Beijing doubles down on reunification rhetoric, rejects Taiwan separation after Trump claim
Trump had said, in an interview with Fox News on Friday, that Chinese President Xi Jinping told him over a phone call that China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office.
China will not allow anyone or any force to separate Taiwan from China in any way, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular news briefing. — Reuters

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Free Malaysia Today
4 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Differentiate between right and wrong, Sarawak DAP Youth tells ‘peacemakers'
Sarawak DAP Youth said it had raised concerns and upheld justice in the matter of the upside-down Jalur Gemilang. PETALING JAYA : Sarawak DAP Youth today urged those attempting to play the peacemaker in DAP's spat with Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh over the upside-down Jalur Gemilang gaffe to differentiate between right and wrong. In a statement, it said Akmal had continuously gone overboard, without basis, while the party, on the other hand, had raised concerns and upheld justice. 'To label both parties as culprits is wrong,' it said. The wing gave the example of a situation involving an arsonist and a person who lodged a report against him, only to be accused of sowing hatred, saying this would be unreasonable. 'It is therefore unfair to lump Akmal and DAP Youth together,' it said. While Sarawak DAP Youth did not identify anyone in particular, its statement came two days after a DAP central executive committee member urged parties not to be distracted by the tiff over the upside-down Jalur Gemilang but to focus on more pressing matters instead. Banting assemblyman V Papparaidu said that parties in the government, even Umno, were no longer in the opposition and should focus on economic growth and other national matters. He added that friction in the unity coalition would not augur well with the Sabah state election just around the corner and the next general election not too far away. Papparaidu also said that 'no one should attempt to seek cheap publicity by highlighting the flag issue'. Akmal is under investigation for sedition and criminal intimidation over a video he posted related to the shop owner in Penang who accidentally hung the Jalur Gemilang upside down. Several DAP Youth chapters have called for the party to sever ties with Akmal, including Sarawak DAP Youth.


New Straits Times
4 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Markets, Trump in delicate policy dance
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The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
U.S. Senator Sanders favors Trump plan to take stake in Intel, others
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) listens as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policy, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Liberal U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Wednesday threw his support behind President Donald Trump's plan to convert U.S. grants to chipmakers, including $10.9 billion for Intel, into government stakes in the companies. "If microchip companies make a profit from the generous grants they receive from the federal government, the taxpayers of America have a right to a reasonable return on that investment," Sanders, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement to Reuters. The awards were part of the 2022 Chips and Science Act, which sought to lure chip production away from Asia and boost American domestic semiconductor output with $39 billion in subsidies. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel and other chipmakers in exchange for the grants, sources told Reuters on Tuesday. Much of the funding for companies such as Micron , Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Samsung has not been dispersed. (Reporting by Alexandra Alper)