【US Trending】Spying on Lai Ching-te’s Son, Female Spy Arrested Before Boarding｜Yang Bowen Night-Rides Around Tiananmen, Accidentally Crosses a Red Line｜US Personnel to Be Stationed Inside Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense｜Kevin Tsai Attends One Election Rally, Brands Cut Ties Overnight｜Beijing Bans Drones, Aircraft “bei” Also Gets Dragged In
The program covers several China-related events: U.S. prosecutors have charged a real estate agent with monitoring the family of Lai Ching-te under the instruction of Chinese officials; Kevin Tsai faced criticism from mainland public opinion after attending a campaign event in Taiwan, leading to brands cutting ties with him; domestic netizens posted videos reflecting on holiday work, police confiscating experimental equipment, and the registration of knives. The program also discusses speculation about Xi Jinping's health following his U.S. visit itinerary, and reports that the U.S. plans to send personnel to be stationed at the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense to participate in policy assessments and wargaming.
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First, let's look at a piece of breaking news. On October 4, the FBI arrested 34-year-old real estate agent Zhang Wanying at Los Angeles International Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Shanghai. U.S. federal prosecutors have charged him with acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government.
According to the indictment, in 2025, Zhang Wanying traveled to Seattle to monitor the son, niece, and family of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te under the instructions of Chinese officials. He is accused of renting a car with accomplices to go near their residence, photographing the exterior, the residence, vehicles, and license plates, and reporting back to the Chinese side via WeChat.
Meanwhile, netizens dug up content from Zhang Wanying's Xiaohongshu (RedNote) account, which included luxury cars, high-end restaurants, luxury goods, and ocean-view properties, all displaying opulence. Currently, U.S. prosecutors have charged him with espionage-related offenses. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison and fines.
It is worth noting why Beijing would want to identify the addresses, vehicles, and daily routines of the immediate family members of Taiwan's leaders. Against the backdrop of continuously rising conflict risks, once such intelligence is obtained, the overseas family members of Taiwanese political figures could become targets for pressure or even threats.
Kevin Tsai, once seen by audiences as gentle, elegant, and highly educated, became the target of attacks by mainland Little Pinks overnight. The reason was that he attended a Taiwan election event. The incident involved Kevin Tsai appearing at a campaign event for a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate. He was wearing an orange shirt, sitting in the front row, and holding campaign support materials, which some netizens interpreted as a political stance. However, Kevin Tsai himself stated that he was just there to observe and listen to various opinions.
It is worth noting that [the candidate] was already listed by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council as a die-hard Taiwan independence separatist in 2014, and Chongqing police have already opened an investigation into him. Kevin Tsai's agent stated that he was preparing for an interview related to the candidate. However, when the footage reached the mainland, it instantly sparked public outcry. Leapmotor, which had just collaborated with Kevin Tsai, cut ties overnight, removed all content related to the collaboration, and reiterated the One China principle.
Ironically, the Kuomintang candidate publicly invited Kevin Tsai to attend his event afterward. Kevin Tsai responded that he would gladly attend, specifically emphasizing that he would not dress according to the organizers' desired clothing direction. The meaning was that whoever's event you attend, you wear their clothes. Clothes are meant to match the occasion, not to define political stance. So far, Beijing has not made a public statement, but online criticism, boycotts, and brand distancing have already taken place in advance.
Regarding this controversy surrounding Kevin Tsai,
Tonight there is a special program featuring discussions and confrontations to bring everyone
A closer look into this internet storm, please stay tuned.
Next, we enter the middle segment of the mobile phone discussion.
After the first round, the celebrities also made their appearance at the Tiananmen table center.
As a result, they accidentally touched a historical red line of the CCP. On the eve of National Day, TF Family trainee Yang Bowen released a bizarre Beijing video, riding a bicycle to Tiananmen Square to see the red flag, but not long after, the video was suddenly deleted. Some explained that his bicycle ride to Tiananmen Square was mocked by 28.9 netizens as rather pathetic, brainwashed from childhood to show loyalty, but loyalty also depends on the master's expression. Post-90s, when the iron fist comes crashing down, they don't even know what they did wrong. Riding a bicycle to Tiananmen Square can accidentally run into historical restricted zones, yet even striking a pose at Tiananmen requires caution.
On the night of the 12th, a young couple posed in different ways while taking photos in Tiananmen Square, resulting in multiple police officers and plainclothes personnel quickly rushing forward. Netizens sighed that since they are not democratically elected, they must guard against the people every day.
During the National Day holiday, the CCP received many blessings from overseas friends, including the Houthi movement, which has been repeatedly designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Netizens joked that this completely exposes their true identity, as they are the Yemen Military District of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
During the National Day holiday, the great power craftsmen went back to work. On October 3, Hong Kong media interviewed the Tiananmen national emblem spray-painting master, and the comment section completely collapsed. As we know, this netizen complained: "I am the one who does the spray painting; this thing is as simple as it gets. This is propaganda about great power craftsmen, and the ordinary people are sick of hearing about it."
No holiday on National Day, frontline workers sparked a trend of real-name reporting. Starting October 1, a large number of similar videos appeared online, with netizens wearing black plastic bags over their heads, holding their ID cards facing backward to accuse their bosses of not giving them a National Day holiday, hoping the relevant departments would investigate. "I am making a real-name report that my boss is not giving us the National Day holiday, please investigate, relevant departments."
Relevant departments responded. Around October 3, multiple state media outlets published reports stating that some of these videos were posted by merchants seeking traffic, and those filmed were ordered to take down their videos and undergo criticism and education. Faced with the accusation of no National Day holiday, the official response was that it was pure rumor. It seems that National Day can have no holiday, but talking about having no holiday is something you simply cannot do casually.
During the National Day long holiday, all Chinese people originally wanted to join in the festive cheer, but Chinese football simply had to ruin the mood for fans, and ruined it by five goals. On the evening of the 16th, the national football team suffered a crushing 0-5 defeat against Palestine at home in Chongqing, trailing 0-3 by halftime. Before the match, the unofficial ranking had China at 93rd and Palestine at 94th. Fans at the scene completely broke down.
"The basketball management reform international invitation match is a duel between countries, not something to be used for experiments. On this day of nationwide celebration, we host a country currently at war and ranked lower than us, Palestine, and get beaten this miserably. The last time we lost territory was in 1992. I am truly doubting coach Shao Jiayi's coaching ability for the first time, why not just let Antonio coach instead? Can I ask for a refund on the tickets I bought?" Netizens joked that these fans went out of their way to watch CCP football, only to have their money cheated away by the national football team while being driven to the point of fury, why bother?
CCP's insecurity has reached the point of a frightened bird. On October 2, a minor netizen in Hubei posted a video saying that all the chemical experimental materials and equipment he collected had been confiscated by the police. He said that initially more than twenty people came to his door, followed by continuous reinforcements, and on the second and third days a dozen more vehicles arrived to haul away the equipment. He himself was fingerprinted and interrogated. He said helplessly that in the future, apart from electronics, he could only do theory.
Recently, a Shanghai netizen stated that purchasing two household scissors required scanning the Suishenban app to register with the police, along with secondary offline handwritten registration. In addition, netizens in Guangzhou and Shenzhen also posted that purchasing cutting tools including scissors required scanning a code for real-name registration and taking a photo. Netizens said that what is dangerous is not the tools, but the fact that they cannot control people's hearts, so they have to control your hands first.
Low-altitude flight may be restricted near Beijing, but Beijing men are finding that more than just those things are being banned. Drones can’t fly, and male masturbators (fleshlights) are getting caught in the crossfire too. Recently, netizens circulated notices from Taobao adult toy merchants stating that, due to Beijing's drone control policies, the platform system cannot accurately distinguish between drones and fleshlights. As a result, a blanket ban has been implemented, making it impossible to ship certain products containing keywords like "electric" and "flight/masturbator" to Beijing. Reports indicate that some merchants were already reporting similar situations as early as August 30. Netizens joked that since they both involve "flying" (the Chinese character for flight), the skies and the nether regions are being grounded together.
Next, let's turn to our foreign media segment on China. During trips inside China, the footage presented to the public is strictly vetted, making it difficult to observe physical details. However, this time, US sources revealed that the CCP arranged the meeting schedule entirely around the General Secretary's physical requirements. Halfway through the meeting, Xi Jinping needed a five-hour rest. Combined with live footage from foreign media, this gave the outside world a rare glimpse into the potential health issues facing this 73-year-old leader.
The Wall Street Journal published an exclusive report stating that, according to people familiar with the matter, to accommodate Xi's visit to the US, the Chinese side made a series of unusual rest demands. One specific request was for the White House to prepare a private lounge in the West Wing exclusively for Xi, meant solely for the General Secretary's use. Out of the entire Chinese delegation, only Peng Liyuan was allowed to enter and accompany him; even Xi's chief of staff, Cai Qi, was denied entry.
In fact, about a month before departure, the Chinese advance team rejected a working lunch between Trump and Xi originally scheduled by the US side for September 24. The Chinese side explicitly told the US that they wanted to leave more rest time for the General Secretary. Ultimately, Xi's only full day of visits included an unexpected gap of about five hours. No events were scheduled for the evening of his arrival in the US, and his final stop at the US National Archives lasted only about ten minutes, far less than originally planned.
Dennis Wilder, a former senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council who helped arrange three state visits, said, "We have never encountered a request specifically for a private lounge; this is very unusual." Wilder helped arrange visits to the US by Hu Jintao, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and Australian Prime Minister Howard. Sources said the Chinese team was actually arranging the General Secretary's schedule around several very specific physical limitations, such as how long he could stand, how far he could walk, and when he needed to stop and rest. When Xi attended the BRICS summit in India this September, he also skipped a banquet attended by Putin and other foreign leaders. The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the reason was that Xi was feeling unwell at the time.
During this US trip, unedited live footage provided several details. In a few clips stepping down the airstair at Joint Base Andrews, he grasped the handrail with one hand while tightly holding Peng Liyuan's hand with the other. Two days later, when Xi and the Trumps walked up the steps of the US National Archives, he again held Peng Liyuan's hand the entire way. The Wall Street Journal noted that judging from the footage, Xi appeared not just to be holding hands, but actually being supported by Peng Liyuan. Chinese state media reports edited out all of these visuals.
In addition, I specially noticed that the time actually spent on negotiations during this trip was very short. On September 24, the bilateral talks between the two started close to noon and ended early in the afternoon. Xi finally left the White House, only to return for the state banquet that evening. Frankly speaking, for a summit of this level, this segment was astonishingly brief.
So what do these phenomena actually mean? Pei Minxin, a professor at Claremont McKenna College who studies Chinese elite politics, said there is a massive difference between a leader who is completely incapacitated due to a severe stroke and a leader whose physical activities are limited but whose mental faculties remain normally functional. In the first scenario, Pei believes the CCP would have to quickly find a successor; but if it is merely physical movement that is restricted while cognitive ability remains normal, the CCP might choose to keep waiting, and policies would not undergo drastic changes as a result. He compared this situation to Chairman Mao's final years. Chairman Mao died at 82, and the General Secretary is now 73. The health of the General Secretary is particularly sensitive for another reason: he has not designated a successor. If a succession crisis truly arises in the future, the impact could extend far beyond China's domestic borders. Different political factions vying for the General Secretary's succession position might even advocate for more aggressive policies to gain an advantage in internal power struggles.
Regarding the blogger Fang Wei's calculation on Twitter of the total duration of the talks between Trump and Xi Jinping during this meeting. So, the much-hyped impact will ignite, talking about how long they spoke: thirty minutes, ninety minutes, plus another ten minutes. Thus, after removing the time spent on formalities like reviewing the honor guard, listening to the national anthem, watching the gun salute, toasting, and reading speeches, they only had three segments of conversation.
The first segment was thirty minutes, mainly setting the time from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM in the White House Oval Office. The following hour and a half was a negotiation between the two delegations in a large conference room. The second segment was ten minutes, from 2:00 PM to 2:10 PM, where Trump and Xi looked at the helicopter pad, the White House corridor, and the White House courtyard under renovation. After that, the key point came: The Wall Street Journal exclusively reported that Xi went to find a place to rest between 2:10 PM and 6:45 PM because his body could no longer hold up. The Chinese side even requested the White House to arrange a private room for Xi to rest, and only allowed Peng Liyuan to accompany him.
The third segment was ten minutes, which was the National Archives that Trump invited Xi to visit in the morning, where they only stayed for ten minutes. Not wanting to do any inspiration or education, they had to end it in a hurry. The Wall Street Journal said that the Chinese side had a control room behind the scenes to monitor how long Xi could stand, how far he could walk, and when he needed to stop. Moreover, according to these choreographed arrangements, from the moment Xi stepped down the plane's stairs, to the steps at the top left and bottom left of the National Archives, and finally back up the stairs to leave, every step was supported by Peng Liyuan. This picture explains a lot; fourteen years ago, Peng Liyuan followed Xi, but today she is supporting Xi through the National Archives. In the middle of climbing the stairs, Trump even intentionally stopped to point out the architecture, giving Xi time to catch his breath.
Fang Mengwei concluded that a huge side effect of the seven visits to the U.S. is that it exposed his health problems. First, Xi cannot support meetings longer than two hours and needs the White House to provide a lounge, not for fifteen or thirty minutes, but for four to five hours. Second, whether going up or down stairs, Xi needs Peng Liyuan's support. Third, from the Indian Prime Minister's dinner to the U.S. President's lunch, Xi had to skip them. It is evident that the health problem is truly significant. This is a General Secretary who has blocked everyone, offended everyone, and has no successor, yet by taking the risk of visiting the U.S., he exposed his own health problems to the public.
A Brookings Institution Asia scholar speculated: "I suspect that China will view the release of this material and its implications as a betrayal and an attempt to undermine the Chinese leader." If the General Secretary's health is truly problematic, then the truth cannot be hidden forever, and this is news that will come out sooner or later. Dear viewers, what do you think about the General Secretary's health? How will the Chinese side respond?
U.S. side reveals General Secretary's behind-the-scenes schedule requirements
Please leave a comment in the comment section
U.S. military support for Taiwan has reached a new level. Previously, it was selling weapons and sending instructors; now, it is directly sending personnel into Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. According to a report by the Taipei Times on October 4, a U.S.-Taiwan cooperation project worth approximately $14.77 million will last until 2028. The U.S. Department of Defense Policy Office and the Institute for Defense Analyses plan to send one representative each to work directly at Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense. Unlike in the past, U.S. personnel will participate in defense policy, combat capability assessments, and war games, and may also provide advice on exercises, troop operations, and major weapon procurements. U.S. military cooperation is moving from the training ground into decision-making tests.
Next, let's look at a few absurd videos. On October 4, at the entrance of a residential complex in Chengdu, Sichuan, a delivery driver got into an argument with a security guard while delivering food, and the security guard used a landing net to pin the driver down on the spot. Netizens sighed, "Alas, why do the poor make things difficult for the poor?" Some Little Pinks would say, "If you hate this place, why don't you leave?" A well-known blogger responded to this. Netizens sighed, "Well said."
At the end of the program, we enter the netizen interaction segment. A netizen inside the Great Firewall who doesn't need to stay up all night to watch the flag-raising ceremony said: "I have been in China for 50 years and have never gone to watch the flag-raising ceremony, because I am not sick, run, run quickly." Hearing Bo Guagua's patriotic tweet, he said, but I almost became a member of the Zhao family, his crown prince dream hasn't woken up yet, or rather, he is trying hard not to let himself wake up. Chen said, let people in the mainland ask their parents at home which country their motherland is. For example, those born forty-nine years ago, their motherland was the Republic of China. Today it is the United States.
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