International News
Coverage of international events and global policy shifts. The Daily Signal offers news reporting with opinion and commentary on world affairs.
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- Opinion
‘One China,’ 2 National Days, and 152 Warplanes
From Oct. 1 to Oct. 10, the world witnessed the full extent of the divergent paths China and Taiwan are on. Those 10 days saw differing understandings of Chinese history and national values communicated in speeches, op-eds, ceremonies, and military incursions. If the gravity of the situation in the Taiwan Strait wasn’t clear before, it…David Calhoun -
- Opinion
China’s Surveillance State Has Killed Privacy
The Chinese Communist Party’s system of mass surveillance is like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel, destroying any semblance of privacy in the country for both individuals and businesses. In a recent international incident, popular job networking site LinkedIn shut down operations in China after the strain of working with the authoritarian government became…Douglas Blair -
- News
George Soros Teams Up With Billionaire Who Backed Liberal Disinformation Efforts to Fund Anti-Disinformation Media Venture
Liberal tech billionaire Reid Hoffman, a funder of numerous disinformation projects, is backing a new media venture launched Tuesday that seeks to combat disinformation, according to a report. Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn, joined ranks with financier George Soros to fund Good Information Inc., which will “fund and scale businesses that cut through eco chambers…Andrew Kerr -
- Opinion
China’s New Weapon Just Upped Global Threat Level
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, no—it’s a Chinese fractional orbital bombardment system. A what?! Yes, a Chinese fractional orbital bombardment system—armed with a hypersonic glide vehicle. It was revealed in mid-October that China has conducted two tests of this new strategic weapon system during the summer—a development that should seriously concern U.S. defense…Peter Brookes -
- Opinion
China’s Test of Orbital Hypersonic Missile Is a Big Deal
The Financial Times recently reported that China had combined two advanced missile technologies in a test of a new nuclear capability. The test featured a so-called Fractional Orbital Bombardment System, which is launched into space and can orbit the globe before releasing a missile at its target. The Fractional Orbital Bombardment System was reportedly armed with a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle, which can…Patty-Jane Geller -
- Opinion
Cowardly to the Core: Apple’s App Store Bows to China’s War on Faith
It was reported last week that a Bible app and a Quran app had been removed from Apple’s App Store in China amid pressure from the Chinese government. That’s hardly surprising behavior from the Chinese Communist Party. But now, an American company has been enlisted to do Beijing’s dirty work. The watchdog group Apple Censorship was the…Arielle Del Turco -
- Opinion
Microsoft Was Right to Pull Plug on LinkedIn in China
LinkedIn, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, announced on Thursday a sunset of its localized version of its platform in China that currently has over 50 million users. The platform had recently been criticized for blocking several U.S. journalists for the use of “prohibited content” in light of a crackdown by Chinese authorities earlier this…Dustin Carmack -
- Opinion
Xi Jinping’s Taiwan Saber-Rattling Is All About Shoring Up Domestic Power
For the last several weeks, tensions have roiled the Taiwan Straits. China has sent ever larger numbers of combat aircraft across the center line of the straits and into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone, compelling their Taiwanese counterparts to respond. The intricate ballet of dispatching multiple types of aircraft from different airbases, coordinating their flight…Dean Cheng -
- Opinion
China Will Test America on Taiwan. What Will Joe Biden Do?
Chinese military activity around Taiwan has risen to unprecedented levels over the last few months. Chinese warplanes have breached Taiwan’s air defense zone more than 150 times in just this last week. Given the stakes, and rather ambiguous assurances from the U.S. regarding Taiwan’s security, what happens when Beijing tries to test U.S. resolve? The current Taiwan Relations Act does not provide…Brent Sadler -
- Opinion
How China’s Economic Freedom Deficit Distorts Markets Beyond Its Borders
In an attempt to lay out the Biden administration’s approach to charting the course of the U.S.-China economic relationship, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai underscored that the bilateral relationship is “complex and competitive.” More importantly, Tai noted, “In recent years, Beijing has doubled down on its state-centered economic system. It is increasingly clear that China’s…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
The Irony: UN Women Says Word ‘Women’ Is Exclusionary
U.N. Women, the United Nations organization responsible for furthering the cause of women all over the world, seems out to erase itself and any credibility it has as a women’s rights organization. U.N. Women announced in July 2019 it would focus on “equality of all genders” (as I wrote about here) instead of solely women’s rights….Kimberly Ells -
- Opinion
A Warning From Australia About Power of Government
Is Australia turning authoritarian? As COVID-19 cases in Australia increased over the past few months due to the delta variant, we’ve seen images of mass protests alongside police and military crackdowns. The Australian military has been unleashed in Sydney to enforce draconian lockdowns and extreme restrictions on travel. Officials often have unevenly and arbitrarily enforced…Jarrett Stepman -
- News
House Republicans Probe Climate Groups’ Ties to China
A pair of top House Republicans demanded information from several progressive organizations on their ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, ranking member on the oversight and investigations subcommittee, wrote letters Sunday to four left-wing climate-focused groups with a series of…Thomas Catenacci -
- Opinion
On Nukes, China Aims for Parity With US—or Maybe More
After a summer of extraordinarily bad news on the exponential growth of China’s strategic nuclear forces, recent public statements by U.S. government officials indicate Beijing isn’t only building out its nuclear forces, but also diversifying it, by considering new, nontraditional weapons, as well as possibly reconsidering its nuclear deterrent doctrine. That’s an awful lot of…Peter Brookes -
- Opinion
After Afghanistan Disaster, Ukrainians Worry About Biden Betraying Them
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered his condolences to the United States after 13 American service members perished in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan amid the chaos of the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal. Many Ukrainians have asked themselves, “If President Joe Biden is willing to leave Americans behind in Afghanistan, what will stop him from abandoning…Johnathan Little -
- Opinion
Australia’s Aim Is Zero COVID-19 Cases, but That Means ‘Zero Freedom,’ Local Says
Melbourne, Australia is in its sixth COVID-19 lockdown and is now the longest locked-down city in the world. Australia has taken an unprecedented approach to fighting the pandemic within its borders, implementing extreme lockdown measures. Leaders across Australia have instantly put their states and cities into lockdown when COVID-19 cases are reported, believing that “zero…Virginia Allen -
- Opinion
Who Would Hide a Jew If Nazis Took Over America?
There is something about most Jews that few non-Jews know: We Jews often ask ourselves if a non-Jew in our lives would hide us in the event of a Nazi-like outbreak. I don’t know if young Jews think about this, but nearly all Jews who grew up in the decades following the Holocaust often wondered:…Dennis Prager -
- News
7 Takeaways as Milley, Austin, McKenzie Testify on Afghanistan, China Phone Calls
In some cases, the answers were surprising. In other cases, the answers were surprising only in hearing top U.S. military leaders state publicly what already was suspected. The Senate Armed Services Committee got some answers Tuesday from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin; Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Marine Gen….Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Lack of American Trade Leadership Would Leave US-Australia-UK Partnership Incomplete
The recently unveiled U.S.-Australia-U.K. trilateral security partnership is intended to deepen the security ties between the three longtime allies. The new partnership has been marketed as a strategic security alliance, with the Biden administration underscoring that “[AUKUS] is a fundamental decision—fundamental—that binds decisively Australia to the United States and Great Britain for generations.” A key…Anthony B. Kim -
- Opinion
Biden’s UN Speech Panders to Globalists
President Joe Biden gave a speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that was guaranteed to delight any globalist. Suffused with promises of multinational cooperation, it addressed all of the standard progressive pet projects, from climate change to global equity, universal labor, and environmental standards. He even promised to “build back the world better,” and open…James Carafano