How Afghanistan Changed China’s Taiwan Calculus

The U.S. policy toward Taiwan is “strategic ambiguity” — there is no explicit promise to defend it from Chinese attack. In this tense environment, U.S. policymakers and experts are feverishly considering ways to make U.S. commitment to Taiwan more credible and enhance overall military deterrence against China. A recent $750 million arms sale proposal to Taiwan is part of these efforts, as is talk of inviting Taiwan to a democracy summit, which undoubtedly would provoke Beijing’s ire. Some have argued that America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan undermines efforts to signal U.S.…

Articles Involving Chinese DNA Research Are Retracted

Two respected scientific journals have retracted two articles that relied on the DNA samples of Uyghurs in western China after questions were raised about whether the subjects had provided their full consent. The two studies were published in 2019 by the International Journal of Legal Medicine and Human Genetics, both owned by the academic publisher Springer Nature. They listed numerous authors, including Li Caixia, chief forensic scientist at China’s Ministry of Public Security. The International Journal of Legal Medicine issued its retraction on Tuesday, and Human Genetics released its statement…