SAN FRANCISCO—Free hotel, free flight, free food. The Chinese Consulate hasn’t been tightfisted when it comes to its communist leader’s first visit to the United States in six years. Greeters for Xi Jinping’s arrival in San Francisco pocketed as much as $200 along with an all-expense-covered trip that brought some of them from the other side of the coast, according to some participants, observers, and screenshots of social media conversations leading up to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Many pro-Beijing protesters donned red caps or uniforms while waving red flags, saturating the blockaded streets with the color closely associated with communism. At least one person—a woman donning a black dress who was eating a boxed lunch while standing with her back against a building wall—was carrying a red tote bag, which suggests that she has ties to the Chinese Consulate in New York, according to a dissident who had trailed them....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/chinese-consulate-pays-protesters-to-welcome-communist-leader-in-san-francisco-5530214
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is seeking information from the U.S. Army on fortifying land-based missile defense capabilities in Guam given its “strategic importance,” which remains “highly vulnerable” amid escalating Chinese military aggression. Mr. Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), sent a letter to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, pointing out that the United States has “significant gaps” in capabilities in defending Guam against China’s cruise missiles. Mr. Gallagher underscores Guam’s military significance, saying the small tropical island “plays an essential role” in defending U.S. interests in the Western Pacific region and its allies....
Taiwan and the United States are working on a possible in-person meeting between Taipei’s envoy to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and President Joe Biden this week, a senior Taiwanese official said. Taiwan appointed Morris Chang, the founder of chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, as its representative to this week’s APEC summit in San Francisco. Taiwan is aiming at having a one-on-one exchange between Mr. Chang and President Biden. “The two sides are discussing related arrangements,” Wellington Koo, head of the National Security Council, told reporters when asked about potential talks between President Biden and Mr. Chang during a briefing in Taipei on Tuesday....