xijinping could be forgiven for thinking, "well, if they. . . if they can't cope with those two wars,with another one "if i choose to launch it. " the chinese leadership has looked at ukraine, and the conclusion it will have drawn is more that if you are going to do something like this, then you had better be very, very well prepared and have a predominance of force, and notjust be prepared militarily, but to be prepared economically as well. and at the moment, there's two things here, john. i mean, one is that the chinese economy is quite vulnerable at the moment. economics is the key to the communists�* continued hold on power in china, as you well know. the other thing is, getting across the taiwan straits is a very, very difficult military thing to do. and so, you know, xijinping has said specifically, he's said very clearly, they need to be prepared. the pla, the people's liberation army, needs to be prepared to fight a regional war by 2027. so, you know, he obviously thinks they're not there yet. and that �*27 is the earliest date that anything would be possible. it's not so muc

xijinping's big economic vision for the world has been that that $1 trillion belt and road initiative has just marked its 10th anniversary. and to the uninitiated, that's china investing in building infrastructure all over the world in an attempt to fuel economic growth and things ranging from what ports in greece to to railways in zambia. is that spending by china likely to slow now thatjust china is struggling so much economically at home? so for a while when china was doing well economically, it seemed to make sense for the government to use the belt and road initiative and other initiatives to try to use its financial clout to also increase its geopolitical power around the world. so at a time when china is receiving pushback from the countries that it gave money to and when it is not generating good returns of those investments, now that that is happening at the time when the chinese economy itself is weak, i think we're seeing a reconsideration from beijing about the wisdom of undertaking such investments at such scale around the world. now, for beijing, it has become very diffi

instead, voters gave the party xijinping loathes an historic third presidential win.aiting to see how china's leader will respond. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in taipei. for more on the us response to taiwan's elections, the bbc�*s tom bateman sent this update. the us government has congratulated mr william lai today, while at the same time saying it does not support taiwanese independence. that is nothing new. it's the long—standing policy of the us, but i think the way it's being reiterated so bluntly by president biden is meant as a message of reassurance to beijing, because it is the very long—standing unofficial possession of the us of support for taiwan, possession of the us of support fortaiwan, including many for taiwan, including many years fortaiwan, including many years of military sales, that so grates on the chinese and worries them so much. remember that china has never ruled out the use of force if it came to it for what they call the reunification of taiwan, and equally, the us has never ruled out military action to defend taiwan as it sees it. w

— xijinping? it's been interesting, - xijinping? it's been interesting, so - xi jinping?ting, so much effort going into watching what xi jinping _ going into watching what xi jinping says about taiwan to try to — jinping says about taiwan to try to understand his true intentions when it comes to taiwan _ intentions when it comes to taiwan. does xi jinping want to invade — taiwan. does xi jinping want to invade taiwan? if we look back, some _ invade taiwan? if we look back, some of— invade taiwan? if we look back, some of the early comments he made _ some of the early comments he made when he first came to power. _ made when he first came to power, he said quite early on in his— power, he said quite early on in his tenure that he thought that— in his tenure that he thought that the _ in his tenure that he thought that the taiwan problem wasn't an issue — that the taiwan problem wasn't an issue that should be passed down _ an issue that should be passed down through generations, though— down through generations, though some people took it to mean — though some people took i

instead, voters gave the party xijinping loathes an historic third presidential win.aiting to see how china's leader will respond. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, in taipei. live now to steve lai in taipei. good to see you there, steve. to begin with, what do you think this election result means for both taiwan and the region? means for both taiwan and the reuion? ~ ~' ., means for both taiwan and the reuion? ~ ~ ., ., , region? well, it kind of means a bit of the _ region? well, it kind of means a bit of the same, _ region? well, it kind of means a bit of the same, in _ region? well, it kind of means a bit of the same, in fact. - region? well, it kind of means a bit of the same, in fact. i'ml a bit of the same, in fact. i'm here in liberty square, or freedom square, built by the founder of the kmt, and you can sort of see that the mood here is very calm, very relaxed, the day after the elections. but what this means is an unprecedented third term for the dpp, as we mentioned earlier. william lai is expected to carry on the policies of his predecessor, tsai, going f

instead voters gave the party xijinping loathes an historic third presidential win.o see how china's leader will respond. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news in taipei. to talk more about this, i'm joined in the studio by shirley martey hargis — senior china policy fellow from third way think tank. shirley, good to have you with us. firstly, what can you tell us about president elect william lai? former national taiwan university graduate, former mayor. also harvard graduate, former mayor. also harvard graduate, former mayor. also harvard graduate, former physician, now turned politician and as we know now, current president of taiwan. he said throughout the campaign and in this speech as well that he intends to keep the status quo when it comes to keep the status quo when it comes to relations with china. he is now going to be in office though. what do you make of that? do you think he well? i do you make of that? do you think he well? ~' ., ., well? i think he will maintain status qu0- _ well? i think he will maintain status quo. i— well? i think he will maintain stat

i see signs of joe | biden and xi jinping trying to biden and xijinping trying to find a floor to standy and reach out to the prc. i hope the prc is willing to hear those messages from taiwan. but there are reasons to be hopeful and unfortunately reasons to be hopeful because even despite these attempts to create a floor to stand on the prc has taken a much more aggressive approach through military threats, economic threats and rhetorical threats. meanwhile, ahead of the _ rhetorical threats. meanwhile, ahead of the election - rhetorical threats. meanwhile, ahead of the election the - ahead of the election the younger generation in taiwan find themselves in a curious predicament. on the one hand, the self ruled island is lauded as an advanced economy by the international monetary fund and a high income one by the world bank. but as i found out when i hit the streets of taiwan, comes to how they feel about that and how they feel going forward, they are not getting a sense of that progress when it comes to their bank balance. this is a popular shopping and eating district in the heart of

when president xijinping visited hong kong injuly 2022, he stressed our key advantage is our law, thebe a platform for international engagement and interaction. he actually referred to the common law system twice in his keynote speech. so, what you said is totally untrue. well, we could continue the conversation but, sadly, we're out of time. regina ip, i do thank you very much indeed forjoining me on hardtalk. it's a pleasure. hello there. good evening. it's a very stormy period of weather and we're seeing the second named storm in just a few days. storm jocelyn follows hot on the heels of storm isha, hampering the clear—up. we've seen heavy downpours of rain move eastwards today along with strengthening winds. and here goes that deep area of low pressure just passing to the north of scotland, following the same track as isha. perhaps the wind gusts not as severe for most, but with the trees, the structures having been weakened from the previous storm and the ground pretty saturated, there will still be some strong impacts. much of the north and the west of scotland, towards exposed

when president xijinping visited hong kong injuly 2022, he stressed our key advantage is our law, thel space and be a platform for international engagement and interaction. he actually referred to the common law system twice in his keynote speech. so, what you said is totally untrue. well, we could continue the conversation but, sadly, we're out of time. regina ip, i do thank you very much indeed forjoining me on hardtalk. it's a pleasure. hello there. storm isha is likely to cause significant damage and disruption to parts of the uk as we push into monday morning. met office amber warnings remain in force for severe gales with these damaging gusts of wind and heavy rain. then this heavy rain combined with snow melt, because of the milder temperatures across northern areas likely to lead to localised flooding. the centre of storm isha passing just to the north of scotland, widespread severe gales on its southern flank pretty much covering most of the uk. these are the sorts of wind gusts we can expect, even inland up to 60mph or more, and in excess of 70, 80mph around some irish sea c

when president xijinping visited hong kong injuly 2022, he stressed our key advantage is our law, thebe a platform for international engagement and interaction. he actually referred to the common law system twice in his keynote speech. so, what you said is totally untrue. well, we could continue the conversation but, sadly, we're out of time. regina ip, i do thank you very much indeed forjoining me on hardtalk. it's a pleasure. hello. storm jocelyn is the latest named storm to come our way, through tuesday and into tuesday night. the storm system has been fired up by the same process which we saw with storm isha. cold arctic air recently across the eastern portion of the united states and in canada, big temperature contrast down towards florida and that has really fired up an active and potent jet stream. and its jet streams which have developed this low pressure system. this isjocelyn, not as potent as isha, but will still cross the country and have impacts. now storm jocelyn almost like a two stage storm. the winds will strengthen throughout tuesday, but by day it's the heavy rain w

president tsai ing—wen made the comments after china's leader, xijinping, said that quote, "reunification sovereignty claims over democratically governed taiwan, which on 13 january, holds presidential and parliamentary elections. the mexican actress, ana ofelia murguia, who voiced one of the main characters in the oscar—winning animation coco, has died at the age of ninety. the movie celebrates mexico's culture and highlights the day of the dead. the mexican national institute of fine arts and literature said murguia's career was a vital part of the country's performing arts. it's been two years since the james webb space telescope was launched by nasa, and has already sent back some stunning images. it has also made some astonishing discoveries, which are transforming our understanding of the universe. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. the beauty of the cosmos, captured by the james webb space telescope. from the tarantula nebula, where stars are born amidst the dust, to a dying star, the ring nebula, throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel. and the phantom galaxy

are expected to have major implications for the island's relationship with china.under president xijinpingd has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this goal. taiwan has accused china of intimidating its citizens in an attempt to influence saturday's elections. the us — a top ally to taiwan — says it opposes any outside influence. joining me now is steve lai in taipei. what exactly is at stake in this election? good to speak to you. china hangs heavy over the selection which takes place tomorrow across taiwan. it is worth noting that depending on who wins the selection it could impact the trajectory of the relationship that taiwan has with notjust china but the us as well because of it is worth noting that china accounts for 20% of taiwan's exports, it is its largest trading partner, and all the three parties contesting in the selection all want the same thing. they all want the same thing. they all want taiwan to remain in control of its own destiny and that puts it at odds with china but also more in line with the us and its democratic values so how these parties approach or walk t

china's president, xijinping, has repeated his claim it's inevitable that taiwan will be reunified withh comes less than two weeks before a general election is held in the self—ruled island that beijing considers part of its own territory. in the speech, president xi also addressed a challenging year for the country's economy, stating it had �*weathered the storm'. police in germany have arrested three people over an alleged plot to carry out a new year's eve attack at cologne cathedral. arrests were made in raids on properties outside cologne. reports say they were islamists planning to use a car in the attack. tight security has been put in place around the cathedral, with around a thousand police on duty. around 300 people die every year from around 300 people die every yearfrom lightning around 300 people die every year from lightning strikes around 300 people die every yearfrom lightning strikes in bangladesh, in comparison to fewer than 20 people annually in the united states. which has almost double the population. lightnings now considered natural disaster in the country alongsi

president tsai ing—wen made the comments after china's leader, xijinping, said that quote, "reunification its sovereignty claims over democratically governed taiwan which, on 13 january, holds presidential and parliamentary elections. it's been two years since the james webb space telescope was launched by nasa, and has already sent back some stunning images. it has also made some astonishing discoveries, which are transforming our understanding of the universe. 0ur science editor rebecca morelle reports. the beauty of the cosmos, captured by the james webb space telescope. from the tarantula nebula, where stars are born amidst the dust, to a dying star, the ring nebula, throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel. and the phantom galaxy, with 100 billion stars amongst its spiral arms. these images are stunning — but they're also transforming what we thought we knew about the cosmos. the telescope can look back to the very dawn of the universe, and it's revealing game—changing galaxies that are breaking all the rules. it can see the cosmos 13.5 billion years ago, just after the b

you mention xijinping woodland to mesh taiwan. what woodland to mesh taiwan.ld that look _ woodland to mesh taiwan. what would that look like? _ woodland to mesh taiwan. “lariat would that look like? military or blockades like two years ago after nancy pelosi's visit. i also think they will cut preferential ties to taiwan. and then they will ban economic products from taiwan. common tools that they have used so far. ~ ., ., ., far. we will have to leave it there, thank _ far. we will have to leave it there, thank you _ far. we will have to leave it there, thank you for - far. we will have to leave it | there, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. talking about the economy there and the impact it could have on the selection. we do know that taiwan makes more than half of the semiconductor chip that power most modern technology, its biggest manufacture in that spaceis its biggest manufacture in that space is tsmc which is the ninth most valuable business in the world which makes taiwan valuable but it puts it in a very vulnerable position if anything were

you mentioned that xijinping has a mission to unify with taiwan but the three parties involved, as ihe ruling party at the moment, they want to push back more on china, pu5h more for these sort of self—determined root5, china, pu5h more for these sort of self—determined roots, and they are more closely allied to they are more closely allied to the us as well. we have had visits from various different people from congress, visiting taiwan. you might remember nancy pelo5i's visits but a lot of outrage from china. the other two parties are kmt who favour a closer relationship with china and the tpp, the newest party on the block who are favouring a middle road, if you like. but there is a lot at stake because whoever wins will 5take because whoever wins will determine the trajectory of taiwan, whether it is closer to china or the us, and that will have bigger implications for the region as well as both those of 5uperpower5 tussle for influence in the region. obviously, identity a big issue as well. what else was paramount for the voters? well, it is interesting _ paramount for the voter

under president xijinping, china has vowed to bring taiwan under its rule, not ruling out a force to for its part, has accused china of intimidating its citizens in an attempt to implement saturday's elections. let's cross live now to taipei, and speak to my colleague who is there. steve, just give us a bit of a flavour of why these elections are so important. they are important, maryam, because it is notjust, the level of interest in this election is because of the vested interest from the world's two biggest economies. you mention china but the us also has interest in taiwan and the two countries have been tussling for influence across asia and the indo—pacific and they both have their interest in thai wine, so this is another area in which they are competing. just to give you some context, china has a historical claim over thai wine and it sees the self ruled island as a renegade province and its long—term view is for unification with the island. —— over thai wine. it has been a lie of taiwan and also sells a lot of military equipment to taiwan. —— taiwan. it is now 1023 local tim

and betweenjoe biden xijinping.st majority of fentanyl comes across the southern border. actually nearly all of it is brought across the border by american citizens but it is an issue that has gotten tied up with immigration system that we are seeing in the exit polling in new hampshire is that immigration is a big issue for new hampshire voters and i think you can kind of lump in immigration to some extent with fentanyl in some states. perhaps erroneously because it is not actually the same relationship as it is brought across by americans but it comes across the southern border and it is devastating american communities. illinois was to demonstrate _ american communities. illinois was to demonstrate a - american communities. illinois was to demonstrate a you - american communities. illinois was to demonstrate a you are. was to demonstrate a you are familiar with iowa as well and it's big issue there, but it is a wonder voters vote with their feet on? ~ , . a wonder voters vote with their feet on? ~ ,,., , . ~ feet

president biden hold a meeting on the margins of the apec summit in california at which he met president xijinpingnse that they had discussed many of the issues they disagreed on but the americans were continuing to talk about the importance of diplomacy and engagement but in the context of the presidential election, especially with some republicans urging a harder line on the us administration towards china, the approach to something like taiwan which is a long—standing flashpoint between these two rivals will matter. there will be a lot of eyes on the policy towards taiwan and lawmakers will ask if enough visible support is being given. next week, the us will send an unofficial delegation to taipei. these are former administration officials, not people currently in office, what is exactly that kind of thing that really grates on the chinese. we saw back in 2022 of nancy pelosi, the speaker of the house, visit taiwan which led to the chinese carrying out a live fire military drill in the strait of taiwan so there will be a lot of eyes on what the us and the chinese are going to do in the weeks to

telegraph and the spectator, how long before some chinese billionaire acting on behalf of president xijinpingritish media to be owned by foreign dictators? iii owned —— the british media to be owned by foreign dictators? ii the owned by foreign dictators? if the redbird lml _ owned by foreign dictators? if the redbird imi deal— owned by foreign dictators? if the redbird imi deal is _ owned by foreign dictators? if the redbird imi deal is blocked, the beneficiary could be the bid led by paul marshall, early investor in gb news which he famously left after six months, would you say you were to she would rather have him? i won't be keen on paul marshall either, but that is my personal view, i am not enforcing that on anybody. he is a british citizen who lives in britain, i don't think he would know how to run the spectator or the telegraph, but that is a personal view. or the telegraph, but that is a personalview. plenty or the telegraph, but that is a personal view. plenty of other people could come forward to own it and i would rather take my chances in a sales process than see this be handed

before, because before this trend was on... the strengthening of chinese-american relations before xijinpingiwan, on its territory, is recognized by only one member of the un, that is, in fact, if... take some action regarding taiwan, so, of course, this aggravates the situation, well, the second point is that the united states has always recognized the one-china principle, so now biden’s statement that he will send delegations to taiwan also greatly aggravates situation, in fact, there is a question of a big constitutional crisis, regarding the candidates who are fielded there, most likely the democratic progressive party will win, it will be india, who is now the vice president. close contacts with dem party of the usa, he will be president , behind him will be, like barack obama , behind biden will be the current incumbent president sainven will support it with his authority until may, ahoy the candidate from gaminden, there are also even quite big chances, in general the specificity of these elections is that that there are three candidates with approximately 30% each, there have also be