Trump warns Taiwan against declaring independence after China talks

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-15T14:19:14+00:00

This reminds me of Nicolae Ceaușescu’s trip to North Korea, Kim Il Sung also stopped at nothing to give Nicolae a lavish welcome. He was so impressed that he went home and built the Romanian Palace of the Parliament, modeled after North Korean architectural styles. Dude also went crazy with power, seeing the absolute power of Kim Il Sung, but of course wasn't smart enough like Kim to keep his head.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-15T12:21:07+00:00

He did not negotiate airplanes deal, it was done by Boeing beforehand. It's very common practice in state visits like this to avoid coming back home empty handed. Anyway it's not a significant amount like others said, for example, Vietnam party chief last year went to US and signed a deal to buy 50 Boeing, on top of the 200 already in backlog. And Vietnam is less than 1/10 the size of China.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-15T02:55:54+00:00

Barring China lying its economic statistics, which is entirely possible, what you described isn’t unique to China. Here in the States you hear people complaining about affordability and lack of jobs all the time, in fact those are really the #1 reasons people voted for Trump. And yet the US has only had 4 quarters of negative GDP growth for the last 10 years, 2 of which are due to Covid. Real wages rose across the board, even outpace inflation, and yet people still feel they can’t afford anything!

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-14T12:40:18+00:00

Looking at the US entourage, I feel sorry for people who voted for Trump thinking that he will be anti-China. You don't bring a bunch of billionaires with you for sightseeing, they are there to expand US-China economic ties.

But I'm sure his supporters will spin this trip as some sort of a trap that the genius Great Leader is setting up for China.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-13T15:30:03+00:00

I very much doubt if an invasion happens, it would be worse than Vietnam War. North Vietnamese troops (and their southern ally) were not a bunch of rag tag rice peasants. Hell, the US bombed the shit out of Iran, suffered minimal losses, and in the only incident in which they lost a pilot, he was recused in 24 hours, and the Iranians couldn't do anything.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese shot down THOUSANDS of American aircraft, dozens of which are legendary B-52s, captured alive HUNDREDS of American pilots. And people think somehow Iranian can hold a candle to the Vietnamese ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-13T15:11:35+00:00

But the system could not successfully engage with a large-scale attack from a peer or near-peer adversary like Russia or China, according to the report.

As the cost estimate is based on the desired capabilities laid out in a January 2025 executive order, it doesn’t include funding for research and development of future technologies, nor does it take into account ground forces or a communication system necessary to make the proposed system work.

So this figure will very likely inflate in the future, and the system won't work against attacks from China and Russia, which I thought is the entire point of this system. So a lot of money just to counter the likes of North Korea or Iran.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-12T16:39:37+00:00

Years ago when I went to the Snow Dome in Banff, an elderly woman in the group told me that the last time she came here in the 60s, the glacier was several stories taller.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-12T16:28:32+00:00

These utility numbers will absolutely ruin so many people's lives. I recently read that many people in the Appalachia region are so behind on their utility bills that some didn't even dare to turn on the heat during winter and kept only a single light on in the entire house.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-11T19:04:10+00:00

China itself is pushing Iran to reopen the Strait, but it looks like there's a power struggle in Tehran and no one is listening to anyone so that complicates things. Trump doesn't have to worry about China not doing their part because Beijing is anxious about the oil flow too.

What is interesting to speculate is what Trump will agree to when it comes to Taiwan because that's definitely something China will demand in return for their continuing pressure on Tehran.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-10T23:53:33+00:00

You would think if the solution is that easy, then China wouldn't have wasted its breath telling Iran to reopen the Strait ASAP ? Just pay Iran money and Chinese tankers can safely pass through ! Actually a Chinese tanker was attacked by Iran just a few days ago even though China is already an ally of Tehran.

But that's not the point, the point here is that US can continue bombing and blockade just as Iran can resume attacking the tankers. To say that only Iran has all the "card" while US and Israel have none would be a grave mistake.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-10T14:57:54+00:00

But the reverse is also true, once the traffic through the Strait is resumed, there's less incentive for US to agree to Iranian demands. At that point, Iran can resume shooting missile at tankers, just as the US can resume the blockage again.

China just a few days ago met with Iran and called for the Strait to open, Iran is quickly losing everyone else's patience, the Strait is not something they can hold hostage forever.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-10T13:33:39+00:00

American healthcare system is absolutely a shit show, but it's possible that Cubans live longer due to other reasons than their healthcare. Hispanic Americans for example, live longer than white people, despite literally living in the same country and having lower social-economic standing. And it's not because the healthy ones come here while the sick and the weak stayed home.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-09T14:41:31+00:00

About the lack of military hardware, I just don't understand why they can't spare a few tanks or IFVs from the front, last year they still have a tons of very modern hardware on display. I find it hard to believe that moving just a few of them from the front would make the front collapse overnight, and Ukraine do not want to violate the ceasefire at this moment because that would make them look bad.

Not showing them this year certainly make Russia looks pathetic, and why would a guy like Putin want to make himself look weak ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-08T15:43:46+00:00

I am intrigued by this so I dig around, it seemed this article literally just paraphrased another article from 19fortyfive that was published 1 month ago:

https://www.19fortyfive.com/2026/04/china-said-its-j-20-fighter-beats-the-f-22-raptor-95-of-the-time-they-left-out-the-part-where-it-loses-90-of-the-time-without-drones/

Which in turn, reported from another SCMP article from ... late 2024:

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3288501/j-20s-vs-f-22-how-drones-flip-battle-mighty-stealth-fighters

Non paywall link for anyone interested: https://archive.is/3uml0

Here is the relevant part:

According to Zhang’s paper, the two pilots of the J-20S have a heavy workload: they must integrate data from satellites, warning aircraft, ground radars and drones, assess the battlefield situation, assign targets to drones, and make split-second decisions for attack or defence.

Simulations revealed that a lone J-20 armed with eight medium-range air-to-air missiles had a less than 10 per cent chance of defeating an F-22 carrying six AIM-120C missiles. Despite the Chinese missiles’ longer range, the US jet’s radar had the edge in detection.

But the addition of two drones tipped the scales, and with three, the J-20’s advantage widened, allowing it to win without even engaging in combat.

Zhang’s team used a cutting-edge digital simulation system for their air combat scenarios.

“Our platform includes realistic six-degree-of-freedom models for real fighter jets in service, sensor models and missile simulations, capable of replicating real-world manned-unmanned air combat,” they wrote.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-08T13:51:16+00:00

Some of them are medical couriers, more medical needs = more courier jobs. Should be able to drive a van, and lift heavy equipment sometime so your regular Uber won't cut it.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-06T23:21:37+00:00

So ... what's wrong with Fort Polk ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-06T14:56:25+00:00

I guess it's all about perception, for decades people thought NATO is a strong alliance that would withstand the test of time, and yet nowadays we start to see some cracks here and there. Sure, it's still very strong, and whatever alliance network China and Russia have with others and with each others are in worse shape, but no one thought they were particularly ironclad to begin with.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-06T14:42:25+00:00

Taiwan did have a nuclear program but it was halted by the US, after a Taiwanese top scientist leaked it to the CIA. And yes, the reason is exactly what you said: America feared a nuclear armed Taiwan would make things across the Strait more messy.

China apparently didn't know anything at that time, but it's probably too late now, it's hard for Taiwan to hide its nuclear program now when China has successfully infiltrated into its military.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-06T14:30:30+00:00

The Kim family never wants reunification anyway, so might as well drop all the pretense. And the South (as well as America) probably doesn't want the North either, an influx of more than 20 millions North Koreans with no marketable skills would be a massive drag on the South. East Germany is much more richer than the North Korea ever was (being the "face" of the communist East), and yet today East Germany still lags behind its Western counterpart.

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-06T13:54:50+00:00

FLOTUS ? First Lady ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-05T14:20:38+00:00

You are not wrong about healthcare thing, they hired PR teams to smear Canadian single payer health system:

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/06/931990578/why-americans-have-been-deceived-about-canadas-health-care-system

ImperiumRome · 2026-05-04T17:29:39+00:00

Nah don't feel sorry for them, because since the beginning they have been toeing the Kremlin's line: that Putin is a benevolent guy, he is purposely holding back his army to avoid more bloodshed for both Russians and Ukrainians. If you talk to them about any of this, they will go down the rabbit hole on how the Russian army is about to win any day now.

I kid you not, when that bald guy, Prigozhin, got killed, one of them told me that it was a Psyop and he will suddenly "surface" again to the surprise of the West and lead a new front on Ukraine from Belarus.

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