Taiwan Elections: Unveiling the Future of Asia & US-China Relations!

All right, hello everybody and welcome to Geopolitical Trends. So excited to be with you on this January 10th. And by the way, some of you still sending me, uh, birthday wishes. Thank you so much for that. And it's never too late, so some of you just came across, uh, the last live when I announced it was my birthday. So in any event, very, very excited to be with you here, guys. I wanted to to, like I promised you, uh, to do an update about what's going on in Taiwan regarding the local— some call it presidential, of course they have the president, but they also have the locals, uh, elections. And what I'm going to be talking to you about, I'll give you a brief, uh, brief, uh, historical snapshot for those who might not know the history of, uh, Taiwan, of course., which is part of China, and it's all entangled. Then I'll provide you some insights about how the process works for their elections, the elections of the 113 members of their parliaments, the provincial parliaments, and so forth. But my main focus is going to be about the security landscape in Asia. That's to me why, where this importance is. Then I'll take a question or two from you. By the way, I'm gonna do this here for a period of time of about, what, 30 minutes or so. Then we're gonna go to the other location because I have some other important information I need to share with you on the other side, so on the other platform, that is. So, so, uh, like I always say, thank you for being here. Type in if you like where you are joining me from, always greatly appreciate that one. And, uh, uh, what's interesting, I saw something here from, uh, Flomo 1983. It says, I'm gonna share it with you guys here, check this out. University of Geopolitics, very interesting. We are learning a lot from you. My entire village in Liberia listens to your recorded podcast. Thank you so much for the enlightenment. You are most welcome. And I do remember Liberia because it was Charles Taylor that was sentenced by the ICC way back for some corruption issue. Africa has a lot. I, I know I don't do a lot of analysis about Africa, whatever. I'm gonna be tackling that as well. That will be part of one of the announcements I'm gonna make for you guys later on, and I will fill you in later on as we get closer. There's some major, uh, uh, events I'm gonna be embarking on, and I want you to be part of it and be aware of it. So, so like I always say, Willie Coleman, good to see you from West Memphis. Good to have you here as always. Phil, as always, from Ottawa. Uh, Joey Robert from London, good to have you. Uh, Buta from Kathmandu, Nepal, which I had a visit few years ago. Uh, Rick O'Brien, as always, from Florida, good to have you, man, here. Uh, Amando Magici from my— he's my— from my home state, Texas, here. Good to have you here. Uh, uh, hi from Hong Kong, China. Good to see you, man. Man Bilpo from Maryland, good to see you here. So all right, let me, let me move on. I'm gonna talk about my thanks to the members and all that later on, like always do. But let me start with the 3 questions here, uh, that you need to— I mean, we need to consider. It's because it's part of what this conversation is going to be about. And there are the questions here. The first one we need to think about is what's next for Taiwan? We all know the tensions that exist in, in, in the Taiwan Strait. So, and it's worth asking the question. And when I say what's next for Taiwan, I'm talking about the whole political stability in the Taiwan Strait. You know, of course it's common sense China ain't gonna give up Taiwan. It's part of its territory. But that is why I'm asking, what's next for Taiwan? Because you can't be living into this tit-for-tat forever. Second question, within this context, what's next for the US-China relations? Because whatever is going to be taking place in few days from now will certainly have an impact on the US-China relations. Fast forward. And third is, will China take matters into its own hands? Doesn't matter what outcome comes in. And the reason I'm saying this, because you have to read up on President Xi Jinping statements as far as 1949, what's going to be happening in 1949, which will commemorate also with the anniversaries for a whole China. So this is the reason why we need to ask these questions, because they are worth considering. And this is what we're gonna be tackling into, uh, this conversation as I move forward. Let's do some headlines from around the world. Some of you have always asked for this. I'm gonna start with the first picture here, uh, right here. This one here, this one has to do with the Suez Canal. Of course, as you all know what's going on in the Red Sea. Well, this is now prompted companies to change routes, with an increasing number of them avoiding the Suez Canal altogether, which is of course negatively impacting Egypt. This is why our Secretary of Treasury is in Egypt Not only about this, but in something else. They wanted Egypt to sell assets in return for the IMF loan, which means to keep them in debt. That's what it is. So, uh, according to International Monetary Fund, here is the data, uh, it says the movements of goods through the Suez Canal last week has decreased by about 35%. So that's just a major, major, uh, development that I wanted just to share with you. Next one has to do with our Secretary of State— a Secretary of Defense, rather— Lloyd Austin, by the way, who hid the information from his boss. He didn't tell him the truth. Even for somebody like that couldn't be honest and say, hey, I'm sick, or whatever the case might be. We wish him well, of course. Well, what happened is that, uh, uh, uh, Lloyd Austin has been receiving care for prostate cancer. That was one of the reasons why he submitted his resignation letter. But he hid this from Biden for a long time, and now the Pentagon couldn't hide it anymore. So why can't— why couldn't he be just honest? We all can get sick. You just come over forward, straightforward, say, hey, I'm, I'm sick, I have whatever issue I need to deal with. But this is not about that. This is about karma coming back to you. For those who believe karma— I do, I can speak for you— what goes around comes around. You do well in life, it will come back to you. You do bad in life, it will come back to you. So that's just what I wanted to share with you. Next one has to do with this one. Now for this, I'm gonna detail more on the other platform when we get there, but for now, suffice it to say that the H group— you know which one I'm referring to here— announced the targeting of US ships providing support to Israel after the US and British Defense Departments announced that they had repelled, or repelled, repelled what they described as the largest H attack in the Red Sea last night. First of all, what are Brits doing there to begin with? What business do they have into all this nonsense? You know, that just makes you wonder, makes you wonder. I will be detailing more on this when we go to the other location. And the last one, last one I will share with you on this. This is the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, uh, her name is de Sutter. Uh, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister declared that her country— listen carefully, guys— cannot remain silent about Israel's threats of genocide in the Gaza Strip. That's the term that she's using. And indicated that she will submit— meaning Belgium will submit a proposal. No, I'm sorry, she, not her government. She will submit a proposal to her government to join South Africa in, in filing the lawsuit. You all know about South Africa's filing a lawsuit now, uh, in the International Court of Justice in The Hague. So, uh, I'll detail a little bit more about this because there are a few things that needs to be mentioned. There are two other stories. I'm not going to share them here, uh, I save them for later on, but I will show you the pictures. Okay, you guys will understand what I'm going to be talking about. And the next one is this one here. Yeah, don't jump to conclusion. It might not be what it is, and I will share with you the story why. Later on the other, uh, location. And by the way, here is, uh, let me show you where you can get it. There, it's right here. I'm gonna put it for you guys. Uh, let me get it for you and put it on the chat box. So this way you have it and you can just hop in as soon as we're done here. All right, so, so here it is. You guys have it there, uh, later on you'll, uh, let me hide this one here or move it or remove it rather. So So, uh, just when we're done here, we'll, we'll, we'll jump over. So, all right, let's talk about— let's chat about our topic today. So as I wrote in the description, uh, at the beginning, that how will we consider the local presidential elections? I, I don't, you know, calling them presidential because Taiwan is not a sovereign state. Taiwan is not an independent state. That's why I have— and, and it's me— I have a hard time using the term presidential. It's because it's presidential is ties to when a nation is a sovereign state, it's an independent. Taiwan is still part of China as of today. The whole world except 13 countries, and I'm gonna share that with you as we move forward for that. So now the idea of, uh, understanding where this is going, how this is going to be, and of course the main part is that, uh, they are both fighting about the votes, which is normal. This is, by the way, representative of the new party, uh, and I'm going to detail the, the, the main parties that's going to be done there. So, so as we said, and by the way, I am reacting here to an article that was written by Aaron Hale. He's the one who wrote the article on, on, uh, very, very interesting insights. And I, I, I, uh, I give credit where credit is due. Very, very articulated. I read it through, and some of the content of it is coming from that article. So I'm giving credit To Aaron Hell. That's where part of, uh, and as it was from the introduction, literally it was very fascinating. And, and, uh, the, the author wrote, and I quote, in what is said to be a historic year for elections worldwide, Taiwanese voters will head to the polls this week because on the 13th to choose their next president again. Do I call it president? Do I call it governor? You decide. President, vice president, and legislative representatives on January 13th. So it's very, very interesting. And how the whole Taiwan, with the population of about 22, 23 million, give or take, about 20 million votes if I'm not mistaken, uh, the, the whole reason for why I wanted to do an update of this is because of what this outcome is going to carry, the political and the, the enormous importance of it, because it's what's going to be defining not just the outcome, is the result of it, and also for what the US is planning on doing in the South China Sea. This is why this comes into, uh, uh, here as far as importance and whether the Taiwanese, the locals where they want to be associating themselves with. Do you want to associate yourself with the prosperity, economics, and so forth, or do you want to associate yourself with conflicts and all that? Many— and some of you put comments that you will thank Vietnamese— Taiwanese, I'm sorry, not Vietnamese— Taiwanese will learn from Ukraine. It's, it's logical arguments, you know. And again, this is where, as a geopolitical analyst, I am thinking about the security landscape, what's going to be happening moving forward, given that NATO is already opening an office in Tokyo, given what Philippines is doing, given what South Korea, Japan, and Australia are doing. So all this, it's not— it doesn't happen in a vacuum. And this is why I'm saying, I'm saying that the importance of this, given the political or disputed political status, that is. The political— if we use the term disputed political status, well, the disputed political status is created by whom? Not internally. It's from outside. It's because it is well known that we even sort of agreed to sign three communiqués with the Chinese as far as they call the Chinese communiques, uh, as far as One China policy. That means we recognize that Taiwan is part of China, except that China allowed Taiwan to be on its own, still falls under mainland China. Others are saying otherwise, and this is why I'm, I'm using the term in the article disputed political status. No, we just— we in the West, because I read some articles in, uh, uh, from Western think tanks and how they are articulating the, the, the issue very, very in one direction instead of what it is. And this is what we're going to go through, uh, all this. Some of them using the term de facto independent since 1940. Very interesting here because of the history. And this is why, uh, uh, even in some Western entities, they using the term CCP, like, like they saying here, outlying territories are still claimed by CCP, which usually you and I know the term— that's instead of using the other term that is common for the CPC The Western think tank will have to push the narrative for CCP, which no different than what you have with Indian versus Asia, Asia-Pacific. You all hear in certain, certain, uh, literature that the term will be Indian Ocean. Others will say Asian Oceans. It used to be, I mean, Asian Pacific, Asia-Pacific., and we changed it to Indo-Pacific. Same thing for Middle East. Prior literatures used to highlight it as West Asia. We changed it to Middle East. It's no different here. But in any event, we're not going to focus on CPC, CCP, and all that. We all know where the direction— the understanding of this is that where this is going as far as how the US has been watching all this. Well, we all know observers in both the US and China will be— are closely watching this because the outcome, as I said, is going to influence the trajectory. So, and as voters opt for more conservative and Beijing-friendly KMT Party, because they're going to have the choice between that or the more center-left US-friendly Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP. So of course, the DPP, as you know, has ruled now in Taiwan for about 8 years. Uh, this is the last term for what's her name, Tsai. This is it. That's, uh, is going to be the— this is why, if you guys notice, I put the term on the— this on the thumbnail as the end is near, because it's the end of all this. So this is why I use that terminology for that. Now let me state one thing about, uh, uh, how things are inside, and this is based on conversations that I had with some people who know. Voters are unhappy already. With key domestic issues inside Taiwan. One of them is a stagnant economy. You all know why. It's because the trade between China and Taiwan is, is, is massive. Okay, so you got a stagnant economy, you got a high cost of housing, and you got also the future of the island's energy. So This is why these elections will hold some sort of, uh, importance. Nobody's denying this. I'm going to show you a picture here of the, uh, this is the current vice president who's running for, obviously, the Taiwanese vice president, William Lai. So he's hoping he can extend the, uh, uh, uh, the, the DDP hold. Uh, it's hard to tell at this point. I I am not stating this or that. I am still keeping my eyes open till the, till the 12th. Basically, the polls will be open, or the, uh, the voting polls will be open, will be, uh, uh, or the— I'm sorry, the voting centers will be open at 8:00 AM on the 13th. So this is what I'm going to be, uh, keeping an eye on till that time. For now We're just gonna keep an eye open for what's going on, and I'll provide you on updates. So, so let's do geography and let's do history, because without those, it won't make sense to whomever, and it's very important for us to understand. So I'm gonna share a map with you. Now remember, even the maps can be manipulated, politically speaking. And I'm gonna— let me see where I need to share the screen with you so you guys can see. Excuse me. Now this is just the, the downtown, the streets of, uh, in Taipei. All right, let me see if you guys watch— can see. I'm gonna make full screen. It is And I'm going to be adjusting the map here so you can, you, you can just see at least. So Taiwan, it is an island, not a country. It is an island located off the east coast of mainland China. If you look at the map, you look at the mainland China, it's on the east coast of that, in the, in the East China Sea. That's where it is, you know, which forms a part of the North Pacific Ocean. So separating Taiwan from the Chinese mainland is the Taiwan Strait. That's how it is known. Taiwan consists of the main island of Taiwan and several small islands that are situated to the west and south of the main island. Uh, geographically, when you look at, uh, uh, locations and so forth, To the east of Taiwan is the Japanese island of Yuna— uh, Yuna— Yonaguni. Okay, the south— the southernmost islands of Japan. Yonaguni is the southernmost island of Japan. To the south of it are the Batams Island, which belong— now here is where And guys, confirm this if I am wrong, because based on the historical record that I saw, it did confirm that the Batanes Island belong to the Philippines. Is this true? Please just, uh, uh, let me know in the chat box yes or no, because if it is not, I'm gonna have to go and send a request for correction of the record to where I get this information. And I usually— I, I know how to do this kind of stuff. Taiwan also controls some islands. Now when we say Taiwan, we're meaning China. Let me just clarify this. Taiwan— it says Taiwan forward slash China— also controls some islands close to the Chinese mainland, including Kinmen County, the Wuqiu Islands, and the Matsu Islands, all of which lie close to the coast of the mainland Chinese province of Fujian. Which means this is why some rockers very complicated when he's saying Taiwan also controls— is China, it's not Taiwan. So the capital of the island, of course, as you know, is Taipei, and which is located near the islands northern coast. The city is home to about 7.8 million people. Uh, part of what I'm gonna be announcing to you guys in an official capacity is I might be going to Taiwan, and you will know why and all that. So making it the most populous city in Taiwan. Let me show, show you where the island's right here in Taipei. I'm pointing at it, it's in the red here. That's where Taipei is. Now let's move on to the history of Taiwan, and let me share another, uh, I don't know if it is, but I think it is another— it was, it was another, uh, map. Maybe they don't have it. Here anymore. No, it's not. So let's keep, uh, just our regular map here that I got first, and then we'll just go from there. So I'm going to share a little bit of history with you about, uh, Taiwan. Now here is the question. We all know, right? But I'm still gonna ask it, and the reason I'm gonna ask it is is because when I read the historical records, I couldn't help it, but it's common sense to ask the question. And the question is this for you, and all you guys need to answer please, yes or no: is Taiwan part of China? That's one. Second question: is Taiwan a country, an independent country? Simple. Yes or no? So, and why am I asking all this? Because that was also how some Western think tanks that I checked the record started their narrative about the historical aspect. So keep an open mind as I share this with you. So in practical sense, this is what they're saying. It's not my word. In practical sense, and I'm going to provide you the links and all that stuff. Taiwan is not part of China. That's what they're saying. It has its own flag, government, military. Thus it is a de facto independent country. So, and, and they even going as far as saying Taiwan official name is not Taiwan. So what is it? They saying is the Republic of China. That's why I'm saying How confusing this can be to someone who does not understand how in global affairs, in geopolitics, in international relations terminology, the phraseology means a lot. Same thing can be said in some location in Africa, same thing can be said in some location in, in Latin America and so forth. So the story of Taiwan separation from the rest of China begins in 1949, as you may know. When— here it is again, how they put it— the Chinese Communists— and this is again, I am sharing it with you as is— defeated the Nationalists in a civil war. So the Nationalists, which was led by Chiang Kai-shek, retreated to the island of Taiwan and set up a rival government there. Ever since this event, Taiwan has been a de facto independent states, though it has not officially declared its independence. Well, how can you say it's a de facto independent state but never declared independence? That means it's not independent to begin with. So even some say that Taiwan was at some point a member of the United Nations. I didn't find the record for this. And again, I could be wrong. I'm sharing with you what I am able to find, fact-check, confirm. And if something I can't confirm it, I don't claim it as 100%. Right here, I just shared this with you. So when it says, formally as a member of the United Nations, and many countries prefer to maintain relations with it rather than with the, the government in Beijing. I do find this very unusual. In 1971, however, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that the government of the People's Republic of China was the sole legitimate representative of China at the United Nations, meaning China. Thus Taiwan was effectively expelled from the organization. That is the, uh, because when you move to 1979, what happened? What happened in 1979? Can you guys type in, in the chat box what happened in 1979? A major political event. Pertain to this issue. Yeah, I see your point, Observer. That's why I couldn't confirm it. I shared it with you, but I couldn't confirm it because he was never a member. Observer, same status for the Palestinian Authority. So this is why we wanted to— I wanted to share this with you, uh, for you to see both sides, to understand Uh, ROC replace PRC, that's one. Jack Robert, you heard it on— yeah, Chinese Accords with the US, that's exactly what it was. 1979, the United States established diplomatic relations with Chinese government in Beijing for the first time. A part of the condition— here is the thing— part of the condition that China put was the establishment ties with the, with the China was that the US broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan. And eventually most of the international community established relations with Beijing and broke off relations with Taiwan. And like I mentioned, today there are only 15 countries that recognize Taiwan, and I'm gonna tell you which countries are, because those countries, uh, Not no offense to them, I don't have anything against any, but they don't matter on the international stage. So here are the— one record, by the way, says 13 and another record says 15. What I found was 13, not 15. 13 countries are that recognize Taiwan are Belize— how often do you hear of Belize? Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu. Or Tuvalu. So this is where, uh, it's worth understanding this aspect for us to know why the importance of this, uh, uh, uh, elections per se. Because even for us, we made it clear, is we recognize the sovereignty of China over Taiwan because Taiwan is part of China. That's the same thing we have for us with Hawaii. For those who might not know the history of Hawaii, Hawaii never wanted to be part of the Union. Do you? I don't know if you guys know this or not. Yeah, they never wanted to be part of, uh, you know, I, I, I went to Hawaii, and if you just check out my last name, I'll give you some hints over there, even though I wasn't born in Hawaii. But the idea of— you talk to the locals, it's like, yeah, we never care for— they never want to. It was the same arguments. And this is why my big concern for what lies ahead is the idea of how this is going to impact the, the, the security landscape in the region. Because we know China ain't gonna give up Taiwan. I prefer that the reunification will be made in peace or will be done in peace, but mark my word, China will not hesitate to use force if Taiwan crossed the line. And at some point, uh, uh, China will have to make a decision on all this because you can't drag this forever. Even recently, so, that the Chinese senior military officials And this I just found out last night. The Chinese senior, uh, let me stop sharing this screen here, guys, so we'll move on to another image that I need to share with you here. The, uh, military senior officials assure— they assured their counterparts in the US that China— when I put this in quote— will not compromise and will not back down on the Taiwan issue. And this took place during the meeting that just happened between the military, uh, uh, uh, officials of, of both countries. So this is why the Chinese are urging the United States to abide by One China principle and stop arming Taiwan. The Chinese defense minister said in a statement, and I quote, "Beijing also asked Washington to limit military deployments and provocations in the South China Sea, stressing that military relations between the two nations could be based on equality and respect." End of quote. I am aware, I was aware of how our special ops are in Taiwan training the Taiwanese military. I am sure China was aware of that as well. So, and this is why, if you think about, uh, the talks between, uh, uh, the President Biden and President Xi last year, uh, even though they agreed to resume military relations and so forth, but we'll remember what happened in, in August of 2022. When the House— the former House of Speaker, uh, Pelosi, want to visit to, to Taiwan. Why? Provocation, of course. Of course she went in for her own interest, not for the interest of the country, whatever. Now, the— because of Taiwan, so because of the Taiwan contested status the political one, that is, and the uncertainty that this will bring, not just for the region but around the world. That's why I'm saying the importance— pardon me— the importance of it. So everyone will be interested in a really— pardon me— a peaceful outcome to all this, and sort of almost steering the ship, so to speak, to avoid any, any tensions. Military one day. And, and that's, uh, that's very important to understand. And I hope when you have, like, for example, some academia inside Taiwan— inside Taiwan, yeah. I came across, uh, uh, one individual assistant professor per se, uh, of, uh, of, uh, specializes in Taiwanese politics. His name is Lev Nashman. He's in the Taipei National Chen Hsin University. He said, and I quote, because of Taiwan's contested status— well, what is the contested status to begin with? See what I'm talking about, guys? The wording, the wording of that. So he said, and I quote, because of Taiwan's contested status and the uncertainty that that brings, not just to the region but the world as well. Everyone is really invested in who's going to be the one steering the ship, so to speak, because that will have a lot of implications for not just security but also risk and economic potential. I agree with that part, but I don't agree with the first part— the contested status. What status are we talking about? Unless you want just push the agenda, because that's what it is. So, so let's talk about how the elections work briefly here, then I'll talk about the, the parties that are involved, then we'll move on with brief analysis and answer your questions here. So as you may know, January 13th, that's where people in Taiwan is going to have to go vote for so-called president, vice president, their local legislator and for their favored party list. This is a list of legislators at large who are given seats based on their party's proportion of votes. Of course, for Taiwan, you have the 113-person legislature, which is made up of 73 legislators based on geographic constituencies. 34 are based on party list and 6 seats reserved for the indigenous Taiwanese representatives, all of whom will serve for your term. I find it problematic, first of all, that the indigenous Taiwanese, which is, are of Chinese descent, but some would say, oh, they are from Japan, so are given only 6, 6 seats. So as I mentioned earlier, the polls open at about 8:00 AM local time there, and voters will cast their paper ballots till about, I think, 4:00 PM. That's when they close. You have about 19 million people are registered to vote. Of course, the voting age in— it's already been criticized. It's a 20 age. You have to be 20 to vote. Um, the— I got an image here I need to share with you. This one here, uh, this is the— I believe the Hou You-hee is hoping to win the back power for the KMT, the region's oldest political party. Uh, he's entering the race here, and, uh, that's part of where this is going to be. Now all the three presidential candidates are facing questions about some, some key issues. For example, their property holdings, various property holdings. One of them including student dorms— he owns some dorms of sort— then family homes and illegally zoned parking lots. Those are legitimate. They got to find out. Where they all came in from. So of course, if we are to look at— I need to take you back a little bit to history here, because if we are to take a look at the main parties in the political— in, in, in Taiwan, you know, it is still— of course, Taiwan will always be the politics inside overshadowed by what took place in the 20th century. The tumult was 20th century history. So because it passed— because Taiwan in itself passed between multiple colonial powers from the 17th to the late of the 19th century, because you all know what happened to China as a whole, Taiwan was no different. There are some who argued, based on a historical record, that Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 until 1945. Now I do know— this is my own opinion— I do know when I looked into Sai's ancestors, I traced some record to Japan. So, and why this was between 1895 to 1945? Because in 1945, what happened in 1945 to Japan? You can type that in, in the chat box. In 1945, what happened to Japan? Yeah, you are right, you are right, David King, you are right. If we go by that, that means the Native Americans should rule here. I agree with you. I agree. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that's true. But also after that, which Japan surrendered. That is correct. That's, that's what happened. So Japan or Tokyo surrendered at that time. The Chinese Civil War hit up with the end of World War II, and that's when Taiwan became this sort of, uh, uh, uh, uh, escape. This is according to how they are wording it. I don't want to change all this because I wanted to share it with you as is for you to have a clear understanding of where things are versus how they are worded. Because there are, there are misled information when it comes down to history. I'm, I'm telling you this based on evidence that I found even for us here in the United States regarding the American-Mexican history or the Mexican-American history. Yeah, they were altering history in favor of the US but not for Mexico. Because if you look at it, ask yourself if you are a little familiar with American history, well, who did Texas belong to? You know the answer. So now the KMT, the oldest political party Okay, in East Asia, that's how far they go. Rule Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China at that time, as they say, as a single party. Taiwanese lived under martial law until 1987, with political, economic, and social preference given to the families of those who had fled China with KMT rather than the established population descended from Hakka and Hokkien Chinese settlers or indigenous Taiwanese. So that, that, this is where it's a very, very, very, very, uh, important for us to understand. I'm going to share another picture with you, uh, here that you need to see. This individual here is also running for, uh, president or governor, whatever term we want to use here. So This is Ko Wen-je has positioned himself as the candidate for those tired of the DPP and the establishment. So he is running in the opposite direction for change because of the economy, because of where the, the Taiwanese economy is. So, and, uh, that's what he's pushing for. So it's very, very important to understand this dynamics, guys. It'll make more sense because without this we will be very, very confused, all of us, not just— I have another image here. This is for the three candidates. Let me make this bigger. I can't— let me— I'm gonna share it with you. On the left of your screen, that's Houyou He. He's 60 years of old— 60, 66 years of old. He's a former senior policeman with a doctorate degree in crime prevention and correction who is currently mayor of New Taipei City. In the center is Ko Wei-jei, 64. He's the representative of the Taiwan People's Party, TPP. The first one, Hou Yu-Hee, is the representative of the KMT. The middle one is the TPP, the Taiwan People's Party, which is, I believe, immersed also. This one is a— he's a doctor, a medical doctor who started his political career as DPP. Surprising, huh? He was on the other side of the Democratic Progressive Party. He started there. As a leaning politician in 2014, but successfully run for mayor of Taipei, after which he left the party and established TPP, which is the Taiwan People's Party, in 2019, and claimed to offer an anti-establishment third way for voters. I wish we had third vote, third, uh, party here in America. It's just limited. And the last person on the right is William Lai, uh, William Lai Ching-te, 64 years old. He was the— he's the— he's the vice president, but he's the one running now. He's the son of a coal miner who became a doctor. Uh, Lai entered politics in 1996. And he's a former prime— he was a former premier, I'm sorry, and the current vice president, uh, of this, of the, of the, the party now. And that's why he's running, uh, for, uh, elections. So now, what are the issues? Well, of course, we have to think about what the issues are. It's hard to discuss Taiwan elections without mentioning China, because that just doesn't make sense, because Taiwan's relationship with the motherland is powerful neighbor. So it's kind of now have to be filtered through these coming elections. But you can't ignore the economy, you can't ignore the affordable housing, you can't ignore energy, and also you can't ignore military spending. Why is Taiwan going about doing military spending instead of focusing on infrastructure, you know. And because the claim we are saying, oh, Taiwan needs to defend itself— well, why are we fomenting the tension to begin with? So, and the reality here is the reality what many do not know. What the reality— the reality they don't know is that despite the tensions Okay, because there are tensions there. We, we can hide this. China— listen this carefully, guys— China remains Taiwan's top trading partner. The cross-strait trade was valued at about $205 billion in 2022. That's how much it is. So, and this is why we have to think about the bottom line of what's going on with all this, because without understanding this, uh, it's just not going to make sense. It's just not going to make sense to us. It's very important to understand all this. The young generation is going to be playing a role into this because they are now sensing the economic downturn that is impacting And this is one of the reasons why I will be heading out to Taiwan. I'll let you know when that time comes, but there's some, uh, major announcements I'm gonna make to you, by the way. And I'm gonna need your support, because here's the thing, guys, I don't want to have anybody sponsor my travel to Asia because you don't know why. If you guys want me to go, I will count on your support because I know you will want to hear the truth from me, because that's how I'm looking at it. And we will talk detail about this as, uh, uh, soon because I'm working on few things till I put certain arrangements in place, and I'll, I'll communicate with you. So here's the thing, just, uh, To wrap up this, yes, the rest of the world looking at this, but the rest of the world have their own problems. When I say the rest of the world, we're looking for us here. How can we maintain the status quo to foment more tensions? So, and because we all know how does Beijing looks at DPP, you know, even using the term. And I read some, uh, some analysis from inside Beijing from within, rather, that they are— they using the term separatists. Now, do you agree with that terminology or not? You decide. Do you agree that Ben-Gvir's assessment of DPP, the Democratic Progressive Party, as a separatist party? Yes or no? So, and this is the thing for, uh, because What Ben-Jin is making the argument is that what the voter is going to have to do is they're going to have to vote for party that is keen for war in the Taiwan Strait, or they're going to have to vote for a party that is keen for economic prosperity. Choice is clear, but the Taiwanese will have to make that decision over there, you know, because here's the thing. If things gets, gets heated up, the military activities gets stepped up through us providing more weapons and the type of weapons. Once you start providing advanced weapons, China ain't gonna like that, and they're not gonna stay quiet about it. So, but just to keep fomenting this is going to create a problem. So, and this is where You look at the economy in Taiwan, you know, the, the, the chemical experts in Taiwan are, are problematic. So, so, and this is where the economic importance makes perfect, perfect sense into what this outcome is going to lead to. And that's what I wanted to highlight to you in general terms, understanding why this time around, this time around, it matters to pay close attention to what this outcome is going to be. Because the world is already shifted, has already shifted to a multipolar system. And if Taiwan will think that the US is going to come to its aid, it's mistaken. So this is where the challenge that I see moving forward. So, all right, let me take a question or two because I need to get off here. And if you guys make sure to join me on the other platform like I mentioned earlier, let me share with you. Here is the one here. I already put it on the chat box. If you, if you will be kind, please, and share it with others that have not got that one yet. Uh, let me— as a matter of fact, I do have the other screen here. I'm going to share it with you once again. Copy. Here is the— here is where I'm going to be shortly, and I'm going to be sharing some stuff with you there. Uh, for those who wants to support the channel, I am going to count on your support big time, guys, moving forward because of this trip to Asia. It's, it's, uh, it's gonna require serious funding, uh, but again, yeah, I can reach out to a corporation, but I don't, I don't want to do that. I want it to be you because I know what you will expect from me because I can't sugarcoat things. And what I'm gonna be going to do there, fact-finding and be on the ground and provide you my analysis from there. Directly. I, I'm even gonna hire a videographer to go there. There's a lot of involvement, and I'll fill you in as we move forward into this. All right, let me see a question or two, guys, before I'll move out to the other location there. And, uh, and as always, I— please, please make sure to hit the like button, make sure, uh, to share this with others. I would greatly Uh, appreciate it. All right, quick question here from Muslim Revert. Question: Is this the beginning of the end for the US? Uh, sad to say, it's my country. Uh, it is. And, and, and on multiple fronts, you look at the financial aspect, you look at our foreign policy, you look at the confusions we have, you look at the, the unhappy population right here in the US. If you only know the tensions that exist below the surface. We are, we are broiling to some level. I hope it doesn't go that direction. You all know what I mean. I can't say it here, but I will talk about all this on the other part. So, so this is where, uh, yes, it is the end because the global order has already shifted. So it'll be fair to say— I know some might disagree with me, some of my fellow Americans might disagree with me, but those who think rationally will agree that the American century, in quote, is coming to an end. So, all right guys, I'm gonna sign off here, and I will see you on the other platform shortly. As always, remember, geopolitics impacts your daily life in more ways than one. Thank— oh, let me say thank you while I see it here. Oh, Taka, thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me and I appreciate it. You wrote, if we do not get Biden and his people out soon, it will be not happy. Yeah, he's, he's— I, I lost faith in the Democratic Party, or the Republican Party for that matter. I don't have faith in the political system here in America, you know, and I'm one who works inside and I supported both political parties. At some point in my life because I had to look at who is going to do right by the American people. Now, and I came to the conclusion both are two faces of the same coin. So sad to say, yeah. And Biden needs to retire and needs to go enjoy whatever left for him on this earth before he passing on, uh, because what he's embarking on is, is is beyond. So thank you so much for your Super Sticker, truly appreciate it. And, and guys, sometimes I miss the Super Stickers because I sign off and it shows up later. I don't mean to ignore this, you all know this, and I truly appreciate you. I will see you guys soon, okay? As always, remember, geopolitics impact your daily life in more ways than one. Till next time, see you soon. Bye.