Foreign Digest: Russia, China and Taiwan, Afghanistan and Syria

Russia: The massing of Russian Federation troops on the border with Ukraine has united Ukrainians. Combined with the strong support by the United States, its Western allies and NATO for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, which Russia had pledged to respect by treaty, aggression by Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin is being deterred. The U.S. and its allies have warned Russia of major economic consequences. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. It also backs Russia separatists in the eastern part of the former Soviet Republic. Ex-Soviet intelligence officer Putin has lamented the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and pursues an aggressive policy toward former Soviet Republics. China and Taiwan : There have been closures of pro-representative government organizations in Hong Kong and the removal of monuments for the Tianamen Square Massacre of 1989 by the pro-Peking government, despite Communist China’s promise to respect the autonomy and liberty of the former British city-state when the territory reverted to Chinese control in 1997. Communist China has also been pressuring or bribing States that diplomatically recognize the Republic of China on Taiwan or even that establish trade relations, leaving only a little over a dozen that do. The Chinese government fled to Taiwan and certain offshore islands after the Communist takeover in 1949. Communist China imposed sanctions on Lithuania for establishing a trade office with the name “Taiwan.” China opposes Taiwanese membership in international organizations and discourages the use of the name “Taiwan” in trade offices. Lithuania, a member of NATO, has held firm against Chinese intimidation, withdrawing from China’s Belt and Road initiative after the discovery that Chinese-made phones could be censored. Afghanistan: There have been more killings by the Taliban of those who had served the previous government, as the United States and international observers have reported. There was another protest by women against the killings and for equality and liberty. The Taliban took over last year. They had been removed from power by an American-led international coalition in 2001 after the September 11 Terrorist Attacks on the U.S. committed by the al-Qaeda Islamist terrorists they had harbored. Syria: There have been more Israeli attacks on Iranian and allied terrorist targets in Syria. Iran and Russia have been backing Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad in a decade-long civil war that has killed over half a million people and caused millions to flee from Syria. Iran and Syria sponsor terrorists, such as their ally, Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi’ite terrorists.