EU leaders silent as Romania cancels anti-globalist presidential candidate

“You don’t have shared values if you cancel elections because you don’t like the result, and that happened in Romania”

The primary characteristic of a democratic society is that the people get to decide who their political leaders are.

Many institutions claim to defend democracy: the mainstream media, the Democratic Party, and the European Union among them.

A blatantly anti-democratic turn of events has transpired in the country of Romania these past few months, but hardly any Western institutions have complained about it. In fact, the EU just voted to not even debate the issue.

Last year, Călin Georgescu received 23% of the vote in Romania’s presidential race, the most of any candidate. This year, he was prohibited by his country’s elections bureau from seeking that office again.

What happened was the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results on grounds that it was not a fair election. Russia promoted pro-Georgescu ads on social media, it said. This was enough to deem it illegitimate.

U.S. President JD Vance did not fail to notice the absurdity of that claim.

While speaking in Germany last month, Vance excoriated the court’s decision.

“If your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with,” Vance said to Europe’s censorious elite.

“You don’t have shared values if you cancel elections because you don’t like the result, and that happened in Romania,” he said.

The real reason Georgescu’s election could not go forward was because he has the wrong views. He is a strong supporter for peace in Ukraine, he supports traditional values, he wants to put his country’s interests before NATOs, and he opposed the COVID-19 agenda, among other praiseworthy positions.

In late February, Georgescu was detained by police for “incitement to actions against the constitutional order” and was given a 60-day ban on media appearances.

Nationalist politicians in Europe have drawn attention to this tyrannical behavior.

“If Romanian people choose Georgescu, why do we interfere? And why do we stop it? This has nothing to do with democracy,” Alliance for Deutschland’s Christine Anderson told the European Parliament.

Slovakia President Robert Fico likewise called out the hypocrisy.

“The European Commission must take a position on the presidential elections in Romania. And take responsibility for it,” he said.

Both pleas fell on deaf ears. Globalists aligned with Ursula von der Leyen, the warmonger president of the EU, rejected a motion to debate the issue. They claimed that they could not let “friends of Russia” determine “the rule of law” in Romania.

Trump administration officials have refused to be silent.

Kari Lake, the newly installed head of Voice of America, said on X that attacks on patriots have been happening across the world and that Georgescu is simply their latest target.

“Do you love your country & want to put it first? Then the Globalists want you removed from the ballot and silenced. They tried it with Trump here in America. They did it to Bolsonaro in Brazil. Now, they’re doing it to Georgescu in Romania. The people should dictate their country’s future. Not the international order and their captured courts.”

Elon Musk drew attention to the protests unfolding in Romania as well.

“How can a judge end democracy in Romania?” he wondered.

Social media user Clint Russell summarized the timeline of events better than most.

“Quick primer on Romania: right winger wins election, election gets canceled by EU, new election process begins, EU bans him from running, NATO base is being built to wage war on Russia, Romanians don’t want it, the EU/NATO demons don’t care. Then they lecture you about democracy.”

While Georgescu’s political future is on hold for now, with the conflict in neighboring Ukraine seemingly nearing its end, the long-term viability of globalist politicians in Europe will be put at risk. They cannot maintain power forever. One can only hope U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will negotiate a lasting peace that brings not only the war to an end but also an end to the political careers of those who have usurped the will of the Romanian people.

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First American pontiff says ‘build bridges’ to peace

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First American pontiff says ‘build bridges’ to peace

Published on May 9, 2025

Todayville

From The Center Square

By Christen Smith

The first American pontiff in the 2,000-year history of the Roman Catholic Church offers a simple vision for the future: build bridges and receive each other with open arms.

It’s a message grown from the roots of 69-year-old Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s consecration to the Order of St. Augustine, a 4th century bishop revered for his blend of contemplative prayer and public ministry.

And now, as Pope Leo XIV, the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics – and beyond – wonder how the Chicago native turned Peruvian bishop will navigate the ever-blurring line between secular politics and doctrinal authenticity.

His first remarks from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome favored the latter. He opened his brief and emotional speech with the first words of the “risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for the flock of God.”

“Peace be with you,” he said. “I, too, would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are; and all the peoples, and all the earth: Peace be with you.”

Like Pope Francis before him, Prevost values a synodal church in which the ordained lead with humility and weigh the needs of its members equally, as opposed to two millennia of hierarchical structure based in scripture and tradition.

This viewpoint drew sharp criticism and dented Francis’ legacy. The former pontiff’s penchant for choosing political sides that many conservative critics viewed as borderline Marxist drove partisan divisions deeper.

Coupled with his “radical” commitment to synodality, many argued that Francis led the church astray by pushing progressive views on immigration, LGBT inclusion, climate change and anti-capitalism.

It was Francis himself who tapped Prevost to serve as Bishop of Chiclayo, in northwestern Peru, and a cardinal just last year. He also ascended to an influential role in the Holy See: running the Dicastery of Bishops, which oversees the selection and management of bishops worldwide.

Prevost’s harshest critics believe his administrative oversight is lacking. In March, the Survivors Network of Abused by Priests said that he’d failed to investigate sexual misconduct claims against two priests serving in the Diocese of Chiclayo.

The network sent a letter to Prevost on Thursday asking him to hold disgraced priests accountable.

“While the priest and other offenders may have stolen our bodies, it is the cardinals and bishops of the church, along with three successive popes before you, who have stolen our voices,” the network wrote. “Imagine our heartbreaking disappointment and despair if we discover that this includes you.”

Vatican observers note that Prevost, however, favors more conservative social and political values, though he remains “open to dialogue.”

He said as much himself on Thursday.

“God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God,” Pope Leo XIV said. “Without fear, united, hand in hand with God and among ourselves, we will go forward. We are disciples of Christ, Christ goes before us, and the world needs His light. Humanity needs Him like a bridge to reach God and his love. You help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.”

Christen Smith

Regional Editor

espionage

Hong Kong Police Detain Relatives of Canadian Candidate Targeted by Beijing Election Interference

Published on May 8, 2025

Todayville

Sam Cooper

Move follows aggressive PRC disinformation against Joe Tay, RCMP security warnings, and raises pressure on Prime Minister Mark Carney after White House meeting

In a striking escalation of Beijing’s interference in Canada’s Parliament and its global campaign to silence dissent, Hong Kong police have reportedly detained and questioned relatives of former Conservative election candidate Joe Tay—who was targeted by aggressive Chinese cyber and ground operations during the recent federal campaign, according to The Bureau’s intelligence sources.

The move to detain and question Tay’s cousin and the man’s wife in Hong Kong—reported by multiple sources, including Hong Kong Free Press—appears aimed at ramping up pressure on Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose campaign plausibly benefited from Beijing’s interference and the Liberal pledge to fight President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime.

Tay, who lost by roughly 5,000 votes to his Liberal opponent in Don Valley North, has yet to comment on the detentions. As The Bureau previously reported, the RCMP advised Tay to suspend in-person campaigning during the final week of the election due to credible threats tied to foreign interference.

The reported detentions occurred Thursday morning in the Fo Tan district of Hong Kong, where Tay’s relatives were taken to a police station for questioning. While Hong Kong police have not publicly confirmed the operation, the tactic aligns with the Chinese Communist Party’s growing use of family-based intimidation to suppress overseas dissent—a strategy documented across multiple countries by rights monitors and Western intelligence agencies.

Thursday’s detentions came just 48 hours after Carney’s closed-door meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance in Washington. Carney has not publicly commented on the content of the meeting, but according to a U.S. intelligence community source, the agenda likely included PRC political interference, trade, espionage, fentanyl trafficking, money laundering, and Chinese national security threats across North America.

Tay, 62, became a top target of Chinese interference networks during the 2025 campaign. Federal intelligence officials and The Bureau identified a coordinated foreign interference operation that promoted disinformation against Tay and other Conservative candidates across PRC-linked channels, particularly on WeChat, with the goal of depressing Chinese-Canadian voter turnout for the Conservative Party.

The SITE Task Force assessed that Tay was subject to a broader transnational repression campaign. PRC-linked accounts circulated narratives portraying Canada as a refuge for fugitives if Tay were elected—rhetoric that was echoed publicly by Liberal MP Paul Chiang, who was supported by Prime Minister Carney after those comments were publicized. Chiang’s campaign collapsed under international pressure after the RCMP announced it would review the matter.

That Beijing appears resolved to continue persecuting Tay and his family—even after his electoral defeat—points to a broader and deeper strategic objective behind this singular, confirmed case of interference. It also presents an early and consequential test for Prime Minister Carney, who campaigned on defending Canadian sovereignty while opposing Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. The timing of the escalation—detaining relatives of a defeated Canadian dissident just days after Carney’s May 6 White House meeting—suggests the PRC may be actively probing Ottawa’s resolve under new leadership.

The Bureau has extensively documented this repressive strategy. On April 10, 2025, The Bureau confirmed that Hong Kong activist Frances Hui’s parents were detained by Hong Kong national security police, following Hui’s testimony before Canada’s Parliament. Hui, now based in Washington, had previously revealed she was allegedly stalked and threatened by a suspected PRC agent.

Tay’s case fits an increasingly global pattern. The Bureau has learned that a report reviewed by Toronto police during the campaign involved a suspected stalking threat against members of Tay’s team. And now, even after democratic outcomes, the Chinese state appears determined to punish political critics through surveillance, coercion, and intimidation directed at family members—sending a clear message to diaspora communities and foreign governments alike.

The formal charges against Tay were issued by Hong Kong police in December 2024. According to official documents reviewed by The Bureau, Tay—born 12 December 1962—was charged with:

Incitement to secession
Collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security

Authorities allege that between July 2020 and June 2024, Tay operated a platform called HongKonger Station, through which he published “numerous videos inciting secession” and “repeatedly urged foreign countries to impose sanctions” on officials in Beijing and Hong Kong.

The SITE Task Force confirmed that these charges were disseminated and amplified by Chinese intelligence-linked networks during Canada’s 2025 campaign, as part of a broader information warfare effort to delegitimize Tay and portray his candidacy as a national security threat to China.

At the time the charges were announced, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly condemned them, warning that Beijing’s extraterritorial use of its National Security Law undermined international norms and democratic principles. Since Tay’s defeat—and her party’s electoral victory—Joly has not made any further public comment.

The Bureau will seek comment from Carney and his government today and update this story.

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