Man Charged for Trespassing at Trump Residence; China Reportedly Built Nuclear Reactor for Warships

Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. A Chinese man is arrested again for trying to enter President-elect Trump's Florida home Mar-a-Lago. He returned repeatedly despite multiple arrests and warnings. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could soon join China's military arsenal, as researchers say the communist regime has built a prototype nuclear reactor for a large warship. One of Taiwan's richest men is taking on Beijing in the courtroom. The retired tech billionaire is suing senior Chinese officials over sanctions targeting his political views. And in a country where mass gatherings are seen as politically sensitive, tens of thousands of Chinese college students are hopping on bikes riding for hours at night as Chinese authorities clamp down on them. The Chinese Communist Party has always been afraid of large crowds and gatherings. They are scared of it because they fear large, uncontrolled gatherings. Before we dive into today's top story, we'd like to share an important update. You can now watch China In Focus on Genjing World every Tuesday, instead of YouTube. To watch, simply click the link in the description down below, or search China In Focus at genjingworld.com. Dive into a world of uplifting content, brought to you by Genjing World, a wholesome digital town working to revolutionize the digital entertainment space. While President-elect Donald Trump was celebrating his victory last week, a Chinese national was arrested Thursday after attempting to enter President-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort again. The man had just been released from a mental health hospital following a similar incident. The Chinese national's name is Li Since July, he has showed up at least seven times near the Florida club and attempted to get in multiple times. According to jail records, Li now faces two counts of trespassing and is currently detained on a $100,000 bail. He's also ordered to stay away from the president-elect and all of his properties and is banned from carrying weapons. Li is 39 years old and was living in Los Angeles on a student visa. Based on court documents reviewed by The Epoch Times, he made his first attempt to enter Mar-a-Lago on July 19th, six days after the failed Pennsylvania assassination attempt. He claimed he wanted to deliver documents that contained information implicating China in the attack. Officers denied his entry and warned him not to return. After Li made a few more appearances near the president's home, he was arrested and charged with trespassing. During one of the latest attempts, police sent Li to a mental health center, but little did they know he would come back again as soon as he was released. The investigation is ongoing and Li's motives still remain unclear. We reached out to his lawyer but did not hear back by airtime. This is not an isolated case. The Trump resort has faced repeated intrusion efforts from two Chinese women previously and one was sentenced to eight months in prison and later deported to China. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could soon join China's military arsenal. Researchers say the communist regime has built a prototype nuclear reactor for a large warship. Let's take a look. The reactor is reportedly controlled by the China National Nuclear Corporation, a state-owned enterprise that oversees all civilian and military nuclear programs in the country. This project, dubbed Dragon Might, is located in the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan. Researchers went through procurement papers and the infrastructure layout of the site. They noticed patterns consistent with a large naval propulsion reactor, which could soon be operational. Today, China's navy is already the world's largest by sheer numbers. With more than 370 ships and submarines, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to build a first-class navy as part of his rejuvenation plan for the country. But U.S. destroyers still outpace Chinese vessels in terms of technical capability. The U.S. is preparing for a potential war with the Chinese regime. A new navy plan calls for robotics, more command centers and more personnel in order to be ready to fight China by 2027. This is in response to regime leader Xi Jinping's call for his forces to be ready to invade Taiwan by the same year. NTD's Chris Beers asked Grant Newsham, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy, how likely war with China really is. Well, I think it's likely. It used to be 10, 20 years ago there was zero chance of it, but these days it's certainly a reasonable probability that it could happen. It's not inevitable, but it could happen. Xi Jinping is serious when he issues these orders, but it's also worth noting that successive Chinese leaders have made similar directives to their forces. Right after Tiananmen Square, for example, the Chinese military was given its orders to be able to defeat a country that has aircraft carriers. That means the U.S., and they have gone about setting up a military that is designed to beat the Americans. Xi has been very clear when he's met with President Biden that talk about Taiwan is all well and good, but at some point the matter has to be resolved. The Chinese military is getting ready for war, and I would say it already is. It just depends on what kind of war they have in mind. A global war, they would have some trouble at this point, but something closer to China, they could do very well if they pick their time, pick their spots. And how prepared is the U.S. to meet that possibility? Nowhere near what we should be. And this has been a multi-decade failing right now, that successive waves of naval leaders, U.S. military leaders have not done what they needed to do to recognize the threat and to get the U.S. military ready. And that includes the U.S. defense industrial base that has been allowed to atrophy to the point where we can barely build enough ships to replace the existing ones that we have to retire. Meanwhile, China, whose shipbuilding capability is 200 times, yes, 200 times more than ours, they launch at least six to seven ships for every one that we do. So we have gotten ourselves into a fix, and we have ignored the threat from China really for too long. It wasn't until 2017 that you could actually say China was an adversary even in the military, or you'd be cashiered. All right, Grant Newsham, thank you so much for your time today. Thanks. Glad to be here. More on the defense front. The Taiwanese government said the United States has not started a new stage of talks with the island on arms sales. Before his recent reelection, President Trump said Taipei should pay for U.S. protection. He also said that the island has taken away semiconductor business from the U.S. Trump did not say if there will be a specific policy change towards Taiwan, but the Taiwanese presidential office responded to reports that Taipei could make a large new arms purchase deal with the U.S. The office said in the face of increasing Chinese military threats, Taiwan and its neighbors have continued to strengthen their defense deterrence. It added that this demonstrates their determination to defend themselves on their own. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier, even without formal diplomatic ties, but there is no official defense treaty. Taiwanese billionaire Robert Tsao is taking a stand against Beijing's intimidation in court. The retired founder of chipmaker UMC said Monday he would sue Chinese officials over sanctions they placed on him for his pro-Taiwan views. The Chinese regime claims Taiwan as its own territory despite never having ruled the island. It has vowed to annex Taiwan by force if necessary. Tsao's lawsuit will target the head and spokesperson of China's Taiwan Affairs Office in a Taiwanese court. While Taiwan courts have no jurisdiction in China, and senior Chinese officials don't visit the island, Tsao's lawyer says the case is about sending a message to Beijing, which has been using legal tactics to pressure Taiwanese citizens that don't fall into line with its views. Tsao is also considering filing a U.S. lawsuit under the Alien Tort Claims Act. Crowds are joining an unusual activity in mass within China. Seemingly out of nowhere, tens of thousands of college students spontaneously hopped on bicycles, riding for roughly 40 miles from one city to another. The activity reached its peak on Friday night, but now it has been shut down due to the regime's fears and clampdowns on large gatherings in the country. NTD's Flora Hua brings us the story. The nightly bike rides among college students has created a sensation in China. Starting from the city of Zhengzhou, going all the way to the neighboring city of Kaifeng, the journey is typically a five-hour ride. Many reported receiving warnings from their universities, asking them to stop the trips and return immediately. Social media posts suggested that several colleges have prohibited students from participating, and others signaled that the order came from the province-level education bureau. In one social media group chat, a school leader reportedly threatened the students, saying whoever joined would jeopardize their future and describing the activity as a political incident. NTD spoke to some residents living in Zhengzhou for more. This shows that students have been suppressed for too long. Most of them are genzers, and they organized this cycling activity spontaneously. They don't have other activities to participate in, nor do they have money, so they go on budget trips, riding shared bikes all the way to Kaifeng to let off some steam and release their emotions. Initially, even Chinese state mouthpiece People's Daily praised the young biker spirits, saying the large crowds boosted the neighboring city's tourism. So what led authorities to shut it down? One resident says he believes the regime fears the rise of another white paper movement, a peaceful mass demonstration in protest of Beijing's harsh pandemic-era lockdown orders. The Chinese Communist Party has always been afraid of large crowds and gatherings. This, the student cycling, has turned into a movement without a clear destination, a student movement similar to the white paper movement. The CCP is scared of it because they fear large, uncontrolled gatherings. The large groups of bikers have also drawn local criticism. After reaching their destination, most of them chose to take the train back home, leaving the city streets piled high with shared bicycles. The leftovers sparked complaints from residents. Flora Huat, NTD News. Coming up, China's Batwoman, Xi Jinping, now working with an American scientist to research coronaviruses. She once led the controversial Wuhan lab. The prospect of higher tariffs on China is getting real following Trump's election win. South Korea is moving forward with a plan to strengthen its industry in preparation. Please immediately launch finance, trade and industry consultations. Given that we now have an anticipated policy direction, even before the Trump administration has fully launched. And fighting continues in Ukraine amid deadly attacks as European leaders contemplate what Trump's return to the White House could mean for the war. More on that after the break, here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus, I'm Tiffany Meyer. China's Batwoman, Xi Jinping, has reappeared in the public eye. And she seems to have recently worked with at least one American scientist on research related to coronaviruses. Xi Jinping co-authored a paper published two weeks ago in the renowned science journal Nature. Another co-author is David Wiesler, a professor in the University of Washington. The paper is titled Design of Customized Coronavirus Receptors. For over a decade, Xi has been testing how different animal-based coronaviruses can jump to humans. When the pandemic broke out in Wuhan five years ago, Xi was leading the Wuhan lab. That's the lab at the center of controversy. Some experts believe that the coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, leaked from the facility. After the virus broke out, Xi disappeared from the public eye, while global attention focused on her lab. Her name resurfaced earlier this month. Chinese media reported that she's now working in a virus lab in China's southern Guangdong province. Also on the health front, China is seeing outbreaks of two viruses within its borders. In Guangdong province, about 1,800 dengue fever cases were recently reported within a week. Meanwhile, norovirus has led to cluster infections among students in some places, and forced some schools to close. Turning to South Korea, the country's ruling party proposed a special CHIPS Act Monday, designed to support chip makers with subsidies. The measure will even allow longer national working hours for chip industry employees. That's as President Yoon Seok-yool urges the country to start preparing for Trump's return to the U.S. presidency. Last week, President Yoon warned that Trump's threat of high tariffs on Chinese imports could prompt Chinese companies to lower their prices. And that price drop could make it tougher for Korean chip firms to compete abroad. Chips are crucial to South Korea's economy, making up 16 percent of the country's total exports last year. In October, Trump pledged to scrap federal chip subsidies for companies like Taiwan's TSMC and South Korea's Samsung in favor of import tariffs. Japan is also preparing a massive boost for its chip industry. The government has drafted a 65 billion dollar plan to ramp up chip production with subsidies and other financial incentives. The plan comes as countries look to secure chip supplies amid global shocks like U.S.-China trade tensions. This initiative is set to roll out over a period of multiple years. Japan's plan focuses on AI chip suppliers aiming to lead in next-gen chip tech. How will Trump handle the war in Ukraine? He previously said he'd end it quickly once he returns to office so that, according to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, America can't focus on the real issue, which is China. But not all European leaders have the same expectations for a second Trump administration. NTD's international correspondent Ariane Posdar has the story. I expect the United States to continue to support Ukraine. Former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg is among many European leaders calling on President-elect Trump to keep aiding Ukraine. If we allow President Putin to win, it will demonstrate weakness from the West, from the United States, from NATO. He added that allowing Russia to continue fighting in Ukraine would also send a signal to China, possibly encouraging the regime to start a conflict as well. Not just Stoltenberg, various European leaders are calling on Trump to keep supporting Ukraine with military aid. I passed the message yesterday to Donald Trump that we would like to cooperate with him in all fields, including on Ukraine. We have to strengthen Ukraine, we have to support Ukraine. We will continue to work well with the future American president, and the question of how peace can be achieved has been the subject of our discussions. Former President Trump previously said he would end the conflict immediately once returning to office. Russia says it's open for peace talks, but it demands that occupied regions in Ukraine become part of Russia. Putin has repeatedly stated that he was open to the dialogue with all interested sides. Western allies say handing over occupied regions means Ukraine would surrender to Moscow, which is why they want to keep aiding Ukraine. But some European leaders do want Trump to enter a deal and bring an end to the conflict. The situation on the front is obvious. There has been military defeat. The Americans are going to pull out of this war. They're not going to encourage the war. We expect my dear friend Trump to abandon the wrong policies of the old administration in his second term as president. We believe from the heart that Mr. President will put his shoulder to the wheel regarding ending wars. What could a Trump presidency mean for the U.S.-China relationship? Entities Evelyn Lee spoke with Anders Kor to discuss. He's the publisher of the Journal of Political Risk. Anders, good to see you. What do you expect from Trump in terms of China? Are we looking at another trade war here? I think most certainly we're going to have quite a bit higher tariffs on China. Trump has promised 60 percent tariffs on China. Some businesses are already moving out of China in terms of a lot of their production, up 40, 50 percent of their production. Steve Madden is moving some of its production out, some cat litter companies. Taiwan is supporting moves of its own companies out of China to try to get ahead of these tariffs. That's, yeah, that's a good point. And it's very interesting that people are already moving. So in terms of the downside, though, some people are worried that it might hurt Americans with more inflation and driving prices up higher. Now, with the high tariffs, you have just mentioned 60 percent that Trump had promised. We have seen China developing workarounds in the past. Could this end up hurting Americans more than China? I don't think so. The last tariffs that Trump imposed, and these were, of course, more like 25 percent tariffs on about 300 billion of imports from China. But those tariffs only increased inflation by a quarter of a percent. That's just 25 cents on a hundred dollars. So it really wasn't that much. And I think that they also brought some businesses back, improved some increased jobs in the United States. So there's different factors that you have to weigh. But I think overall it's a net positive. Now, what about the other side of the coin here? How well will these tariffs actually work? And China has been moving production to other areas of the world, I mean, for this reason. And they've been doing so for years. They now have a foothold in regions like Africa, for example. So how much, how many workarounds do you think China can find and how well will these tariffs work? Yeah, I mean, part of the problem is that you're exactly right. They're moving production to places like Mexico, Vietnam and other places. And then they're basically rebranding Chinese goods as coming from Mexico or Vietnam and then sending them on into the United States. So there's plenty of that sort of thing. And I think the answer, of course, has to be that if it's a company from China that's just rebranding its stuff by shipping it in from Mexico, we have to tariff that at the same level as we would if it were coming directly from China. Got it. Thank you so much, Anders Kor, for your time this morning and joining us this early. Thank you. Appreciate it. China's annual Singles Day shopping festival wasn't the boom it normally is for businesses and consumers in the country. That's as the sluggish Chinese economy continues to hurt, with some experts saying that even recent stimulus measures from Beijing have had little impact on consumer confidence. Online service provider and e-commerce platform Alibaba started the now-famous event in 2009, but consumers no longer go all out during the shopping extravaganza. Even some merchants who typically participated in the festival say the high cost of advertising no longer pays off as sales dwindle. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For around the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon. Coming up on NTD, stay tuned for America's Hope with Kelly Wright. Tonight focuses on honoring America's military veterans. In this Veterans Day tribute, Kelly talks to veterans Major Ed Polito, Chris Wilson, NTD's Jason Perry, and the popular veterans musical group Voices of Service. That's tonight at 10 p.m. after China In Focus. Thanks for watching. See you tomorrow.