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Trump says he’s spoken to China’s Xi Jinping about imprisoned businessman Jimmy Lai

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From LifeSiteNews

By Michael Haynes, Snr. Vatican Correspondent

‘I didn’t say 100% I’ll save him,’ Trump claimed on a Fox News interview last week about imprisoned Jimmy Lai. ‘I said 100% I’m going to be bringing it up, and I’ve already brought it up.’

As the trial for imprisoned businessman Jimmy Lai draws to a close, President Donald Trump stated he has “already” discussed the plight of Lai with China’s President Xi Jinping.

“I didn’t say 100% I’ll save him,” Trump claimed on a Fox News interview last week, referencing prior comments. “I said 100% I’m going to be bringing it up, and I’ve already brought it up [with President Xi Jinping], and I’m going to do everything I can to save him.”

The pro-democracy activist, businessman, and former newspaper owner Jimmy Lai remains behind bars still as his trial under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law (NSL) hears closing arguments.

Lai – a 77-year-old British national – was sentenced to a six-year jail term in December 2022 on the charge of “fraud.” According to news outlet Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP), at Lai’s 2022 sentencing, the judge also imposed “an eight-year disqualification order to Lai and ordered the media tycoon to pay HK$2 million in fines.”

But his current trial is for separate charges of “collusion with foreign forces” in violation of the draconian NSL that Beijing imposed on the island to suppress dissent against the Chinese authorities, under which he could face a life sentence. The trial has faced numerous delays by the Chinese authorities, but now – after being further pushed back last week due to a typhoon and over concerns about Lai’s health – closing arguments are being heard after proceedings commenced in December 2023.

The trial has been widely labelled as a show trial, including by his lawyers, with Human Rights Watch calling the charges “fabricated.”

An open letter from Doughty Street Chambers in 2023 described the “fraud” charges against Lai as “spurious,” and added that his arrest under the NSL was simply for “peaceful pro-democracy campaigning and his work at Apple Daily.”

Lai himself has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. If the court – which comprises hand-picked judges rather than a jury in a notable break from precedent – finds him guilty, he could face life in prison.

A guilty verdict is seen by many as highly likely.

He founded the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily in 1995, which published criticism of the CCP that earned it the ire of the communist authorities. The newspaper became one of the leading outlets in Hong Kong prior to its forced closure by the authorities.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau has previously said that “this case is about a radical political figure … who conspired with others to bring into hatred and stir up opposition to the government and the central authorities.”

“He’s a respected guy, he’s a good guy. You can also understand, President Xi would not be exactly thrilled by doing it,” added Trump to Fox News about Lai, regarding his championing Lai’s cause to the Chinese.

Continuing, the president stated:

It was a very nasty period of time in the history of China. With all of that being said, his name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do.

Trump made much stronger promises last year prior to his election victory when he stated that, should he win the U.S. presidential election, he would speak to China’s Xi Jinping about brining Lai out of the country. “One hundred percent, yes. I’ll get him out. He’ll be easy to get out. But we don’t have people that even talk about it.”

His latest remarks appear to downplay the certainty of his actions regarding Lai’s future.

The condition’s of Lai’s time in prison have led to international concerns about his health. Even three months prior to the start of this trial, Lai already marked 1,000 days behind bars. Now, he is approaching nearly 1,700 days.

Since his August 2020 arrest, Lai has been spending around 23 hours of every day in solitary confinement, in conditions which violate those laid out by the United Nations for the treatment of prisoners. On his brief 50 minutes allowed out of the cell, Lai is accompanied by guards in a separate pen, in contrast to other prisoners who are allowed to mix with each other or play sports.

Despite the extreme humidity and heat of Hong Kong in the summer, Lai’s cell is not fitted with any air conditioning.

Now Lai is described as having to wear a heart monitor in court following heart palpitations in recent days.

China experts and Hong Kong activists have vocally championed the cause of Lai on the international stage, as have a number of prominent Catholic clergy such as New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan. Shortly prior to the NSL trial starting, a number of prominent prelates called for Lai’s immediate release.

Human Rights Watch stated last Friday that the authorities should “drop the baseless charges against Jimmy Lai.”

“Holding the 77-year-old Lai in prolonged solitary detention while his health fails has been outrageously cruel,” wrote the group. “Concerned governments should press for Lai’s immediate release both for his sake and for the sake of media freedom in Hong Kong and China.”

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Boris Johnson Urges Ukraine to Continue War

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Armstrong Economics

By Martin Armstrong

Trump’s proposal for peace in Ukraine has been met with an overwhelming condemnation from the world’s neocons. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson reemerges from the shadows whenever he hears word that a war may be winding down. He played an instrumental role in persuading Zelensky not to negotiate a peace treaty with Russia when it was apparent that Ukraine could not easily win, and now, Johnson is urging Ukraine to continue the war.

“Imagine that you are Vladimir V. Putin and you are spending a calm Saturday in the Kremlin… You casually watch the television news, and you cannot help but smile at the incompetence of your opponents, at the astonishing weakness of the West. You have lost more than a million soldiers, killed and wounded, in your attempts to subdue Ukraine. You have still failed to capture more than 20 percent of the country’s territory. Your economy is faltering. And now they are talking about some new 28-point plan to end the war – and it could have been written entirely by the Kremlin,” Johnson warned.

Boris_Johnson_We_are_in_a_proxy_war_against_Russia_

In typical neocon fashion, Johnson wants to paint the proposal as a victory for Russia. He acknowledges millions have died, but since they are Russian, their lives do not matter. Continue the slaughter at the expense of the people.

Johnson declared that Britain was in a proxy war with Russia back in November 2024. “It has been pathetic… Let’s face it: We’re waging a proxy war but not giving our proxies the ability to do the job. For years now, we’ve been allowing them to fight with one hand tied behind their backs, and it has been cruel,” he admitted one year ago. Why would Britain feel threatened by Russia? Why would any sane leader thrust their people into a battle that is not theirs to fight?

The head of M16, Sir Richard Moore, also came out in November 2024, admitting British intelligence was discreetly fighting on behalf of Ukraine. “We cherish our heritage of covert action, which we keep alive today in helping Ukraine resist the Russian invasion,” Moore commented.

Moore and Johnson know that Russia has no incentive to invade Europe, especially Britian. There is absolutely nothing for Putin to gain. Europe, on the other hand, has everything to gain through conflict with Russia. They see Ukraine as the ultimate entryway into Russia

War is a great way to default on debts. You get to form a new government, and they always disavow the debts of the previous government. Europe has been committing economic suicide. Between the COVID-19 Lockdowns, the NET-ZERO Climate Change, and then the sanctions on Russia that doubled their fuel costs, you could not ask for a more brain-dead group of politicians who have ZERO comprehension of even how the economy functions.

Plain and simple—Russia invaded due to the West’s failure to honor the Minsk Agreement. The neocons disregard the proposal entirely and conveniently disregard the original signed agreement when discussing conceding territory.

“The document offers Ukrainians not only to give up any attempts to reclaim Crimea or Donbas, but also to cede vast territories, including about 250,000 Ukrainians whom the Russians do not even control. Of course, you knew your negotiators would try something like that. But you never believed anyone would take this seriously. You can’t believe that President Trump would back this plan, because it is a complete betrayal of Ukraine,” Johnson continued in his recent writing.

LET THE PEOPLE VOTE! The ethnically Russian people living in Ukraine have been unable to decide on their leadership. Zelensky outlawed their religion and language. Everyone believes they are protecting the people in these regions from the other side, but only one side is open to learning the people’s wishes. The 28-point plan saves the PEOPLE of both Russia and Ukraine. Russia cannot abandon the war without guarantees that NATO will back down and Ukraine is merely an EU puppet. Zelensky now has two days to decide whether he is willing to destroy his nation for the neocons.

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Daily Caller

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s An Inside Look At The UN’s Disastrous Climate Conference

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Audrey Streb

The United Nations’ annual climate conference concluded Saturday, and some critics in attendance told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it was a chaotic affair.

After Thursday’s fire forced an evacuation and temporarily halted the talks, COP30 was prolonged by an extra day. Corporate media outlets and green groups critiqued the final agreement reached on Saturday, arguing that it did not do enough to restrict carbon emissions. The environmental groups claimed the resolution departed from COP28’s declaration which called for an end to fossil fuels.

Hosted in Belém, Brazil, COP30 provoked backlash after developers razed the Amazon rainforest ahead of the climate talks and China worked to seize the spotlight in America’s absence. Craig Rucker, co-founder and president of the conservative nonprofit known as the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow,(CFACT) told the DCNF that this year’s UN climate talks were especially chaotic and disorganized.

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“I’ve been to 27 of the 30 conferences. … What you see on the ground is just how chaotic it’s gotten. There was a certain chaos in the past, but this was particularly disorganized because they picked a venue that I think was unsuited for all the delegates that were coming in,” Rucker told the DCNF in an interview. “They wanted to emphasize the rainforest, yet hypocritically, they’re chopping them down to accommodate delegates flying in on private jets.”

The UN did not respond to the DCNF’S request for comment.

Rucker and Marc Morano, who publishes CFACT’s ClimateDepot.comventured into the Amazon rainforest to investigate the four-lane highway initially reported by BBC in March. Rucker told the DCNF that Brazil was “still cutting and burning. We heard the chainsaws ourselves, and this is something they [the Brazilian state] try to keep [quiet].”

The highway, known as Avenida Liberdade, was shelved multiple times in the past due to environmental concerns but revived as part of a broader push to modernize Belém ahead of COP30, according to the outlet. State officials say the development efforts will leave a lasting legacy, including an expanded airport, new hotels and an ungraded port to accommodate cruise ships.

The Brazilian state denied that the highway was built for the climate conference, noting that plans for the road were underway as early as 2020 — well before Brazil was selected to host COP30, Reuters reported in March.

President Donald Trump sharply criticized the conference for deforesting portions of the Amazon to ease travel for environmentalist attendees. The U.S. did not send an official delegation this year.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse attended the talks, where they denounced the Trump administration’s energy policies and absence.

A top United Nations official reportedly directed Brazilian authorities to address concerns including leaky light fixtures, sweltering heat and lackluster security at the conference, according to Bloomberg News. Days later, the fire broke out.

Morano also documented water pouring from vents, and Rucker told the DCNF that attendees were not allowed to flush toilet paper as the venue “didn’t have a septic system.”

Rucker also recalled what he described as elitism, noting that delegates were in the “blue zone” while other attendees and indigenous groups were relegated to the “green zone.”

“The blue zone is where the official delegates go, the people that are from Spain, Portugal, Brazil. … And these are the people that make the decisions,” Rucker said. “The indigenous people, they say, don’t have a voice allowed in there. That’s partially why they crashed it.”

Though COP30 did host several events featuring indigenous voices, some native groups stormed the COP30 venue the first week, demanding their voice be heard by the UN.

Rucker told the DCNF that China seemed to have become a “new leader” on the environmentalism and green energy front at the climate conference, though the oriental nation is “pumping out with two coal plants per week.”

Recent media reports have hailed China as a giant in building out “renewables,” though China is far from dependent on intermittent resources like solar and wind as it also churns out new coal plants and is the world’s top emitter.

“They genuinely looked at China as the world leader on climate change,” Rucker noted, branding it as “totally bizarre.”

Rucker recalled that upon the entrance of the “blue zone,” there was a “very impressive Chinese booth.”

Additionally, a statue demeaning Trump stood outside COP30, according to Reuters, as well as a horned jaguar-dragon hybrid statue with its hands gripping the globe. The fanged construction purportedly represented China and Brazil partnering to protect the rainforest.

“The statues are purely political statements: one symbolizes how communism is alive and well in Brazil and China, and the other is a misguided attempt to shame or critique Trump,” Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute Sterling Burnett told the DCNF. “Trump’s promotion of fossil-fuel development and broader use — especially encouraging developing countries to tap into affordable energy — will do more to help children in poor countries than all the climate agreements and green energy scams combined.”

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