Trump refuses to sign bailout package to 2000 U.S. Congress passes Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 Putin has lifetime immunity from prosecution British variant of virus won’t affect vaccine efficacy Ji-Young Lai released on bail before Christmas
Today’s edition of “The Big News” will bring you five news events.
The first news event is the unexpected refusal of President Trump to sign the new bailout package.
Less than a month before leaving office, President Trump caught Congress off guard with a decision to raise the single-person benefit from $600 to $2,000. After months of negotiations, the U.S. Congress finally reached a consensus on an epidemic aid bill of about $900 billion on the evening of the 21st. However, President Trump tweeted a video the following day criticizing the bill as being very different from what he expected, Trump said:What a disgrace. He asked Congress to amend the bill to raise the ridiculously low direct payment of $600 per person to $2,000 per person, or $4,000 per couple. He stressed that he would not sign the bill if Congress did not amend it.
In the four-minute video, Trump argues that the complex 5,000-page bill, called the “New Coronavirus Relief Act,” has little to do with the new coronavirus. He cited aid to Cambodia, Burma, Pakistan and other countries as examples of how Congress has raised a lot of money for foreign countries, lobbyists and special interests, while giving the bare minimum to the American people who need it. This is not the fault of Americans, it is the fault of China. At the end of the video, Trump said: I also demand that Congress immediately remove the programs in the bill that are both wasteful and unnecessary and give me a proper bill, or the next administration will have to create a new crown bailout package. Maybe that administration is the one I lead, and we’ll get it done.
Trump did not directly mention a veto in the video, but if he does use his veto, Congress could override it with a two-thirds majority vote. The bill was passed in the Senate by a vote of 92-6 and in the House by a vote of 359-53, however Reuters believes that some Republicans may be hesitant to override the veto if Trump uses it. Also, with the Christmas holiday coming up, it seems uncertain whether Congress will have enough time to get this done. If Trump does not sign or veto the bill within 10 days of its passage, it will automatically become law without his signature.
Until Dec. 28, the U.S. government relies on temporary appropriations for its operations, and waiting for passage of $1.4 trillion in federal spending for fiscal year 2021 is part of the bill. Failure to pass another set of stopgap bills or to override Trump’s veto of the legislation could result in a partial shutdown of government agencies. Reuters additionally revealed that the White House had not expressed opposition to the bill prior to its passage and that all indications were that Trump would sign it. Mnuchin, the federal government’s treasury secretary, was involved in the negotiations on the bill. Trump’s resistance now could delay payments to Americans, reversing Mnuchin’s announced plan that the first payments would be made starting next week. The latest epidemic relief bill is the second-largest economic stimulus package in U.S. history, behind the $2.2 trillion bailout bill passed in March this year.
Meanwhile, President-elect Joe Biden said he would propose another round of new crown epidemic relief plans after taking office. Unlike Trump, Biden praised the final compromise between the two parties. We need bipartisanship, he said, and that’s the only way to get through the new crown crisis. The incoming president warned of the simple fact that the darkest days are still ahead in our battle against the epidemic and are not yet behind us. He stressed that further steps to address the crisis are urgent. In this regard, Biden specifically mentioned the lack of resources for vaccine distribution. Earlier this year, the new crown epidemic plunged the U.S. economy into a major crisis, with millions of people losing their jobs. Although the economy recovered quickly after the end of the spring blockade, the epidemic has since rebounded and intensified, causing the economic recovery to stall.
The second news event was the U.S. Congress’ reinforcement of support for Taiwan through the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020.
The U.S. Congress passed the $2.3 trillion FY 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act and the New Coronavirus Epidemic Relief Act late on the 21st, including the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020, which aims to strengthen support for Taiwan and requires the Secretary of State to review and report on guidelines for engagement with Taiwan. The bill also provides $3 million for the first time for the U.S.-Taiwan Global Cooperation and Training Architecture. The 5,000-page omnibus appropriations bill not only provides relief for U.S. federal government operations and the new pneumonia epidemic, but also includes bills related to U.S. international policy, such as the Taiwan Assurance Act and the Tibet Policy and Support Act.
In a statement released after the bill’s passage, Rep. McCaul, the senior Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2002, introduced by him and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Engel, Democrat, would advance the expansion of interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan governments and provide congressional oversight of self-imposed limits on U.S. cooperation with Taiwan. This bill would strengthen cooperation with Taiwan as a reliable partner in democracy. The provisions of the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 state that congressional advice considers Taiwan to be a vital part of the U.S. Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, that the U.S. government supports Taiwan’s development of asymmetric capabilities and also urges Taiwan to increase defense spending for its defense strategy; and that the U.S. should normalize arms sales to Taiwan to enhance its self-defense capabilities. In the section on support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, the article states that congressional opinion is that the People’s Republic of China’s attempts to dictate the terms of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations have resulted in Taiwan’s exclusion from these international organizations and have also caused harm to global public health, international civil aviation security, and the fight against transnational crime, and that it is the policy of the United States to advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations, the World Health Assembly, ICAO, and The U.S. policy is to advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations, the World Health Assembly, ICAO, and Interpol, and for Taiwan’s full membership in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, UNESCO, and other international organizations that do not require sovereign statehood.
In addition to the above-mentioned provisions intended to express congressional views, the most specific provision of the Taiwan Assurance Act is the review of the State Department’s Taiwan guidelines, which requires the Secretary of State to review and submit a report on the State Department’s guidelines governing U.S.-Taiwan relations within 180 days of the effective date of the Act, including the occasional memorandum titled ‘Guidelines for Relations with Taiwan’ and related documents. and related documents, and to reissue these guidelines to executive branch departments and agencies. The congressional view is that the State Department’s guidance on relations with Taiwan should be intended to deepen the U.S.-Taiwan relationship, take full account of the fact that Taiwan is a democracy, and should ensure that the implementation of the relationship reflects a comprehensive, long-term, values-based relationship between the United States and Taiwan. The bill requires that the Secretary of State’s report to the Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees include a copy of the “Guidelines for Relations with Taiwan” memorandum and any changes to the implementation of the Taiwan Travel Act and guidelines resulting from the implementation of this legislation. In addition, the provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, also include $32 million for the State Department to pay for AIT’s implementation of the Taiwan Relations Act and $3 million for the Global Cooperation and Training Framework. Provisions for this $3 million are included separately in the joint explanatory statement that accompanies the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Under economic support funds for the East Asia region under Diplomatic Operations and Related Programs for the Department of State. The provision states that the Global Cooperation and Training Architecture is a platform jointly administered by the United States, Taiwan, and Japan that supports public health, law enforcement, disaster relief, energy cooperation, women’s empowerment, cybersecurity, media literacy, and good governance. The “Emerging Technology Matters” section of the Consolidated Appropriations Act also requires the Director of National Intelligence to assess and report on important technology trends involving artificial intelligence, microchips, and the semiconductor supply chain, and the report on the semiconductor supply chain must include an analysis of the potential impact of geopolitical shifts, including those involving Taiwan.
In a statement, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed and thanked the U.S. Congress for including provisions in support of Taiwan in the omnibus appropriations act. The statement said the inclusion of the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 and the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) in the omnibus appropriations bill demonstrates the strong support of the U.S. Congress for Taiwan-U.S. relations, regardless of party affiliation, and is a recognition by Congress of the fruitful results of the GCTF platform over the past five years of its existence, which is highly positive and will help Taiwan, the U.S. and Japan continue to expand professional exchanges and cooperation with like-minded countries through the GCTF platform. The GCTF platform will help Taiwan, the United States, and Japan continue to expand their professional exchanges and cooperation with like-minded countries. However, the Chinese government opposed the U.S. Congress’ inclusion of Taiwan and Tibet in its omnibus appropriations law, saying that it was interfering in China’s internal affairs. Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on 22 February that the issues of Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong are related to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and are purely internal affairs of China, which are not subject to any external interference.
The third news event was the passage of a law by the Russian parliament that will give Putin lifetime immunity from prosecution.
Under a law passed by the Russian Duma, former state leaders have lifetime immunity from prosecution. The law was signed by President Vladimir Putin. The new rules of the law announced in Russia also apply to the family members of the former president.
Putin, 68, just secured more privileges for himself over the summer with a controversial constitutional amendment that could theoretically allow him to stay in office until 2036. The Kremlin leader has yet to say whether he will run again in the next presidential election in 2024. Former President Dmitry Medvedev was also given lifetime immunity from prosecution, independent portal meduza.io wrote. So far, presidents have enjoyed immunity from criminal offenses only during their time in office. But from now on, crimes that may come to light after the president leaves office will also be exempted from prosecution. The new law also stipulates that former heads of state cannot be questioned or arrested by police or prosecutors for the rest of their lives and prohibits future home searches of former presidents.
Under the new law, however, a former Russian president can still be stripped of his immunity as well as have a constitutional judge approve the prosecution if he is accused of treason or other serious crimes. The procedure is to be initiated by the State Duma, but the final decision is to be made by the Federation Council. However, the bill gives the former president a lifetime seat in the Senate or in the powerful Federal Council. Both of these positions are protected from prosecution. Russia’s lower house of parliament also approved another controversial law on data secrecy for staff of judicial and law enforcement agencies, as well as military and security agencies. The law still needs Putin’s signature before it can take effect, a step that is considered a mere formality.
The fourth news story is that international medical experts say the new UK coronavirus variant will not affect the effectiveness of the vaccine.
The recent discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the UK has sparked panic among people around the world. Medical experts say the emerging new coronavirus mutation will not affect the effectiveness of the two vaccines currently being promoted in the United States, and that the public need not be overly concerned. The mutant strain of the new coronavirus has begun to spread rapidly in London and surrounding areas after it was discovered in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Johnson has ordered the strictest closure of the city since March. The closure has caused people in London to try to flee the city. Meanwhile, Italy and Australia have announced that cases of infection with the British variant of the new coronavirus have been detected in their respective countries. Some European countries have begun imposing entry bans on travelers from the U.K. In Asia, Hong Kong and India have also said they will ground international flights from the U.K.
U.S. public health experts are closely monitoring a new strain of the new coronavirus found in the United Kingdom. The U.S. vaccine research and development project “warp speed action” experts Monsef Slaugh said in a television media, it is not clear whether the virus found in the United Kingdom variant has entered the United States. However, Dr. Fauci, a leading U.S. infectious disease expert, advisor to the White House Task Force on the New Coronavirus, and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on the 21st that the United States must now assume that the mutated virus has entered the United States. Considering that this mutated virus has already begun to circulate in places like London, England, and given the international travel factor, I would not be surprised if the mutated virus has already entered the United States.
There is widespread concern among the public about how scary the mutated new coronavirus really is. Dr. Laura Kahn, a researcher in science and global security at Princeton University, said that “ribonucleic acid” viruses, such as the current New Coronavirus and various flu viruses, are known for their high mutation rates. When such viruses mutate, generally speaking, one of two things happens: some of the mutations produce viruses that do not transmit, while others make the viruses more adapted to their hosts. Dr. Amesh Adalia, a senior expert at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, said that all of the viruses included in the new coronavirus class mutate, and that this mutation has been occurring since the virus appeared in humans. Most such mutations are not a concern, but there are some mutations that may make the virus more likely to spread. Dr. Kahn believes that the concern for a virus such as the new coronavirus is that it will mutate and become such that it will spread more easily among humans or become more lethal. The mutation of the virus currently found in the UK seems to have made it easier for the virus to spread between humans. Dr. Adalia, on the other hand, believes that the UK strain of the virus does include several mutations that may enhance its infectiousness. The fact that this mutated virus has become the dominant strain in parts of the UK suggests that it has become more contagious in humans; however, no definitive conclusions can be drawn at this time.
In response to the current discovery of a new coronavirus variant in the United Kingdom, the World Health Organization says it is part of the development and evolution of the new coronavirus outbreak and that there is no need for undue concern. Dr. Mike Lane, who is in charge of the organization’s public health emergency program, said at a briefing recently that it is important to explain clearly to the public what is going on with the virus variant. The ability to track the virus so closely, carefully and scientifically in the first place is a real positive development for global public health. WHO officials, citing data from the United Kingdom, said that while the mutated virus does appear to be more transmissible, there is no evidence that the mutated virus makes host symptoms more severe or is more deadly than the current mainstream strain. The capital, London, has been closed following the emergence of a potentially highly infectious variant of the new coronavirus in the United Kingdom, a move that has sparked panic and travel bans across Europe. Dr. Adalia fears that the implementation of a travel ban may be counterproductive. A travel ban would have the paradoxical effect of causing people to rush out of London, which would in turn make all viruses, both mutated and unmutated, more widespread. Dr. Adalia believes that it is also possible that if only the UK is actively looking for mutants of the virus while other countries are not doing so, there is no guarantee that the strains of the virus are not present in those countries where the travel ban is in place. Whether the travel ban is effective in stopping the widespread spread of the virus will also depend on how quickly the travel ban is implemented, Dr. Kahn said. If it is implemented only after a new variant of the virus is detected, it may already be too late.
The discovery of the new coronavirus variant in the United Kingdom and several other countries comes at a time when two new coronavirus vaccines, Pfizer and Modena, have been approved in the United States and are being administered by medical and emergency personnel. There is widespread concern about whether the emergence of new coronavirus mutations will affect or reduce the vaccine’s effectiveness. Dr. Adalia said there are indeed legitimate concerns about whether the two vaccines currently being promoted in the U.S. are still able to protect against this new strain of the virus. Adalia thinks it’s important to know that the vaccines that have been developed so far induce not just one type of antibody, but also T cells; and it takes a long time and a lot of complicating factors for a virus to develop resistance to a vaccine. Therefore, I am not too worried that this new strain of virus will pose a challenge to the vaccine. Medical experts believe that humans should feel fortunate that the body’s own immune system is a much stronger opponent for the virus to face. The two vaccines currently being promoted in the United States, Pfizer and Modena, induce an immune response only to the echinoderm protein on the surface of the new coronavirus. But each person infected with the virus itself produces a large, unique and complex arsenal of antibodies against this protein. In an interview with the New York Times, virologist Karthik Chandran of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York said graphically: In fact, it’s as if you have thousands of machine guns, firing at the virus. No matter how much the viruses mutate and intersect, they can’t easily forage for a genetic solution to really be able to resist all these different antibody specificities, not to mention the other immune response armaments that humans have. According to Dr. Kahn: The current consensus is that this mutation in the new coronavirus will not affect the efficacy of the vaccine. Of course, only time will tell if this is the case.
In the meantime, the drugmakers developing the new coronavirus vaccine say they could reset the vaccine design in as little as six weeks to deal with the new coronavirus strain, if necessary. Because the advantage of the “messenger RNA” technology is that it is straightforward to start designing a new vaccine to accommodate this new mutation.
The fifth news story is that Lai Chi-ying‘s third application for bail was granted before Christmas.
Lai Chi-ying, a well-known Hong Kong democracy activist and media mogul, was unexpectedly granted bail by the Hong Kong High Court on the 23rd. This is the first example of a person arrested by Hong Kong authorities on charges of violating national security laws to be granted bail.
On Dec. 3, he was re-arrested on additional charges of colluding with foreign countries or forces outside the country to endanger national security, and was taken into custody at Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre in Kowloon West, Hong Kong. He was denied bail on two separate occasions. The 73-year-old founder of Next Media, Lai Chi-ying, applied for bail again at the High Court on the 23rd, and Judge Lee Yun-teng decided to grant his bail application after hearing arguments from both sides. However, the bail conditions were quite harsh. The court required him to post bail in the amount of HK$10 million, and also to have three people to provide security, each paying a security deposit of HK$100,000. The court also required Lai Chi-ying to surrender his travel documents, not to leave his residence, and to report to the police station three times a week. The court announced that Lai Chi-ying’s case will be heard on April 16 next year.
The Chinese Communist Party introduced a national security law in Hong Kong on June 30 to liquidate those who participated in the mass demonstrations against the Hong Kong government in 2019. So far, more than 10,000 people have been arrested by police and more than 2,000 have been sentenced. Earlier this month, pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council resigned en masse in opposition to the joint disqualification of four pro-democracy lawmakers by Beijing and the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong police arrested more than 30 people for violating national security laws, and four of them were sentenced to prison. Lai Chi-ying was the only one of these people to be released on bail. Other prominent Hong Kong democracy activists such as Wong Chi-fung and Chow Ting were denied bail.
The Hong Kong government’s crackdown on pro-democracy legislators has drawn strong condemnation from the international community, and the United States and other Western countries have adopted various forms of sanctions against Hong Kong. But so far, the Hong Kong government’s suppression of the pro-democracy camp has not abated. According to Hong Kong media reports, the evidence that the police used to accuse Lai Chi-ying of violating national security laws were some tweets he sent on Twitter, some comments he made publicly, and interviews he gave to foreign media. Other alleged actions occurred before the national security law took effect, such as Lai’s tweets calling on the United States to impose sanctions on Chinese officials. But the National Security Law makes it clear that the law does not apply retroactively to several of the major crimes in question. The National Security Law states that a suspect should not be allowed to post bail unless the judge has sufficient reason to believe that the suspect or defendant will not continue to engage in acts that endanger national security.
Recent Comments