Guy Taylor
Articles by Guy Taylor
Kim boosting military in a ‘distracted’ world, former U.S. North Korean policy chief warns
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seizing on the current moment of global distractions -- from Russia's war in Ukraine to rising China-Taiwan tensions and the still potent COVID-19 pandemic -- to advance his nuclear and missile capabilities with little response from the U.S. and its allies, a top former National Security Council official warns. Published November 1, 2022
‘Trump of the Tropics’ Bolsonaro silent as Lula claims narrow win in Brazil
Right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro's refusal Monday to concede in Brazil's knife-edge election triggered fears that political unrest may be imminent in Brazil, a key battleground country in the growing Cold War-style rivalry between the U.S. and China for influence over South America. Published October 31, 2022
Cracks appear in U.S. bipartisan support for Ukraine as bills mount, economy near brink of recession
As the price tag on American military aid to Ukraine rises and the U.S. economy teeters on the brink of a recession, cracks have begun to show the once rock-solid bipartisan support in Washington for providing Kyiv with the support it needs to fend off Russia's now 8-month-old invasion. Published October 27, 2022
Tensions rise on peninsula over fears North Korea eyeing ‘tactical’ nukes with new policy
Tensions between North and South Korea have risen this week, with both sides engaging in live-fire military drills while concerns swirl in Washington that North Korea's new war-fighting strategy centers on the potential use of preemptive "tactical" nuclear strikes. Published October 19, 2022
SPECIAL REPORT: China’s threat to Taiwan sparks debate over U.S. ‘One China’ policy
China's threat to absorb Taiwan -- through possible military action if necessary -- has sent nerves soaring in Taipei, while also sparking debate a half a world away in Washington over the long-held U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity" over just exactly what the American military would do to protect the island democracy from a Chinese invasion. Published October 19, 2022
SPECIAL REPORT: Taiwan’s microchip dominance is ground zero in growing U.S.-China cold war
HSINCHU, Taiwan -- Hulking white factory buildings tower over the plush vegetation lining the road that snakes through this city, a place long known as Taiwan's "Silicon Valley," but increasingly identified as ground zero in a widening new Cold War between the United States and China. Published October 18, 2022
SPECIAL REPORT: Ukraine drama has young Taiwanese rethinking the threat from China
Like many younger people here, Elsa Lin has been doing some serious soul-searching lately about what might come of her life and how she will respond if the once-unthinkable -- war with China -- should break out. Published October 17, 2022
Despite threats, Putin knows tactical nukes would be ‘suicidal,’ Poland’s envoy says
NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: The odds that Moscow will use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine are low because Russian President Vladimir Putin knows it "would be politically and militarily suicidal," Poland's top diplomat in Washington said. Published October 13, 2022
‘Reckless’: Mike Pompeo slams Biden’s ‘Armageddon’ comment
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sharply criticized President Biden's comment that the world faces the prospect of Armageddon after Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning. Published October 9, 2022
Russian missiles level Ukrainian apartment block; Putin calls Crimea bridge blast ‘terrorist attack’
Russian forces pounded an apartment complex in southeastern Ukraine on Sunday, a day after a blast damaged a bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula. Published October 9, 2022
Iran protesters hack state TV, show image of supreme leader surrounded by flames
Hackers disrupted Iranian state TV on Saturday and briefly broadcast an image of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei surrounded by flames. Published October 9, 2022
U.S., East Asian allies must boost cooperation as North Korean threat grows, ex-U.S. commander says
The military alliance with South Korea is the strongest defense partnership the U.S. has, according to a former top U.S. commander in the region, but the U.S., South Korea and Japan must improve "trilateral cooperation" to prepare more effectively for North Korean threats. Published October 4, 2022
Threat of Chinese invasion is ‘real,’ Taiwan’s foreign minister says
The world must prepare for the prospect that the Chinese militarily could invade Taiwan as soon as next year, the island democracy's foreign minister warned Thursday, saying Taiwan's people and defense forces are drawing inspiration from Ukraine's fight against Russia as they confront the idea of an attack by its massive neighbor across the Taiwan Strait. Published September 29, 2022
Chinese aggression a threat to democracies everywhere, Taiwanese official warns
A top Taiwanese official on relations with mainland China warned Wednesday that Beijing under President Xi Jinping is embracing an extreme form of "closed-door nationalism" and "totalitarianism" that threatens the future of Taiwan, the U.S. and other democracies. Published September 28, 2022
Iran’s leader blames U.S. for nuclear deal impasse; Biden vows no bomb for Tehran
U.S. President Biden and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said in separate speeches to the U.N. General Assembly Wednesday that they want to reach a new nuclear deal, but their remarks underscored how difficult striking an agreement will be. Published September 21, 2022
Ukraine war dominates annual U.N. General Assembly debate
The top official at the United Nations warned Tuesday that mounting tensions -- spurred on by the war in Ukraine and climate change pressures -- have created a moment of "colossal global dysfunction" amid multiplying crises facing humanity. Published September 20, 2022
U.N. chief warns of ‘colossal global dysfunction’ amid concurrent crises
The top official at the United Nations is warning that global tensions -- spurred on by the war in Ukraine and the pressures of climate change -- are soaring and resulting in a moment of "colossal global dysfunction" amid multiplying crises facing humanity. Published September 20, 2022
Rights group questions backlash against Unification Church after Abe assassination
A prominent European religious freedom group wants the top United Nations human rights body to examine what it claims has been a "campaign of intolerance, discrimination, and persecution of the Unification Church" in Japan following the July assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Published September 20, 2022
Taiwan pushing for greater international coordination to counter China’s aggression
Taiwan's top diplomat in Washington said Taipei is in talks with the Biden administration on a variety of ways to counter Chinese "coercion," but for now the island democracy is not calling publicly for more U.S. sanctions to counter Beijing's increased aggression. Published September 15, 2022
Critics push Biden for more action on Abraham Accords at two-year mark
The Biden administration has cautiously embraced the Trump-era "Abraham Accords" ending a long diplomatic freeze between Israel and key Arab power, but has missed a crucial opportunity to build on the historic agreements by capitalizing on growing regional unity against the threat posed by Iran. Published September 14, 2022