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China Says it Takes 'Necessary Measures' to Defend Sovereignty over Taiwan

A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
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China Says it Takes 'Necessary Measures' to Defend Sovereignty over Taiwan

A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang
A man rides a bicycle past a giant screen showing news footages of Chinese President Xi Jinping attending a Chinese Communist Party politburo meeting, in Beijing, China December 9, 2024. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

China said on Wednesday it takes "necessary measures" to defend the country's sovereignty and will not tolerate "separatist" activities, as Taiwan reported another rise in Chinese warplanes around the island and called on Beijing to halt provocations.
Beijing's military has yet to comment on the military activity and has not confirmed it is carrying out exercises, Reuters reported.
A senior Taiwanese official said they believed the surge in activity was meant to send a political message to the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
A security diplomat in the region briefed on the matter told Reuters the scale and size of the ongoing Chinese operations, including the manpower being dispatched, was "unheard of" in recent years.
"We have not seen anything like this in at least the past few years," they said citing their country's assessment while declining to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, had been expected to launch drills to express its anger at President Lai Ching-te's tour of the Pacific that ended on Friday and included stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.
"We will absolutely not let things go unchecked. We take necessary measures to resolutely defend the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office said when asked about the increased military activities.
China's government was "highly vigilant to the trend of separatist Taiwan forces colluding with external forces", she said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.
Taiwan's defense ministry said on Wednesday it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the island over the past 24 hours, as well as 11 navy vessels and eight "official" ships, which refers to vessels from ostensibly civilian agencies such as the coast guard.
"PROVOCATIVE ACTS"
Lai and his government reject Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.
Presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement that China's military actions were a "blatant disruption" of regional stability and Beijing should immediately stop all "provocative acts".
It is customary for Taiwan presidents to go overseas and "Taiwan's normal international exchanges with other countries are not an excuse for China's provocations", she added.
Taiwan's military had gone on alert on Monday after saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels.
On Tuesday, Taipei's defense ministry said China was deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games.
However, a US military official said China's naval deployments in the East China Sea and South China Sea were elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.
A senior Taiwan security official, offering the government's assessment of China's activities, told a briefing in Taipei it took China's military nearly 70 days to plan and deploy the current sea operations and that they were meant for the incoming Trump government and US allies, rather than specifically Lai's visit to the Pacific.
"They are trying to draw a red line and exert authority for the new master of the White House," the official said, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
It was "extremely rare" for China to deploy sea operations of such scale at this time of the year when sea conditions are usually rough, the official said.
Taiwan's government believes China's decision not to announce the drills could be because Beijing is trying to minimize the impact on two major events with Taiwanese businessmen and politicians, one taking place this week and another next week, the official added.
"It's a carrot and stick approach," the official said, pointing to Beijing's annual charm offensive programs towards Taiwan, including a visit to Taipei by one of Shanghai's deputy mayors next week.

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New Orleans Mourns Victims of Truck Attack with Tearful Vigil and Celebration of Life

Mourners gather at a candlelight vigil and second line parade for victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Mourners gather at a candlelight vigil and second line parade for victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
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New Orleans Mourns Victims of Truck Attack with Tearful Vigil and Celebration of Life

Mourners gather at a candlelight vigil and second line parade for victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 04 January 2025. (EPA)
Mourners gather at a candlelight vigil and second line parade for victims of the New Year’s Day terror attack, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 04 January 2025. (EPA)

New Orleans mourned, wept and danced at a vigil Saturday evening along the famous thoroughfare where a man rammed a pickup truck into a crowd, killing and injuring revelers who were there to celebrate the new year.

A makeshift memorial of crosses and pictures of the 14 deceased victims amassed with candles, flowers and teddy bears. Victims' relatives held each other, some crying. But as a brass band began playing, the sorrow transformed into a celebration of life as the crowd snapped fingers, swayed and followed the music down Bourbon Street.

The coroner’s office listed the cause of death for all 14 victims as “blunt force injuries.” Beyond the deaths, authorities say about 30 other people suffered injuries in the attack early Wednesday by Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a former US Army soldier who proclaimed his support for the ISIS extremist group in online videos posted hours before he struck.

Police fatally shot Jabbar, 42, during a firefight at the scene of the deadly crash on Bourbon Street, famous worldwide for its festive vibes in New Orleans’ historic French Quarter.

University Medical Center New Orleans spokesperson Carolina Giepert said 13 people remained hospitalized, with eight people in intensive care.

Cathy Tenedorio, who lost her 25-year-old son Matthew, said she was moved by the flood of condolences and kindness at Saturday's vigil.

“This is the most overwhelming response of love, an outpouring of love. I’m floating through it all,” she said.

New Orleans native Autrele Felix, 28, left a handwritten card beside a memorial for his friend Nicole Perez, a single mother who was killed.

“It means a lot, to see that our city comes together when there’s a real tragedy,” Felix said. “We all become one.”

Others who crowded around the brass band said the best way to honor the victims was with a party.

“Because that’s what they were down here to do, they were having a good time,” life-long New Orleans resident Kari Mitten said.

President Joe Biden planned to travel to New Orleans with first lady Jill Biden on Monday to “grieve with the families and community members impacted by the tragic attack.”

Federal authorities searching Jabbar's Houston home found a workbench in the garage and hazardous materials believed to have been used to make explosive devices, according to law enforcement officials familiar with the search.

Jabbar had suspected bomb-making materials at his home and reserved the vehicle used in the attack more than six weeks earlier, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the inquiry.

Jabbar purchased a cooler in Vidor, Texas, hours before the attack and gun oil from a store in Sulphur, Louisiana. He also booked his truck rental on Nov. 14, suggesting he may have been plotting the attack for more than six weeks, authorities said.

Authorities found crude bombs that had been planted in the neighborhood in an apparent attempt to cause more carnage. Two improvised explosive devices left in coolers several blocks apart were rendered safe at the scene. Other devices were determined to be nonfunctional, officials said.

Investigators searching Jabbar's rental truck found a transmitter intended to trigger the two bombs, the FBI said in a statement Friday, adding that there were bomb-making materials at the New Orleans home Jabbar rented prior to the attack. Jabbar tried to burn down the house by setting a small fire in a hallway and placing accelerants to help spread it, the FBI said. The flames burned out before firefighters arrived.

Authorities on Friday were still investigating Jabbar's motives and how he carried out the attack. They say he exited the crashed truck wearing a ballistic vest and helmet and fired at police, wounding at least two officers before he was fatally shot by officers returning fire.

New Orleans police declined to say Friday how many shots were fired by Jabbar and police or whether any bystanders may have been hit, citing the active investigation.

Stella Cziment, who heads the city's civilian-run Office of the Independent Police Monitor, said investigators are working to account for “every single bullet that was fired” and whether any of them struck bystanders.

Police have used multiple vehicles and barricades to block traffic at Bourbon and Canal streets since the attack. Other law enforcement agencies helped city officers provide extra security, said Reese Harper, a New Orleans police spokesperson.

The first parade of the Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras was scheduled to take place Monday. New Orleans also will host the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.

“This enhanced safety effort will continue daily, not just during large events,” Harper said in a statement.

In a previous effort to protect the French Quarter, the city installed steel columns known as bollards to restrict vehicle access to Bourbon Street. The posts were retracted to allow deliveries to restaurants. They stopped working reliably after being gummed up by Mardi Gras beads and other detritus.

When New Year’s Eve arrived, the bollards were gone. They will be replaced ahead of the Super Bowl, officials said.

New Orleans City Council President Helena Moreno took steps toward launching an investigation into the attack. In a memo to another council member obtained by the AP, Moreno said she was initiating the creation of a local and state legislative committee “dedicated to reviewing the incident and its implications.”

“This committee will play a crucial role in assessing our current policies, enhancing security measures, and ensuring that we are adequately prepared to respond to any future threats,” Moreno wrote.

The FBI concluded Jabbar was not aided by anyone else in the attack, which killed an 18-year-old aspiring nurse, a single mother, a father of two and a former Princeton University football star, among others.

The New Orleans coroner’s office has identified 13 of the 14 victims, with the youngest listed as 18 and the oldest 63. Most of the victims were in their 20s. One was a British citizen, 31-year-old Edward Pettifer of west London, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

British media reported Pettifer was the stepson of Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who was the nanny for Prince William and Prince Harry between 1993 and 1999, which included the time after the death of their mother, Princess Diana.

At the vigil on Saturday, family members identified Tasha Polk, a mother and nursing assistant in her 40s, as the final victim of the attack.

The Bourbon Street attack was the deadliest ISIS-inspired assault on US soil in years, laying bare what federal officials have warned is a resurgent international terrorism threat.