Asia Communique
China’s Great Firewall Suffers Biggest Leak | Trump Mulls Beijing Summit with Xi — FT Exclusive | PLA Rocket Force Hit by Graft Purge — Again! |
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Asia Communique cuts through the noise to uncover the real signal—the narratives that matter and the subtext others overlook. I write about issues few are willing to tackle.
Taiwan’s Top China Policy Official Invokes “Make America Great Again” in D.C.
In a striking move during his first visit to the U.S. since taking office, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) head Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) framed Taiwan’s security as integral to America’s future, even borrowing one of Donald Trump’s signature slogans.
Speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., Chiu declared that “a safe and prosperous Taiwan can help ‘Make America Great Again,’” warning that the United States’ own “security and prosperity would be directly threatened” if Beijing were to take Taiwan by force. He described Taiwan as occupying the “core position” of the first island chain, a frontline bulwark against authoritarian expansion.
Why this is unusual
What makes Chiu’s remarks stand out is not just the substance, but the messenger. The MAC is Taiwan’s lead government agency on managing relations with Beijing. Traditionally, its language has been technocratic and restrained, focused on policy coordination and communication channels with China. For its top official to adopt overtly political rhetoric tailored to Washington—especially invoking “Make America Great Again”—marks a sharp departure from past practice.
It reflects a new willingness by Taipei to frame Taiwan’s value in explicitly American political terms. Previous Taiwanese officials have highlighted semiconductors, shared democratic values, and the island’s role in the Indo-Pacific, but Chiu’s slogan-quoting underscores a direct pitch to a U.S. audience increasingly polarized along partisan lines.
The strategic message
Chiu’s speech tied Taiwan’s fate tightly to American interests:
Security: A Chinese takeover would set off a “domino effect” undermining regional balance and threatening U.S. safety.
Technology: With Taiwan producing nearly 90% of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, any disruption would hit the global AI and ICT industries—especially the U.S. tech sector.
Democracy: Taiwan’s political model, Chiu argued, can inspire Chinese citizens across the Strait to “pursue freedom and a better life.”
He also emphasized MAC’s “rich experience” dealing with the Chinese Communist Party, suggesting Taipei is prepared to share lessons with Washington on countering CCP influence.
The wider context
Chiu’s trip (Sept. 6–14) included meetings with U.S. executive officials, lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the CCP, and think tank experts. Committee chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) said discussions touched on countering CCP disinformation and United Front activities.
Not surprisingly, Beijing objected. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office condemned Chiu’s visit, calling it “official exchanges” that it “firmly opposes.”
China’s Great Firewall Hit by Largest Document Leak
On September 11, 2025, the Great Firewall of China (GFW) suffered its biggest leak of internal documents to date. More than 500 gigabytes of source code, work logs, and communications were made public, offering an unprecedented look at how China builds and operates its internet censorship system.
The documents come from Geedge Networks—a company tied to Fang Binxing, often called the “Father of the Great Firewall”—and the MESA Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Together, they form part of the technical backbone of China’s censorship apparatus. I had mentioned this leak a few days ago but we have more details coming through.
Why This Matters
The files don’t just detail domestic censorship. They also reveal how China exports surveillance and censorship tools abroad, providing services to countries including Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Kazakhstan under the Belt and Road Initiative. This highlights how China’s model of digital control is being adopted beyond its borders.
For researchers, activists, and policymakers, the leak represents a rare chance to understand the inner workings of one of the world’s most extensive censorship systems.
What’s Inside the Leak
Source code archives for censorship platforms.
Internal documents and contracts, some tied to regions like Xinjiang.
Work logs and communications showing coordination across teams.
Evidence of export deals spreading GFW-style controls internationally.
In total, the files amount to around 600 GB, with one single archive making up nearly 500 GB alone.
Safety First
Because the files come directly from sensitive government-linked projects, experts caution that anyone accessing them should take strong security precautions. The documents could contain malware or hidden tracking tools. Analysts recommend only examining the data on isolated, offline machines.
How It All Started
The GFW is not run by one single agency, but through a web of research labs, government offices, and private companies. The MESA Lab, founded in 2012, played a central role in developing traffic analysis tools. In 2018, Fang Binxing helped launch Geedge Networks, recruiting many of MESA’s researchers. The leak shows how closely intertwined these teams remain.
What Happens Next
While early reviews have focused on contracts and internal documents, the source code itself has yet to be fully examined. That could reveal the nuts and bolts of how China blocks websites, monitors online activity, and adapts to new tools like VPNs.
Groups like Net4People and GFW Report plan to publish continuing analysis. For now, this leak marks a turning point: the most secretive system of online censorship in the world has been cracked open.
Will Trump Go to Beijing?
Exclusive reporting by the Financial Times says Beijing has formally invited Donald Trump for a summit with Xi Jinping — but whether it happens in the Chinese capital or on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Seoul at the end of October is still uncertain.
The two sides remain far apart on trade, tariffs, and fentanyl. Washington wants Beijing to crack down on the chemicals used to make the synthetic opioid before lifting Trump-era tariffs; China wants the tariff relief first. Neither is budging.
In the meantime, the diplomatic traffic has picked up. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent meets Chinese vice-premier He Lifeng in Madrid this weekend. Secretary of state Marco Rubio and defense secretary Pete Hegseth have both had recent calls with their Chinese counterparts. These contacts suggest preparations for a leader-level meeting, but the venue is contested: Beijing prefers a full-dress state visit; Trump may settle for a more modest Apec encounter.
Analysts are split. Some argue a Beijing trip would let Trump match or outshine the pageantry extended to Putin and Kim in recent months. Others say it would look hollow without a trade deal to announce. Either way, the clock is ticking.
Adding to the tension: Trump’s push for NATO and the EU to slap steep tariffs on China, Washington’s latest export blacklisting of Chinese firms, and Beijing’s counter-move — an anti-dumping probe into U.S. chips. With both sides trading shots, it’s hard to see where the political space for a breakthrough emerges.
As one former U.S. official put it, China is “willing to host without conditions,” but so long as parts of Trump’s administration insist on a fentanyl package first, Washington remains the obstacle. The decision, they added, may come down to the last minute — and to Trump’s own calculation of whether he wants a deal, or just the red-carpet treatment.
Corruption Crackdown Engulfs Rocket Force and Beyond
China’s anti-corruption campaign inside the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has entered a new and more sweeping phase, striking both the Rocket Force and the PLA’s broader logistics networks.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress recently expelled four senior generals, including People’s Armed Police commander Wang Chunning, the most senior figure to lose his legislative seat so far. Also dismissed was Wang Zhibin, the Rocket Force’s own disciplinary chief — appointed less than two years ago to clean up the branch after three of its former commanders, Li Yuchao, Zhou Yaning, and Wei Fenghe, came under investigation.
That even the Rocket Force’s discipline inspector is now tainted highlights the scale of the crisis in the PLA’s most sensitive service, responsible for China’s nuclear and conventional missile forces.
Procurement purge
Adding to the pressure, the Rocket Force announced it had terminated nearly 200 partnerships with procurement experts and suppliers after uncovering widespread corruption stretching back nine years. According to China Government Procurement News, between August 28 and September 1 the branch banned 74 bid evaluation experts and 116 suppliers.
Some were barred only from Rocket Force contracts, while others were stripped of qualifications across the entire PLA. The earliest violations were traced to 2016, barely a year after the Rocket Force was established under Xi Jinping’s military reforms. The move reflects an intensive review of military equipment procurement following the downfall of former defense minister Li Shangfu in 2023.
Logistics also hit
The latest NPC expulsions also swept up Zhang Lin, head of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Logistics Support Department, and Gao Daguang, political commissar of the Joint Logistics Support Force. Both were tied to the PLA’s sprawling support networks, which have long been seen as vulnerable to profiteering and patronage.
Why it matters
For Xi, the purge is about reasserting control over a branch central to China’s deterrent posture. But the sheer scale — from top generals to procurement experts — raises doubts about the Rocket Force’s readiness and cohesion. The expulsion of Wang Zhibin, the very official brought in to impose discipline, suggests that corruption is systemic rather than episodic.
At the same time, hundreds of banned contractors hint at deep vulnerabilities in how China builds and sustains its missile arsenal. For adversaries, the crisis may cast doubt on operational reliability. For Beijing, it shows the political risks of letting corruption erode the credibility of what was supposed to be the PLA’s most modernized spear tip.
Reads:
The Greatest Danger in the Taiwan Strait — Foreign Affairs
Billion-dollar coffins? New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable — Guardian