Sting of 20% US tariff inflames Taiwan's domestic political battle
THOMPSON CHAU
TAIPEI -- Taiwan is feeling the sting of a 20% tariff imposed by the U.S. despite months of quiet negotiations and public commitments, while efforts to strike a better deal risk becoming embroiled in domestic political wrangling.
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Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
American Nazis: The Aryan Freedom Network Is Riding High in Trump Era
HOCHATOWN, Oklahoma, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Wearing cargo shorts, flip-flops and a baseball cap shading his eyes from the sun, Dalton Henry Stout blends in easily in rural America. Except for the insignia on his hat. It bears the skull and crossbones of the infamous 'Death's Head' SS units that oversaw Nazi Germany's concentration camps – and the initials 'AFN,' short for Aryan Freedom Network, the neo-Nazi group Stout leads with his partner. From a modest ranch house in Texas, the couple oversee a network they say has been turbocharged by President Donald Trump's return to the White House. They point to Trump's rhetoric — his attacks on diversity initiatives, his hardline stance on immigration and his invocation of 'Western values' — as driving a surge in interest and recruitment. Trump 'awakened a lot of people to the issues we've been raising for years,' Stout told Reuters. 'He's the best thing that's happened to us.' While the Aryan Freedom Network and other neo-Nazi groups remain on the outermost edges of American politics, broadly regarded as toxic by conservatives and mainstream America, they are increasingly at the center of far-right public demonstrations and acts of violence, according to interviews with a dozen members of extremist groups, nine experts on political extremism and a review of data on far-right violence. Several trends have converged since Trump's re-election, Reuters found. Trump's rhetoric has galvanized a new wave of far-right activists, fueling growth in white supremacist ranks. Trump's pardons of January 6 rioters and a shift in federal law enforcement's focus toward immigration have also led many on the far right to believe that federal investigations into white nationalists are no longer a priority. And the boundaries of the far right itself are shifting. Ideas once confined to fringe groups like the Proud Boys — who helped lead the January 6 siege — are now more visible in Republican politics, from election denialism to rhetoric portraying immigrants as 'invaders.' Trump's public support and pardons for far-right figures helped normalize those views, the researchers said. As the Make America Great Again movement has come to define the party's identity, the line separating the far right from mainstream conservatism has grown increasingly difficult to draw, they added. What was once extreme now blends more easily into the broader far-right, not because those extreme groups have changed, but because the terrain around them has, said Heidi Beirich, co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism, a nonprofit that tracks hate speech and extremism. 'A Proud Boy doesn't even seem that scary anymore because of the normalization process,' she said. That shift has coincided with a surge in white nationalist activity. White extremists are committing a growing proportion of U.S. political violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, a nonprofit research outfit that tracks global conflicts. In 2020, such groups were linked to 13% of all U.S. extremist-related demonstrations and acts of political violence, or 57 of the events ACLED tracked. By 2024, they accounted for nearly 80%, or 154 events. Trump has denied that he supports white extremism, and the White House rejects the notion that his rhetoric promotes racism. 'President Trump is a president for all Americans and hate has no place in our country,' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in response to questions for this story. 'President Trump is focused on uniting our country, improving our economy, securing our borders, and establishing peace across the globe.' Fields also pointed to a significant rise in support for Trump among Black voters. In last year's election, his share of the Black vote nearly doubled from 2020 to about 15%. Trump has batted away accusations of racism. At a campaign rally last year, he declared, 'I'm not a Nazi. I'm the opposite of a Nazi.' A few months earlier, he told an interviewer that he can't be racist because he has 'so many Black friends.' Even as he has made inroads with non-white voters, Trump has consistently drawn support from white nationalist and extremist groups while using racially divisive rhetoric. He promoted the false claim that Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president, was not born in the U.S. In his 2024 campaign, he suggested immigrants commit violent crimes because 'it's in their genes,' a remark condemned by many as racist. Stout said his group opposes violence. Yet the Aryan Freedom Network openly advocates preparing for a 'Racial Holy War.' It promotes white superiority ideology, seeks to unify elements of the broader white nationalist movement and actively recruits former members of other extremist groups. The Trump administration has scaled back efforts to counter domestic extremism, redirecting resources toward immigration enforcement and citing the southern border as the top security threat. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has reduced staffing in its Domestic Terrorism Operations Section . The Department of Homeland Security has cut personnel in its violence prevention office . Some specialists in domestic terrorism say these moves could embolden extremists by weakening U.S. capacity to detect and disrupt threats. The DHS and FBI have defended the cuts, saying they remain committed to fighting domestic terrorism. The FBI said in a statement it allocates resources based on threat analysis and 'the investigative needs of the Bureau,' and that it remains committed to investigating domestic terrorism. 'RACIST ROYALTY' In his first interview with any news organization, Stout met Reuters journalists in April at a restaurant in Hochatown, Oklahoma, a quiet town known for its hiking and fishing about an hour's drive north of their Texas home. He was joined by his partner, who goes by the name Daisy Barr. Stout says AFN is focused on staying within the law. 'We got to watch our Ps and Qs,' he said. Then his tone turned apocalyptic: 'And when the day comes, that will be the day – that's when violence will solve everything.' While he offered no timeline, researchers who study domestic extremism say the comment reflects a strategy among some far-right groups: operate within the law while openly predicting a moment of upheaval. The Aryan Freedom Network first drew national attention in 2021 after organizing a 'White Unity' conference in Longview, Texas. By the following year, it was distributing flyers in cities across the country. One in Texas featured racist caricatures of Black Americans — one swinging from a street lamp amid rubble and an overturned car — alongside the caption: 'At the current rate of decline what will America's major cities look like in ten years?' AFN also began staging protests, often targeting drag events and LGBTQ+ gatherings. Stout says the demonstrations were designed to attract recruits. Its conferences and annual 'Aryan Fests' have become networking hubs for the far right, drawing attendees from groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalist organizations, according to two individuals affiliated with those movements. Reuters was unable to independently verify the claim. The pseudoscientific notion of a superior white Aryan race – essentially Germanic – was a core tenet of Hitler's Nazi regime. AFN gatherings brim with Nazi memes: Swastikas are ritually set ablaze and chants of 'white power' echo through the woods. AFN's website pays specific tribute to violent white supremacist groups of the past, including The Order, whose members killed a Jewish radio host in 1984. Two key members responsible for the killing were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and are now deceased. Stout's beliefs are rooted in the Christian Identity movement, which claims that white Europeans, not Jews, are the true Israelites of biblical scripture and therefore God's chosen people. Stout and Barr also claim that Black Americans, under Jewish influence, are leading a Communist revolution — an ideology that fuses racial supremacy with far-right conspiracy theories. Stout, 34, and Barr, 48, were born into self-avowed white supremacist families with deep ties to the Ku Klux Klan, infamous for its white robes, burning crosses and long history of racist violence, including decades of lynchings and terrorist campaigns against Black Americans. As a child, Stout said he attended Klan ceremonies and white nationalist youth camps. He recalls reading translations of SS training manuals from Nazi-era Germany. And while other girls were playing video games, Barr said she was wrapping torches in burlap strips, for secret KKK cross-burning ceremonies. Though they now identify as American Nazis, their ideology is anchored in the KKK and other white extremist groups. Their families are well known to historians of the movement. Stout's father, George Stout, was a 'grand dragon' in the White Knights of Texas, a KKK offshoot. He declined to comment for this story. Barr's late father was a KKK 'grand wizard' from Indiana who was sentenced to seven years in prison for holding two journalists at gunpoint. AFN requires members to use aliases; she chose 'Daisy Barr' after the name of a female Klan leader of the 1920s who sold Klan robes and died in a car crash. One person familiar with the couple described their 2020 marriage as a union of 'racist royalty.' They filed for divorce two years later, but Stout said the split was in name only – a legal move to shield their assets in case they faced civil rights lawsuits like those that once bankrupted the Klan and Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi group held liable in a 1999 civil suit for inciting violence. Stout and Barr declined to share membership numbers but said AFN now has nearly twice as many chapters as the 23 it claimed in early 2023. The Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium, a private research group that monitors extremist movements, estimates AFN's members have grown to between 1,000 and 1,500. 'We collect and record every event of theirs,' said TRAC researcher Muskan Sangwan. Some of the earliest chapters, including those in Texas, likely began with around 100 members each, Sangwan said, suggesting the group may have had roughly 200 members in its initial stages. Chris Magyarics, a senior researcher at the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy organization that monitors antisemitic harassment, said he was skeptical AFN was so big but said he had no independent data on its size. 'The previous largest neo-Nazi group only had a couple of hundred,' he said, referring to the National Socialist Movement, which has been in steady decline. Reuters was unable to independently establish the extent of AFN's membership. Despite the uncertainty over its numbers, AFN is on the radar screens of independent researchers. Jon Lewis, a research fellow specializing in domestic extremism at George Washington University's Program on Extremism, said the group has been 'really popular' among far-right 'accelerationists,' a term used by white supremacists who advocate violence to hasten a race war. Stout said his group has benefited from the decline of the Proud Boys following the Capitol attack. Once prominent for street clashes during the Trump administration, the Proud Boys have faced legal setbacks and public scrutiny since many of its members were convicted – and later pardoned by Trump – for their roles in the January 6 Capitol riots. The group describes its ideology as 'Western chauvinism.' Critics say the group uses the term 'Western' rather than 'white' to veil its racism, a charge the Proud Boys' defenders deny. Stout described groups like the Proud Boys as 'civic nationalists' – movements that draw in followers with patriotic rhetoric, then serve as stepping stones toward more overtly racist organizations like AFN or the Klan. 'A lot of newbies, new people to the movement, join that type of movement before they join us,' Stout said. Reuters was unable to reach a Proud Boy representative for comment. WEAPONS AND RACE WAR Although Stout said the Aryan Freedom Network rejects violence, firearms and tactical training remain central to its identity and feature prominently in its gatherings and recruitment efforts, according to a review of federal court records. One former member, Andrew Munsinger, built and traded semi-automatic AR-15 rifles and other weapons, using a machine shop to fabricate untraceable parts, according to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court. He boasted to other AFN members of stockpiling ammunition and constructing explosive devices, and claimed to have pointed a shotgun at a sleeping prosecutor, the affidavit said. Munsinger, who went by the alias 'Thor,' was arrested last year in Minneapolis on federal charges of illegally possessing firearms. As a convicted felon, he was barred under federal law from owning weapons. He attended at least five AFN events in one year, the FBI said. Agents described him as an adherent of accelerationism, which seeks to provoke a race war through violence. AFN is 'an umbrella organization for other white-supremacist organizations,' the affidavit said. Documents relating to Munsinger's case, including testimony from an FBI informant who infiltrated the group, offer a glimpse inside its operations: firearms training across several states, encrypted communications focused on weapons, a recruitment event at a lakeside bar in Ohio, and new members building timber swastikas in a ritualistic initiation. Stout said he disavowed Munsinger, who was convicted by a federal jury in April of illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, as well as trafficking marijuana. He is awaiting sentencing. Munsinger and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Stout said his network has links to the Klan, which has splintered and shrunk dramatically since its peak a century ago. In May, Reuters attended a modern-day Klan ceremony held in a clearing deep within the woods on private land in northeastern Kentucky. William Bader, leader of the Trinity Knights, a small Klan faction, donned a purple silk robe and conical hood as he presided over the swearing in of about half a dozen heavily tattooed new members. In an interview, Bader said Trump has energized the white nationalist movement. 'White people,' he said, 'are finally seeing something going their way for once.' Bader said he had previously attended an AFN event without elaborating. Steve Bowers, another Klan official at the ceremony, which didn't involve AFN, said he isn't a fan of Trump because of his administration's close ties with Israel. But he said many white nationalists are fully behind the president. 'People think he's going to save the white race in America,' said Bowers, dressed in a white KKK robe and hood, decorated with two blood crosses on the chest. The Klan once claimed as many as six million members in the 1920s. It had dwindled to an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 members across 72 chapters by 2015, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit that tracks extremist groups. More recent figures are unavailable, a research analyst at the center said. AFN has adopted certain tactics and rituals of the Klan, including widespread distribution of racist flyers. AFN's flyers have appeared in multiple cities and towns, from Florida to Washington state, according to police reports. Stout and Barr said they view them as a recruitment tool. Police in West Bend, Wisconsin, said hundreds of flyers targeting immigrants were distributed in May. One flyer found in the Wisconsin village of Mukwonago read, 'Tired of being discriminated against because you're white? Join.' Stout said members are instructed to distribute flyers at night — what he calls 'night rides,' echoing the Klan's term for its historic terrorism campaigns against Black people. In another echo of the Klan, its signature cross burnings, swastikas are set alight at AFN gatherings. In an AFN video posted online, Stout stands on the bed of a pickup truck, masked and flanked by armed guards, arm raised in a Nazi salute. 'White power!' he shouts in a hoarse Texas drawl, wearing a chest rig for rifle magazines. His audience returns the Nazi salute. 'White Power!' they call out. At the restaurant in Oklahoma, asked why he believes his group is gaining momentum, Stout offered a simple explanation. 'Our side won the election,' he said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
India Pauses Plans to Buy U.S. Arms after Trump's Tariffs
NEW DELHI, Aug 8 (Reuters) – New Delhi has put on hold its plans to procure new U.S. weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India's first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Donald Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades. India had been planning to send Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been canceled, two of the people said. Trump on Aug. 6 imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, which he said meant the country was funding Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to 50% – among the highest of any U.S. trading partner. The president has a history of rapidly reversing himself on tariffs and India has said it remains actively engaged in discussions with Washington. One of the people said the defense purchases could go ahead once India had clarity on tariffs and the direction of bilateral ties, but 'just not as soon as they were expected to.' Written instructions had not been given to pause the purchases, another official said, indicating that Delhi had the option to quickly reverse course, though there was 'no forward movement at least for now.' Post publication of this story, India's government issued a statement it attributed to a Ministry of Defence source describing news reports of a pause in the talks as 'false and fabricated.' The statement also said procurement was progressing as per 'extant procedures.' Delhi, which has forged a close partnership with America in recent years, has said it is being unfairly targeted and that Washington and its European allies continue to trade with Moscow when it is in their interest. Reuters is reporting for the first time that discussions on India's purchases of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles developed by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin LMT.N have been paused due to the tariffs. Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in February announced plans to pursue procurement and joint production of those items. Singh had also been planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during his now-canceled trip, two of the people said. Talks over procuring the aircraft in a proposed $3.6 billion deal were at an advanced stage, according to the officials. Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics referred queries to the Indian and U.S. governments. Raytheon did not return a request for comment. RUSSIAN RELATIONS India's deepening security relationship with the U.S., which is fueled by their shared strategic rivalry with China, was heralded by many U.S. analysts as one of the key areas of foreign-policy progress in the first Trump administration. Delhi is the world's second-largest arms importer and Russia has traditionally been its top supplier. India has in recent years however, shifted to importing from Western powers like France, Israel and the U.S., according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank. The shift in suppliers was driven partly by constraints on Russia's ability to export arms, which it is utilizing heavily in its invasion of Ukraine. Some Russian weapons have also performed poorly in the battlefield, according to Western analysts. The broader U.S.-India defense partnership, which includes intelligence sharing and joint military exercises, continues without hiccups, one of the Indian officials said. India also remains open to scaling back on oil imports from Russia and is open to making deals elsewhere, including the U.S., if it can get similar prices, according to two other Indian sources. Trump's threats and rising anti-U.S. nationalism in India have 'made it politically difficult for Modi to make the shift from Russia to the U.S.,' one of the people said. Nonetheless, discounts on the landing cost of Russian oil have shrunk to the lowest since 2022. India's petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While the rupture in U.S.-India ties was abrupt, there have been strains in the relationship. Delhi has repeatedly rebutted Trump's claim that the U.S. brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May. Trump also hosted Pakistan's army chief at the White House in the weeks following the conflict. In recent months, Moscow has been actively pitching Delhi on buying new defense technologies like its S-500 surface-to-air missile system, according to one of the Indian officials, as well as a Russian source familiar with the talks. India currently does not see a need for new arms purchases from Moscow, two Indian officials said. But Delhi is unlikely to wean itself off Russian weapons entirely as the decades-long partnership between the two powers means Indian military systems will continue to require Moscow's support, one of the officials said. The Russian embassy in Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Yomiuri Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Israel Faces Backlash at Home and Abroad over Gaza War Escalation Plan
JERUSALEM, Aug 8 (Reuters) – Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations in the shattered Palestinian territory that drew strong fresh criticism at home and abroad on Friday over its pursuit of the almost two-year-old war. Germany, a key European ally, announced it would halt exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza, a decision Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called disappointing. Britain and other European allies urged Israel to reconsider its decision to escalate the Gaza military campaign. However, U.S. President Donald Trump's ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, told Reuters that some countries appeared to be putting pressure on Israel rather than on the militant group Hamas, whose deadly attack on Israel in 2023 ignited the war. In Israel, families of hostages held by militants in Gaza, and opposition leaders blasted Netanyahu for a decision that they said would put hostages' lives at risk. Far-right allies in the prime minister's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could endanger the lives of remaining hostages held by militants. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the decision to send Israeli forces into Gaza City a disaster, saying it defied the advice of military and security officials. He accused far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of dragging Netanyahu into a prolonged campaign that would result in the deaths of hostages and soldiers. Netanyahu told Fox News Channel's Bill Hemmer in an interview that aired on Thursday that the military intended to take control of all of Gaza. He said Israel did not want to keep the Gaza Strip, but to establish a 'security perimeter' and to hand over the territory to Arab forces. The announcement from the prime minister's office early on Friday, following Thursday's security cabinet meeting, said the military would take Gaza City, but did not say if Israeli forces would take all of the enclave. Israel's cabinet is expected to endorse the Gaza City plan. Netanyahu spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday to express disappointment over Berlin's suspension of weapons exports to Israel, the prime minister's office said. Netanyahu told the chancellor that Israel's goal was to 'free Gaza from Hamas' so a peaceful government could be established there, and that Israel does not intend to take it over, it said. 'HEART OF GAZA' The military has said that it controls around 75% of Gaza. Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general, estimated that if the military did take Gaza City, it would give Israel control of about 85% of the strip. 'Gaza City is the heart of Gaza. It's really the centre of government. It has always been the strongest and even in the eyes of Hamas, the fall of Gaza City is pretty much the fall of Hamas,' said Avivi. 'Taking over Gaza City is a game changer.' Israeli media have said 900,000 people now live in Gaza City, including many who have been displaced by the military. 'Where should we go? Do we throw ourselves in the sea?,' said Maghzouza Saada, a displaced Palestinian from Gaza's north. Before the war, Hamas' most powerful fighting units were believed to operate in northern Gaza, including Gaza City. There are 50 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom Israeli officials believe 20 are alive. Most of those freed so far emerged as a result of diplomatic negotiations. Talks toward a ceasefire that could have seen more hostages released collapsed in July. CONDEMNATION FROM ABROAD European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was among foreign leaders urging Israel to reconsider its decision to advance into Gaza City. Regional power Saudi Arabia, which has said it could not normalise ties with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, condemned any move to occupy Gaza. Asked in an interview with Reuters about criticism of Israel's decision to escalate the war, U.S. Ambassador Huckabee questioned why some nations were 'once again' placing 'all the pressure on Israel' instead of on Hamas. Huckabee said Trump was frustrated that Hamas is unwilling to reach 'any kind of reasonable settlement', adding the president insists that the militant group cannot remain in power and must disarm. Israel had already come under mounting pressure at home and abroad over the war in Gaza, including over the humanitarian disaster in the enclave. In recent weeks, Britain, Canada and France said they could recognise a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly next month. DOMESTIC PRESSURE Netanyahu has said there will be no end to the war until Hamas is disarmed. Opinion polls have shown that a majority of Israelis believe he should end the war immediately in a diplomatic agreement that would see the release of remaining hostages. The Hostages Families Forum, which represents many families of captives in Gaza, said the pursuit of occupying Gaza means abandoning the hostages all while ignoring public support to immediately end the war in a deal that releases the hostages. It said in a statement the security cabinet had chosen to 'embark on another march of recklessness, on the backs of the hostages, the soldiers, and Israeli society as a whole'. 'I think it's a death sentence to all the hostages that are still being held there. And it's the wrong decision to do it at this time,' Danny Bukovsky, a hotelier in Tel Aviv, said of the announcement that Israeli forces would move into Gaza City. A full occupation of Gaza would reverse a 2005 decision in which Israel withdrew thousands of Jewish settlers and its forces, while retaining control over its borders, airspace and utilities.
