I was assigned to that particular those two generals. I was the one assigned. Why? Because I happen to speak their language. So we kind of helped them out during their stay. They stayed about 5 days. I had to be with them everywhere— restaurants, you name it— because they don't speak the language. So I had to make sure and also ensure they understand what we are talking about and all that stuff. To make story short, at the end of their trip, I was waiting at the lobby in the hotel before they will escort them to the airport to hop on a plane and go. When I was standing there in the lobby with all of us, including US generals here, and we're standing and waiting for those foreign generals to come down. When they came down, one of them said to his assistant, hey, get me that gift. Of course I understood because I speak the language. I didn't make a thing of it. What the gift was meant to be for me. And it was a watch. It was an expensive watch. And of course, knowing the culture of that country, you don't turn down a gift because that will be interpreted as an insult. So I looked at the US general and I kind of gave him a nod that you don't want me turn this in because it will be bad. And I got the nod from him, go ahead and take it. 'And I did.' So I took the, the, the, the watch and I said, 'Thank you very much for your gift,' and so forth. We went to the airport. The moment I saw the plane in the air, that means they are gone. I went back to my post where the first thing I did, I went to the commanding officer, the general, the 3-star general's location, and turned in that watch. Even though it was a gift, couldn't take it. Because it will be interpreted. Why? Because I had to observe the law. This is what this guy did, because the way he's looking at it, just like, oh, this is not just a favor. No, it will be considered a bribe. And in my case, after I turned that in, the commanding general made the decision that said you can keep the watch. It was his decision. So can you imagine if I would have kept the watch, what would have happened to me? It's the law. It's no different than what, uh, uh, this General Wei did. So, so when you accept something like that and you don't disclose it, that becomes a bribe. So, and this is why, uh, sort of the, the system— this is why the, uh, the, uh, the entire, uh, the, the ruling Communist Party lost faith. Yeah, rightly so. You lose faith in in, in someone like this for the loyalty, for the care, for— because why? Because this is what it says, and I'm gonna use word for word as it is. It says, and I quote, adding that, meaning that, uh, the article goes, uh, quote, lost his faith and loyalty and contaminated the political environments of the military, end of quote. Those are very strong words because why? Why is this, guys? It's because the image of China— this is an example of it. And I think they did the right thing. The, the, the government did the right thing by disclosing this openly to the people, to, to the public, of course the Chinese, but to the rest of the world to see. You applaud the Chinese government for this. I wish my government will do the same for the massive corruption that exists in our system. You know, you get like members of Congress becoming over $120 million all of a sudden just because they spend time in Congress, you know. But this is not new in our system. And here is the thing, uh, in 2017, the China former Chief Justice, his name is Fu Chenghua, I got a picture of him here. I went and dig through the archive and pulled one up here. And by the way, uh, one of our viewers, and I'm going to disclose the name here, uh, by the name Brandy Hang 007, is the one who shared this with us. He, he wrote, and I quote, China ex-Justice Minister sentenced to death for corruption, so no exception for ex-Defense Minister, end of quote. Spot on, and thank you for sharing this, Brandy. Yeah, spot on, doesn't matter Chief or not, you break the law, you gotta ought to be punished. Simple as that. And this is what I say, I wish we had something like this in our system. Unfortunately, corruption runs so deep, and American people, I don't even know when they will ever wake up. I don't know what they need, what's need to be done for them to wake up. Look what the people in Kenya just did. Did you know, guys, that the, the, the, uh, what's his name, President William Ruto, now reversed that bill? They're not going to sign it. But even with that, people are not happy. They want him out completely because he's corrupted. So can you see that in our system here? Oh, human rights. Oh, this or that. No, no. If I am to advocate for, let's say, the punishment for corruption I will be labeled as inhumane, when in reality, no, it's because you're gonna have to think twice before you commit the crime in bustling money or fraud or taking things that don't belong to you. You're gonna have to think twice because there will be a punishment for it. And again, I am not looking at it from a religious perspective, I am looking at it from a moral perspective here. You become higher in the hierarchy of a government, whatever, that comes with a responsibility as well. That comes with trust. That comes with doing the right thing for the people, not for your own legacy, not for your own interests, not for your own family. There will be no nepotism. There will be no whatsoever. And that's the problem we have here. And again, the reason I wanted to do this one, this topic here, is because it was perfect example. And why shy away from that when you can disclose the truth? Because this is the truth. And again, I wish we had something in our justice system similar to this. Now our system, are you gonna have to go— I mean, even when there are high crimes, we put someone on death row for the next 20 years. Well, who's gonna foot the bill for that? The tax— taxpayer. Why should I? It's already enough that the government is wasting our money. Look no further than what happened since the Ukraine conflict started. And you think, uh, because average Americans do not understand that concept of the government for the people, by the people. They have no idea. And this is one of the, uh, uh, the idea of what happened. So with this guy, the former Chief Justice, uh, because he spearheaded several corruption fighting campaigns. Now he was jailed back in 2000, uh, I think it was 2022. And why? Because Fu— his name is Fu— uh, pleaded guilty in July, uh, for accepting ¥117 million, or $14.7 million. By the way, guys, I did find another source, and I will actually— I'm gonna put it for you right now. I did found another source that disclosed the amount to be $25 million. So, uh, which one is which, you decide. Here is the link for it, and you can look it up yourself and, and reach your own conclusion. So And what happened with all the money he gets? He gets in gifts and money for personal gain. And this is why the court back in 2022 sentenced him. He was in the location of, uh, Changchun. So I'm, I'm gonna type, I'm gonna the name of this location here, the city, for those who are familiar with the location there. This is the city, uh, and he was sentenced, uh, the court sentenced him to death penalty to be commuted to life in prison after 2 years. So which means there's no parole, by the way. So this is what happened. So, so in the case of these two generals, you know, uh, because Remember when President Xi came to power, he embarked on— I know he was misinterpreted as being getting rid of the rivals and all that. I don't think so. I had a conversation one time with someone here in the United States from China, happened to be a, a, a medical doctor, and we talked and all that stuff. Oh no, the, the Chinese, uh, uh, they want to control. I said, well, hold on a second, Hold on a second. I said, you've been living in America for a long time now, right? So tell me if we have in our system something similar that goes after corrupted leaders or corrupted politicians. Well, the system is there. I say, well, come on, let's be realistic here. You know, just because President Xi embarked on that, is that makes him whatever term? Even our president categorize him as a dictator, which is, you know, ridiculous. You know, at least he got rid of the corruption, and look what happened. Tell me if there are any in our system that gets something like this. I remember when I was in Iraq, $4 billion was missing. What happened? The audit the Pentagon conducted failed it for the 6th time, meaning that because the system has been corrupted, and that's exactly what has happened. So, and of course, as you may know, Lei Changfu was replaced in December by Admiral Dong Jun. So, and this is what, what happened to those two. Now, one key I need to bring to your attention, and this one has to do with our system, the whole reason for why I decided to do this. You all know who this guy is, right? Can anybody type in, in the chat box guys. Not to insult your intelligence, it's just not— I don't assume. That's just how my nature is. I don't assume. Let me see. Oh, Eisenhower! Techno, uh, what is it right there? Cheno— oh, oh, oh, Tenshi Rono! You got it, you got it! You guys got it! It was Eisenhower. Why am I mentioning this? Because it was Eisenhower that warned about the, the, the, uh, the, the, the MIC, right? Military Industrial Stuff. But it wasn't about just that, it was about the entity behind the scenes. And this is why in my country the corruption has been rampant from the '50s moving forward to today. It's getting even worse and bad. Why? Because there is no punishments that fits the crime. Once again, if it were up to me, I'll decide on it. Do the investigation, find out, you know the rest, right? I'm not gonna say it here. And especially because what happened with the emergence of this— you're all familiar with the, uh, the, uh, MJ-12. You know, that was where the center of power was concentrated, excluding President Eisenhower. And from that time forward, historically speaking, no president was able to do— that's why a lot of people have no idea, thinking that the president of the United States has power. President of the United States has no power whatsoever. The power is not in— the power is behind the scenes. The entities that manage on a global level, that's what it was. MJ, MJ-12 were just part of that. And that's why, if you notice, from the '50s forward, it was only the idea of get more, get more involved in conflict, create tensions, and that's how you get money. It's all about centered around, uh, the, that money and so forth. Oh, by the way, I got a picture for the former justice right here. During his hearing in, in that location in China. I just wanted to share this with you. So the system for us, uh, when Eisenhower warned about this— and as you may know, in the speech of Eisenhower, he said you have got to be very, uh, careful with the military-industrial complex, but also was about congressional. And someone came over and told him you need to remove the term congressional. This is why our Congress is so corrupted. I mean, and again, if you are an American watching this, you know what I'm talking about, unless somebody's not paying attention. So, and from that time forward, no president was able to be, uh, briefed on certain key things, you know. And I'll tell you one story that I was familiar with to a degree, without going into detail. When President Clinton was president, he wants to look into certain technologies and certain very highly sensitive, and he start digging and he was warned. Yeah, he was warned about that, and that tells you the story right there. So the idea, when you see— to me, to me personally, when you see something like this that's taking place, in, in, in China for those two major generals. Those are high-ranking, uh, you're talking about the top. They are no different than anyone else. The law apply equally. We don't have something like that here in our system, sad to say. So this is why the country is going forward. So, and of course the criticism, and you don't hear much about it in the West. You don't hear much about it. It's because it will expose the truth. And if there is anything entities fear, it's the truth. I mean, we all know how these things work here on this platform, right? The truth matters. And this is why I wanted to do this, because I want to highlight the need for us to emulate maybe something like that. Maybe we might do it differently, we might— whatever, whatever, as long as you bring those corrupted people to trial and to punishment. And simple as that. Because once again, there is right or wrong, there is nothing in between. Well, I'll do a little bit of right and I do a little bit of wrong. No, no, no. Those guys, those two, this one here, and I'll give credit here to, uh, Daniel Uh, what's his name? Daniel Hakim from AP. That's his picture, so I give him credit. So for a guy like this, or a guy like this one here, you know better than anyone else, you know, you knew full well that by the moment you decide to accept the, the possibility of gaining something for you not for the people you represent, that's it. It ends right there. You know, you enter a dark alley called corruption. And this is why the materialistic stuff— a lot of we get hanged into the material because we, we don't— we, we go out as we came in with nothing. We ain't taking— those corrupted people ain't taking a thing with them. You know, you got whatever, whomever got a million, he wants two, and he got two, he wants 10, and he got 10, he wants 100. But till when? Till when? When you check out, you checking out with nothing, you know. But it's the greed that has taken over, and our society, my society, this is how it measures so-called success. This is why we screw up. Pardon my language, we're messed up. You look at the next generation coming up, you know, they have no clue, no idea. Why? Because they've been fed that narrative of, oh, you're gonna have to be this, you'd be that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. There is more in life than just that. And, and, and what makes it even more complicated for an individual to reach this level and it becomes discour— you can't, you can't. And that's something I truly wish I can see something like that in my country, that corrupted politicians are held accountable. And again, if found guilty, you conduct the investigation. If found guilty, you know what the punishment is on a Sunday afternoon after church. No ifs and buts. And make my word on this, if that were to apply, you won't see— you will see less and less over time. Takes time, of course. Change doesn't happen overnight. Change takes time. So, so this is again why I wanted to highlight this to you, to bring this to forth, uh, uh, so because remember at that time when Lee Chang Fu disappeared The, the Chinese government decided, no, I ain't gonna disclose that. Well, rightly so. If they conduct investigation, they won't, because they wanted to know, in my opinion, because knowing how investigations go, they wanted to know how far things go, you know. Now, there are some who, as you mentioned, that, uh, their sons sell secrets, whatever. Well, their sons, first of all, shouldn't be knowing about that. Just because you have access doesn't mean you talk to them. When I was in the government, you know, I dealt with very highly sensitive stuff. You know, you ain't gonna talk to the family, whatever. You can't, because there's something called observing the law. Simple as that. But the problem is when you have our justice system that favor one category over another. Why? Yeah, and, and, and there is no way just because you reach the level of general you have these extensive privileges, you do whatever you want. No, you can't. You can't, because you are being held responsible and accountable to the people. So, and, and there are those who are saying now maybe the system in China is a little bit better than ours. I'll let you reach your own conclusion for that if you happen to be an American. So, and but to us, we know, you all know what it is, and, uh, I'm not going to beat the dead horse over this one here. So guys, all right, uh, that's all I wanted to share with you guys because I just— of substance, straight to the point, and, and, and, and that's it for this one here. But, but again, my reason for deciding to do this, I was debating between either to talk to you about this one or talk about the, the failed coup in Bolivia. You know, I still— if you guys would like me to do that next Monday, I'd be happy to do it. So speaking of Monday, remember to join me tomorrow for the community conversation at noon and at 7 o'clock PM for my conversation with Carl Zah. So on Tuesday I have SL Katan, on Wednesday I might have Dr. Mike Krupa. So he just texted me back, he's been busy, and I understand. So, uh, and I will confirm that with you, but for Tuesday, uh, it's confirmed. And for tomorrow, I'm gonna send the note to Carl and just detail with him, uh, the timing, and we go. He did text me, uh, sent me a message on Twitter saying that, hey, I'm available on the weekend, and that's it. We're gonna do it that way. Now again, I just want to wrap up this one here, guys, before I move into the, uh, answering your questions. The reason I wanted to do this, I— this is to me a perfect opportunity to highlight this is the difference between two systems, right? But two systems also, the difference shouldn't exist when it comes down to the justice. Doesn't matter what system you're operating in. As I always say, when Right is right, wrong is wrong. There is nothing in between. So, and here is how China now is going to be, uh, to the point that they decide to come forward, because they could have stayed quiet about it, nobody will ever know. But again, that won't be good because transparency is important. And if President Xi, which I am sure he was when he came to power, he embarked on erode in corruption. And again, corruption is not just in China. Corruption is everywhere, you know. Let's, let's just make that clear, guys. I'm just highlighting the fact that justice system will take on something like this openly at this level. I mean, tell me if we ever held someone accountable here in the US. I remember one case, it was a, it was a member of Congress. His name was Traficant From Ohio was convicted of, of bribe. He went to jail for a few years and was released. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, doesn't cut it. You get involved in corruption, you commit crime or whatever, you know what the punishment is. Straightforward. There is no ifs and buts. And, and again, some will categorize me as heartless. If that's your opinion, be it. There is— but I am not. So, uh, I'm just fair. What's fair is fair, simple as that. So, and this is why, because for me, in my country here, I'm seeing what corruption has done. And as I said, like I mentioned to you, go back to after World War II with MJ-12 and move forward throughout history. And all remember, we start in the '50s when we started with the Korean War first. Korean War, Vietnam, Gulf War I, Gulf War II, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine, and soon to be Asia, because that's where we are headed. So this is where the problem that I see. And again, I found it very compelling for me to address, uh, this particular aspect, and let alone— and the reason why is this, because Look no further than how we are sort of fomenting tensions over and over and over. And I'm going to share a picture with you guys to show you what I said. And again, you reach your own conclusion. And this, I got it through my tweet, my, my Twitter feed. Check this out, full screen. Here we go. Look at this. Country is hosting US troops. And again, this is nothing new. Japan, 54.8,000 troops. South Korea, 24.2,000 troops. Guam, 6.6,000 group, uh, thousand troops. Italy, 12.4, uh, Bahrain, 3.5. Turkey, 1.7. Germany, 35,100 troops. Spain, 3,300. UK, uh, uh, 10, 10,100. And even Norway has about 1,400. Now you know why Norway was involved in Nord Stream 2. So, so, and to me was like, anytime, anytime Yeah, because that's the fact. Anytime you have troops in your country, you don't have sovereignty. Let's just, let's just state it the way it is. Let's not pretend. This is why you see in the week Germany. So, and this is why also you think in terms what took place in Bolivia, which I am still debating if you guys want it Let me just ask you the question right now. Do you want me do Bolivia, talk to you about the coup, why or not? Yes or no? Because I don't want to waste your time and I don't want to waste mine, certainly, because it will take me time to prepare and all that stuff. So, uh, and, and, but when you think about what took place in, in, in Bolivia, and it didn't happen in a vacuum either, because in Bolivia, you think— and I've been there So I'm very familiar with what's close to Bolivia. That includes, uh, Chile and Argentina. What is those three countries known for, guys? Does anybody know? There, there, there is an expression about those countries. So you're saying yes. Tennis, you say yes. Derek, you say yes. Hamid, okay, that's it. Athin Wu, you say yes. Okay. Ellen Terry, you say yes. Robert Young, Okay guys, that's it, it's a done deal. Monday we will be doing Bolivia, but I'm going to share it with you right now. What is, what is known for— oh, you got it, James! James, you got it. That's— but there is a terminology used in addition to that term you put, lithium. That is correct. There is one particular— it's known about those three countries, and it's known with its term. It might not— you guys might not be very, very familiar. Triad, you got it, it's triangle, the lithium triangle. You guys got it, you guys got it. So, so to me, the coup didn't happen in a vacuum. What happened in Kenya didn't happen in a vacuum. What's going on in Sudan didn't happen in a vacuum. And what soon is going to be happening now in Asia, I am very concerned, I am very concerned as to having now the EU and NATO sending their ships. Netherlands just had its— one of its vessels right near China's waters. What the heck is Dutch sending a, a ship to Asia, to South China Sea? What for? So, and this is why I did a video for you guys, an analysis, and, and my editor is working on it, and once it's done, I will release it for you. But this is where my big concern If, if literally, if I'm given the opportunity to write a book right now and you tell me about what topic, I tell you what lies ahead for Asia, and that concerns me a great time. Big deal. And again, I am wondering how Asia is going to manage this. They need to manage it. They can't depend— Australia, we know it's gone. South Korea is useless. Japan is useless. Philippines is— it's kind of Philippines is wondering where the heck's the north from the south, where is the right from the left. You know, in Philippines case, still there is a change to the leadership, and in other countries as well, but Philippines mainly. Marcos Jr., that is, turns out to be like with Maduro. It's like we playing him like a fiddle. Same with Albo, same with, uh, Yoon, the South Korean president, same with the from Yokishida. You know, we playing them as we wish. But again, because to me I see that concern where these things are moving forward. So, so again, what are we going to South China with the military vessels for? Of course you're going to see the arguments of, oh, freedom of navigation. What did we do when we had the Chinese and the Russians came close to Alaska and still we didn't international water, because there is the limit of 12 nautical miles. That's still part of the territory of whatever country you're in. Yeah, we can't be saying one thing and doing the opposite. That's double standard. And the system, our system, uh, sort of, uh, uh, uh, sort of exposed how hollow it is inside. When I say our system, both politically and on, of course, the justice part of it. You know, especially when it comes down to corruption. And this is why I am like, wait a minute, wait a minute, someone will have to step in with the truth. I mean, to the point now, do you guys know that is now in England they will send you to prison if you question or challenge a narrative or something? That's how crazy. Why? What happened to the rights of citizens to challenge their government? Because the government is for the people, by the people. So where is this so-called democracy? I mean, come on. And that's why I go back to your question, Timeline Dunkley. Did I watch the debate? No, there will be no substance. I can't listen to two incompetent— there is no leader in the US, let alone— this is very bad for the US. You know why? That shows only two individuals. You tell me, is that what the political system is? That's it? What happened to choices, democratically speaking? Yeah, there's none. But again, it's not just the government problem, it's the people, us, those who are ignorant. There's no other way. I like— some, some say, well, you you're kind of harsh in your word. No, you can use the term misinformed, but misinformed, at least you might have some knowledge. They are ignorant. It's the truth. And this is where that, that idea of, you know, you got to think in terms of, uh, of— no, no, where this is going. No, it has to stop at some point. And this is why Uh, the idea of, uh, uh, uh, the trial for those two generals that the Chinese government decide to, you know, move forward with, uh, you know, you kind of— makes sense. It makes sense, you know. Yes, the system is different than ours, the opposite, but be it. But at least for something like this, I wish we had something like that. I wish our so-called president have the guts to do something. But how can you expect that when the president himself is involved in, in corruption? Yeah, it's just so— it just— it is what it is. So, but again, that was my reason for why I wanted to do this for you guys. I know some might say, well, it's— no, no, no, no, no, no, it's beside the point. So, uh, this is what I wanted to do. Okay guys, I am, uh Uh, uh, oh, by the way, I do need to share something with you that many of us in the West are so confused about— the difference between CCP and CPC. In the West, there's this massive confusion. So, so what I'm gonna do, I'll share some with you, but I'll provide you the link, guys, for you to read up to understand. When you think about China, and I'm gonna just say this, these terms, not turning this into grammar. When you say, for example, when you say Chinese, something Chinese, and you say China's apostrophe S, that means something belong to China. So the difference between the first one, when you say something Chinese, that means it focuses on related to China. The second one is the emphasis on belonging to China. This is why sometimes a lot of average Joe, average Jane not gonna understand, uh, into all this. So, and this is why there's a lot of people do not know the difference. I'm gonna put the link for you. And usually CPC used officially in China, uh, that's how it's been used there. And for us in the West because the connotation, but also the, the, the what the mainstream media want masses to know. This is how you psych people into moving with one direction. You all remember about Xinjiang, right? You remember the narrative. What was the narrative back then? Oh, the atrocities and all that stuff, which was nothing but a lie because they wanted to psych that one. As a matter of fact, I did found an article that I read it. And, and yeah, even though I disagree with them, but I still read, because just because you disagree with something doesn't mean you stop reading it. And I read it on a foreign policy, you know, foreign policy. And when I read that, and you know what it says, and I read it in Arabic, uh, because I, like I told you guys, I read the language, so I'm able to read the Arabic version, then I read the English version and said Oh, the difference. So here is what the, uh, the foreign policy is saying, is that hamlet, which translates basically to— listen carefully, this is what foreign policy saying— China's crackdown on Islam is creeping up on children. So that's my point. When you— the term here for the, the CPC, CCP, and It's because there is a design, by design, certain terminology is used right here in the West. They will never understand, but it was for a reason. So I'm gonna provide you the link for that, guys, and you can read up yourself, you reach your own conclusion, uh, for it. So one thing also I want to share with you is two comments, one from, uh, Glamour 3081. You're— this is about this particular topic we're talking about today. Day. He wrote, and I— he or she wrote, and I quote, maybe the government is still considering his previous services so he won't be sentenced to death. Two bank officials who took project bribe were sentenced to death by the Chinese government. To me, it's the right thing to do. Yeah. So, and last comment I want to share with you before I'll answer your questions is from Virginia Gomez. 5903. This is in response to the, uh, the trip of the Commerce— Industry Commerce Minister of Germany to China. Uh, Virginia Gomez wrote, and I quote, uh, they should, they should beg their American and European friends to help them. It is very risky to help someone that has not that has not the courage to put light in a Nord Stream sabotage, something that is vital to your economy and well-being of your people. If you are not a person with the skills of a leader, it will be dangerous to help you. The only thing that the West can do is trying to occupy Africa completely. They are speaking about it everywhere. Up to the African patriots to rise and defend their life and countries and act like Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Africans need to kick out all those corrupt politicians that works against their country and all Africa. First move, finish with the ECOWAS and change completely the African Union and began to build another African Union building and paved for Africans. End of quote. Wow, spot on. And by the way, it was about when I did the, the video about Kenya. So that's, that's the importance of it. So I just wanted to share this with you. And before I'll answer your questions, and before I'll do this As I want to always— like I always do, I'll say thank you, uh, to those who've been supporting the channel. Uh, there is one particular on, on PayPal. I can't disclose the name, I can't disclose the amount because it was substantial. Someone decided to donate for the channel. I'm very grateful, uh, but I have to hold my end of the bargain, or request from me not to disclose the the name, and I'm gonna honor that till my death, because that's how it is, unless I get the green light from the person. So, so thank you to this person, uh, for your substantial, uh, donations and support for the channel. It is greatly appreciated, and I want you to know I pay it forward, and I'm gonna share it with you. I don't shy away, and I'm not bragging. Yesterday I was getting at the gas station to get gas in my car And there's this guy that his car ran out of gas completely. I had to push his car to get it closer to the station, to the pump. So he got gas, and I'm noticing he got $5. That's all he had. So, and I was like, you know what, just open this one, just fill up your car. You know, he almost cried. He almost cried. Why? Because, you know, there's this stranger, I don't even know the guy, And he's just helping out. Well, because someone is helping me too with this channel. So you pay it forward. And that's exactly what I told him. I said, you pay it forward. That's all it is. Oh, he said, I will, sir. I almost cry. A grown-up man. I mean, he was in his late 20s, shook my hand, and I could just see his eyes were, you know, watery a little bit. And I said, no sweat, man. You pay it forward because that's how we ought to be. You can't just take, you gotta give. So, so to this person on PayPal, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart, and, and, and I share this with the community, except I can't disclose the name. So to those who wants to donate for or support the channel on Buy Me a Coffee, uh, of course I can't ignore TC Kwan, just buys me, uh, more coffees and more teas. Tomorrow I am gonna make coffee to share it with all of you guys. Then next time I'm gonna do tea to share it with you all, for those all who buy me coffee and tea. And yes, my Asia trip is still in the plan. Remember, I don't say much for a reason. That's just how it works. You will know, you will be notified when that time comes, but it is still on a plan. And, uh, to those who bought my books Uh, once again, thank you for buying that. I just got a question from Army with Harmony regarding the book, and I sent the answers in case you didn't see them for that. So, all right, let's answer some questions here, and, uh, before I sign off, and I will see you tomorrow for just chill out conversation, and I'll prepare for you for Bolivia. So, and I spent time in Bolivia, uh All right, let's, uh, let me see, uh, oh, Army with Harmony, you're most welcome, you're most welcome, I greatly appreciate you, man. Uh, Francis Tango, yes, karma is, and I believe in it. I know in the Western mindset we don't believe in those kind of things. I do. And again, I don't impose my will on others, they can believe whatever they want. I do, I do, because I've seen in my life so far, you know, I'm now old enough to say I've seen enough in my life. I even survived the bullet that is passed close to my ear from a sniper. Why do you think that is? It was nothing but a karma. It wasn't meant to be for me to go yet. If I will ever— if I want to have ever tilted my head this way, it will end up here. So I do believe in karma, and to me, you do good, you do good, you don't expect something in return. You do good for the people. This is what I do, this one for you guys. I don't expect anything in return. No, no, because if I expected, it defeats the point. What is the purpose? It defeats the point because you're doing it for a reason. No, no, when you do the right thing, you don't do it for a reason. You do it because you want to, and you put 110% in it. That's the way I see it. So, and I'm very grateful to all of you guys, for the whole community for that matter. So, all right, uh, let me see question. Just put Q so I know, uh, I, I, so And by the way, guys, I'm just a human like, like all of us, you know. I made my own mistakes, and I am not shying away from that. I made my own mistakes. I asked forgiveness because that's the right thing to do. Now, whether the people wants to forgive or not, I can't, but I, I, I do. I do because that's the right thing to do. So, all right, let me, let me go back up and see if there is a question there. If not, I'll move on, and I'm gonna go work on the Mustang and work on a few other tanks and, uh, and just go from there. By the way, do you guys know that there are the elections in Iran today? I just had an interview in Washington, DC about that, so I talked about it. Oh, oh, uh, Bang Yi question: why second-class leaders always lead the country? Oh, that's, that's a tough one, man. Do you guys know the answer to this? For me, it's very, uh, uh, yeah, I, I don't know how to— I, I don't know how to answer this, believe it or not. I don't know how to answer it because to me, I believe in one thing, that sometimes— and I used to tell my students this one here, guys, you know, I see among you sitting here that could be the next whatever, next president, next this, next that. But as long as you don't doubt yourself, it's because if you look at a history, just look at a history of mankind, the great leaders came from a humble environment. It's because they went through the hardships. They appreciate, they understand. So now they've been given an opportunity in life, and they're like saying, what do I do? Do I really hold my commitment as I remember my life back then when I didn't have anything, whatever, whatever, and serve the people? Or do I turn a page on my past and go after the monetary stuff? This is why, you know, at least that's what I noticed, observed when I read up on, on, on people and, and so forth. That's why I saw that. That's, that's a good question, and I, I hope you guys can put in some answers just to help the conversation here. So Uh, all right, one more question if I see it here, and if not, I'll sign off and I will see you tomorrow for our coffee and conversation. All right, I don't see any, guys. I'm going— uh, oh, oh, Rampons, uh Uh, Ramblance01 question: Dr. O, can you please do show about Sudan and United Arab Emirates involvement? So funny, uh, today's question, uh, when during my interview in Washington about was about Sudan, because guys, remember Sudan and Gaza, there will be about 1.2 million people, uh, going to be facing starvation. Yeah, we don't hear much about Sudan. So yeah, I'm gonna look into that and, and, and check it out because again, I do things for you to learn from. This is not about filling out the time and, uh, I, I care less for that stuff. So, so yeah, I will, I will certainly take a look at it. And I do remember someone back then asked me. I didn't forget someone back then asked me. So, all right guys, I hope you find this very informative and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 12:15 for our community conversation. As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, guys. Bye-bye.