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‘Shut down the world’: McCaul warns of global economic catastrophe if China invades Taiwan

‘Shut down the world’: McCaul warns of global economic catastrophe if China invades Taiwan

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – A Chinese invasion of Taiwan could have catastrophic consequences for the global economy, including in the United States, warned House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “The thing that really, I think, makes this island extremely important…is that 90% of the advanced [semiconductor] manufacturing for the world happens right here. And if an invasion happens, I don’t see a scenario where that survives,” McCaul told Fox News Digital in an interview at his hotel in Taipei. “Everybody that has phones, cars – we have advanced weapons systems – everything’s dependent on semiconductors and this island, over time, because we’ve offshored [manufacturing]…we put ourselves in a very vulnerable position by doing that. And the shutdown of what’s happening here, semiconductors, would really shut down the world.” The senior Republican made the somber prediction after meeting with Taiwan’s president and foreign minister as part of the first U.S. delegation to sit down with the newly inaugurated officials. CHINA’S THREATS, ‘NAKED AGGRESSION’ LOOM LARGE AS HOUSE LAWMAKERS MEET TAIWAN’S NEW PRESIDENT It also comes after China staged some of its most aggressive military drills yet off Taiwan’s coast, sending dozens of warships and planes into the island’s territory in retaliation for comments by its new leader, President Lai Ching-te, expressing support for its independence from Beijing’s ruling Chinese Communist Party. “These war games to intimidate and protest the election from China are probably the most provocative I’ve ever seen in terms of the numbers of ships and planes,” McCaul said. He stressed that a full-scale invasion by China could lead to an “electronic shutdown” and an economic spiral not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic threw global markets into a tailspin. That includes ramifications for Americans in rural, urban and suburban areas, he suggested. “From the phones, to the car, tractors, everything in your kitchen, our whole military defense,” he listed. Semiconductors are a critical component for a litany of electronics, being used in everything from healthcare to transportation, communications, military systems and everyday-use items like air conditioners, televisions and refrigerators. HOUSE LAWMAKERS VISIT TAIWAN AS CHINA WARNS US TO STAY OUT “And again, the 90% number – really, it’s hard to fathom that. It’s why we want to move more manufacturing back to the United States, but that’s going to take time, and I don’t know what timeline [Chinese President Xi Jinping] is on,” McCaul said. He referenced Xi’s past comments alluding to a potential invasion of Taiwan by 2027. “If it happened, most likely, just because of the nature of the invasion from a blockade to a cyberattack to a massive bombing exercise, I just don’t see how it survives being located where it is,” McCaul said. “But even to maintain it, they’re gonna have to be relying on the United States for parts… And then, what are we going to do? We don’t have the capacity right now.” He then delivered a somber assessment, “I think right now, we will probably lose” if China invaded Taiwan. “It would make Iran shooting into Israel look like child’s play…this island doesn’t have the capacity to defend itself right now,” McCaul said. In addition to commemorating the new Taiwanese government’s inauguration, the U.S. group’s visit comes a month after Congress approved an $8 billion foreign aid package for the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan, to deter China. CHINA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY BLASTS TAIWAN INAUGURATION, PHILIPPINES STANDOFF IN SOUTH CHINA SEA “They’re very happy, and we’re very pleased we got our emergency supplemental done in time to give them the good news that we are supporting them from a military equipment standpoint,” McCaul said. “I gave them some updates on the weapons and some other things we’re doing to help them, but they just wanted me to know that the threat was getting very intense from Chairman Xi.” The Chinese government had expressly demanded that McCaul and the other lawmakers, which include Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., Joe Wilson, R-S.C., Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., Andy Barr, R-Ky., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., not make the journey to Taiwan. “We got a threatening communique telling me I was violating the One China Policy and that there would be consequences for the members, which, they’ve never gone that far,” McCaul said. “And now the threat to Taiwan is real for the people of the island…and they’re worried they’re going to be the next shoe to drop.”

Trump tells NY donors he’ll stop college ‘radical revolution,’ send anti-Israel agitators ‘out of the country’

Trump tells NY donors he’ll stop college ‘radical revolution,’ send anti-Israel agitators ‘out of the country’

Former President Trump reportedly told a private gathering of New York donors earlier this month that he will stop the “radical revolution” happening at American college campuses if elected president again.  The presumptive Republican nominee also vowed that he would throw foreign students protesting against Israel “out of the country,” The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing donors who spoke on condition of anonymity. The gathering happened on May 14 and included “98 percent of my Jewish friends,” Trump reportedly joked.  “One thing I do is, any student that protests, I throw them out of the country. You know, there are a lot of foreign students. As soon as they hear that, they’re going to behave,” Trump said, according to the Post.  When the donors expressed concern that anti-Israel students and professors would one day hold positions of power in the U.S., Trump reportedly said they were part of a “radical revolution.”  ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR WOULD ‘PROBABLY ALREADY BEEN OVER’ IF TRUMP WERE PRESIDENT, SEN. TOM COTTON SAYS  “It has to be stopped now,” Trump said of the protests, praising the New York Police Department’s handling of the encampment at Columbia University, adding that other cities should follow suit.   “Well, if you get me elected, and you should really be doing this, if you get me reelected, we’re going to set that movement back 25 or 30 years,” he said, according to the donors who spoke to the Post.  Trump also reportedly told the wealthy New York donors at the closed-door event that he supports Israel’s right to continue “its war on terror” and praised his White House’s policies on Israel.  Trump did not, however, mention Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name. He reportedly hasn’t spoken to Netanyahu in years since the Israeli prime minister recognized President Biden’s 2020 victory.  The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has faced pressure from GOP donors in recent months to take a stronger stance in support of Israel and specifically, Netanyahu.  In April, Trump notably said during an interview with conservative talk show radio host Hugh Hewitt that Israel, regarding its war in Gaza, needs to “get it over with, and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people.”  NETANYAHU RESPONDS TO STRIKE THAT KILLED HAMAS TERROR LEADERS, CIVILIANS: ‘INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT’ Asked about the donors’ description of the New York event, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, issued a broad statement to the Post.  “When President Trump is back in the Oval Office, Israel will once again be protected, Iran will go back to being broke, terrorists will be hunted down, and the bloodshed will end,” Leavitt said. While claiming anti-Israel demonstrations seen across the country get smaller crowds than his rallies, Trump said that “Israel is losing its power” in Washington, D.C., particularly in Congress.  “It’s incredible,” Trump added, questioning how Jewish people could vote for Democrats, specifically Biden. “They always let you down,” he said.