Fears of a press crackdown under US president-elect Donald Trump’s second term deepened with his nomination of Kash Patel as FBI director, given his calls for retribution against journalists. Yet, a rare chance to protect press freedom has emerged. The bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act, the strongest press freedom legislation in US history, is on the brink of a vote. While Trump has urged Republicans to block it, the US Senate could still deliver it to US President Joe Biden before the lame-duck session ends in January.
The PRESS Act would ban secret government demands for journalists’ communications from tech giants, such as Google or Verizon, and protect reporters from jail for refusing to reveal sources. For investigative reporters to do their jobs — holding government officials to account for corruption and wrongdoing — they need to be able to protect the confidentiality of their sources. With courts recently weakening already-imperiled “reporter’s privilege” protections, that bill would finally give journalists in the US federal protections comparable to those afforded to other relationships where confidentiality is paramount, such as lawyers and clients, doctors and patients, and spouses.
The bill has something for Democrats and Republicans to like. The PRESS Act’s broad and nonpartisan definition of “journalist” takes into account the modern media landscape: You do not have to work full-time for a mainstream media organization to be covered. Freelancers, independent reporters writing Substack newsletters and even journalists posting primarily to social networks such as X would be included. It protects right-leaning journalists just as much as anyone at the New York Times or The Guardian. It also has common sense national security exceptions (such as preventing a terrorist attack or an imminent threat of violence) without diluting the bill’s strong protections. It is worth remembering that Democratic administrations have abused their powers to go after the first amendment rights of journalists just as much as Republicans. The administration of former US president Barack Obama brought a record number of prosecutions against whistleblowers and was implicated in several government spying scandals, including secretly targeting journalists at the Associated Press and Fox News.
Even the Biden administration, before reversing course after public outrage, continued pursuing at least some of the surveillance orders against news outlets that the first Trump administration initiated. That is why, in an age of extreme political polarization, the PRESS Act is about as bipartisan as it gets.
The US House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year unanimously, with several prominent Republicans publicly touting its importance. The bill also has powerful co-sponsors in the US Senate, ranging from Democrats such as Senator Ron Wyden and Judiciary Committee chair Dick Durbin to Republicans such as senators Mike Lee and Lindsey Graham.
Even former Fox News host Tucker Carlson supports the bill, as he made clear in a recent interview with the former Fox News and CBS reporter Catherine Herridge, who was subpoenaed to reveal a source for a story she wrote several years ago. Herridge was recently in front of the DC Court of Appeals, where her lawyers said that forcing reporters to reveal their sources in court sends a chilling effect to countless others around the country. For the bill to pass, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer must make it a priority. The lame-duck session is only a few weeks long; if senators do not act now, we might not have this opportunity for another decade or more.
Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman Wu Qian (吳謙) announced at a news conference that General Miao Hua (苗華) — director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission — has been suspended from his duties pending an investigation of serious disciplinary breaches. Miao’s role within the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) affects not only its loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), but also ideological control. This reflects the PLA’s complex internal power struggles, as well as its long-existing structural problems. Since its establishment, the PLA has emphasized that “the party commands the gun,” and that the military is
Two major Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-People’s Liberation Army (PLA) power demonstrations in November 2024 highlight the urgency for Taiwan to pursue a military buildup and deterrence agenda that can take back control of its destiny. First, the CCP-PLA’s planned future for Taiwan of war, bloody suppression, and use as a base for regional aggression was foreshadowed by the 9th and largest PLA-Russia Joint Bomber Exercise of Nov. 29 and 30. It was double that of previous bomber exercises, with both days featuring combined combat strike groups of PLA Air Force and Russian bombers escorted by PLAAF and Russian fighters, airborne early warning
Since the end of former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation has taken Taiwanese students to visit China and invited Chinese students to Taiwan. Ma calls those activities “cross-strait exchanges,” yet the trips completely avoid topics prohibited by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), such as democracy, freedom and human rights — all of which are universal values. During the foundation’s most recent Chinese student tour group, a Fudan University student used terms such as “China, Taipei” and “the motherland” when discussing Taiwan’s recent baseball victory. The group’s visit to Zhongshan Girls’ High School also received prominent coverage in
India and China have taken a significant step toward disengagement of their military troops after reaching an agreement on the long-standing disputes in the Galwan Valley. For government officials and policy experts, this move is welcome, signaling the potential resolution of the enduring border issues between the two countries. However, it is crucial to consider the potential impact of this disengagement on India’s relationship with Taiwan. Over the past few years, there have been important developments in India-Taiwan relations, including exchanges between heads of state soon after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third electoral victory. This raises the pressing question:
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