Nvidia probe 'to impact the whole of the world'

We're going to bring you our Asia View segment on the program, as we do every week at this time. And we're talking about the APEC summit and denuclearization and Myanmar refugees shortly. But we're going to cross to our correspondent, Yan Kimmins in Brumby. This week, he's joining us, in fact, from Chiang Mai in Thailand. First of all, Yan, you're going to talk, though, about the U.S. tech giant NVIDIA opening an independent internal investigation into the allegations that CEO Jensen Wang may have been deliberately targeted by a foreign intelligence. Beijing's effort as he's admitted having this affair with a woman who was a spy for Beijing. This is some big bombshell news that's struck here, a big not just in Taiwan, not just in China, in the US, but actually it's going to impact the whole of the region and the whole of the world. Why? Well, let me just take a step back and give you some background on what NVIDIA is. If you haven't heard of it, these are the companies that make the GPU processors that are required to run artificial intelligence systems. And they not only have been riding. That AI wave that we've seen sweeping markets across the world, they've really been leading it at the forefront, the cutting edge of this technology. And because of that, NVIDIA has grown to something like 4.5 trillion USD in net worth. That's bigger than many countries, Stuart. So you can imagine the kind of power and the kind of influence that the CEO, Jensen Huang, who also founded this company, could have. And that's why some of the analysts I was speaking to earlier today were suggesting It would be seen as a prime target for infiltration by intelligence services, especially the Chinese. Why? Well, because this AI competition is playing out between Washington and Beijing. It has been in the last few years, and part of that have been export controls that the United States have placed on these processors, not allowing the most advanced GPU processors to get into China so that the U.S. can maintain an edge in this AI battle. Now, reporting is coming out suggesting that Jensen Huang is accused of having had an extramarital affair that he has admitted to, although he hasn't said with who. He's accused of having had an affair with a lady named Alice Huang of no relation, who is a Chinese-born executive, former executive in a company called Megaspeed. That company itself is accused of having tried to circumvent U.S. export controls and allow these GPU processors to shift into China. And so if it is the case, if NVIDIA's internal investigation finds that Jensen Huang has been influenced by... This other Alice Fong, who herself is accused of being a Chinese spy, it could have massive implications for China-US relations and also for the AI world and tech world itself. Yeah, and let's talk about Donald Trump now. He says he thinks, anyway, he's going to meet with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the China APEC summit amongst the subjects denuclearization. We've been looking forward to this meeting for some time, not just in Asia, but across the world, actually. And it's set to be a historic meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Russian leader Vladimir Putin and the U.S. president Donald Trump. You can imagine the scenes and you can imagine the discussions that they're going to be having. And as we get closer and closer to. That meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen, the southern Chinese city, next week. We're getting some more details about what they're set to be discussing. There was some discussion that we talked about a few weeks ago about negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine war between those three leaders. Vladimir Zelensky, leader of Ukraine, notably not present for those discussions. Now we're also hearing Trump say that he is hoping to discuss the war in Iran, hoping to find a solution. To that conflict that has been ongoing now also for several months, but also on denuclearization between these big nuclear powers, China, Russia, and the United States. We're going to have to wait until next week to see whether these discussions actually do materialize, and if so, what the readouts are from all three of these leaders. Finally, Ian, Myanmar refugees, I know this is something you've been working on over the past few weeks, being deported into war-torn Myanmar. Tell us more about this. I've been speaking to one individual who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Burmese parents, has a Burmese passport, but never lived in Myanmar itself. He moved to the United States when he was very young, two or three years old, and basically told me he calls this place home And now, until recently, people such as him, refugees from Myanmar who had come over with documentation, were given what's called temporary protected status. That essentially says that even if you commit a crime, you can't be deported back to Myanmar because of how dangerous that country is. And why is it dangerous? Well, since 2021, the military started a coup in 2021. And since then, there have been civil conflicts, unrest across the entire country, airstrikes from... The military junta in areas that are contested between them and local fighters who are fighting, some of them for democracy, some of them for independence. I've talked to NGO officials who are saying this really is not a safe place to be at the moment. But in the last year, the United States decided to remove that temporary protected status. And that then meant. That Burmese refugees in the United States who have called the US their home for the whole of their lives have been deported. And I spoke to one of those individuals. He says he's living in the countryside, in the jungle with some family members he's never met in his life. The first time he was ever in Myanmar was the first day he was deported there. He says he's trying to find some way back to the United States. Ian, good to talk to you as ever. Ian Kim is in Broome joining us this week from Chiang Mai in Thailand. More, of course, from him in Asia View this time next week, too.