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In the News
NEWS
Police officers in Portland,
Oregon, have responded to at
least 359 shootings so far in
2021. ... A4
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention says
a report that a 2-year-old died
after getting a COVID-19 shot
is untrue. ... A2
Sen. Bernie Sanders says
he opposes an effort by top
Democrats to reinstate the
tax deduction on state and
local taxes. ... A7
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
says that she intends to run
for reelection in 2024. ... A6
A judge in Michigan will
rule next week on whether to
dismiss a case alleging that
fraud occurred in the 2020
election. ... A3
Detroit’s police chief says
that he is retiring and will con-
sider challenging Gov. Gretch-
en Whitmer in 2022. ... A2
House Minority Leader
Kevin McCarthy says that he
has set a vote over whether
to oust Rep. Liz Cheney from
her position as House GOP
conference chair. ... A3
The chief medical officers
of the UK’s four countries
have agreed to lower the is-
land nation’s COVID-19 alert
level from level four to level
three. ... A10
Hamas has fired rockets
from the Gaza Strip toward
the Jerusalem area and south-
ern Israel, carrying out a threat
to punish Israel for violent con-
frontations with Palestinians
in Jerusalem. ...A10
Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell has sug-
gested that Republican sena-
tors would be willing to raise
their ceiling for an infrastruc-
ture plan to $800 billion. ...A4
The Shawnee County
Sheriff’s Office in Kansas has
confirmed that it’s still inves-
tigating claims of voter fraud
from the 2020 election. ... A7
The Biden administration
is rolling back an immigra-
tion policy sought by former
President Donald Trump that
would have limited work per-
mits for immigrants with final
deportation orders. ... A8
Denmark’s foreign minis-
ter has defended democratic
values alongside Taiwanese
President Tsai Ing-wen, draw-
ing criticism from the Chinese
regime, which considers Tai-
wan its territory. ... A9
Amazon blocked more than
10 billion listings last year
suspected of being fraudu-
lent, the company says. ... A8
OPINION
Mark Hendrickson: Urban
Emigration: A Worrisome Out-
look for American Cities...A13
John Schnatter: Short-Term
‘Help’ Is Doing Long-Term Harm
to the Economy, Killing Small
Businesses...A14
H. Sterling Burnett: The
Truth About Sea Levels and
Fossil Fuels...A16
FEATURES
Books once played an im-
portant role in shaping our
nation. Let’s look at a few
through history. ...B1
Oscar-winning “Minari”
tells a poignant, somewhat
autobiographical tale of the
forbearance of Korean immi-
grants. ...B7
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Published in New York,
Washington, Houston, Chicago,
Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
| T U E S D A Y, M A Y 11, 2 0 21
NATIONAL SECURITY
FBI Confirms DarkSide Ransomware
Behind Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack
Fuel shortages possible, gas prices jump after hackers
take down the Colonial Pipeline
By JACK PHILLIPS
T
he FBI on May 10 con-
firmed that the DarkSide
ransomware was used in
the hack of the Colonial
Pipeline, which prompted the U.S.
Department of Transportation on
May 9 to declare a state of emer-
gency for 17 states due to potential
fuel shortages.
The law enforcement agency said
that the DarkSide cybercriminal
Students for a Free Tibet protest below a new electronic billboard leased by Xin-
hua (2nd from top) in New York’s Times Square on Aug. 1 , 2011.
CHINA INFLUENCE
Chinese State-Run News Agency
Xinhua Registers as Foreign Agent in US
By CATHY HE
Chinese state-run news agency
Xinhua has registered as a foreign
agent under U.S. law, more than
two years after the Justice Depart-
ment (DOJ) reportedly ordered it
to do so.
Xinhua’s U.S. division was reg-
istered under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act (FARA) on May
5, according to the DOJ’s online
FARA database. This makes Xin-
hua the third Chinese state-run
CRIME
Mexico’s Fastest-
Rising Cartel
Trying to Establish
Foothold in US: Feds
By ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
A notorious Mexican drug cartel is
attempting to gain a foothold in the
Seattle area and the Pacific North-
west, according to U.S. investigators.
A Mexican criminal group called
the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Continued on A5
Accuracy The Epoch Times was founded in 2000 as an independent newspaper with the goal to restore accuracy and
integrity in media. We have received numerous awards for our reporting, including from the Society of Professional
& Integrity Journalists, the Society for News Design, and the New York Press Association.
Truth & Tradition
Fuel holding tanks at Colonial Pipeline’s Linden Junction
Tank Farm in Woodbridge, N.J., on May 10, 2021.
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
Homeland Security adviser Elizabeth
Sherwood-Randall speaks about the
Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, on May
10, 2021.
STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
media organization to register as
a foreign agent, after CGTN, the
international arm of the Chinese
state broadcaster China Central
Television, and China Daily, an
English-language newspaper over-
seen by the regime’s propaganda
department.
In September 2018, The Wall
Street Journal reported that the DOJ
had ordered Xinhua and CGTN to
register under FARA. CTGN did so
in February 2019.
Continued on A9
SOCIAL MEDIA
Warren Weighs In on Trump
Facebook Ban: ‘They’re Acting Like
They’re Bigger Than Government’
By TOM OZIMEK
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-
Mass.) has raised concerns
about Facebook over its
decision to uphold its ban
on former President Donald
Trump, saying the social media gi-
ant has become too powerful and
should be broken up.
MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO/GETTY IMAGES
ring stole a large amount of data
before it locked Colonial’s comput-
ers with ransomware—considered
possibly the most destructive ran-
somware attack so far.
“The FBI confirms that the Dark-
side ransomware is responsible for
the compromise of the Colonial
Pipeline networks. We continue
to work with the company and
our government partners on the
investigation,” the agency stated
Continued on A2
GENDER IDENTITY
Biden HHS
Overturns
Trump-Era Rule
Excluding Gender
Identity From
Discrimination
Protection
HHS Secretary Becerra says
‘fear of discrimination can
lead individuals to forgo care’
By MATTHEW VADUM
The Biden administration an-
nounced that it’s overturning a
Trump-era Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) rule
that excluded gender identity from
sex discrimination protections in
the Obamacare statute.
The rule dealt with Section 1557
of the Affordable Care Act, which
made it unlawful to discriminate on
the basis of “race, color, national or-
igin, sex, age, or disability in certain
health programs and activities.”
Health and Human Services Sec-
retary Xavier Becerra said on May 10
that the decision was made in light
Continued on A3
Warren was interviewed on
Yahoo Finance and Ched-
dar News on May 5, the day
that Facebook’s oversight
board—an advisory body
some have dubbed the “Su-
preme Court”—said that the
continued suspension of Trump
“was necessary to keep people safe.”
Continued on A4
VOL . X V I I I | NO. 2,958 $1.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Havana
Syndrome
‘Absolutely’
Result of
Deliberate
Attacks: Expert
By TOM OZIMEK
As the Senate Select Committee
on Intelligence demands answers
about the mysterious “Havana
syndrome”—a neurological sick-
ness that hit U.S. Embassy workers
in Cuba and elsewhere—an expert
told NTD’s “The Nation Speaks” that
he believes the phenomenon is “ab-
solutely” the result of a deliberate
attack and called for accountability.
It’s an absolute bioweapons
attack that needs to
be regulated, stopped,
defended against.
Gary Miliefsky, founding member,
Department of Homeland Security
Gary Miliefsky, a founding mem-
ber of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) and publisher of
Cyber Defense Magazine, said he
is certain U.S. diplomats in Cuba
years ago were targeted by some
kind of an ultrasonic weapon.
“Absolutely,” Miliefsky said,
when asked whether he thought
the health symptoms dubbed “Ha-
vana syndrome” were the result of
deliberate hostile actions. “They re-
corded the background noises and
sounds during the attack. And it
sounded to me exactly like what’s
known as an ultrasonic weapon.”
U.S. authorities have struggled to
understand the mysterious attacks
since they were first noted in 2016,
Continued on A6
SAMUEL CORUM/GETTY IMAGES
Demonstrators surround the U.S. Capi-
tol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
CAPITOL BREACH
Justice Department
Plans to Offer Plea
Deal to Trump
Appointee Charged
in Capitol Riot
By ZACHARY STIEBER
The Department of Justice plans to
offer a plea deal to a Trump appoin-
tee who was charged in the Jan. 6
breach of the U.S. Capitol, prosecu-
tors said on May 10.
“We expect to extend a plea offer
to Mr. Klein. It’s not clear whether
that’s something he’s interested in,
but we do expect to extend it to allow
him to consider it,” a prosecutor told
the court in a remote hearing.
Continued on A6
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
OFFICIAL: US
IN CCP VIRUS
RECOVERY
“I would say
we are turning
the corner,”
said Jeff
Zients, White
House COVID-19 19
response
coordinator.
Read more on A7
A2 | NATION
FBI Confirms
DarkSide
Ransomware Behind
Colonial Pipeline
Cyberattack
CONTINUED FROM A1
on May 10. The FBI didn’t provide
further details.
According to the Boston-based
firm Cybereason, DarkSide is an
organized group of hackers who
sell ransomware to other criminals
to carry out cyberattacks.
DarkSide is an orga-
nized group of hack-
ers who sell ran-
somware to other
criminals to carry
out cyberattacks.
DarkSide, according to Cyberea-
son, appeared to issue a statement
on its website.
“We are apolitical, we do not
participate in geopolitics, do not
need to tie us with a defined gov-
ernment and look for our motives,”
the statement read, according to
Cybereason. “Our goal is to make
money, and not creating problems
for society. From today we intro-
duce moderation and check each
company that our partners want
to encrypt to avoid social conse-
quences in the future.”
Meanwhile, on May 10, Colonial
stated that it “proactively took cer-
tain systems offline to contain the
CDC: Report of 2-Year-Old Dying After
COVID-19 Vaccination Is False
ZACHARY STIEBER
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has deemed a re-
port of a 2-year-old dying after get-
ting a COVID-19 shot to be untrue.
The agency runs the  Vaccine
Adverse Event Reporting System
(VAERS) with the Food and Drug
Administration. VAERS is a passive
system to which anyone can submit
reports of adverse reactions follow-
ing vaccinations, with the bulk of
the reports relating to COVID-19
vaccines. Health officials, includ-
ing CDC officials, have encouraged
people to report adverse reactions
following vaccination to VAERS.
One of the latest reports claimed
a 2-year-old died after receiving a
COVID-19 vaccine.
A CDC spokeswoman told The
Epoch Times in an email that as
with all reports of post-vaccination
deaths, investigators probed the
report, including requesting medi-
cal records, autopsy reports, and
death certificates.
“It was during that process that
CDC discovered that the report
submitted to VAERS was false. The
report was therefore removed from
VAERS,” she said.
Most post-vaccination deaths
have come among adults; most chil-
dren haven’t been vaccinated. Only
one of the three types of COVID-19
shots authorized for emergency
use in the United States is legally
allowed to be administered to 16- or
17-year-olds.
But other VAERS reports say chil-
dren have died after getting vac-
cinated.
One says that a 16-year-old Wis-
consin girl who was injected on
March 19 at a clinic died on March
30, with testing pointing to pulmo-
nary embolism and cardiac arrest;
another says a 15-year-old Colorado
boy died two days after getting a
COVID-19 vaccine on April 18; and a
third says a 15-year-old New Hamp-
shire girl died in April after getting a
vaccination against the CCP virus,
which causes COVID-19. (Report
threat, which temporarily halted
all pipeline operations, and af-
fected some of our IT systems.”
“To restore service, we must work
to ensure that each of these sys-
tems can be brought back online
safely,” its statement read.
“While this situation remains
fluid and continues to evolve,
the Colonial operations team is
executing a plan that involves
an incremental process that will
facilitate a return to service in a
phased approach.
“This plan is based on a number
of factors with safety and compli-
ance driving our operational deci-
sions, and the goal of substantially
restoring operational service by the
end of the week.”
On May 9, the Department of
Transportation (DOT) declared a
regional state of emergency over
the ransomware attack.
“This Declaration addresses
the emergency conditions creat-
ing a need for immediate trans-
portation of gasoline, diesel, jet
fuel, and other refined petroleum
products and provides necessary
relief,” the agency said.
The affected states, according to
the DOT, are Alabama, Arkansas,
District of Columbia, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Loui-
siana, Maryland, Mississippi, New
Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.
The sign outside the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
in Glendale, Colo., on July 30, 2019.
A pharmacist handles COVID-19 vaccine doses in Central Falls, R.I., on Feb.
13, 2021.
numbers:  1225942-1,  1242573-
1, 1187918-1, 1255745-1)
Another claims that a Virginia
toddler received a Pfizer shot on
Feb. 25 in a “Pfizer-sponsored pro-
gram.” Pfizer started a trial on its
COVID-19 vaccine in children be-
tween 6 months and 11 years old in
late March.
The CDC referred The Epoch
Times to the health departments
for the states in which the deaths
were reported. None of the depart-
ments immediately responded to
requests for comment.
Colorado health officials told
A view of vehicles near the Colonial Pipeline in Helena, Ala., on Sept. 20, 2016.
Spike in Gas Prices
Colonial Pipeline operates a more
than 5,000-mile-long system that
transports fuel from refineries
along the Gulf Coast to the New
York metropolitan area. Specifi-
cally, the pipeline transports about
45 percent of the fuel consumed by
the East Coast, or 100 million gal-
lons per day, according to the firm’s
website.
“This shutdown will have impli-
cations on both gasoline supply
and prices, but the impact will vary
regionally,” American Automobile
Association (AAA) spokesperson
Jeanette McGee said in a statement
on May 10. “Areas including Mis-
sissippi, Tennessee, and the East
Coast from Georgia into Delaware
are most likely to experience lim-
ited fuel availability and price in-
creases, as early as this week. These
states may see prices increase 3 to
7 cents this week.”
The largest increases in gas pric-
es this week were seen in Michi-
gan (up 15 cents), Kentucky (12
JEFFREY BEALL, CC BY 4.0 VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
KDVR that the CDC is leading the
investigation into the report of the
Colorado boy’s death.
“Given the large number of CO-
VID-19 vaccinations currently un-
derway, it is expected that events
such as heart attacks, strokes, se-
rious illnesses, and death will, by
chance alone, occur in the days
following vaccination. To date,
VAERS has not detected patterns
in cause of death that would in-
dicate a safety problem with CO-
VID-19 vaccines,” the Colorado
Department of Public Health &
Environment said.
cents), Florida (10 cents), Delaware
(10 cents), Indiana (10 cents), West
Virginia (9 cents), Utah (9 cents),
Texas (9 cents), New Jersey (8
cents), and Pennsylvania (7 cents),
according to AAA. Currently, the
national average for a gallon of
gasoline is $2.96.
In a May 10 update, Colonial sug-
gested that it’s still working to get
the pipeline back online, while say-
ing on May 9 that several auxiliary
lines had been opened. However, it
stated that its four main lines had
been shut down.
“While this situation remains flu-
id and continues to evolve, the Co-
lonial operations team is executing
a plan that involves an incremental
process that will facilitate a return
to service in a phased approach,”
the firm wrote. “This plan is based
on a number of factors with safety
and compliance driving our oper-
ational decisions, and the goal of
substantially restoring operational
service by the end of the week.”
Homeland Security adviser Eliza-
Detroit Police Chief Announces
Retirement, Hasn’t Made Decision
on Gubernatorial Run
ZACHARY STIEBER
Detroit’s police chief on May 10
said he will retire and consider
challenging Gov. Gretchen Whit-
mer in 2022.
Police Chief James Craig, a Re-
publican, said he will voluntarily
step down on June 1.
“We saw what happened to many
chiefs across this country. Some
were forced out. Some retired be-
cause they didn’t feel supported.
And some were fired. So I’m leav-
ing in a good place. I love this city.
And I love this state,” he told a press
conference, thanking Mayor Mike
Duggan, a Democrat, and other
officials for supporting him.
Duggan praised Craig, who he
said “brought professionalism to
the department.”
Duggan is hiring a firm to con-
duct a search and provide him
with a list of candidates to become
the next chief.
Craig became police chief in
Detroit in 2013. He has headed
departments in Portland, Maine;
and Cincinnati, and worked for the
Los Angeles Police Department.
Craig said Detroit showed how to
react correctly to riots and protests
that erupted in the wake of George
Floyd’s May 2020 death.
“We didn’t retreat. The city did
not burn. And we’re a model for
the country,” he said, crediting
law enforcement and commu-
nity members.
DAVID GURALNICK/DETROIT NEWS VIA AP
Detroit Police Chief James Craig
(L) speaks to the media at Detroit
Public Safety headquarters on Nov.
21, 2019.
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
BRYNN ANDERSON/AP PHOTO
beth Sherwood-Randall said in a
news conference on May 10 that
Colonial shut down the pipeline
networks as a precaution, as the
hackers had broken into networks
related to the firm’s business op-
erations. However, the hackers
couldn’t reach networks connected
to the pipeline infrastructure.
‘No Evidence’
President Joe Biden said there is
“no evidence” Russia is behind the
Colonial Pipeline cyberattack but
said the cybercriminal organiza-
tion behind the ransomware attack
may be in Russia.
“So far there is no evidence ... from
our intelligence people, that Russia
is involved, although there’s evi-
dence that the actors’ ransomware
is in Russia,” Biden told reporters
on May 10, adding that he was go-
ing to meet with Russian President
Vladimir Putin soon.
Biden said Russia should have
“some responsibility” in dealing
with the cyberattack.
We didn’t retreat.
The city did not
burn. And we’re
a model for the
country.
James Craig,
police chief, Detroit
Craig said he’s been receiving
questions about a possible guber-
natorial run.
“I have gotten countless calls, text
messages, Facebook shots, emails
from people across this great state,
Democrats and Republicans, who
say they want me to seek office,”
Craig said.
“I have not made that decision.
I’m not ruling it out. There’s an ap-
propriate time. I will get past this
and then I will come out with a
decision. So I am not ruling it out.
I am deeply passionate for public
service but not just public service,
but in a leadership role, deeply pas-
sionate about it.”
Whitmer, a Democrat, entered
office in January 2019. She’s in her
first term. She beat Bill Schuette,
a Republican who was the state’s
attorney general while running.
Republican Rick Snyder was
governor of Michigan from 2011
to 2019.
The list of governors of the state
going back decades includes both
Democrats and Republicans.
Whitmer has received pushback
from the GOP for the harsh mea-
sures she imposed to try to curb
the spread of the CCP virus dur-
ing the COVID-19 pandemic. More
than a dozen recall efforts have
been launched against Whitmer,
but none so far have garnered
enough signatures.
Whitmer hasn’t yet announced
she will run again.
A handful of candidates have
been declared for the 2022 race,
including businessman Garret Sol-
dano and pastor Ralph Rebandt.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
Biden Reversing HHS Gender Identity Policy
CONTINUED FROM A1
of a landmark Supreme Court rul-
ing on an unrelated topic.
The June 15, 2020, ruling in Bos-
tock v. Clayton County–that em-
ployees can’t be fired from their
jobs because of sexual orientation
or gender identity—was a defeat for
the Trump administration. During
oral arguments in the case, then-
Solicitor General Noel Francisco
said, “Sex means whether you’re
male or female, not whether you’re
gay or straight.”
Despite the distinct
meanings of ‘sex’
and ‘gender,’ many
institutions and
individuals use
‘gender’ to mean
biological sex.
Decision author Justice Neil
Gorsuch wrote that the ruling
dealt with employment alone
and didn’t apply to “sex-segre-
gated bathrooms, locker rooms,
and dress codes,” all of which are
regulated under another law, Title
IX of the Education Amendments
Act of 1972, which wasn’t at issue
in the court case.
The court ruling brought an ex-
panded meaning to the phrase “on
the basis of sex” that appears in the
nondiscrimination provisions of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and
followed the court’s controversial
2015 ruling that gave same-sex cou-
Michigan Judge Considering Request
to Dismiss Election-Related Case
ZACHARY STIEBER
A judge in Michigan will rule next
week on whether to dismiss a case
alleging that fraud occurred in the
2020 election.
Judge Kevin Elsenheimer of
the 13th Circuit Court heard ar-
guments on the motion to dismiss
on May 10 and will take about a
week to decide whether to allow
the case, Bailey v. Antrim County,
to move forward.
Lawyers for Michigan Secretary
of State Jocelyn Benson, a Dem-
ocrat, and Antrim County are
seeking to end the case because
they argue that the plaintiff, voter
William Bailey, has been given the
relief he sought last year when fil-
ing a lawsuit.
The suit asked for a forensic ex-
amination of machines used in
the county, a protective order to
preserve records, and an inde-
pendent audit. It was filed after
officials in Antrim County falsely
reported Democrat Joe Biden re-
ceived more votes than Republican
Donald Trump.
The examination took place last
year. The team that conducted
the examination asserted that
House GOP Leader McCarthy Sets Vote on Cheney for May 12
JACK PHILLIPS
House Minority Leader Kevin Mc-
Carthy (R-Calif.) said he has set a
vote for May 12 over whether to
oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from
her position as House GOP confer-
ence chair, soon after he endorsed
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) for the
party’s No. 3 spot in the chamber.
Cheney, in recent weeks, has
drawn the ire of top House Repub-
lican leaders after she continued to
criticize former President Donald
Trump while questioning Repub-
licans’ messaging and strategy to
court voters.
McCarthy and other Republi-
cans, including House Minority
Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), have
said Cheney’s comments to the
ples the right to marry in the 5–4
decision of Obergefell v. Hodges.
A lack of linguistic clarity has
clouded legal issues in recent years
as the concepts of sex and sexual
identity or gender have become
difficult to separate. Despite the
distinct meanings of “sex” and
“gender,” many institutions and
individuals use “gender” to mean
biological sex.
But the Bostock ruling embraced
the concept of gender identity,
which conservative critics say is
a radical political invention not
based on science. The Trump ad-
ministration reasoned that if Con-
gress wanted to forbid discrimi-
nation based on gender or sexual
identity, as opposed to biological
sex, it would have done so explicitly.
Becerra said the policy change
will make things fairer in health
care.
“The Supreme Court has made
clear that people have a right not
to be discriminated against on
the basis of sex and receive equal
treatment under the law, no mat-
ter their gender identity or sexual
orientation. That’s why today HHS
announced it will act on related re-
ports of discrimination,” Becerra
said in a statement.
“Fear of discrimination can lead
individuals to forgo care, which
can have serious negative health
consequences. It is the position
of the Department of Health and
Human Services that everyone—
including LGBTQ people—should
be able to access health care, free
from discrimination or interfer-
ence, period.”
Discrimination in health care
impacts health outcomes, accord-
Dominion Voting Systems soft-
ware is flawed.  Dominion and
state and county officials have
disputed the report from the ex-
aminers, primarily by attacking
their credibility.
Elsenheimer also granted the
protective order, while Erik Grill,
a lawyer for Benson, alleged that
an audit was completed already.
In a recent motion, Bailey sought
an audit of machines in Antrim
County townships, alleging that
a recent assessment of Dominion
software by analyst Jeffrey Lenberg
uncovered “numerous error con-
ditions” sufficient to warrant “an
expert review of” source code for
the company’s technology.
Grill argued that the plaintiff is
trying to design his own custom
audit.
“If every single voter had the right
to concoct his own audit and had
that performed, the audits would
be endless,” he told the judge.
Citizens who feel their votes
weren’t counted or elections were
run improperly can petition for a
special election, among other rem-
edies, he said.
Matthew DePerno, Bailey’s law-
yer, said he had submitted “sub-
media have put the Republican
Party off-message as the GOP is
trying to unify to win back the
House in 2022. Cheney also voted
to impeach Trump during his sec-
ond impeachment trial, drawing
criticism from Trump as well as his
large base within the party. Some
Republicans have accused her of
capitulating to the Democrats.
“It had been my hope that our
driving focus would be taking back
the House in 2022 and implement-
ing our Commitment to America,”
McCarthy said in a letter on May
10 to House Republicans. “Despite
the mainstream media working
overtime against us, I believe we
still have a great chance to do so.
Unfortunately, each day spent re-
litigating the past is one day less we
The Supreme Court in Washington on May 4, 2020.
ing to HHS. Research shows that
one-quarter of LGBTQ people who
faced discrimination postponed or
avoided receiving needed medical
care for fear of further discrimina-
tion, the agency said.
“The mission of our Depart-
ment is to enhance the health
and well-being of all Americans,
no matter their gender identity
or sexual orientation. All people
need access to health care ser-
vices to fix a broken bone, protect
their heart health, and screen for
cancer risk,” said Rachel Levine,
assistant secretary for health.
“No one should be discriminat-
ed against when seeking medical
stantial evidence” to the court
that showed that manipulation
of the tabulation machines was
easy to carry out.
“We’ve shown how the actual
fraud works,” he said. He disagreed
with the state’s claim that an audit
was carried out and noted a state-
wide hand recount didn’t inspect
any ballots other than those cast
in the presidential election.
Bailey and his attorney are con-
cerned his ballot wasn’t counted
in the election last year and he
didn’t vote in an election last week
“because he no longer trusts these
voting machines,” DePerno said.
“Bill Bailey is entitled to an actual
audit of an election.”
Dominion didn’t immediately re-
spond to a request for comment.
The firm has said the examination
of its machines in Antrim County
was debunked by a report from an-
alyst J. Alex Halderman, pointing to
Benson’s statement that the analy-
sis “affirmed the county’s official
presidential election results were
accurate and that unofficial results
were initially reported incorrectly
due to human error.”
Elsenheimer said he planned to
go into the hearing not to make an
have to seize the future.”
McCarthy added that it’s not the
time “to take our eye off the ball,”
adding that “these internal con-
flicts need to be resolved so as to
not detract from the efforts of our
collective team.”
“Having heard from so many of
you in recent days, it’s clear that we
need to make a change,” he said.
“As such, you should anticipate a
vote on recalling the Conference
Chair this Wednesday.”
During an interview on May 9,
McCarthy said he would support
Stefanik for the position instead
of Cheney, the daughter of for-
mer Vice President Dick Cheney.
Trump also threw his support be-
hind Stefanik, praising her com-
munications skills.
services because of who they are,”
said Levine, who was born male
but now identifies as female.
The Trump administration took a
stand against the principles articu-
lated in the Bostock decision days
before it was handed down.
In an effort to protect religious
freedoms, Trump’s HHS finalized
a rule June 12, 2020, that followed
federal court rulings finding that
the Obama administration over-
reached when it issued a rule pro-
hibiting discrimination in health
care and health insurance on the
basis of patients’ “internal sense
of gender.”
In 2016, the Obama administra-
Poll workers board up windows so ballot challengers can’t see into the ballot-
counting area at the TCF Center in Detroit on Nov. 4, 2020.
immediate decision on the motion
to dismiss or the motion for sum-
mary disposition. He plans to take
until next week to deliver his ruling
orally to the parties involved.
Elsenheimer earlier in the hear-
ing rejected subpoenas that De-
Perno tried issuing to various
townships. The attorney sought to
conduct a forensic audit and review
of information from the 2020 elec-
tion, including all paper ballots, all
system logs, and all vote tabulators.
A lawyer representing the town-
ships argued that allowing the
plaintiff to do so could violate
agreements between election of-
ficials and Dominion, and could
McCarthy suggested that
Cheney’s vote to impeach Trump
isn’t the reason for the vote on May
12 and noted that dissenting views
are fine as long as it doesn’t under-
mine the GOP leadership.
“We are a big tent party. We
represent Americans of all back-
grounds and continue to grow our
movement by the day. And unlike
the left, we embrace free thought
and debate,” the GOP leader said.
Amid the leadership struggle,
few Republicans have come to
Cheney’s defense.
On May 10, Sen. Mitt Romney
(R-Utah) claimed that ousting her
would cost Republican votes dur-
ing the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Romney was one of seven GOP
senators who voted to convict
NATION | A3
SAUL LOEB/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
tion published an HHS rule in-
terpreting “sex” to mean sexual
identity or gender, which it de-
fined as “one’s internal sense of
gender, which may be male, fe-
male, neither, or a combination
of male and female.”
Finding that the rule was prob-
ably contrary to applicable civil
rights law, the Religious Freedom
Restoration Act, and the Admin-
istrative Procedure Act, a federal
court preliminarily enjoined it at
the end of 2016. The court finalized
its judgment in October 2019, strik-
ing down the offending provisions
of the rule. A second federal court
concurred.
SETH HERALD/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
render the machines “unusable” in
future elections. Grill charged that
since the discovery period ended
last month, the judge should block
the subpoenas.
Elsenheimer ultimately agreed,
telling the court that DePerno
could have sought the informa-
tion shortly after filing the lawsuit
last year.
“The court believes at this point
that the additional expense, an-
noyance, work associated with the
nonparty motions would exceed
the value of the discovery they
would produce,” he said, ruling
in favor of a motion to quash the
subpoenas.
Trump in February.
“Expelling Liz Cheney from lead-
ership won’t gain the GOP one
additional voter, but it will cost us
quite a few,” he wrote on Twitter.
Last week, Cheney, in an opin-
ion article for The Washington
Post, again lambasted Trump for
his claims about fraud during the
2020 election and said Republi-
cans should “support the ongo-
ing Justice Department criminal
investigations” into the Jan. 6
Capitol breach. Meanwhile, she
said the party needs to break
away from Trump, whom she
described as “dangerous” and
“anti-democratic.”
Cheney’s office didn’t immedi-
ately respond to a request by The
Epoch Times for comment.
A4 | NATION
Warren Weighs In on Trump Facebook Ban: ‘They’re
Acting Like They’re Bigger Than Government’
CONTINUED FROM A1
Commenting on the ban, War-
ren told Cheddar News she was
glad Trump remains off the plat-
form, but that Facebook’s move was
worrying.
“I’m glad that he’s not on Face-
book,” Warren said. “I think that
he poses a real danger. But I don’t
think that Facebook ought to have
this kind of power.”
She then called for Facebook to
be broken up, arguing that social
media giants “are crushing compe-
tition, and in cases like Facebook,
they’re acting like they’re bigger
than government.”
I’m glad that
[Trump is] not on
Facebook. ... But
I don’t think that
Facebook ought to
have this kind of
power.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
“We need to break up these giant
tech companies,” Warren said. “And
Facebook is one of them.”
In remarks to Yahoo Finance,
Warren struck a similar tone in
criticizing the heavy footprint of
Big Tech.
“This is just further demonstration
that these giant tech companies are
way, way, way too powerful,” she
said, responding to a question about
the Trump ban. She also took aim
at the “Supreme Court” nickname.
Portland Police Have Responded to at
Least 359 Shootings This Year
ZACHARY STIEBER
Police officers in Portland, Or-
egon, have responded to at least
359 shootings so far in 2021, as
the state’s largest city continues
to see unprecedented levels of gun
violence.
Preliminary statistics indicate
that officers responded to 357
shootings, a Portland Police Bu-
reau spokesman told The Epoch
Times via email on May 7; at least
two other shootings have occurred
since then. Ninety-five of the shoot-
ings resulted in injuries, with 113
people being injured.
The numbers don’t count suicide
attempts.
On May 7, officers responded to
a report of shots fired and found
evidence of gunfire in the area
of Northeast Prescott Street and
Northeast 33rd Avenue. A short
time later, an off-duty officer wit-
nessed a gunshot victim being
dropped off at a nearby hospital.
On May 9 around 1 a.m., of-
ficers went to a home on South-
east Harney Street following a
report of shots being fired. They
found “a chaotic scene, with what
appeared to be a house party
underway” and one person un-
conscious, the bureau said in an
incident summary. The person
was soon declared dead.
“People are being shot at a rate we
haven’t seen in Portland before,” Lt.
Greg Pashley, a Portland police of-
ficer, told KATU. “We know it’s tak-
ing its toll on the community, and
if there was some switch we could
flip, we would love to put an end to
it. But as long as people are willing
to pull triggers in those emotional,
heated moments to resolve their
disputes, unfortunately, we’re going
to continue to see this sort of thing.”
Pashley said any information that
people can provide to police can
help solve crimes.
Shootings and homicides spiked
in Portland in 2020 following the
police-involved death of George
Floyd in Minneapolis. That was
part of a trend in cities across the
United States.
“Listen to the arrogance of it,”
Warren said. “The name of the
group that made the decision is
called the Supreme Court. I missed
the part where those people had
hearings in front of Congress, and
were voted on before they were
made decision-makers with this
kind of authority.”
The oversight board’s uphold-
ing of Trump’s ban from Facebook
prompted a fiery missive from the
former president on his new com-
munications platform, “From the
Desk of Donald J. Trump.”
“What Facebook, Twitter, and
Google have done is a total dis-
grace and an embarrassment to
our Country. Free Speech has
been taken away from the Presi-
dent of the United States because
the Radical Left Lunatics are
afraid of the truth, but the truth
will come out anyway, bigger and
stronger than ever before,” Trump
wrote, adding that “these corrupt
social media companies must pay
a political price.”
While Trump didn’t detail the re-
percussions he had in mind for Big
Tech, he later touted a new book by
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has
been a vocal advocate of breaking
up Big Tech.
“Josh Hawley, our fantastic Sen-
ator from the beautiful and great
State of Missouri, has a fantastic
new book, just out this week, about
the terrible Big Tech companies and
their attempt to ruin our Coun-
try. It’s called The Tyranny of Big
Tech—it has my Full and Complete
Endorsement,” Trump wrote in a
message on his platform on May 7.
Hawley’s new book, in which
he argues that Big Tech poses the
Portland police officers stand guard as tensions rise with a group of rioters in
Portland, Ore., on April 20, 2021.
A protester argues with a Portland riot officer in Portland, Ore., on April
16, 2021.
Portland recorded 56 homi-
cides for all of 2020; this year
through April, 27 have already
been recorded.
Commissioners last month ap-
proved $6 million to combat shoot-
ings, though none of those funds
went to the police. The largest chunk
was allocated to community orga-
nizations that work on intervention
and other efforts related to shoot-
ings. Commissioners also approved
funding to hire additional unarmed
park rangers and for smaller groups
intended to address the root cause
of gun violence.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2021.
biggest threat to American free-
doms in decades, is currently No.
1 on Amazon’s Media & Internet in
Politics chart and No. 38 on Ama-
zon’s overall list of best sellers.
“Amassing unimaginable
amounts of personal data, giants
like Google, Facebook, Amazon,
and Apple—once symbols of Amer-
ican ingenuity and freedom—have
become a techno-oligarchy with
overwhelming economic and po-
litical power,” the book’s summary
states, echoing remarks on Hawley’s
website, which calls for Big Tech to
be broken up.
“We need a trust-busting agenda
for the 21st century that puts pow-
er back into the hands of the Amer-
PAULA BRONSTEIN/GETTY IMAGES
NATHAN HOWARD/GETTY IMAGES
Police in Portland have struggled
to respond to all 911 calls in a time-
ly manner because of regular pro-
tests and riots that started in the
wake of Floyd’s death. Some calls
have been put on hold for hours
because of the number of officers
required to deal with civil unrest.
Other cities have also seen higher
murder rates so far this year. Chica-
go, for instance, recorded 195 homi-
cides as of May 2. In 2020 through
the same date, 160 murders took
place. New York City saw 132 kill-
ings as of May 2, an increase from
113 in the year-earlier period.
ican people. We have to make it
easier for enforcers to break up
megafirms, crack down on merg-
ers and acquisitions by monopoly
companies, strengthen antitrust
enforcement to pursue the break-
up of dominant, anticompetitive
firms,” Hawley’s website states in
the context of his recent legislative
proposals to rein in the power of
the biggest corporations.
In April, Hawley introduced the
Bust Up Big Tech Act and the Trust-
Busting for the Twenty-First Cen-
tury Act, new legislation that chal-
lenges Big Tech dominance by such
measures as drastically increasing
antitrust penalties and banning
major companies from competing
McConnell Signals GOP Support
for Raising Infrastructure Bill
Ceiling to $800 Billion
TOM OZIMEK
Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell (R-Ky.) has suggested
that Republican senators would be
willing to raise their ceiling for an
infrastructure plan to $800 billion,
as a GOP delegation is scheduled
to meet with President Joe Biden at
the White House this week to dis-
cuss his $2.25 trillion proposal.
McConnell said
that in order to pay
for the package, the
Biden administra-
tion has proposed
rolling back some
of the provisions of
President Donald
Trump’s 2017 tax
reform bill.
“The proper price tag for what
most of us think about when we
think about infrastructure is
about [$600 billion to $800 bil-
lion],” McConnell said in an in-
terview on public television in
Kentucky over the weekend.
His remarks come after a White
House official told reporters on
May 7 that Biden will meet with
Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.
Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Roy
Blunt (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-
Idaho), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and
Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) on May 13.
Capito has led a group of Sen-
ate Republicans in unveiling a
$568 billion counterproposal to
Biden’s plan, saying at an April
22 press conference that the
GOP defines the concept more
narrowly, as “core infrastruc-
ture, physical infrastructure.”
She shared an overview of the
GOP proposal in a tweet, in
which she said that Biden’s plan
“goes beyond what constitutes
infrastructure.”
The Biden administration has
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
ANNA MONEYMAKER-POOL/GETTY IMAGES
with third-party vendors on their
platforms.
It comes as big tech companies
have drawn intense scrutiny for
perceived political bias and al-
leged unbalanced moderation of
user content.
Critics on the right have accused
social media giants of stifling free
speech, arguing that much of the
companies’ moderation in recent
times has unfairly targeted con-
servative speech and Trump sup-
porters.
Left-leaning critics have tended
to argue that the Silicon Valley gi-
ants haven’t done enough to com-
bat “misinformation” and so-called
hate speech.
sought to frame “infrastructure”
far more broadly, with House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
telling reporters on April 15 that
for the package, called the Ameri-
can Jobs Plan, to meet its aims,
there must be “human infra-
structure” to go with it.
McConnell, in the interview,
said the proposal that Capito and
her colleagues put together is a
bill that’s “related to the subject”
of infrastructure.
“What we’ve got here can best be
described as a bait-and-switch,”
McConnell said of Biden’s pro-
posal. The bill is “called infra-
structure, but much bigger, with a
whole laundry list of other things,”
McConnell said, adding that in
order to pay for the package, the
Biden administration has pro-
posed rolling back some of the
provisions of President Donald
Trump’s 2017 tax reform bill.
McConnell’s remarks come as
Republicans fight to slim down
the multitrillion-dollar package
that they say contains provi-
sions that have little to do with
infrastructure. They are also ap-
prehensive about rolling back
Trump’s tax cuts, which is a key
feature of Biden’s plan. To pay
for the infrastructure plan, the
White House is proposing to raise
the corporate tax rate to 28 per-
cent from the current 21 percent.
A White House official said on
May 7 that McConnell will join
other congressional leaders—
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-
Calif.), Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and
House Minority Leader Kevin
McCarthy (R-Calif.)—for a May
12 meeting with Biden to discuss
the infrastructure package.
Biden traveled to the Republi-
can stronghold of Louisiana last
week to sell his plan, while sig-
naling a willingness to back off
some of his demands.
“I’m willing to hear ideas from
both sides,” Biden said. ”I’m
ready to compromise. What I’m
not ready to do is, I’m not ready
to do nothing.”
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
The Department of Homeland Security in Tukwila, Wash., on March 3, 2020.
DHS Says Mexico’s Fastest-Rising Cartel
Seeks Foothold in US Northwest
CONTINUED FROM A1
(Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación,
or CJNG), has been on the U.S.
Drug Enforcement Administra-
tion’s (DEA) radar in recent years,
and now, officials from the De-
partment of Homeland Security’s
(DHS) Homeland Security Inves-
tigations say its operations extend
nationwide, with notable activity
in Washington state.
Mexico’s fastest-rising car-
tel has a presence in at least 20
Mexican states, as well as Mexico
City, with its base of operations
DC to Lift Most COVID-19
Restrictions by May 21
TOM OZIMEK
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser
said on May 10 that most COVID-19
restrictions in the nation’s capital
will be lifted on May 21, although
masks will continue to be manda-
tory indoors.
Bowser made the remarks at a
press briefing, citing “dramatic im-
provements in our health metrics”
as the underpinnings for a rollback
of restrictions.
“We’re very pleased that over
the last several days, we have seen
our case spread—our community
spread numbers—venture out of
the red, into the yellow, and fast
approaching the green,” she said.
The mayor said the seven-day
moving average of the daily
COVID-19 case rate per 100,000
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in Jalisco and Colima.
According to the Insight Group,
CJNG, which was established in
July 2010, is known for its aggres-
sive use of violence and its public
relations campaigns. It uses videos
and social media to threaten rivals
while promising civilians that it
won’t prey on them with extortion
and kidnappings—a promise that
cartels in Mexico have long made,
and always broken.
DHS officials say the cartel is
currently the primary group be-
hind a drive to bring illicit fentanyl
into the United States. Fentanyl, a
people stood at 6.6, as of May 8,
down from a January peak of
45.9. A slide deck accompany-
ing her presentation showed that
hospital utilization was at 75.6
percent of available beds, with-
out a surge, while noting that the
U.S. capital had fully vaccinated
over 226,000 residents since De-
cember 2020.
Bowser said that Washington
will lift most of its capacity and
activity restrictions on businesses
on May 21 and the remainder on
June 11.
Capacity restrictions on schools,
“nonessential” stores, places of
worship, restaurants, office spaces,
fitness centers, and several other
types of sites will be lifted on May
21.  Large sports and entertain-
ment venues will continue under
WATCH US ONLINE
NTD.com/live
synthetic opioid, is 100 times more
potent than morphine.
Robert Hammer, the special
agent-in-charge with the DHS’s
principal investigative arm, told
KOMO News that the cartel is “a
huge threat to the stability” of
the Seattle area and the Pacific
Northwest.
Hammer noted that the group
has illegally displayed its weapon-
ry and armored vehicles in Mexico
through recently published vid-
eos, in which members also praise
the cartel’s boss Nemesio Ose-
guera Cervantes—alias “El Men-
a waiver process until June 11, at
which point they will be subjected
to no capacity restrictions.
Bars and nightclubs, which
will be able to operate at 50 per-
cent capacity on May 21, will see
all capacity restrictions lifted on
June 11.
Bowser also announced that 50
percent of Washington’s govern-
ment employees will return to
in-office work by June 7 and, by
July 12, all employees will be back
behind their desks.
The mayor also said that all
residents, workers, and visitors to
Washington, regardless of vaccina-
tion status, will be required to fol-
low mask guidance issued by the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), which includes
vaccinated people having to wear
masks indoors.
“In indoor public spaces, the
vaccination status of other peo-
ple or whether they are at in-
creased risk for severe COVID-19
PAUL GREANEY TIFFANY MEIER
Host of NTD Business Host of China in Focus
and Deep Dive
JASON REDMOND/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
cho.” El Mencho has become one
of Mexico’s most wanted, and is
also one of the DEA’s most-wanted
fugitives, with a $10 million price
on his head.
“The display of weapons shows
one thing,” Hammer told the
news outlet. “But if you actually
go back and look at what they’ve
done with those weapons, what
they’ve done with the mass kill-
ings, what they’ve done with the
destruction of a human to convey
the message that they are not to be
messed with.”
“Whether it’s ripping the finger-
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks at a briefing in Washington on Jan.
15, 2021.
is likely unknown,” CDC guide-
lines say. “Therefore, fully vac-
cinated people should continue
to wear a mask that fits snugly
against the sides of your face and
doesn’t have gaps, cover coughs
and sneezes, wash hands often,
STEFANIA COX
Host of NTD
Evening News
NATION | A5
nails out of somebody’s hands as
sending a message to them or ty-
ing them up in a tree in the middle
of central Washington to die or
dismembering them and shipping
their remains off, they’re there
to deliver an effective message,”
Hammer said. “Which is, ‘Don’t
mess with us.’”
This is really a re-
gional problem that
we’ve seen with the
cartel activity, and
it’s requiring a multi-
faceted approach by
law enforcement to
get after it.
Robert Hammer,
special agent, Department
of Homeland Security
Hammer said the CJNG is traf-
ficking fentanyl not only in the
Seattle region but in middle Wash-
ington and southeast Washington.
In the past, fentanyl had main-
ly been mixed into heroin to
boost the high, but now it’s often
pressed into small blue tablets and
stamped with “M30” to closely
match the color and markings of
prescription oxycodone pills.
Buyers may be unaware the pills
contain fentanyl, of which a 2mg
dose can be fatal.
Homeland Security Investiga-
tions in the fiscal year 2020 seized
6,105 pounds of fentanyl nation-
wide, making 31,915 criminal ar-
rests alongside operations.
“I think it’s something that
should be eye-opening to some of
the stories that have taken place
across this region,” Hammer said.
“It’s not limited to just downtown
Seattle. This is really a regional
problem that we’ve seen with the
cartel activity, and it’s requiring
a multi-faceted approach by law
enforcement to get after it.”
Charlotte Cuthbertson
and The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
BILL O’LEARY/THE WASHINGTON POST
and follow any applicable work-
place or school guidance.”
The CDC guidelines say that
vaccinated people can engage
in outdoor activities without a
mask, except in crowded venues
and settings.
KEVIN HOGAN
Host of NTD
News Today
A6 | NATION
Havana Syndrome ‘Absolutely’
Result of Deliberate Attacks: Expert
CONTINUED FROM A1
when diplomatic and intelligence
personnel in Cuba first began re-
porting disturbing symptoms, in-
cluding head pressure or vibra-
tion, and dizziness, sometimes
followed by visual problems and
cognitive difficulties.
“For some of these patients, their
case began with the sudden onset
of a loud noise, perceived to have
directional features, and accom-
panied by pain in one or both ears
or across a broad region of the
head,” reads a State Department-
sponsored study into the phenom-
enon by the National Academy of
Sciences.
They recorded the
background noises
and sounds dur-
ing the attack. And
it sounded to me
exactly like what’s
known as an ultra-
sonic weapon.
Gary Miliefsky, founding
member, Department
of Homeland Security
A 19-person committee of medi-
cal and scientific experts involved
in the study considered chemical
exposures, infectious diseases,
and psychological issues as being
behind the symptoms, but con-
cluded that the most likely cause
was directed microwave energy.
“Overall, directed pulsed RF (ra-
dio frequency) energy, especially
in those with the distinct early
manifestations, appears to be the
most plausible mechanism in ex-
plaining these cases among those
that the committee considered,”
the report found.
The report didn’t suggest that
microwave energy was part of
a deliberate scheme targeting
U.S. personnel, but noted that
“the mere consideration of such
a scenario raises grave concerns
about a world with disinhibited
malevolent actors and new tools
for causing harm to others, as if the
U.S. government does not have its
hands full already with naturally
occurring threats.”
Miliefsky insisted that what hap-
pened to diplomatic and intelli-
gence personnel in Cuba “was a
weapon-based attack.”
“It’s an experiment on human
subjects to hit somebody in the
brain with that level of ultrasound
DOJ Plans to Offer Plea Deal
to Trump Appointee Charged
in Capitol Breach
CONTINUED FROM A1
Federico Klein, appointed by
then-President Donald Trump to a
position at the State Department, is
accused of assaulting law enforce-
ment officers during the tumult in
Washington in early January.
Stanley Woodward Jr., a lawyer
for the defendant, didn’t indicate in
the hearing whether Klein is open
to accepting a plea deal; Woodward
didn’t immediately respond to an
email seeking comment.
The status hearing was brief,
and it primarily involved updat-
ing District Court Judge John
Bates, a George W. Bush appoin-
tee, on minor matters. The gov-
ernment, for example, told the
judge that it has provided Klein
with the complete contents of
his specific FBI file and the body-
camera footage from the officer
who came into contact with him.
Significant discovery in the case
is ongoing and will be provided
to Klein, according to a prosecu-
tor, who requested another sta-
tus hearing in 30 days to give the
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washing-
ton on April 21, 2021.
damage to their ears, potentially
causing brain damage,” Miliefsky
said. “It’s an absolute bioweapons
attack that needs to be regulated,
stopped, defended against, and I
think Cuba should admit they did
it, but they never will.”
Dr. Linda Birnbaum, former di-
rector of the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences,
was part of the standing commit-
tee that produced the report. Asked
in an interview on “The Nation
Speaks” whether, as some skep-
Klein is accused of
assaulting law en-
forcement officers
during the tumult
in Washington in
early January.
government time to work through
the discovery. Woodward didn’t
oppose the request as his defen-
dant reviews the materials he’s
been given.
Discovery will likely not be forth-
coming in some of the cases until
late summer or early fall, Bates
said, which “could create some
problems with respect to some of
these cases.”
“Whether this is one of them or
not, I don’t know. We’ll cross that
bridge when we come to it,” he
said, before agreeing to schedule
another status hearing next month.
The interests of justice outweigh
the interests of the defendant and
the public for a speedy trial, the
GRAEME JENNINGS/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
tics have contended, the Havana
syndrome is merely the result of
a “hysteria,” she insisted it wasn’t.
“My belief is that the committee
felt there was something real going
on,” she replied, while acknowl-
edging that the report authors “are
not 100 percent sure of actually
what happened.”
Birnbaum added that she was
disappointed that, following the
publication of the report, the mat-
ter wasn’t pursued more vigorously
by U.S. authorities.
judge ruled, after making sure nei-
ther the defense nor prosecution
opposed an approximately 30-day
period until another hearing.
Klein attended the virtual hear-
ing and only spoke to say he was
present. He was warned to contin-
ue complying with the conditions
of Bates’s previous order of release.
Klein was arrested on March 4
and released from custody on April
12. Bates ruled that Klein’s conduct
on Jan. 6 “does not approach the
high end of the spectrum of vio-
lence that occurred and was threat-
ened that day.”
According to court documents,
Klein that day entered a tunnel that
leads to a U.S. Capitol entrance,
pushed his way to the front of a
crowd, and “physically and verbally
engaged with the officers” block-
ing the entrance, “thereby affecting
their ability to disperse the crowd.”
Klein, who was wearing a “Make
America Great Again” hat, was
captured on bodyworn camera
footage refusing to back up and
shoving a shield toward officers,
at one point placing the shield in
between doors to prevent officers
from closing them, an FBI agent
wrote in an affidavit.
Klein was charged with obstruc-
tion of justice, assaulting, resisting,
or impeding officers, and other
charges.
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
Her remarks come as the lead-
ers of the Senate Intelligence
Committee have vowed to “get
to the bottom” of the mysterious
directed-energy attacks, which are
reportedly on the rise.
Committee Chairman Sen. Mark
Warner (D-Va.) and Vice Chair-
man Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
confirmed in a joint statement on
April 30 that there’s an apparent
rise in the incidence of directed-
energy attacks on U.S. personnel.
“For nearly five years, we have
been aware of reports of mysteri-
ous attacks on United States Gov-
ernment personnel in Havana,
Cuba, and around the world,” Ru-
bio and Warner wrote. “This pat-
tern of attacking our fellow citizens
serving our government appears
to be increasing. The Senate Intel-
ligence Committee intends to get
to the bottom of this.”
Their statement comes after me-
dia reports stating that incidents
bearing the hallmarks of Havana
syndrome attacks had taken place
in Washington, including just out-
side the White House and in Miami.
One of the alleged energy attacks
took place on the south side of the
White House in November 2020,
and is believed to have sickened a
White House aide, CBS reports.
Sen. Warren Says She Will Seek
Reelection in 2024
JANITA KAN
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-
Mass.) says that she intends to
run for reelection in 2024.
Warren, 71, told Politico in
an interview published May 8
that she will seek a third term
in the U.S. Senate, when asked
about her 2024 plans. She also
confirmed her plans during an
interview with WBZ-TV.
“[President] Joe Biden is run-
ning for reelection. I plan on
helping him, and I plan on stay-
ing in the Senate,” Warren told
the television program.
Warren’s office didn’t immedi-
ately respond to a request from
The Epoch Times for comment.
Her memoir “Persist” was re-
cently released, in which she
details her various experiences,
including her unsuccessful 2020
presidential campaign. She was
a top contender for the Demo-
cratic Party nomination  but
dropped out after poor Super
Tuesday results.
She had branded herself as a
candidate who is a progressive
fighter willing to take on a cor-
rupt system. In 2019, she was
Marines raise the American flag
at the U.S. Embassy in Havana,
Cuba, on Aug. 14, 2015.
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Rubio and Warner said in their
statement that the Senate Intel-
ligence Committee has “already
held fact-finding hearings on these
debilitating attacks, many of which
result in medically confirmed cas-
es of Traumatic Brain Injury, and
will do more.”
CIA Director William Burns,
during his confirmation hear-
ing before the Senate Intelligence
Committee in late February,
committed to investigating the
phenomenon.
“I will make it an extraordinarily
high priority to get to the bottom of
who’s responsible for the attacks
and to ensure that colleagues and
their families get the care they
deserve,” including treatment at
Walter Reed National Medical
Center and the National Institutes
of Health, Burns said at the time.
Warner and Rubio said in their
statement that they welcomed
renewed investigation by the
CIA into the incidents, noting
that it was important “to better
understand the technology be-
hind the weapon responsible for
these attacks.”
“Ultimately, we will identify
those responsible for these attacks
on American personnel and will
hold them accountable,” they said.
drawing significant crowds be-
fore she released several policy
plans, including her “Medicare
for All” proposal, which was
summarily panned by rivals as
being impossible to implement
and too expensive.
Warren became the first
woman to be elected to the
Senate from  Massachusetts
in 2012 and was a law profes-
sor for more than 30 years. She
was reelected to the Senate for
a second term in 2018, defeat-
ing Republican nominee Geoff
Diehl (R-Mass.).
CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
speaks at a news conference at
the U.S. Capitol in Washington on
March 1, 2021.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
The U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 21, 2020.
Sanders Opposes Push by Top
Democrats to Reinstate SALT Deduction
ZACHARY STIEBER
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) says he oppos-
es an effort by top Democrats to reinstate
the tax deduction on state and local taxes
(SALT), which has been called “a tax break
for rich people in blue states.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schum-
er (D-N.Y.) are among the Democrats who
want to fully reimplement the SALT de-
duction. The Republicans’ tax reform bill
in 2017, signed by then-President Donald
Trump, put a limit on the amount that can
be deducted on federal tax returns.
You can’t be on the side
of the wealthy and pow-
erful if you’re going to
really fight for working
families.
Sen. Bernie Sanders
“It sends a terrible, terrible message when
you have Republicans telling us that this is
a tax break for the rich,” Sanders, a nominal
independent who ran for the Democratic
presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020,
said on “Axios on HBO.”
“In fairness to Schumer and Pelosi, it is
hard when you have tiny margins, but you
have got to make it clear which side you
are on—and you can’t be on the side of the
wealthy and powerful if you’re going to re-
ally fight for working families.”
Research indicates that most of the ben-
efits from repealing the cap on SALT de-
ductions would go to households making
$500,000 or more per year.
Many Democrats, along with some Re-
publicans, have pushed to repeal the cap.
“This is something we can do here in
Washington to provide relief to the middle-
class families that we represent; however,
we urge the local and state municipalities
US ‘Turning the
Corner’ on CCP
Virus Recovery:
Official
TOM OZIMEK
Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response
coordinator, told CNN in an interview on
May 9 that the United States is rounding a key
inflection point in its fight against the CCP
virus and is “turning the corner.”
Zients was asked by host Jake Tapper to
assess the dynamics of the outbreak in the
United States, given the progress in vaccina-
tions and the sharp 40 percent drop in new
daily infections in the past month.
“I would say we are turning the corner. We
now have, as of this morning, 58 percent of
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 27, 2021.
to hold the line on taxes,” Rep. Nicole Mal-
liotakis (R-N.Y.) told reporters outside the
U.S. Capitol last month.
Pelosi told reporters in early April that the
cap was “devastating” to her state.
“It was a political action on the part of
the Republicans in a tax bill that gave 83
percent of the benefits to the top 1 percent,
the injustice of it all,” she said.
While the Trump cuts reduced taxes for
many, rich Americans have paid more un-
der the overhauled tax code, an analysis
found.
Under the GOP tax reform legislation,
the SALT deduction was capped at $10,000.
That spurred an outcry from a number of
federal and state officials, who claimed
the cap was unconstitutional. A group of
Democrat governors from blue states said
recently that taxpayers in New York and
California are each being forced to pay
more than $12 billion in additional taxes to
the federal government because of the cap.
A repeal of the limits would need to be
included in legislation. While some law-
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID-19
response czar, speaks during a press briefing at
the White House on April 13, 2021.
adult Americans with at least one shot, over
110 million Americans fully vaccinated,”
Zients responded.
The official hinted at the administration’s
desire to overcome vaccine hesitancy while
noting President Joe Biden’s new goal of 70
percent of adult Americans getting vacci-
nated with at least one shot by July 4.
“We’re at 58 percent today, so we’ve got a
path ahead of us, which will involve getting
SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
GRAEME JENNINGS/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
makers have floated including such a re-
peal in the massive infrastructure package
currently being negotiated on Capitol Hill,
President Joe Biden didn’t include the pro-
vision in his infrastructure proposal.
Prospects for a repeal are strong in the
House, particularly with bipartisan sup-
port. But in a 50-50 Senate, it’s not clear
if it would pass, particularly if Democrats
or those who caucus with the party won’t
vote in favor.
Sanders told Axios that he wants Demo-
crats to move forward with crafting the in-
frastructure package, regardless of whether
there is Republican support. The GOP has
largely opposed Biden’s version because
it includes funding for non-infrastructure
areas, such as elder care.
“Congress takes breaks and it’s easy to
obstruct,” Sanders said. “The Senate is a
very slow-moving process. ... I would begin,
you know, starting this work immediately.
If Republicans want to come on board, se-
riously, great. If not, we’re going to do it
alone.”
people even easier access to the vaccine,
making sure that people build their confi-
dence, those who have questions about the
vaccine, that we answer their questions,”
Zients said.
Declining demand for COVID-19 vaccines
in the United States is leading states across
the country, from South Carolina to Wash-
ington, to refuse their full federal allocations
of doses, despite the Biden administration’s
efforts to raise take-up rates.
Wisconsin health officials have asked for
just 8 percent of the 162,680 doses that had
been set aside for the state next week, accord-
ing to The Associated Press, with the report
citing a state health department official as
saying that vaccinators are looking to reduce
existing inventories before ordering more
doses in the face of softening demand. Kan-
sas officials asked for less than 9 percent of
their 162,000-dose allotment this past week,
South Carolina plans to order 21 percent of
its doses, and Washington state reduced its
order by 40 percent, according to the report.
NATION | A7
SERGIO FLORES/GETTY IMAGES
A poll worker stamps a voter’s ballot in Aus-
tin, Texas, on Oct. 13, 2020.
Kansas Sheriff’s
Office Still Probing
12 Claims of 2020
Election Fraud
JACK PHILLIPS
The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Office in
Kansas confirmed last week that it’s still
investigating claims of voter fraud from
the 2020 election.
Twelve cases are being investigated, ac-
cording to the Topeka Capital-Journal,
which cited Deputy Abigail Christian, the
sheriff’s office spokesperson; she said she
couldn’t release more details about the
investigations.
Miller said that 12 peo-
ple listed businesses in
Topeka as their places
of residence.
State Rep. Vic Miller, a Democrat, had
asked Shawnee County District Attor-
ney Mike Kagay to look into the alleged
election fraud, noting that 12 people had
listed UPS stores and other businesses in
Topeka as their places of residence.
Andrew Howell, the Shawnee Coun-
ty election commissioner, said that he
doesn’t recall anyone contacting him or
the election office about election fraud
but said his office is trying to “clean up the
list.” He added that using a UPS address
or business address doesn’t necessarily
mean there was election fraud involved,
according to the Journal.
“There are situations that do occur
where people are allowed to use unusual
addresses,” Howell said. “It doesn’t on its
face alone prove anything.”
The sheriff’s office didn’t immediately
respond to a request by The Epoch Times
for comment.
In Pennsylvania, several people re-
cently have been charged with election
fraud stemming from the Nov. 3 election,
including two women in Bucks County
who allegedly cast ballots on behalf of
their deceased mothers. District Attor-
ney Matthew Weintraub told news outlets
that the incidents are isolated and said
there was no evidence of “widespread or
systematic election fraud here in Bucks
County.”
Two weeks ago, a Delaware County man
identified as 70-year-old Bruce Bartman
pleaded guilty and admitted he “made a
stupid mistake” when he cast a ballot for
his deceased mother.
Since the November election, some
GOP state legislatures have passed laws
to strengthen the rules around absentee
and mail-in ballots. That includes Flori-
da’s legislature, which last week approved
a bill that provides more regulations for
ballot drop boxes as well as more iden-
tification requirements for voters who
request a mail-in ballot, while Texas’s
state House passed a similar bill on May 7.
Immediately after the Florida bill was
signed into law, Democratic lawyers and
other groups filed several lawsuits chal-
lenging the measure as unconstitutional.
A survey by the Census Bureau found that
a quarter of adults in Wyoming said they will
“definitely not” or “probably not” get the CCP
virus vaccine, while more than 20 percent of
adults said the same in Kentucky,  Montana,
and North Dakota.
Reduced vaccine demand comes as nearly
46 percent of the total U.S. population (all
ages) has received at least one dose of a two-
shot vaccine and about 34 percent are fully
vaccinated, according to the CDC.
In a bid to overcome vaccine hesitancy and
boost take-up, Biden announced on May 4
that federal officials will push education
campaigns and expand smaller and mo-
bile vaccination clinics to make inoculations
more readily accessible. Biden also touted
incentive programs as officials in some states
have rolled out programs that essentially pay
people to get the shot.
West Virginia recently announced $100
savings bonds for people between the ages
of 16 and 35 if they get the vaccine or have
gotten it.
A8 | NATION
Biden Rolls Back Trump Proposal to Limit Work
Permits for Immigrants Ordered Deported
ISABEL VAN BRUGEN
The Biden administration is roll-
ing back an immigration policy
sought by former President Don-
ald Trump that would have limited
work permits for immigrants with
final deportation orders.
Trump on Nov. 19, 2020, pro-
posed that the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) revise
its regulations regarding em-
ployment authorization for im-
migrants who have a final order
of removal from the country by
a federal judge, and are released
from DHS custody on an order of
supervision.
The DHS says that
the rule ‘would
impose exorbitant
costs and burdens
on U.S. employ-
ers related to labor
turnover.’
On May 10, DHS Secretary Ale-
jandro Mayorkas announced that
President Joe Biden’s administra-
tion will withdraw the proposal
after reviewing 302 public com-
ments the department received
during a 30-day period.
“Nearly 98 percent of com-
menters opposed the proposed
rule with several commenters
specifically requesting that DHS
withdraw the NPRM [Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking],” Mayor-
kas said, noting that less than 2
percent of commenters expressed
support for the proposal.
Those who backed the proposal
supported it because they believed
it would deter illegal immigration
and protect U.S. workers, Mayor-
kas wrote.
Commenters opposed to the rule
were concerned about the immi-
grants’ ability to support their
families and the impact it would
have on their potential employers.
The rule “would impose exorbi-
tant costs and burdens on U.S. em-
ployers related to labor turnover,”
the DHS said.
“DHS believes that continuing to
provide employment authoriza-
tion to individuals who have final
Amazon Blocks Over 10 Billion Listings
in 2020 Suspected of Being Fraudulent: Report ‘Underestimate Trump’ If He Runs
LORENZ DUCHAMPS
Amazon blocked more than
10 billion listings last year sus-
pected of being fraudulent and
no single offer was sold on the
marketplace, the company an-
nounced in a report.
The company’s 2020 brand
protection report published on
May 10 shows the Seattle-based
e-commerce giant spent more
than $700 million and employed
more than 10,000 people to fight
the fraudulent activities.
“Amazon makes significant
investments in dedicated teams
and industry-leading machine
learning technology to proactive-
ly protect customers, brands, and
its selling partners from counter-
feiters, and to hold them account-
able if they attempt to sell fakes
through Amazon,” it stated.
The announcement comes as
the company has been facing
pressure from shoppers, brands,
and lawmakers to crack down on
counterfeits on its site.
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) re-intro-
duced the INFORM Consumers
Act this year. It would require
third-party sellers to be verified
and to disclose their names and
addresses to shoppers. The bill
was introduced last year, but
wasn’t voted on.
Amazon said fewer than 0.01
percent of all products sold on
A group of illegal immigrants waits for Border Patrol, after crossing the U.S.–Mexico border in La Joya, Texas, on April 10, 2021.
DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES
order of removal and are released
from DHS custody on an order of
a supervision is consistent with
this administration’s values and
priorities on immigration enforce-
ment,” Mayorkas said in justifying
the withdrawal.
“It will allow individuals who
do not fall within the adminis-
tration’s enforcement priorities
and who are still in the United
States to continue to qualify for
employment authorization, to le-
gally work, remain self-sufficient,
White House: Biden Won’t
PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
The Amazon.com Inc. BHM1 fulfill-
ment center in Bessemer, Ala., on
March 29, 2021.
its multitude of websites received
a complaint from customers re-
lated to fraudulent offerings, not-
ing that all the complaints were
investigated for accuracy.
More than 2 million products
sent to its fulfillment centers
were detected as counterfeit be-
fore being sent to a customer, the
company stated. The products
were destroyed to prevent them
from being resold elsewhere in
the supply chain.
The company stated that the
number of counterfeiters at-
tempting to sell on the site rose
as scammers tried to take ad-
vantage of shoppers who were
buying more online during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
“Amazon was an important
President Joe
Biden delivers
remarks at the
White House on
May 10, 2021.
and support their families, which
in many instances include U.S.
citizen children.”
Since taking office, Biden has
issued a number of orders re-
scinding Trump-era immigra-
tion rules, including suspending
the U.S.–Mexico border wall con-
struction, the “remain in Mexi-
co” policy, and dozens of other
executive actions. According
to an analysis by the Migration
Policy Institute, Biden unleashed
more than 90 executive actions
partner for the 1.9 million small
and medium businesses that sell
in our store during the pandem-
ic,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Ama-
zon vice president of customer
trust and partner support.
“We’ve helped our selling part-
ners keep their virtual doors
open, and despite increased at-
tempts by bad actors, continued
to ensure that the vast majority
of customers shop with confi-
dence from our broad selection
of authentic products,” he add-
ed. “Our team’s relentless inno-
vation has helped us stop 6 mil-
lion attempts to create a selling
account and more than 10 billion
suspect listings as we continue to
drive counterfeits to zero.”
Counterfeiters try to get their
products on Amazon through its
third-party marketplace, where
sellers can list their items directly
on the site.
Amazon stated that it can stop
counterfeiters before they can
sell anything thanks to machine-
learning technology, which au-
tomatically scans listings to re-
move suspected counterfeits. The
company also gives brands a way
to remove fake items from the site
themselves, rather than report-
ing them to Amazon and waiting
for it to do something.
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
From NTD News
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
during his first 100 days in office.
Jessica Vaughan of the Center
for Immigration Studies told Bre-
itbart News that the latest move
is “a de facto amnesty” for illegal
immigrants.
“This is yet another common-
sense Trump reform that is being
reversed,” Vaughan told the news
outlet. “Most Americans would be
astounded to hear that in 2019, the
government issued more than
25,000 work permits to people who
have been ordered removed by
an immigration judge. These are
often criminals who can’t be de-
ported because their home coun-
try refuses to take them back.”
“So, we just let them stay, with
benefits like a work permit. The
Trump administration finally got
around to stopping this practice,
but not fast enough to keep it from
being undone,” she said. “We can
expect the Biden administration
to use the work permit authority
to the maximum extent possible,
because it’s a de facto amnesty
for President Again
JACK PHILLIPS
White House chief of staff Ron
Klain said President Joe Biden
will not “underestimate” former
President Donald Trump if he
runs for president in 2024.
While Trump hasn’t publicly
said he would run for president,
he’s toyed with the idea in recent
interviews and suggested he
would make a decision follow-
ing the 2022 midterm elections.
“I wouldn’t want to estimate or
underestimate Donald Trump
as an opponent if he chooses to
run,” Klain told Axios on May
9. “My experience ... is that in-
cumbent presidents are judged
on their record,” he said, add-
ing that Biden “is hopefully as-
sembling a powerful record to
run on if he runs for reelection
in 2024.”
Trump, in his clearest remarks
yet in late April, told Fox Busi-
ness that he’s floating a 2024 run
and would consider Republican
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a
running mate.
“I endorsed Ron, and after I
endorsed him, he took off like a
rocketship,” he said. “He’s done a
great job as governor. I’m saying
what I read and what you read,
they love that ticket. Certainly,
Ron would be considered. He’s
a great guy.”
Other potential GOP presiden-
CHARLOTTE CUTHBERTSON/THE EPOCH TIMES
that is easier than trying to get an
amnesty bill through Congress.”
Republicans have blamed
Biden’s immigration messaging as
well as a rollback of some Trump-
era policies for the surge in illegal
immigration and crowding at bor-
der facilities.
In March, immigration agents
apprehended more than 172,000
individuals seeking to illegally en-
ter the United States. According to
the latest report by U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, more than
351,800 encounters were made in
the first three months of 2021,
compared to 107,700 during the
same period in 2020.
The Biden administration has
blamed the influx of illegal im-
migrants on seasonal factors and
the crowding of facilities on a
“broken” immigration and asylum
system inherited from the Trump
administration.
Tom Ozimek contributed
to this report.
tial candidates include Sen. Tim
Scott (R-S.C.), South Dakota Gov.
Kristi Noem, and Sen. Josh Haw-
ley (R-Mo.).
Trump has retained a signifi-
cant influence over the Repub-
lican Party and still has the sup-
port of a loyal voter base.
The former president said he
won’t make a definitive an-
nouncement about a 2024 run
because if he makes it too early, it
will have a “big impact on fund-
raising and many other things.”
“It’s a little bit of a crazy, com-
plex thing,” Trump said. “The
whole fundraising contribution
stuff is ridiculous; the laws are
so archaic and stupid, frankly.”
Before he was sworn in on
Jan. 20, there were rumors and
speculation that Biden would
only serve one term in the White
House or would step down be-
fore the end of his first term, al-
lowing Vice President Kamala
Harris to become president.
Biden, meanwhile, said dur-
ing his first news conference in
March that he plans to run for
reelection, amid questions about
his health and age.
“My plan is to run for reelec-
tion. That’s my expectation,”
Biden told reporters. “I’m a great
respecter of fate. I’ve never been
able to plan four-and-a-half,
three-and-a-half years ahead
for certain.”
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 WORLD | A9
STAN HONDA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Barr, said it was “extremely troubling” that

the outlet hadn’t yet registered, adding that
“Xinhua and the Chinese Communist Party
have deep, longstanding ties.”
Last year, Xinhua was among 15 Chinese
state-controlled media designated as for-
eign missions by the Trump administration.
The move, which restricted their operations
in the United States but didn’t impact what
they could publish, was made in recognition
of their roles as propaganda organs of the
Chinese Communist Party.

Xinhua’s U.S. division was

An electronic billboard leased by Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece Xinhua, in New York’s Times Square on Aug. 1, 2011.
Chinese State-Run News Agency
Xinhua Registers as Foreign Agent in US
CONTINUED FROM A1
FARA was passed in 1938 to combat Nazi
propaganda efforts and influence campaigns
in the United States. It requires foreign gov-
ernments, political parties, and lobbyists
they hire in the United States to register with
the Department of Justice. While registra-
tion doesn’t affect a media outlet’s editorial
content, it does require the organization to
disclose its annual budget and expenditures.
The FARA filing shows that Xinhua’s Bei-
jing headquarters paid its North American
bureau more than $8.6 million in operating
expenses from March 2020 to April 2021. Xi-
nhua’s North American bureau has eight
offices, in New York, Washington, Chicago,
Los Angeles, Houston, and San Francisco.
Xinhua has leased a giant screen in Times
Square since 2011, dubbed the “China
screen.” In February, the electronic billboard
played ads urging unity in the fight against
the pandemic, while promoting Beijing’s ef-
forts to combat the CCP virus worldwide.
This was around the same time the regime
was drawing criticism over its lack of trans-
parency as WHO investigators were probing
the origins of the virus.
Expenses associated with the billboard’s
hire weren’t included in the FARA filings.
The documents, however, show that Xin-
hua paid more than $130,000 in unspecified
“communication fees” between March 2020
to May 2021. It doesn’t indicate who the fees
were paid to.
Xinhua’s filing comes after several law-
SAMIRA BOUAOU/THE EPOCH TIMES
The Department of Justice in Washington on
Jan. 14, 2020.
makers asked the DOJ to probe the issue of
Xinhua’s registration under FARA in recent
years. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) in a January
2020 letter to then-Attorney General William
registered under the For-
eign Agents Registration
Act. Xinhua is the third
Chinese state-run media
organization to register
as a foreign agent, after
CGTN and China Daily.
A 2017 U.S. congressional commission
report warned that Xinhua wasn’t only in-
volved in propaganda work.
“Xinhua serves some of the functions of
an intelligence agency by gathering infor-
mation and producing classified reports for
the Chinese leadership on both domestic
and international events,” stated the report
by the U.S. China Economic and Security
Review Commission.
Former Xinhua reporter Canadian Mark
Bourrie said he had been used by the outlet
to collect intelligence on overseas critics of
the regime while working as a press gallery
reporter from 2010 to 2012. In one instance,
he was asked to prepare a transcript of a press
conference the Dalai Lama held with report-
ers in Ottawa, and also asked to find out what
the spiritual leader discussed in a private
meeting with Canada’s then-Prime Minister
Stephen Harper. When Bourrie asked his
bureau chief if the material was to be used
for a news story, the chief replied no.
“When they go to something like a two-day
conference on Tibet and film everything and
transcribe everything, that is not going to a
special publication—that is going to Chinese
intelligence,” Bourrie told The Epoch Times
at the time.
The Epoch Times has reached out to
Xinhua North America and the DOJ for
comment.

YIMOU LEE/REUTERS

Denmark Draws China Ire
for Inviting Taiwan Leader to
Speak at ‘Democracy Summit’
COPENHAGEN—Denmark’s for-
eign minister defended democratic
values alongside Taiwan President
Tsai Ing-wen on May 10, drawing
criticism from China, which con-
siders fiercely democratic, self-
ruled Taiwan its “sacred” territory.
China has never renounced
the use of force to ensure even-
tual unification with Taiwan, an
island it views as a breakaway
province. Denmark and all but
a handful of countries recognize
Beijing over Taipei as part of Bei-
jing’s “one China” policy.
In recent months, China has
also stepped up military activi-
ties near Taiwan.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe
Kofod, who said he was preparing
a new “value-based” foreign policy
and security strategy, denounced
as “deplorable” recent sanctions
imposed by China against the EU.
“We need to stand firmer, re-
spond faster and stronger, when
universal values like human rights
and freedom of speech are under
pressure,” Kofod said at the Copen-
hagen Democracy Summit.
The European Union had im-
posed sanctions on Chinese of-
ficials suspected of human rights
abuses against Muslim Uyghurs
in far western Xinjiang, a charge
Beijing denies.
Danish–Chinese relations have
improved significantly since 2009,
when former state head Lars Lokke
Rasmussen met the Tibetan spiri-
tual leader, the Dalai Lama, but
the Danish government recently
drew criticism from parliament for
being too passive about Chinese
interference in the former British
colony of Hong Kong.
China brands the Dalai Lama a
dangerous “splittist,” or separat-
ist, and denies Western charges of
trying to erase freedoms in Hong
Kong, which returned to Chinese
rule in 1997.
“We walked a long road to realize
the freedoms we enjoy today, and
we are determined never to sur-
render these freedoms,” Tsai said
during her video speech.
The Chinese embassy in Den-
mark criticized the event on May
10, saying “anti-China” activities
by foreign forces and separat-
ists to promote independence
for Taiwan and Hong Kong were
Taiwanese
President
Tsai Ing-Wen
and others
pose in front
of the newly
launched coast
guard flagship
Chiayi in Kaoh-
siung, Taiwan,
on April
29, 2021.
“bound to fail.” was founded by ex-NATO Secretary
Inviting Tsai and Hong Kong de- General and former Danish Prime
mocracy activist Nathan Law to the Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
summit violated “the one-China Other speakers at the event in-
principle and interferes in China’s cluded Belarussian opposition
internal affairs,” the embassy said figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
in an emailed statement to Reuters. and Venezuelan opposition leader
Among those hit by China’s Juan Guaido.
sanctions was the organizer of the
summit, the nonprofit Alliance for By Nikolaj Skydsgaard
Democracies Foundation, which From Reuters

New Zealand Knife Attack Leaves 4 Wounded, 3 Severely

OTAGO DAILY TIMES VIA AP

WELLINGTON, New Zealand—
Shoppers and staff at a New
Zealand supermarket were be-
ing praised for their bravery on
May 10 after authorities said they
managed to stop a man who had
stabbed four people in a random
attack, severely wounding three
of them.
New Zealand Police Superin-
tendent Paul Basham said he’d
watched CCTV footage of the at-
tack at a Countdown supermarket
in the city of Dunedin and the ac-
tions of the bystanders in detaining
the man until police arrived was
“nothing short of heroic.”
“What I can say is that those
that intervened, some of whom
became injured themselves, I
think have acted selflessly and
with great courage to prevent this
man from hurting anybody else,”
Basham said.
Two of those wounded were su-
permarket employees.
On May 11, authorities said three
of the injured had improved to a
serious but stable condition, while
the fourth person was in a moder-
ate condition.
Police said they charged a
42-year-old man with four counts
of attempted murder. The man,
who authorities didn’t immedi-
ately identify, was to make his first
court appearance on May 11. The
suspect also was treated under po-
lice guard for injuries he sustained
while being subdued before being
transferred to a jail.
People in the store at the time
told local media that it was a cha-
otic scene as some people began
screaming and running toward
the exits, while others rushed to
help.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern
said the motivation for the attack
hadn’t been established but police
didn’t have any evidence to suggest
it was domestic terrorism.
“Needless to say that such an
attack is hugely concerning, and
I do want to acknowledge the re-
ally early reports of courageous
acts by bystanders who have
taken action in order to protect
those around them,” Ardern said.
“Our thoughts are with all those
Police take a suspect into custody
near the Countdown supermarket
in central Dunedin, New Zealand, on
May 10, 2021.
affected by this attack.”
Ardern said five people were
taken to Dunedin Hospital with
stab wounds or related inju-
ries. Health authorities said three
of the wounded had been admitted
to the intensive care unit at Dune-
din Hospital.
“We are shocked and devastated
by the events in our Dunedin Cen-
tral Store this afternoon,” Count-
down said in a statement. “Our
priority right now is our injured
team members and caring for our
wider team in the wake of this ex-
tremely traumatic event. We are
deeply upset that customers who
tried to help our team members
were also injured.”
Dunedin is home to about
130,000 people, including a large
number of students who attend the
University of Otago.
By Nick Perry
From The Associated Press
A10 | WORLD
DAN KITWOOD/POOL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson gives
an update on the pandemic during a vir-
tual press conference inside the Down-
ing Street Briefing Room in London on
May 10, 2021.
UK Lowers
COVID-19 Alert
Level as Case
Numbers Fall
ALEXANDER ZHANG
The chief medical officers of the UK’s
four nations have agreed to lower the
country’s COVID-19 alert level from
level four to level three, paving the
way for further easing of lockdown
restrictions.
The decision to lower the threat
level was announced on May 10 in a
joint statement from the chief medi-
cal officers of England, Wales, Scot-
land, and Northern Ireland, as well
as the national medical director for
NHS England.
“Following advice from the Joint
Biosecurity Centre and in the light
of the most recent data, the UK chief
medical officers and NHS England
national medical director agree that
the UK alert level should move from
level 4 to level 3,” according to the
statement.
“Thanks to the efforts of the UK
public in social distancing and the
impact we are starting to see from the
vaccination program, case numbers,
deaths, and COVID hospital pressures
have fallen consistently.”
But they urged the public to remain
vigilant, saying: “COVID is still cir-
culating with people catching and
spreading the virus every day so we all
need to continue to be vigilant. This
remains a major pandemic globally.
“It is very important that we all con-
tinue to follow the guidance closely
and everyone gets both doses of the
vaccine when they are offered it.”
Health Minister Nadine Dorries
told BBC Radio 4’s “Today” program
that “the data is looking extremely
positive,” but it’s important that ev-
eryone is aware that as the country
moves into each step of lockdown
easing, there “may be an increase
in the variants or there may be an
increase in the virus.”
“Our objective is to nail that virus,
to make sure that we are never, as a
country, in the position we were in
last year again, and that we move out
of this cautiously and safely,” she told
the BBC’s “Breakfast” program.
She said the UK is “still in the tail
end of the pandemic” while “globally
the world is still in the grips of this
pandemic.”
Johnson on May 10 gave the green
light for citizens in England to hug—
with caution—and for pubs to serve
pints inside.
The prime minister confirmed
that England could continue to the
next stage of his four-step plan to
bring the nation out of lockdown
by the summer.
Under step three, from May 17
people will be permitted to meet up
indoors for the first time in months,
in groups of up to six people or two
full households together.
Pubs, cafes, and restaurants will
be able to host customers indoors,
also for the first time in months and
subject to certain rules. Other indoor
entertainment venues, like cinemas,
will also be able to resume activity.
Johnson said the government would
allow families and close friends to
make their own choices on social
contact, but urged people not to throw
caution to the wind and said social
distancing must continue in work-
places, shops, and restaurants.
“Whoever I hug, I can assure you,
it will be done with caution and re-
straint,” Johnson said, adding that the
“one-meter-plus” social-distancing
rule in businesses might be dropped
in the next stage of easing on June 21.
He appeared to rule out accelerat-
ing the end of restrictions, saying the
success of the UK’s road map thus
far had been helped by the ability to
gather and monitor data.
PA and Reuters contributed
to this report.
Rockets are fired from Gaza City, controlled by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, toward Israel on May 10, 2021.
Jerusalem Violence Leads to Hamas
Rockets on Israel, 9 Dead in Gaza
JERUSALEM/GAZA—Palestin-
ian militants in the Gaza Strip
fired rockets toward the Jeru-
salem area and southern Israel
on May 10, carrying out a threat
to punish Israel for violent con-
frontations with Palestinians in
Jerusalem.
The Gaza health ministry said
nine Palestinians, including
three children, were killed “in
a series of strikes in northern
Gaza.” It didn’t explicitly blame
Israel for the deaths, in an area
that has been a staging ground
for militants’ cross-border rock-
et attacks.
Rocket sirens sounded in Jeru-
salem, in nearby towns, and in
communities near Gaza minutes
after the expiry of an ultimatum
from the enclave’s ruling Hamas
Islamist group demanding Israel
stand down forces in the al Aqsa
mosque compound and another
flashpoint in the holy city.
As Israel celebrated “Jeru-
salem Day” earlier on May 10,
marking its capture of eastern
sections of the holy city in the
1967 Arab-Israeli war, violence
erupted at the mosque, Islam’s
third most sacred site.
The Palestinian Red Crescent
Society said more than 300 Pal-
estinians were injured in clash-
es with police who fired rubber
bullets, stun grenades, and tear
gas in the compound, which is
also revered by Jews at the site
UK Labour Party Should End
‘Civil War,’ Focus on Delivery:
Manchester Mayor
ALEXANDER ZHANG
The British Labour Party should
move on from its ongoing “civil
war” and focus instead on de-
livering results in local authori-
ties under its control, Greater
Manchester Mayor Andy Burn-
ham says.
“Labour needs to move on from
the left and the right conducting
this civil war within, focus on de-
livery now and making change
happen, and celebrating Labour
in power—because this is Labour
in power, look at what we’re do-
ing,” he said on May 10, after win-
ning reelection as mayor with
67.3 percent of the vote.
In the May 6 elections, Labour
lost the seat for Hartlepool in the
House of Commons and also lost
control over eight local councils.
Left-wing MPs within the party
blamed the “crushing defeat” on
the leadership of Keir Starmer,
who has sidelined allies of the
hard-left former Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn.
of biblical temples.
The skirmishes, in which po-
lice said 21 officers were also
hurt, at al Aqsa had died down
by the 6 p.m. deadline Hamas
had set.
Rockets fired from Gaza last hit
the Jerusalem area during a 2014
war between Israel and Palestin-
ian militants in the territory.
The Gaza health
ministry said
nine Palestin-
ians, including
three children,
were killed ‘in a
series of strikes in
northern Gaza.’
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said
that on May 10, at least six of the
45 rockets fired from Gaza were
launched toward Jerusalem’s
outskirts, where a house was
hit. No casualties were reported.
“We have started to attack
Hamas military targets,” Con-
ricus said in a briefing to foreign
reporters, putting no timeframe
on any Israeli offensive. “Hamas
will pay a heavy price.”
He said Israel had carried out
an airstrike in northern Gaza
against Hamas militants and was
But Burnham stressed that the
results were “mixed” and not
“catastrophic.”
“I think we’ve got a mixed set
of results here, rather than the
early narrative that this was
catastrophic—definitely not,”
he said. “We’ve got 10 Labour
mayors now across the country,
that is a fantastic foundation for
the Labour Party to build on, and
I believe we will, and that’s the
opportunity before us.”
Burnham said he was looking
forward to meeting Tracy Brabin,
the new Labour mayor of West
Yorkshire.
“We’re building out a cluster
here across the M62, and there
is so much potential there for us
to work together, the three great
city regions of Liverpool city re-
gion, Greater Manchester, West
Yorkshire,” he said.
The M62 is a 107-mile-long mo-
torway in northern England, con-
necting Liverpool and Hull via
Manchester and Leeds.
“This is a huge opportunity for
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
looking into reports that children
were killed.
“We had multiple events of
rockets fired by Gaza terrorists
falling short. This might be the
same,” Conricus said.
Along the fortified Gaza-Israeli
border, a Palestinian anti-tank
missile fired from the tiny coastal
territory struck a civilian vehicle,
injuring one Israeli, he said.
Hamas and the smaller Is-
lamic Jihad militant group
claimed responsibility for the
rocket attacks.
“This is a message the enemy
should understand well,” said
Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for
Hamas’s armed wing.
Violence Around Al Aqsa
Mosque
The hostilities caught Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
tanyahu at an awkward time, as
opponents negotiate the forma-
tion of a governing coalition to
unseat him after an inconclusive
March 23 election.
For Hamas, some commenta-
tors said, its challenge to Israel
was a sign to Palestinians, whose
own elections have been post-
poned by President Mahmoud
Abbas, that it was now calling the
shots in holding Israel account-
able for events in Jerusalem.
Recent clashes in Jerusalem
have raised international con-
cern about wider conflict, and
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham speaks to the media in Man-
chester, England, on Oct. 20, 2020.
us, and today is a day to be really
positive about what Labour can
achieve in power,” Burnham said.
Burnham was responding to
the criticism of Starmer’s lead-
ership from allies of Corbyn.
Diane Abbott, who was shadow
home secretary during Corbyn’s
leadership, said there was a
“problem with the strategy.”
“What we want is a strategy for
winning from this leadership,
because it’s clear from what hap-
pened over the weekend, particu-
larly what happened in Hartle-
pool, there’s a problem with the
strategy,” she told BBC Radio 4’s
MAHMUD HAMS/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
the White House called on Israel
to ensure calm during “Jerusa-
lem Day.”
The Sheikh Jarrah neighbor-
hood in East Jerusalem has also
been a focal point of Palestinian
protests during the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan.
Several Palestinian families
face eviction, under Israeli court
order, from homes claimed by
Jewish settlers in a long-running
legal case.
In an effort to defuse ten-
sions, police changed the route
of a traditional Jerusalem Day
march, in which thousands of
Israeli flag-waving Jewish youth
walk through the Old City. They
entered through Jaffa Gate, by-
passing the Damascus Gate out-
side the Muslim quarter, which
has been a flashpoint in recent
weeks.
Police rushed the marchers to
cover at Jaffa Gate after the sirens
went off.
Israel views all of Jerusalem as
its capital, including the eastern
part that it annexed after the 1967
war in a move that hasn’t won in-
ternational recognition. Pales-
tinians want East Jerusalem to
be the capital of a state they seek
in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied
West Bank.
By Jeffrey Heller &
Nidal al-Mughrabi
From Reuters
CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/GETTY IMAGES
“Today” program.
Former Prime Minister Gor-
don Brown agreed that Labour
needs to change as society is fac-
ing “seismic changes.” But he said
that Starmer should be given “the
space and the power” he needs to
respond to the challenges.
“He has got to be given the space
and the power and the leaders
working with him to change the
Labour Party, so that it can deal
with these fundamental chal-
lenges that have been aggravated
by COVID,” he told “Today.”
PA contributed to this report.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 WORLD | A11

Sudanese Search for Oxygen Cylinders Workers prepare oxygen cylinders

for COVID-19 patients inside the

as COVID Third Wave Swells Sudanese Liquid Gas Company in

Khartoum, Sudan, on May 5, 2021.

REUTERS/MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH

KHARTOUM—Sudan is struggling
to provide hospital beds, drugs, and
medical oxygen to COVID-19 pa-
tients hit by a third wave of infec-
tions that is straining the country’s
health care system.
With a population of more than 40
million, Sudan has recorded 33,000
cases and more than 2,600 deaths
since the start of the pandemic, but
officials say the real numbers are
likely to be much higher given low
rates of testing.

My father passed
away due to the
lack of an intensive
care bed with a
ventilator.
Sayda Mahmoud,
resident, Khartoum

In recent weeks, an acute short-

age of oxygen, partly due to power
cuts that impeded production at
the country’s main plant, has left
hospitals unable to provide ade-
quate care to desperately ill COVID
patients.
“My father passed away due to the
lack of an intensive care bed with a
ventilator,” said Khartoum resident
Sayda Mahmoud, 34, crying as she
recounted his last moments.
“I saw him in front of me as he
was dying, suffering, and in pain
from shortness of breath for hours
until he took his last breath while
waiting in a government hospital.”
Social media is filled with des-
perate pleas for help from relatives
seeking beds, drugs, and oxygen
cylinders for their loved ones.
Officials say about 300 ventila-
tors are available in the country, a
number that is nowhere near what
would be needed to respond to the
current emergency.
A government study showed 38
percent of oxygen cylinders had
been smuggled out of the health
system for certain patients to use at
home. Some patients bribed hospi-
tal staff for the cylinders, while oth-
ers relied on personal relationships.
“At times of peak coronavirus
infections, the crisis of the weak
capacity of hospitals in providing
beds for patients, providing oxygen
cylinders and ventilators, becomes
clear,” said Montasir Othman, di-
rector of the Emergency and Epi-
demic Control Department at the
Sudanese Ministry of Health.
In April, officials said Sudan
could meet just 40 percent of its
need for medicines. The country
has 37 hospitals that can take in
COVID patients, but only 11 of
them are in the capital, Khartoum,
which has more than 70 percent
of cases.
Hussein Malasi, a senior man-
ager at the Sudanese Liquid Gas
Company, said that under normal
circumstances the firm could pro-
duce enough medical oxygen to
meet the country’s needs, but the
country lacks the cylinders needed
to transport it.
Authorities say they are urgently
facilitating imports of about 1,250
more cylinders to meet patient
needs.
The shortage of oxygen and wider
failings of the health system are a
symptom of a deep malaise in Su-
dan, which has been stuck in an
economic crisis for years.
Following the secession of the
oil-producing South in 2011 and
decades of international isolation
due to U.S. sanctions, the country
lacks the foreign reserves needed
to procure medicines and other
medical supplies abroad.
Authorities complain that only
160,000 have received the first dose
of the AstraZeneca vaccine, much
less than 400,000 expected by the
end of April, due to widespread
skepticism and misinformation.
By Khalid Abdelaziz
From Reuters

EU Prepares New Round of Belarus Sanctions, Diplomats Say

The European Union is readying a
fourth round of sanctions against
senior Belarus officials in response
to 2020’s contested presidential
election and could target as many
as 50 people, four diplomats said.
Along with the United States, the
United Kingdom, and Canada,
the EU has already imposed asset
freezes and travel bans on almost
90 officials, including President Al-
exander Lukashenko, following an
August election which opponents
and the West say was rigged.
Despite a months-long crack-
down on pro-democracy protesters
by Lukashenko, the EU’s response
has been narrower than
during a previous period
of sanctions between
2004 and 2015, when
more than 200 people
were blacklisted.
The crisis has pushed
66-year-old Lukashenko
toward traditional ally
Russia, which—along
with Ukraine and NATO
member states Latvia,
Lithuania, and Poland—
borders Belarus.
Some Western diplomats
say Moscow regards Belar-
us as a buffer zone against
NATO and has propped
up Lukashenko with
loans and an offer of
military support.
Poland and Lithu-
ania, where opposi-
tion leader Sviatlana
Tsikhanouskaya fled to
following the election she
says she won, have led the
Belarusian push for more sanctions
President amid frustration that the
Alexander measures imposed so far
Lukashenko. have had little effect.
EU foreign ministers dis-
cussed Belarus on May 10
and diplomats said many
more of the bloc’s 27 members
now support further sanctions,
but that Brussels needs to gather
sufficient evidence to provide le-
gally solid listings.
“We are working on the next sanc-
tions package, which I hope will be
adopted in the coming weeks,” said
EU foreign policy chief Josep Bor-
rell, who chaired the meeting.
The EU has sought to promote
democracy and develop a market
economy in Belarus, but, along
with the United States, alleges
that Lukashenko has remained
in power by holding fraudulent
elections, jailing opponents, and
muzzling the media.
Lukashenko, who along with
Russia says the West is meddling
in Belarus’s internal affairs, has
sought to deflect the condemna-
tion by imposing countersanctions
on the EU and banning some EU
officials from entering the country.
“The fourth package (of sanc-
tions) is likely to come in groups
(of individuals), but it will be a size-
able package,” one EU diplomat
told Reuters.
More details weren’t immediately
available.
From Reuters

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TRUTH AND TRADITION


A street stands empty in New York on March 1, 2021.
Urban Emigration: A Worrisome
Outlook for American Cities
MARK HENDRICKSON
Migration seems to be
a constant in history.
While its trends may
fluctuate, they inevitably
surface as human beings
seek greener pastures and
a better life.
A new migratory trend is emerging
within our country: More people are
moving out of large American cities and
fewer are moving in, with some urban
populations beginning to shrink. The
potential ramifications of this trend are
ominous.
Before I write about what’s at stake for
cities and the people who reside in them,
let’s look at the lifecycles of cities and the
reasons why an increasing number of
people are either exiting cities or decid-
ing not to move into them.
The primary factors that impel the
growth and development of cities are of
an economic nature. I don’t mean to dis-
count or devalue social considerations.
Human beings are social creatures, and
we crave contact with others, but without
a viable economic base, cities don’t grow.
In some cases, they don’t even survive.
Think of the ghost towns in the Old West:
Bustling communities sprang up in areas
where gold discoveries were reported,
only to find themselves abandoned when
neither mining nor any other industry
provided an ongoing economic base to
sustain a human community in those
locations.
Look at where major American cit-
ies—and indeed, major cities around the
world—are situated. The largest cities
tend to be found on the shores of rivers,
lakes, and oceans, or in other locations
that give ready access to key natural
resources and the flow of commerce.
That’s an economic reality. In our coun-
try, the emergence of heavy industry
in the 19th century led to major migra-
tions from rural areas to urban centers,
driven by individuals seeking greater
economic opportunities. In today’s so-
called post-industrial age, populations
follow technological changes. Urban
areas that attracted a critical mass of
workers equipped with high-tech skills
have thrived, while those less successful
OPINION
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 • A13
in keeping in step with current economic
trends have languished.
So what factors are driving the cur-
rent flow of people away from American
cities? The consensus opinion is that CO-
VID-19 is responsible for the downward
trend. As a recent Wall Street Journal
headline succinctly put it, “The Pan-
demic Changed Where Americans Live.”
Indeed, many American businesses
and individuals, spurred by pandemic-
induced social distancing, have learned
how to use newer technologies like Zoom
conferences to conduct business with-
out a need for daily trips to a downtown
office. Technology has—to some extent,
at least—broken up long-settled patterns
of conducting business while increasing
options for where workers reside. At the
moment, it’s too early to say whether this
trend is a short-term, transitory response
to the pandemic, as the Brookings Insti-
tution believes, or if it will continue—and
perhaps even gather momentum—in a
post-pandemic society.
What some of America’s largest
and most famous cities now
need more than anything else is
a restoration of order and safety.
There is, however, another significant
driver of today’s ex-urban migration.
While cities require an economic base
to survive and thrive, great cities offer
many embellishments and people-pleas-
ing activities that attract people to live
or visit those cities, thereby expanding
and enhancing the quality of life while
generating additional jobs and prosper-
ity there. In the past year, however, the
desirability and attractiveness of city
living have suffered a serious blow. Riots,
violence, vandalism, and the wanton de-
struction of businesses—many of them
of the mom-and-pop variety that repre-
sents a family’s best chance at achiev-
ing their American dream—along with
increased crime and shootings, have
encouraged many residents to move out
while discouraging other people from
moving in. There’s a simple truth here:
People don’t want to live near danger.
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
Apartments are advertised in an area of lower
Manhattan with many empty buildings, in New
York City on April 16, 2021.
And fewer people will want to visit those
cities, shop in their stores, or take in their
cultural attractions. Who wants to go
into a city where storefronts have been
disfigured or boarded up and police pro-
tection can’t be taken for granted? What
parents would choose to raise their kids
in such surroundings?
According to the article from The Wall
Street Journal cited above, “Big cities
including New York, Chicago, San Fran-
cisco, and Boston saw hundreds of thou-
sands more residents move out than in,
... causing the net loss of households from
migration to widen by 71 percent in 2020
from the previous year.” This exodus,
by the way, preceded COVID-19. Many
businesses and individuals have become
fed up with high-tax jurisdictions and
have been fleeing in droves. Now, urban
emigration is accelerating both because
of pandemic-related factors and the wor-
risome increase in urban violence.
Tax bases and revenues were already
shrinking due to people leaving cities. As
emigration increases, tax revenues will
continue to decline. This poses a major
threat to affected cities. Some cities run the
risk of entering a grim, downward spiral.
Fewer residents will result in lower gov-
ernment revenues. Fewer people resid-
ing in or visiting cities means less need
for restaurants, entertainment, public
transportation, and so on. This, in turn,
causes layoffs and closures in those types
of service, translating into additional tax
SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES
losses and fewer people visiting cities
because of fewer amenities being avail-
able there.
With fewer tax dollars to spend, the
quality of civic services—including
police and fire—is likely to deteriorate.
That could impel an increasing number
of residents to move out. To make up for
these lost revenues, we can expect des-
perate government officials to try to raise
taxes. To the extent that they do, they will
drive even more taxpayers out of their
cities. What’s currently happening is
that higher-income residents are fleeing
cities at a faster rate than lower-income
people. This will accelerate the shrink-
age of urban tax bases, as higher-income
people pay a much higher share of taxes
than lower-income people. It will also
cause the “social justice” crowd to howl,
because it will be lower-income people
who will be left to live in newly impover-
ished cities.
I don’t want to overstate the case and
say that the current exodus from cities
will be fatal to them. They will survive,
I’m sure. But don’t be surprised if cities
experiencing losses in population enter a
period of stagnation, ending up with sig-
nificantly fewer residents—and smaller
tax bases. This has already happened in
some cities: See Detroit, which entered a
half-century of decline in the 1960s due
to the toxic policy mix of not controlling
crime and constantly raising taxes.
Nobody knows for sure to what extent
American cities can withstand popula-
tion losses. But if urban governments
don’t find a way to reestablish a sense of
law, order, and safety, people will con-
tinue to abandon and avoid those cities,
greatly increasing the chances that those
cities’ best days are behind them.
Put another way, what some of Amer-
ica’s largest and most famous cities
now need more than anything else is a
restoration of order and safety. The big
question is, which of those cities will
have leaders emerge who are capable of
meeting that need?
Mark Hendrickson, an economist, recently
retired from the faculty of Grove City Col-
lege, where he remains a fellow for eco-
nomic and social policy at the Institute for
Faith and Freedom.
A14 | OPINION
Short-Term ‘Help’ Is Doing Long-Term Harm
to the Economy, Killing Small Businesses
JOHN SCHNATTER
The mounting evidence
can no longer be ignored.
Unsubstantiated and
politically motivated
COVID-19 lockdown
policies and imprudent
relief measures are causing
serious, lasting damage to the founda-
tions of American economic prosperity.
Having brought the economy to its
knees through unwarranted and unde-
pendable lockdown measures that forced
millions of Americans out of work and
businesses across the country to close,
the U.S. government is now going out of
its way to encourage the workforce’s CO-
VID-19 casualties to stay home—need-
lessly postponing our economic recovery.
Lockdowns necessitated the need to
support the workers affected by them,
but now those lockdowns are easing
and businesses are trying to get back to
normal. Continued stimulus payments
may be good politics, but they’re terrible
economics. Workers are being disincen-
tivized to work.
The National Federation of Inde-
pendent Business’s Uncertainty Index
increased by six points in March, driven
largely by a current labor shortage. An
astonishing 42 percent of small-business
owners reported being unable to fill job
openings, according to the survey.
“Owners are frustrated with mounting
unfilled job openings as qualified and
willing candidates are scarce,” the NFIB
report stated.
This labor scarcity appears to be affect-
ing all sectors of the economy. Yet it’s a
veritable crisis for small businesses—so
much so that small-business owners
DILBERT
PEANUTS
RED AND ROVER
GRAND AVENUE
MUTT & JEFF
across the country are going to extreme
lengths to attract employees, including
offering signing bonuses and significant
wage hikes, and even paying people
just to show up to job interviews. The
restaurant industry is being hit particu-
larly hard, especially major fast-food
franchises, which are having to close
dining rooms, cut operating hours, and
slash employee hours. This is causing
those few existing employees on payroll
to work extreme hours, and burnout is
becoming a problem.
The cause of this severe labor short-
age is easily explained. Potential job
candidates “are getting enhanced
unemployment benefits that are going
to last for several months,” noted NFIB
Illinois Director Mark Grant. Put simply,
the government is paying people to not
work, and they’re disincentivizing the
work ethic that’s the backbone of Amer-
ica. Unfortunately, America’s workforce
is responding to the bad incentives.
Continued stimulus payments
may be good politics, but
they’re terrible economics.
“Stimulus and unemployment are kill-
ing the workforce,” said one McDonald’s
franchisee, who couldn’t reopen his din-
ing room due to the labor shortage crisis.
A New York restaurateur echoed that
sentiment, blaming the labor shortage
on “government assistance where people
would rather stay home and pocket their
cash.” Another restaurateur put it even
more bluntly, saying, “Nobody wants to
leave their couch.”
COMICS
The recent COVID-19 relief package
doubles the amount an individual could
receive through Sept. 6 and expands
the pool of individuals who can receive
them. Federal Pandemic Unemployment
Compensation now offers $300 per week
on top of local benefits. In New York
City, for example, where the maximum
weekly state benefit is $504, unemployed
individuals can now receive up to $804
per week—over $200 more per week than
they’d make working eight-hour days at
the city’s generous $15 minimum wage.
The situation is truly ridiculous. Bad
government lockdown policies did untold
economic damage, and now bad govern-
ment economic “relief” measures—osten-
sibly designed to stimulate that damaged
economy—are in fact making a proper
economic recovery much more difficult.
And a proper economic recovery is a
recovery for every level of worker in every
economic sector. I hope and pray that the
GARFIELD
GINGER MEGGS
BIG NATE
DRABBLE
FRANK AND ERNEST
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
A “We are
hiring!” sign
in front of
the Buya
restaurant
in Miami
on March
5, 2021.
economy as a whole will bounce back
eventually. Wall Street will continue to
grow, and giant corporations will con-
tinue to see increased profits. But what
about your favorite local bistro? What’s
going to happen to that local burger joint
you loved as a kid? What does the fu-
ture hold for that amazing little bar that
makes the best cocktail you’ve ever had?
The government should be encourag-
ing people to get back to work, not giving
them reasons to avoid doing so. If we
don’t reverse course soon, small business-
es as we know them could be gone for-
ever, and the common men and women
who rely on them—the dishwashers, the
waitresses, the bartenders, the cashiers,
and the cooks—could be condemned to
state dependency for generations.
Papa John Schnatter is the founder and
former chairman and CEO of Papa John’s
International, Inc.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 OPINION | A15

Stephen Gregory, Publisher

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cal interests and the pursuit of

18
CHAPTER 3. Unrestricted Warfare
With Chinese Communist
Characteristics
c. Economic Warfare: The
CCP’s Heavy Weaponry (cont.)
The Thousand Talents Program:
Espionage and Talent Attraction
From when mainland China opened
up in the 1970s to today, millions of
Chinese students have studied over-
seas, and many have become accom-
plished in various fields. The CCP seeks
to recruit and use these talented indi-
viduals, invested in and trained by the
West, to directly bring back to China
the technology and economic informa-
tion they’ve acquired. Until its recent
disappearance, multiple PRC govern-
ment departments ran the Thousand
Talents Program. Started in 2008, the
Thousand Talents Program was os-
tensibly about recruiting top Chinese
talent overseas to return to China for
full-time or short-term positions. But
the real goal was for state industry to
get its hands on new technology and
intellectual property from the West.
In 2020, following mounting pressure
from the West, information about the
program has been scrubbed from pub-
lic view.
The FBI declassified a document
about the program in September 2015.
It concludes that recruiting target indi-
viduals allows China to profit in three
ways: gaining access to research and
expertise in cutting-edge technology,
benefiting from years of scientific re-
search conducted in the United States
and supported by U.S. government
grants and private funding, and severe-
ly impacting the U.S. economy. [162]
The U.S. National Institutes of Health
(NIH) noted in a 2018 report that foreign
nationals had transferred U.S. intellec-
tual property to their native countries
while on the U.S. government payroll.
Their actions have unfairly impacted
all U.S. academic institutions. [163] M.
Roy Wilson, a report co-author and co-
chair of the advisory committee to the
NIH director, said that a key qualifica-
tion of becoming part of the Thousand
Talents Program is having access to
valuable intellectual property. He said
that the problem was significant, not
random, and that the severity of the
intellectual property losses was impos-
sible to ignore. [164]
Peter Harrell, adjunct senior fellow
in the energy, economics, and secu-
SPECIAL SERIES
Chinese workers inspect a solar panel at the Tianxiang Solar Energy Equipment Factory
in Huaibei, Anhui Province, China, on March 21, 2012.
exert pressure on private business in
the West, through state support and
subsidies—huge sums of money di-
rected to support key industries in
China. This poses an enormous and
unique challenge to countries where
leaders are democratically elected
and leave business decisions to busi-
nesses themselves. State subsidies—
ultimately taken out of the pocket of
the unconsenting taxpayer—mean that
Chinese manufacturers can ignore the
real costs of doing business, making
them unstoppable predators in inter-
national markets.
The regime is using
China’s national power
to exert pressure on
private businesses in
the West. This poses
an enormous, unique
challenge to countries
where leaders are
democratically elected
and leave business
decisions to businesses
themselves.
The solar cell industry is a classic
example of one that profits from state
open source. In contrast, the CCP di-
rectly uses the power of the state to com-
mercialize high-tech, which is equiva-
lent to using a “China Inc.” to compete
against individual Western firms.
The Made in China 2025 project is,
of course, inseparable from state sub-
sidies and state industrial planning. If
the CCP continues on its current track,
the story of the solar panel companies
will play out in other industries, and
Chinese products will become global
job-killers. Through unrestricted eco-
nomic and technological warfare, the
CCP has successfully led many Western
companies, including multinational
corporations, into a trap. They handed
over capital and advanced technology,
but weren’t able to compete fairly in the
Chinese market, and instead helped
create their own state-backed competi-
tors. The CCP used them as pawns to
achieve its ambitions.
d. Using the Masses for Espionage
The CCP regards information as simply
another weapon in its arsenal. Regard-
less of the field, whether pertaining to
the state, private enterprise, or individ-
ual endeavors, all forms of information
are seen as fair game in the fulfillment
of the regime’s strategic ambitions.
The CCP also has used legislation to
force all Chinese people to participate
in its unrestricted warfare. The Nation-
al Intelligence Law of the People’s Re-
public of China, passed by the Stand-
ing Committee of the National People’s
Congress, states that “national intel-
ligence agencies may require relevant
agencies, organizations, and citizens to
profit, our starting point and our
goal is to create a media for the
public benefit, to be truly respon-
sible to society.
We endeavor to educate read-
ers about today’s most impor-
tant topics, seeking to broaden
and uplift minds. We believe that
rational, balanced debate is key
for fostering a healthy democ-
racy and a compassionate
society.
As an independent media out-
let, we use our freedom to inves-
tigate issues overlooked—or
avoided—by other media outlets.
We seek to highlight solutions
and what’s good in society rather
than what divides us.
We report respectfully, compas-
sionately, and rigorously.
We stand against the destruc-
tion wrought by communism,
including the harm done to cul-
tures around the world.
We are inspired in this by our
own experience. The Epoch
Times was founded in 2000 to
bring honest and uncensored
news to people oppressed
by the lies and violence in
communist China.
We still believe journalism is a
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genuinely seeks to serve its com-
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rity program at the Center for a New
American Security, said: “China is
pursuing a whole-of-society approach
to its technological capabilities. That
includes purchasing innovative com-
panies through overseas investments,
requiring Western companies to trans-
fer cutting-edge technologies to China
as a condition of market access, pro-
viding vast state resources to finance
domestic technological development,
financing training for top Chinese stu-
dents and researchers overseas, and
subsidies. In the early 2000s, no Chi-
nese companies existed among the
top ten solar-panel manufacturers,
but by 2017 there were six, including
the top two. The green energy indus-
try was heavily promoted during U.S.
President Barack Obama’s first term,
but before long, dozens of solar-panel
makers were filing for bankruptcy or
had to cut back their businesses in the
face of unrelenting competition from
China, which ultimately undermined
enthusiasm in the clean energy indus-
provide necessary support, assistance,
and cooperation.” [167] This means that
any Chinese citizen can be coerced by
the CCP to collect intelligence and be-
come a spy.
Notes
162. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Chinese
Talent Programs,” Counterintelligence Strategic
Partnership Intelligence Note, SPIN: 15-007,
September 2015.
163. Lawrence A. Tabak and M. Roy Wilson,
“Foreign Influences on Research Integrity,”

paying a hefty premium to attract tal-
ent back to China.” [165]
The Thousand Talents Program in-
cluded as its targets almost all Chinese
try. [166] The damage was wrought by
China’s dumping of products on the
international market, enabled by the
regime’s subsidies for its domestic solar
SUBSCRIBE
Presentation at the 117th Meeting of the
Advisory Committee to the Director, National
Institutes of Health, Dec. 13, 2018.

students who have come to the United
States since the 1980s and who found
themselves with access to useful in-
formation for the regime’s industrial,
technological, and economic develop-
ment—potentially tens of thousands
of individuals. The CCP is mobilizing
the capacity of the entire country and
population to conduct unrestricted
warfare in its recruitment of talent and
accumulation of intellectual property.
A Sinister, ‘Whole-of-Government’
Effort
In addition to outright stealing, the
CCP uses China’s national power to
industry.
In Western countries, states also
fund key projects, including those on
the cutting edge of technological devel-
opment. The prototype of the internet,
for instance, was first developed by the
U.S. Department of Defense. However,
in the West, government participation
at the national level is limited. Once a
technology is commercialized, private
companies are free to act as they will.
For example, NASA disseminated its
advanced research results to industry
through its Technology Transfer Pro-
gram. Many of its software projects sim-
ply put their source code on the Web as
TODAY
164. Lev Facher, “NIH Report Scrutinizes Role of
China in Theft of US Scientific Research,” STAT,
Dec. 13, 2018.
165. Jennifer Zeng, “Communist China Poses
Greatest Threat to US and World, Senators Told,”
The Epoch Times, updated Dec. 17, 2018.
Get the
166. Keith Bradsher, “When Solar Panels independent news
Became Job Killers,” The New York Times, April
8, 2017. you won’t find
167. “Zhonghua renmin gongheguo guojia
qingbao fa” 中華人民共和國國家情報法
anywhere else.
[“The National Intelligence Law of the People’s
Republic of China”], National People’s Congress Subscribe and get the
Net, June 27, 2017. insights only The Epoch Times
can provide, delivered to your
See next edition for the next door every week.
installment.
ReadEpoch.com
A16 | OPINION
Legislatures,
It’s Time to Defund
Universities
PHILIP CARL SALZMAN
Our universities have been
uniformly corrupted by
neo-Marxist political
ideology. They no longer
teach the great wealth
of knowledge of Western
Civilization, or engage in
research to advance that knowledge.
Instead, they indoctrinate their students
in “postmodern” nihilism, postcolonial
anti-West vilification, and identity poli-
tics of sexism and racism.
Postmodernism teaches that there’s no
truth objectively reflecting the nature of
the world and its inhabitants. Rather, it
teaches that all ideas are subjective, so
that each person can have his or her “own
truth.” This supposedly being the case, the
academic requirement that ideas be sup-
ported by logical argument and by demon-
strable evidence is no longer applicable.
Postcolonial theory teaches that the
world was a lovely, friendly, and fair
place before evil Western imperialists
spread around the world to conquer
harmless peoples, enslave them, and
oppress them. All the problems of the
world and its peoples thus derive, so says
postcolonial theory, from the ill deeds
of Western imperialists and colonial-
ists. For example, the United States and
Canada have no legitimacy as states or
societies, because they stole their land
from indigenous people and engaged
in genocide against indigenous people.
That’s why “anticolonial” struggles
should undertake to return these coun-
tries and everything that their inhabit-
ants built to the indigenous peoples.
Slavery, now taught as having been in-
vented by the evil United States in 1619,
is a special evil that now requires that
the country be turned over to “people of
The Book You’ve Been
Waiting for...
“Extremely well “The Truth, as horrifying as it is,
researched and true.” shall set us free. This should be
on this country’s academia’s
HOW THE
list of required reading.”
SPECTER OF COMMUNISM
IS RULING OUR WORLD
The specter of communism did not
disappear with the disintegration of the
Communist Party in Eastern Europe
ORDER NOW!
EpochShop.com
color,” especially the great-great-grand-
children of slaves, and even those who
aren’t citizens but who illegally flood into
the country over the open border. The
genocide of indigenous peoples and the
enslavement of people of color are the
double sins of the United States, which
must be viewed as entirely illegitimate,
and must devote itself entirely to recom-
pense for people of color.
“Social justice” theory requires “equity”
for justice, with “equity” being defined
as equal results in education, occupa-
tion, economics, and office holding, for
collective genders, races, sexualities, and
ethnicities, although greater than equal
results are fine for preferred categories.
“Critical race” theory shows the way by
adopting the Marxist “class struggle” the-
ory and dividing the world into oppres-
sive races and victim races, oppressive
genders and victim genders, oppressive
sexualities and victim sexualities, and op-
pressive ethnicities and victim ethnicities.
I don’t want to keep you in suspense
about who is who: whites are oppressors
and people of color are victims; males
are oppressors and females are victims;
heterosexuals and those clinging to their
birth sex are oppressors and LGBTQ++
are victims; Christians and Jews are
oppressors and Muslims are victims.
According to “social justice” theory, who
is good and who is evil is very clear: op-
pressors are evil and victims are good.
That’s what’s taught in universities today,
and only what is taught. There are no alter-
native perspectives allowed. Universities
have a monoculture from which students
and professors may not deviate. Every
university has scores or hundreds of “di-
versity and inclusion” officers who enforce
conformity to “social justice” ideology and
punish deviants. “Academic freedom,”
we’re told, must be limited to supporting
NOW
BIGGER SIZE,
EASIER TO READ
FORMAT
Students walk on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 10, 2020.
“diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
No one is hired or promoted without
having declared loyalty to the trinity of
“social justice.”
As there’s no longer a search for truth,
and everyone is deemed to have their
“own truth,” no evidence is ever demand-
ed to support these neo-Marxist ideolo-
gies. For example, many of the claims of
“racism” refer to statistical disparities, i.e.,
the greater number of members of one
category in a particular job, or admitted to
universities, or having a higher salary. The
inference is then made that any disparity
must be the result of gender or racial dis-
crimination, and this assertion must be
taken as absolute truth (even though they
don’t believe in truth). But no evidence
of such discrimination is ever presented,
because there is no such discrimination.
From the poisoned well, all of
our institutions are polluted.
Statistical disparities can be explained
by many other factors: differences in
personal preferences; differences in levels
of educational achievement; differences
in family structure, such as two-parent
families; differences in community cul-
tures in regard to education; and differ-
ences in crime and social pathologies.
“Social justice” theory claims that Amer-
ican and Canadian societies are “systemi-
cally racist” and “patriarchal.” This claim,
originally by race activists inside and out-
side universities, has now been adopted
by the American Democratic government
and the Canadian Liberal government,
the heritage and mainstream media, big
tech platforms, business and industry, the
K–12 school system, and the military. The
cause of this racism and sexism is alleged
to be “white male supremacism,” which
suppresses and oppresses all females and
“people of color.” Inside and outside of
universities, males and the “white race”
are vilified, thus demeaning and con-
demning the supermajority of citizens of
the United States and Canada.
It’s puzzling, in terms of this “white male
supremacism” account, how it is that for
50 years, females and black citizens have
been given preferential treatment and spe-
cial benefits under government policies of
“affirmative action.” And under “diversity,
equity, and inclusion” mandates from the
The Truth About Sea
Levels and Fossil Fuels
H. STERLING BURNETT
Environmental activists,
mainstream media out-
lets, and many scientists
routinely claim govern-
ments must take drastic
action to prevent rapidly
rising seas. They claim un-
less humans are forced to stop using fossil
fuels, low-lying islands and coastal areas
will soon be swamped beneath the waves.
To back up their claims, they cite state-
ments from the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) asserting
it’s “very likely” that sea-level rise has
accelerated since the middle of the 20th
century in response to warming caused
by rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The IPCC, however, bases its claim on
computer model projections instead of
measured, real-life data.
Data lend little support to the claim
seas are rising at a historically unusual
or increasingly rapid rate. Global sea
levels have risen by approximately 400
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
SEAN RAYFORD/GETTY IMAGES
government on down, not only do females
and people of color receive special con-
sideration, but so do LGBTQ++, Hispanics
(designated by the wokerati as “Latinx”),
Muslims, and, in the many sanctuary
states and universities, illegal aliens.
As for “white supremacism” oppressing
“people of color” to maintain their control
and “privilege,” how do we explain that
the most successful people—education-
ally, economically, and professionally—in
the United States are Asians? And that
African and black Caribbean immigrants
are as or more successful on average than
whites? The evidence refutes the claim of
“systemic racism.”
Neo-Marxist ideological poison spreads
from university graduates to schools via
radical departments and faculties of edu-
cation, from university graduates to the
media, high tech, business, and beyond,
from law and medical schools to the pro-
fessions, and finally arrives in legislatures
and government officials, as we see today
in America’s Democratic and Canada’s
Liberal administrations.
From the poisoned well, all of our insti-
tutions are polluted.
Our most representative institutions
are state and provincial legislatures.
They’re closest to the citizens and tend to
be most sensitive to public opinion. Citi-
zens generally don’t agree with claims of
systemic racism, and disagree with poli-
cies based on race hate and gender hate,
and disagree with fighting imagined
discrimination with real discrimination.
State and provincial legislatures are the
funders of public universities and school
systems, and subsidizers of private uni-
versities. They’re in a position and have a
duty to be the antidote to the poison that
has infected our institutions.
Universities that are past reform should
be defunded until they return to their
educational mission. State and provin-
cial departments of education should be
revamped to ensure diversity of opinion.
Schools should be defunded until they’re
rid of racist and sexist ideologies. Our fu-
ture depends on state and provincial legis-
latures proactively providing the antidote.
Philip Carl Salzman is professor emeritus
of anthropology at McGill University, se-
nior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public
Policy, fellow at the Middle East Forum,
and president of Scholars for Peace in the
Middle East.
feet since the beginning of the end of
the most recent ice age (approximately
20,000 years ago). Historically, sea levels
have fluctuated over hundreds of thou-
sands of years, having nothing whatso-
ever to do with fossil fuel emissions.
Research shows most of the islands
making up nations such as Tuvalu and the
Maldives are gaining, not losing, land-
mass. A peer-reviewed study that exam-
ined 600 coral reef islands in the Pacific
and Indian Oceans reported approximate-
ly 40 percent of those islands remained
stable and 40 percent grew. More evidence
can be inferred from the fact that the
populations on these island nations and
the coastal United States are increasing in-
stead of fleeing. Moreover, in those places,
they’re putting up new, expensive build-
ings and associated infrastructure daily.
A 2019 report by Craig Idso, David Leg-
ates, and the late S. Fred Singer confirms
sea levels haven’t been rising at an un-
usual rate in recent years. After examin-
ing long-term data from tidal gauges and
other sources, Idso, Legates, and Singer
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
The Pandemic Has Not Stopped
China’s Military Buildup
RICHARD A. BITZINGER
The COVID-19 pandemic
has disrupted nearly
all aspects of daily life
across the globe, but
when it comes to China’s
People’s Liberation Army
(PLA), the virus has hardly
blunted the pace of modernization.
Overall, the PLA is still on track toward
meeting its goals of achieving “complete
military modernization” by 2035, and be-
coming a “world-class” military by 2049.
In the first place, the pandemic hasn’t
really impacted Chinese defense spend-
ing. In 2021, Beijing plans to allocate
1.355 trillion yuan ($202 billion) to
the PLA. This represents a 6.8 percent
increase over 2020 military spending,
which grew 6.6 percent over 2019.
To be sure, the growth in Chinese
military expenditures has tapered off
somewhat since the heyday of the 2000s
and early 2010s, when annual increases
in defense spending averaged around 10
to 15 percent.
Nevertheless, in an age of near-zero
inflation, annual defense spending in-
creases of 6 to 7 percent are striking, and
there are no signs of abatement. Certain-
ly, no public figure in China is calling for
cuts in military spending.
Consequently, Chinese defense spending
outstrips all other Asian and all European
militaries, including Russia, and in the
21st century, China has become the sec-
ond-largest defense spender in the world.
Keep in mind, too, this $202 billion
number is only the official figure—hid-
den spending or “purchasing power
parity” metrics could add additional bil-
lions to the “real” Chinese defense bud-
get. That means a lot of money for buying
new arms and engaging in cutting-edge
military research and development
(R&D), and, in fact, the pandemic doesn’t
appear to have slowed any of China’s
rapid pace of military acquisitions.
Military shipbuilding has been partic-
ularly prolific. In late April, for example,
the PLA simultaneously commissioned
three warships: the Type-075 (Yushen-
class) helicopter carrier Hainan, the
Type-055 (Renhai-class) guided-missile
cruiser Dalian, and a fourth-in-class
Type-94 (Jin-class) nuclear-powered bal-
listic missile submarine.
The Chinese arms industry is busy
building other ships as well, including a
JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES
Part of the glacial ice sheet that covers about
80 percent of Greenland, on July 17, 2013.
write, “the highest quality coastal tide
gauges from around the world show no
evidence of acceleration since the 1920s.”
The difference between data recorded
by the global tidal gauge system and
projections made by supposed climate
authorities is because, “like ice melt-
ing, sea-level rise is a research area that
has recently come to be dominated by
computer models,” the authors write.
“Whereas researchers working with
datasets built from long-term coastal tide
gauges typically report a slow linear rate
of sea-level rise, computer modelers as-
sume a significant anthropogenic forcing
and tune their models to find or predict
an acceleration of the rate of rise.”
Human actions, such as the construc-
tion of barriers, channeling of rivers,
conversion of coastal wetlands into
densely populated metropolitan areas,
and draining of coastal aquifers for hu-
man consumption (which causes land
subsidence) have undoubtedly made
some coastal regions and populations
more vulnerable to rising seas. Nonethe-
less, there is little evidence increased
greenhouse gas emissions are contribut-
ing to ocean rise.
In a 2017 Heartland Institute study,
geophysicist Dennis Hedke analyzed
data from 10 coastal cities with relatively
OPINION | A17
Chinese People’s Liberation
Army soldiers line up during mil-
itary training in the Pamir Moun-
tains, in Kashgar, Xinjiang Prov-
ince, China, on Jan. 4, 2021.
STR/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
third (and perhaps even fourth) aircraft
carrier and several new destroyers, frig-
ates, and corvettes. The rest of China’s
military-industrial base appears also to
have been left untouched, and the re-
capitalization and modernization of the
PLA have proceeded unabated.
In fact, it appears that the only part of
the Chinese defense industry that the
pandemic adversely affected was the
country’s diesel-electric submarine
(SSK) sector, which is based in Wuhan
(“ground zero” for the virus).
The Wuhan shipyards were tempo-
rarily shut during the initial COVID-19
outbreak, but they soon reopened and
began making up for lost time (including
constructing eight SSKs for Pakistan).
Consequently, China’s aggressive and
concerted efforts to transform and ex-
pand its military forces have hardly been
slowed. The PLA is in the midst of a mas-
sive, multi-decade dual-track (“double
construction”) modernization strategy of China as a “technological superpower.” U.S. Africa Command recently asserted
“mechanization and informatization.” Chinese leaders want to use MCF in that the PLA is looking for a military port
order to position the country to compete on Africa’s west coast).
militarily and economically in the next Altogether, the PLA is continuing to
China’s drive to become a great industrial-technological revolution. develop a robust anti-access/area-denial
Consequently, MCF has been an integral (A2/AD) capability for near-sea defense,
major global power continues component of nearly every major Chi- with the expectation of complementing
unabated, and the COVID-19 nese industrial or technological initia- this with a growing power-projection ca-
pandemic has hardly dampened tive, including “Made in China 2025” and pacity into the Pacific, India, and (even-
the “Next Generation Artificial Intelli- tually) Atlantic oceans. China’s drive to
that campaign. gence Plan.” become a major global power continues
Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic has unabated, and the COVID-19 pandemic
The first part of this effort is nearly com- made hardly a dent in China’s increas- has hardly dampened that campaign.
plete. The PLA now possesses the largest ingly globalized ambitions to become
navy in the world, according to the U.S. a major superpower, and to back that Richard A. Bitzinger is an independent
Department of Defense, and the PLA Air up with a modern, world-class military. international security analyst. He was
Force is nearly entirely re-equipped with Chinese defense spending growth hasn’t previously a senior fellow with the Military
new fourth-generation and fifth-genera- been slowed, and Beijing has still been Transformations Program at the S. Raja-
tion fighter jets, air-to-air refueling planes, able to throw a lot of money at the PLA. ratnam School of International Studies
and modern long-range transports. China hasn’t moderated its militari- (RSIS) in Singapore, and he has held jobs in
Consequently, the PLA is shifting its zation of the South China Sea, and it’s the U.S. government and at various think
focus to the next phase, which it calls expanding its military footprint into the tanks. His research focuses on security and
“intelligentized warfare.” “Intelligentiza- Indian Ocean—including the establish- defense issues relating to the Asia-Pacific
tion” particularly values artificial intel- ment of its first overseas military base in region, including the rise of China as a
ligence (AI) as a critical force multiplier, Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa—and per- military power, and military moderniza-
and as a result, Beijing is making strate- haps even into the Atlantic (the head of tion and arms proliferation in the region.
gic investments in AI in order to reap na-
tional security benefits. China is seeking
to gain parity with other world leaders
in AI by the early 2020s and become the
global leader in AI by 2030.
Military-civil fusion (MCF) has become
a key component of this strategy. MCF
is a process of combining defense R&D
with its commercial counterparts, and it
is part of a long-term and “whole of soci-
ety” strategic effort by Beijing to position
long and reliable sea-level records. He
found there was no correlation between
changes in sea levels at these locations
and rising carbon dioxide levels.
Behind the
For some cities, the rate of sea-level rise
has remained virtually constant, neither
increasing nor declining appreciably
from the rates experienced before hu-
mans began adding substantial amounts
Subscription
of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
Other cities, such as Ceuta, Spain, have
experienced very little sea-level rise over
the past century, exhibiting almost a flat
trend line well below the historic rate
of global sea-level rise of approximately
seven inches per century. Other cities, Your subscription will not only provide you with
such as Sitka, Alaska, have experienced accurate news and features, but also contribute
falling sea levels. Still others, such as At- to the revival of American journalism and help
lantic City, New Jersey, have experienced
a large, rapid increase in sea levels. safeguard our freedoms for future generations.
The point is that different areas around
the world are having different experi- We aim to tell you what we see, not how to think; we
ences with sea levels, with differences in
the rate of sea-level rise being largely the strive to deliver you a factual picture of reality that
result of localized conditions, not global lets you form your own opinions.
climate change.
Our knowledge of previous intergla-
cial cycles indicates seas will continue We believe that we live in truly epochal times, where
rising unless and until the next ice age the faithful representation of our current events
comes. Like the apocryphal King Canute won’t just be important for the people of today, but
knew, human efforts to try to stop the
rising tides are bound to fail; nature, not also for the generations to come. The records we
humanity, rules the seas. keep now will directly inform the foundations of the
It makes sense to prepare for rising seas history they’ll learn and the values they’ll cherish—
by hardening coastal areas, discourag-
ing ill-advised coastal development, and and this knowledge is what drives us.
making people living along coasts aware
investments made there could be swal- Learn more at
lowed by rising water. Ending the use of
fossil fuels and giving ever-larger govern- EpochSubscription.com
ments increasing power over people’s lives
will not stop the seas from rising; it will
only make people poorer and less free.
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is a senior fel- TRUTH AND TRADITION
low at The Heartland Institute, a nonpar-
tisan, nonprofit research center head-
quartered in Arlington Heights, Ill.
A18 | PUZZLES TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021

CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF
Across
1. Texas ___
4. ___ Loma, Calif.
8. Pres. Jefferson
12. German direction
15. “A curse on your fam-
ily!”
16. Looked over
17. Lawyer’s fee
19. Like some wells
21. Type of greenhouse
22. “My two troubles they
___ me of rest” (Hous-
man)
23. Nervous system infec-
tion
25. “Down for the count”
count
26. “Savvy?”
27. Egyptian boy king
28. Sylvester, to Tweety
29. Ancient military hub
3. Foot bones 4NUMBERS CONSTRUCTED BY C. CHANG
AT 4NUMS.COM DAILY BRIDGE CLUB
4. Gave in
Use the four numbers in the corners, and Tipping point
5. Waikiki wear the operands (+, - X, and ÷) to build an BY FRANK STEWART, TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
6. Dabbling ducks equation to get the solution in the middle.
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
There may be more than one “unique” so-
7. Hall of fame lution but, there may also be “equivalent” A player came to me in the club lounge with
8. Gait faster than a walk solutions. For example: 6 + (7 X 3) +1 = 28
a request.
and 1+ (7 X 3) + 6 = 28
9. Regarding this point “Give me one tip that will help me be a
10. Hokkaido port better declarer,” he said.
How would you have responded to that?
11. To provide something At today’s four hearts, South ruffed the
necessary or useful third diamond and took the K-A of trumps.
When West discarded, South cashed the
12. Like a brigadier general queen of trumps and started the clubs.
13. Arrange in rows He would have been safe if the suit had
14. Met split 3-2, but the 4-1 split ruined him. (East
refused to ruff on a second club lead from
18. “Where did ___ dummy.) The result was down two.
wrong?”
20. “Tinker to ___ to ONE TRICK
South saves one trick by not taking the
Chance” queen of trumps, but he can actually
24. Children’s doctor? make his game. The most important
Hard 1 - 1 Solution
principle of dummy play that I know:
29. “Butter” used in some When a contract looks tough, and trump
lotions control may be an issue, attack your side
30. Combine suit early.
After South takes the king of trumps
31. Comments to the audi- (or after ruffing the third diamond),
ence he leads the king and a low club. East
discards, and South wins and ruffs a
33. Attention-_____ low club in dummy. He can keep control
35. Depreciation and is almost sure to succeed however
37. Verdi’s “___ tu” the cards lie.
38. Alongside DAILY QUESTION
39. Wall, for one You hold: kA 8 7 6 3 j K 9 3 i K 3
44. Capital of Valais, 2 hK 7. You open one spade, and your
Hard 2 - 1 Solution partner bids two hearts. What do you
Switzerland say?
32. Actor Tognazzi 67. Put away 47. N.S. clock setting ANSWER: This is a textbook problem.
34. Winged 69. Confounded 49. Platitude To raise to three hearts is correct.
Partner’s response promises at least five
36. Savvy 72. It combines with war 50. Newton fraction hearts. (Strictly speaking, he promises a
39. Put away and law 51. “Enough ___!” suit with which he could accept a raise
40. Canon camera model 73. Thalidomide, e.g. with three-card support.) If he had only
53. Serves four hearts, he would have an alternative
41. Most desperate 76. Prison-related 55. Chengchow’s province response — even a temporizing response
42. French possessive 79. Naturally occurring (Var.) in a three-card minor.
North dealer
43. “Aladdin” prince and alcohol in fruits, beans 56. More unkempt N-S vulnerable
namesakes and grains 58. Bit of strategy NORTH
45. Social reformer Doro- 80. Southeast Asian kA 8 7 6 3
59. Property recipient, jK 9 3
thea tongue sometimes iK 3 2
Easy 1 - 1 Solution hK 7
46. Blacken 82. Bunkie? 60. Biker’s camping gear
WEST EAST
48. Criteria: Abbr. 83. “What ___?” 62. Actress Sophia kK J 5 2 kQ 10 9 4
52. Chemical ending 84. Poseidon’s domain 64. Andean capital j4 jJ 10 8 6
54. Requirements for
iQ J 10 9 iA 8 7 5
85. French seasoning 68. Complete hJ 10 8 3 h9
some degrees 86. Jack of “Rio Lobo” 70. Yak’s home SOUTH
57. Scandinavian rug type 87. Four: Prefix 71. Step on it! kNone
jA Q 7 5 2
58. No-nos 88. “Dog Day Afternoon” 74. Communication for i6 4
61. Trattoria treat character the deaf: Abbr. hA Q 6 5 4 2
63. Coeur d’___, Idaho 75. Gr. 1-6 North East South West
1k Pass 2h Pass
64. “___ chance!” Down 77. Lost 2 NT Pass 3j Pass
65. Blew 1. Come from ___ 78. Faithful, in old poetry 3 NT Pass 4j All Pass
66. Div. of Scotland Yard 2. Leeds’s river 81. W.W. II craft: Abbr. Easy 2 - 2 Solutions Opening lead —iQ

WORDSEARCH CONSTRUCTED BY TOM HOUSTON

EPOCH TIMES STAFF SUPER KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

Help with Today’s Crossword Puzzle? Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers 1-9
so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete.

ALATE DOES TIME PENAL TACTICS

ALENE EVERS REAVE TEALS
ALIENEE GETTER RETAINER THESES
ANNIE HERETO SCALE TIBET
ARTESIAN HONAN SERIATE TOOTED
ASIDES HORSE SENSE SEUSS TORTELLINI
BALINESE INOSITOL SLOPPIER TOTAL
BEDROLL LOREN SPARTA TRITENESS
BOGOTA METATARSI STORED TRYSTED
CELLMATE NEXT TO STREET
DIREST OTARU TABOOS

SOLUTIONS
CROSSWORD SUPER KAKURO 4NUMBERS

HARD 1

HARD 2

EASY 1

EASY 2
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 PUZZLES | A19
SUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN SUPERSUDOKU CONSTRUCTED
BY KANNAN SANKARAN

Fill in the boxes using numbers between 1 and 9 so that each column, each Fill in the boxes using numbers from 0 to 9 and letters from A to F so that each column, each row, and
row, and each 3x3 square contain all nine numbers only once. each 4x4 square contain all ten numbers and six letters only once.
Hard

Easy

CRYPTIC QUOTE
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
12

EPOCH DOKU CONSTRUCTED

BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF

KAKURO CONSTRUCTED
BY EPOCH TIMES STAFF JUMBLE BY DAVID L. HOYT
& JEFF KNUREK

Kakuro puzzles are like crosswords that use numbers instead of words. The goal THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME
is to fill the blank squares associated with a clue (called a “run”) with the numbers By David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek
1-9 so that the numbers add up to the corresponding clues. Like Sudoku, digits Unscramble these Jumbles,
in a run cannot repeat. When the grid is filled, the puzzle is complete. one letter to each square,
Get the free JUST JUMBLE app • Follow us on Twitter @PlayJumble

to form four ordinary words.

Easy
NARDG
EPOCH ESCAPE MAZE
NRASL

VTIRED

BSCAAU
Now arrange the circled letters
©2021 Tribune Content Agency, LLC to form the surprise answer, as
All Rights Reserved. suggested by the above cartoon.
Answer
here:

WORK SPACE

SOLUTIONS
SUPERSUDOKU SUDOKU: EASY JUMBLE EASY KAKURO
— STAND GUARD WORK SPACE
down on the job, so they
ingham Palace can’t sit
The protectors at Buck-
Answers:

ABACUS
DIVERT
SNARL
SUDOKU: HARD EPOCH DOKU
GRAND
Jumbles:

CRYPTIC QUOTE
repeat it.
you won’t be called on to
If you don’t say anything,

Contact the Puzzle Master @: Feedback@EpochTimes.com

A20 | TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021

Truth and Tradition

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 MUSEUM OF LONDON
FILM REVIEW CRAFTSMANSHIP

A Lesson in Endurance The Immortal Swan

The Oscar-winning “Minari” asks: Will a Korean family Conservation efforts have revived one of ballerina
transplanted to rural America survive? Anna Pavlova’s signature costumes: ‘The Dying Swan.’

See B7 See B2

LITERATURE|PERFORMING ARTS|ENTERTAINMENT TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 B1

KEAN COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

Reading has been a part of American family life since our founding. Etching from the mid-1800s.

LITERATURE

Sages, Saints, and Surprises:

Some Writing That Shaped America
PUBLIC DOMAIN

JEFF MINICK odicals played important parts in shaping The title page of

S
our nation. The King James Bible, for exam- the first edition of
ince the 18th century, the printed In 1828, ple, was not only the central text for most “The Federalist: A
word has influenced the course of Protestant churches—and remains so for Collection of Essays,
American history. the United many today—but its prose and poetry, read Written in Favour of
From the founding of the United at home and in church, and quoted during the New Constitution,
States, its literacy rates were higher
States sermons, also heavily impacted our lan-
as Agreed Upon by the
Federal Convention,
than the countries of Europe. In his article sported 50 guage.  It influenced the style, vocabulary, September 17, 1787.”
“The Spread of Education Before Compul- and prose rhythms of writers as varied as In Two Volumes.
sion,” Edwin West of the Foundation for Eco- universities Herman Melville, Abraham Lincoln, and (1st ed.), 1788, by
nomic Education writes that by 1800, literacy Ernest Hemingway. Publius, a pseudonym
among white American males had reached and 600 Many other books are central to the story for Alexander
almost 90 percent. In 1828, the United States of our nation. Originally published as a series Hamilton, John Jay,
sported 50 universities and 600 newspapers newspapers of anonymous articles by Alexander Ham- and James Madison.
Rare Books and
and journals. As West tells us, one writer
reported that year, “With us a newspaper
and ilton, James Madison, and John Jay, “The
Federalist Papers” continues to be read and Special Collections
Division of the Library
is the fare of almost every meal in almost journals. debated by today’s constitutional scholars.
of Congress.
every family.”
Consequently, certain books and peri- Continued on B4
B2
2021 NTD 8TH
International
Chinese Vocal
Competition
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CRAFTSMANSHIP
Reviving ‘The Dying
Swan,’ Ballerina Anna
Pavlova’s Costume
‘Conservation in the City’
at the Museum of London
LORRAINE FERRIER
W
hile under lock-
down, staff at the
Museum of London
decided to edit a series
of videos documenting
the restoration of a rarely displayed
item in the museum’s fashion and tex-
tile archive: legendary ballerina Anna
Pavlova’s swan costume. Pavlova was
believed to have worn the costume
around 1910 for a performance of “The
Dying Swan.”
The stunning costume consists of
a cream-colored silk, boned bodice
adorned with green glass gems and
goose feathers, and a cotton tutu made
from a mass of tulle and sequins that
together imitate a majestic swan and
its incredible plumage. When per-
forming, Pavlova would have worn
a diamanté headdress of green glass
gems trimmed with feathers.
Pavlova’s swan costume would
have been one of many. According to
a dancer who worked with Pavlova,
a fresh swan costume was made for
each performance run. Pavlova per-
formed “The Dying Swan” about 4,000
times.
The costume is rarely on display due
to the garment’s delicate nature and
environmentally sensitive details,
including the silk material and goose
feathers, the museum wrote in an
email.
The footage of the restoration was
shot for the museum’s “Conserva-
tion in the City” series, just before
the costume was sent to New York for
the exhibition “Ballerina: Fashion’s
Modern Muse” at the Museum at the
Fashion Institute of Technology.
The first two episodes in the five-
part “Conservation in the City” series
can now be viewed on the Museum of
London website, and a new episode
will be released each month.
In the first video, the museum’s
textile conservator Emily Austin ex-
plains how she first checks the condi-
tion of the garment. At the beginning
of the restoration, she estimates that
the job would be completed in over
100 hours due to the complexity of the
garment and its many different ma-
terials. Time and dust has dimmed
the once white costume. The garment
has lost its shape, and the elastic on
the shoulders is gone. Austin will
strengthen and realign some of the
goose feathers and maybe infill them.
The tulle-silk skirt is understand-
ably worn, and over time small tears
have appeared throughout the tutu,
mainly on the edges, undoubtedly
taking the strain of Pavlova’s expres-
sive dying-swan song.
In the second video, Austin explains
how she uses a fine rabbit-hair brush
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
MUSEUM OF LONDON
Ballerina
Anna Pavlova
performed
‘The Dying
Swan’ about
4,000 times.
A portrait of
Anna Pavlova in
a photographic
reproduction, in an
engraved medallion
by the 17th-century
English artist William
Faithorne.
to remove the layers of dust. She then
uses a museum vacuum topped with
netting to remove the more stubborn
surface grime. Austin then assesses
the tulle damage more closely, patch-
ing up tears with hair-thin polyester
thread that has been dyed to color
match the material. She places a piece
of netting behind each tear and then
attaches the patch to the tulle by using
a simple running stitch. The repair
can hardly be seen, and ditto for the
thread shown in the camera shot.
What is clear is the amount of pa-
tience and attention to detail that is
needed for the job. We’ll have to wait
for the third episode to see what hap-
pens next.
How ‘The Dying Swan’ Came to Be
“The Dying Swan’’ is arguably Pav-
lova’s most famous solo piece. Rus-
sian ballet dancer and choreographer
Michael Fokine created the piece at
her request in 1905. She had just been
accepted as a ballerina in the Imperial
Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg,
Russia, and was required to perform
a solo piece at a gala concert given by
the theater’s artists.
Fokine knew of Pavlova’s love for
swans. (She would later have swans
on a large pond at her London home,
so she could closely imitate them in
her ballet.) Fokine also knew that Pav-
lova enjoyed British poet Alfred Ten-
nyson’s poem “The Dying Swan,” in
which the poet wonderfully describes
the swan song—the beautiful melody
the swan sings as it approaches death.
EILEEN COSTA/THE MUSEUM AT FIT
Anna Pavlova’s costume for “The Dying
Swan” was featured in the exhibition “Bal-
lerina: Fashion’s Modern Muse,” at the
Museum at the Fashion Institute of Tech-
nology in New York, which ran from Feb.
11 to April 18, 2020.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021 B3
MUSEUM OF LONDON

I.
The plain was grassy, wild and bare,
Wide, wild, and open to the air,
Which had built up everywhere
An under-roof of doleful gray.
With an inner voice the river ran,
Adown it floated a dying swan,
And loudly did lament.
It was the middle of the day.
Ever the weary wind went on,
And took the reed-tops as it went.

II.
Some blue peaks in the distance rose,
And white against the cold-white sky,
Shone out their crowning snows.
One willow over the river wept,
And shook the wave as the wind did sigh;
Above in the wind was the swallow,
Chasing itself at its own wild will,
And far thro’ the marish green and still
The tangled water-courses slept,
Shot over with purple, and green, and yellow.

III.
The wild swan’s death-hymn took the soul
Of that waste place with joy
Hidden in sorrow: at first to the ear
The warble was low, and full and clear;
And floating about the under-sky,
Prevailing in weakness, the coronach stole
Sometimes afar, and sometimes anear;
But anon her awful jubilant voice,
With a music strange and manifold,
Flow’d forth on a carol free and bold; Anna Pavlova’s ballet dress, 20th century. A dancer who worked with Pavlova recalled how she would have the swan tutu remade by
As when a mighty people rejoice her wardrobe mistress, Madame Manya, before each new run of performances.
With shawms, and with cymbals, and harps of gold,
And the tumult of their acclaim is roll’d RV1864/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Thro’ the open gates of the city afar, Tennyson’s poem inspired Fokine’s
To the shepherd who watcheth the evening star. dance. He choreographed the piece
And the creeping mosses and clambering weeds, to “The Swan,” the 13th movement
And the willow-branches hoar and dank, of  “The Carnival of the Animals,”
And the wavy swell of the soughing reeds, by French composer Camille Saint-
And the wave-worn horns of the echoing bank, Saëns. The movement was originally
And the silvery marish-flowers that throng scored for a solo cello accompanied by
The desolate creeks and pools among, two pianos.
Were flooded over with eddying song. Russian dance critic André Levin-
son described Pavlova’s performance
of “The Dying Swan”:
The tension gradually relaxes and she
sinks to earth, arms waving faintly as
in pain. Then faltering with irregular
steps toward the edge of the stage—
leg bones quiver like the strings of a
harp—by one swift forward-gliding
motion of the right foot to earth, she
sinks on the left knee—the aerial
creature struggling against earthly
bonds; and there, transfixed by pain,
she dies.”

“Arms folded, on tiptoe, she dreamily Poignantly, on her deathbed in 1931,

Pavlova’s performance of
‘The Dying Swan,’ with her
expressive movements, influ-
enced how ballerinas performed
Tchaikovsky’s ‘Swan Lake.’
Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova
kept swans on a large pond at
her London home, so she could
emulate them in her ballet.
and slowly circles the stage. By even,
gliding motions of the hands, return-
ing to the background from whence
she emerged, she seems to strive
toward the horizon, as though a mo-
ment more and she will fly—exploring
the confines of space with her soul.
Pavlova’s last words were “Get my
swan costume ready.”
To find out more about the Museum of
London’s conservation of Anna Pav-
lova’s swan costume, see http://ept.ms/
TheDyingSwanCostumeVideo1

Original artworks, canvas wraps,

art posters, and framed prints of
Award-winning oil paintings
now available for purchase at

I n s p ire d O r i g i n a l .O rg
B4
JANKO FERLIC/UNSPLASH
LITERATURE
Sages, Saints, and Surprises
Some Writing That Shaped
Continued from B1
Some literary works resulted in social
change, like Jacob Riis’s “How the Other
Half Lives,” an exposé of the late 19th-
century slums in Manhattan’s Lower East
Side, or Upton Sinclair’s novel “The Jungle,”
which turned a bright light on the unsani-
tary practices of the Chicago meatpacking
industry and brought about government
safety regulations in food production.
Other books have influenced our culture
in more subtle ways. Harper Lee’s “To Kill
a Mockingbird,” with its portrayal of the
heroic attorney Atticus Finch, surely has
led many a young person into the practice
of law.
“Alcoholics Anonymous,” also known to
members of AA as “The Big Book,” is the
core document of the organization that
has helped millions of people around the
world overcome their addiction to drink.
And Dr. Benjamin Spock’s 1946 “The Com-
mon Sense Book of Baby and Child Care”
changed the way many Americans raised
their children.
Let’s take some time to look at a few other
books crucial to our history in more depth.
The First American
Though Benjamin Franklin earned the
title of “The First American” for his early
calls for unity among the colonies, he also
PUBLIC DOMAIN
deserves that recognition for his ad-
vocacy of free enterprise and for his
When we read intellectual adventurism. An inven-
the books that tor, a writer, a publisher, a believer
in volunteerism—he helped found
helped shape fire departments and public librar-
ies—Franklin stands as the quintes-
our culture, sential self-made American.
we don’t In his “Autobiography,” which
remains eminently readable and
just deepen which I used to assign to my Ameri-
can history students, Franklin
our love and tells the story of his impoverished
understanding youth, demonstrates his belief in
self-responsibility, gives us his rulesl for
f B
of our self-improvement that helped him achieve
his success, and describes his many forays
country. We into the fields of science, commerce, writ-
deepen our ing, and public life.
More than any other person in our his-
love and tory, Franklin is responsible for delineat-
understanding ing and shaping the idea of the American
Dream. Work hard, live virtuously, and
of one look for opportunity, Franklin tells us in
his “Autobiography,” and you will find suc-
another. cess in this country.
An American Saint
On meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, Abra-
ham Lincoln is reported to have said, “So
you’re the little woman who wrote the
book that made this great war.”
This “great war” was, of course, the Amer-
PUBLIC DOMAIN ican Civil War, and the book was “Uncle
Tom’s Cabin,” an 1852 novel about slavery
in the South that sold more than 300,000
copies in the first year of its publication.
The story converted many Northerners
into abolitionists and enraged many in
the South who owned slaves.
In Uncle Tom, Stowe created a Christian
hero of saintly proportions, a man who
even on his deathbed forgave those who
had beaten him. His example led both
other slaves and some of the white slave-
holders in the novel to convert to Christi-
William Holmes anity, and in the case of the latter, to free
McGuffey.
their slaves.
Remarkably, “Uncle Tom” is now a pe-
jorative for black men who are deemed
servile to whites or who are seen as hav-
ing betrayed black culture, leaving a ca-
sual observer to wonder whether those
delivering this insult have ever read and
The cover of
understood this book.
“The Eclectic First
Reader,” 1841, by Educating America
William Holmes One of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s dear
McGuffey. Truman and friends was William Holmes McGuffey,
Smith Publishing. the son of Scots immigrants who became
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
a schoolteacher. At the recommendation of
Stowe, a small publishing house in Cincin-
nati hired McGuffey to produce a series of
textbooks to help elementary school chil-
dren learn to read.
And so were born the “McGuffey Read-
ers.”
Eventually, there were four of these
“Readers.” The first book used phonics
and word repetition to teach reading, and
the other three provided students with
a series of stories, poems, and passages
from Scripture, including in the volumes
for more advanced students passages by
Benjamin luminaries like Shakespeare and Daniel
Franklin has Webster. From 1836 to 1960, about 120 mil-
been called the lion of these books were sold to schools
“first American.” and individuals. The “Readers” popular-
ized Shakespeare’s plays in the United
States, and Henry Ford was so enamored
of these texts, which he called one of the
great influences on his childhood, that he
had McGuffey’s boyhood cabin moved
to his Dearborn, Michigan, museum of
American history.
“McGuffey’s Readers” are still in print
and remain popular among homeschool-
ers. My wife and I owned a set of these and
used them to supplement our home-ed-
ucated children’s phonics and advanced
reading.
Self-Help
We Americans constantly seek to
better ourselves. We read diet and
exercise books, guides for home im-
provement and fashion, and manu-
als on everything ranging from the
improvement of our spiritual life to
fighting old age.
The granddaddy of these courses
in self-improvement was a man who
grew up in poverty, became a failed
traveling salesman, began teach-
ing courses in public speaking, and
One of the most eventually gained students in that subject
influential books from across the nation.
in 20th-century
This man was Dale Carnegie, and the
America. book he wrote based on his observations
and experiences, “How to Win Friends and
Influence People,” has since its publication
in 1937 sold well over 30 million copies.
In an article I wrote for The Epoch Times
in January, I looked at how some of Carn-
egie’s ideas might bring us together as a
nation in our present time of turmoil. If
nothing else, practicing his ideas might
help us heal personal relationships bro-
ken or stressed by political and cultural
disagreements.
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021   B5

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Some books change

a culture. ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’
contributed mightily to the
awareness that slavery was an
evil institution. The title-page
illustration by Hammatt Billings
for ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ First
Edition: Boston, John P. Jewett
& Company, 1852. 

America
PUBLIC DOMAIN
The wild success of “How to Win Friends totalitarianism, “1984.” A portrait
CHUNG I HO/THE EPOCH TIMES

and Influence People” led other writers, Yet even in our bitter and fractured of Harriet
hundreds of them, to venture into the times, surely some books can act as More than Beecher
realm of “self-help books.” Some books in glue binding us together. The books Stowe, circa
this genre sitting on my shelves are Charles reviewed above, for example, con- 750 million 1855, by
Francis Holl
Murray’s “The Curmudgeon’s Guide to tinue to appeal to audiences of all print books after a painting
Getting Ahead,” Jordan Peterson’s “12 backgrounds, and books similar to
Rules for Life,” and  Brené Brown’s “Dar- these—diet and health books, self- were sold in by George
Richmond.
ing Greatly.” Whether they know it or not, help books of all kinds, novels—are
these authors and their books are the liter- open to all readers. Autobiographies
2020 in the National
Portrait
ary descendants of Dale Carnegie. like Booker T. Washington’s “Up United States. Gallery.
From Slavery” or Ulysses Grant’s
Culinary Delights “Personal Memoirs” give us insights
At my elbow is a fat volume, 1,132 pages, A copy of George into the struggles of earlier Americans, no
of recipes and tips on the culinary arts. Orwell’s novel matter what our class or race. Children’s Jeff Minick has four children and a
According to comments on the jacket, the “1984”. books like Margaret Wise Brown’s “Good- growing platoon of grandchildren.
New York Public Library designated this night Moon,” Don Freeman’s “Corduroy,” For 20 years, he taught history, literature,
tome as “one of the 150 most important and and E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web” are also and Latin to seminars of homeschooling
influential books of the twentieth century.” part of this shared cultural heritage. students in Asheville, N.C. He is the author
Self-published in 1931 by Irma Rom- When we read the books that helped of two novels, “Amanda Bell” and
bauer and her daughter Marion, “The Joy shape our culture—and there are scores “Dust On Their Wings,” and two works
of Cooking” soon became a bestseller and of them—we don’t just deepen our love of non-fiction, “Learning As I Go” and
America’s most-beloved cookbook. Rom- and understanding of our country. We “Movies Make The Man.” Today, he
bauer’s engaging style and simple reci- deepen our love and understanding of lives and writes in Front Royal, Va.
pes appealed in particular to the middle one another. See JeffMinick.com to follow his blog.
class. Today this cookbook has gone PUBLIC DOMAIN
through nine editions, with Rom-
bauer’s grandson and his wife hav-
ing added many more recipes to the
collection.
“The Joy of Cooking” helped shape
the American diet and influenced
the culinary revolution we’ve seen
in this country in the last 50 years.
Julia Child, author of “Mastering the
Art of French Cooking,” and in her
time a famed television chef, praised
“Mrs. Joy’s” book as having taught
her many of the basics of cooking.
From A to Z,
Books, Battles, and Common Ground the book that
teaches Americn
Despite our engagement with social me- how to cook.
dia and the huge number of websites and
blogs on the internet, we as a people con-
tinue to be writers and readers of books. In
2019, Americans wrote and published over
300,000 new titles. Though some readers
prefer e-books these days, nevertheless
more than 750 million print books were
sold in 2020 in the United States.
The current divisions in our country have
also given rise to a battle of the books. Au-
thors from various political persuasions
attack or defend our culture and our laws
with their books. And not all of what draws
the interest of the public comes from new
books. This past year’s pandemic man-
dates, riots, and presidential election, for
example, found many Americans picking
up a copy of George Orwell’s novel about Benjamin Franklin stands as the quintessential self-made American. A portrait of Benjamin Franklin in London, 1767, by David Martin.
B6
DANCE
Artist Profile:
Shen Yun
Principal Dancer
Michelle Lian’s
Magic Within
the Movements
CATHERINE YANG
M
ichelle Lian is a natural
dancer. When she was
younger, she thought danc-
ing was fun and picked
it up, trying on a few dif-
ferent styles. When she thinks back, she
says that classical Chinese dance has been
with her for a very long time. When she lost
interest in other forms, she went back to
classical Chinese dance.
Eventually, Lian focused all her time
and energy on developing fully in classi-
cal Chinese dance, perfecting the moves
and pursuing refi nement of the art in her
career, all while retaining the joy of it.
But gradually, day by day, she start-
ed to glimpse something behind each
movement she performed. “The more
I dance, the more I discover that there
was deeper meaning inside,” Lian said
in an interview. She’s been a dancer in
practicum with Shen
Yun Performing Arts
since 2014.
Th is premier classi-
cal Chinese dance com-
pany, based in New York, has
in the past dozen years been
responsible for the revitalization
of this art form and thus the traditional
culture it embodies. Formed in the very
foundation of this ancient system of
dance, in every movement and gesture,
is something that Lian gradually realized
is worth treasuring:
“It’s a very vast, very grand thing. It’s
very deep. Once you know a move, it’s
not just about how you do it, not just how
your hand goes this way and your foot
goes that way, and you position your head
there. It’s not just like that. It’s a much
more holistic thing.”
When people see Shen Yun dancers on
stage, sometimes all in perfect unison
while still in motion, the precision of that
hand gesture, that placement of the foot,
and the position of the head is impressive.
But what sticks with audiences is what
they often describe as an indescribable,
but uplifting, feeling.
Magical
On stage, together with the dancers she so
BEHOLD THE BEAUTY
An Angel’s Woe
‘Heaven Cries’ by Spanish painter Montse Jara
LORRAINE FERRIER
In the pastel painting “Heaven Cries,”
Spanish painter Montse Jara depicts an
adorable young angel in heaven. He’s deep
in thought, but he’s not contemplating play.
His face is forlorn, and a couple of tears
escape him. His left hand gestures toward
the earth below as he timidly points his
index finger gently down in condemnation.
His tears are for us.
Traditionally, angels have symbolized the
protection of human beings. In particular,
Roman Catholics view angels as interme-
diaries between God and men, Jara said
in an email.
She explains that this messenger of God
is denouncing the time in which we live:
“He observes, from above, how the hu-
man being destroys himself and his sur-
roundings.” Jara sees our time “as a time of
selfishness, where there is no empathy be-
Michelle Lian won
the Gold Award
in the 2018 NTD
International Clas-
sical Chinese Dance
Competition.
admired, “it’s very magical,” Lian
said. Not just the movements but also the
energy of the group has to be in sync to
achieve that effect.
“You can actually feel the energy of ev-
eryone. You feel like everyone is in sync
with everybody else. You can actually
feel their breathing and heartbeat, and
then your footsteps just connect together.
Maybe that’s why we have such impres-
sive energy when we dance, as the audi-
ences say,” she said.
Back when Lian was only a mem-
ber of the audience, her only reac-
tion was to marvel at how beauti-
ful the dances were. Now that she
knows these artists personally—
as individuals, professionals, and
friends—she sees their performances
in a different light.
“It’s actually even more
touching, at times, be-
cause you know how
hard they’ve worked,”
she said. “After you
know their difficulties,
their happiness, the
things they go through
to achieve something like
that, and they present something that
is very pure and righteous, it’s quite
touching. You know how hard it is to
Michelle achieve that.”
Lian won the Her fellow dancers in the company
Junior
have been great artists and mentors
Division Gold
Award in the not just in dance but also in life, Lian
2016 NTD added, because of the holistic view
International they have of their craft.
Classical For instance, Lian explained, what
Chinese Dance she tries to bring to the audience is
Competition. something “clean and bright and
tween people, and where nature is threat-
ened by the decisions of men.”
Jara has emphasized the angel’s woe
by using a cold color palette for the back-
ground. Rather than showing the lightness
of heaven, she depicts the heaviness of the
angel’s turmoil.
Jara won a Conté à Paris Award at the
5th Biennial International Pastel Paint-
ing Competition 2020 for “Heaven Cries.”
Currently, Jara is focusing on creating
realistic figure paintings with a touch of
fantasy. She particularly enjoys painting
children, as she says that their expressions
help her convey tenderness and sincerity.
And, although children can be a challenge
to paint, she loves re-creating their delicate
tones and figures.
To find out more about Montse Jara’s
paintings, visit Facebook.com/Montse. “Heaven Cries,” 2017, by Montse Jara. Pastel on paper glued to
JaraChaves board; 30.7 inches by 25.9 inches.
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
While
dancing, you
need to expand
your heart.
Michelle Lian, dancer
H OT
OS
B YL
A RR
YD
YE
LP
AL
positive.”
“And it helps
when you don’t
think too much
about yourself.
While dancing, you
need to expand your
heart,” she said. It
helps to practice that
magnanimity of spirit in
everyday life, too.
“We expect each other to have
the will to improve. Not just
in dance but also morally. I
think we expect each other
to do that every single day,”
she said. “We don’t expect
other people to change sud-
denly, but we always watch for
the sparkle each day.”
A Vessel for Art
Classical Chinese dance is famously ex-
pressive, and Shen Yun’s dances always
include several storytelling pieces. So as
a dancer, Lian had to learn to act.
“I did ‘The Butterfly Lovers,’ and it was
quite interesting because in that piece,
I have to be a girl and pretend to be a
guy at the same time—in one piece,” she
said. It was quite the challenge for her
first dramatic role. “If I had to do it again,
I’ll probably do it a little differently this
time,” she said with a laugh.
“[With acting], you have to adjust your
emotions ... in order to be realistic you
need to layer emotions, and you need to
adjust the proportions to make something
better,” Lian said. Dancers of this cali-
ber work on perfecting what the average
dancer wouldn’t even realize is within
their control—like the tone of an interac-
tion with another dancer, or the whole
atmosphere of the stage.
To do this, Lian seeks a pure state of mind.
“It’s always easier to absorb and pres-
ent when the canvas is cleaner,” she
said. Classical Chinese dance is about
the feelings behind each movement,
Lian stressed, and to convey that bright,
clean, and pure energy to the audience,
she has to possess it herself. It seems
that ego would only get in the way. It’s
worth noting that Shen Yun translates
into something like “the beauty of divine
beings dancing,” and audiences tend to
find it apt. “Whether you’re portraying a
positive character or a negative character,
it’s always easier when you don’t have too
much of your ‘self,’” she said.
COURTESY OF MONTSE JARA
 TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
FILM INSIGHTS
Mark Jackson grew up in Spring Val-
ley, N.Y., where he attended a Waldorf
WITH MARK
school. At Williams College, his pro-
fessors all suggested he write pro-
fessionally. He acted professionally
JACKSON
‘Minari’: Korean
Immigrants Succeed in
America by Enduring
Like Water Celery
MARK JACKSON
“Minari” did for the 2021 Academy Awards
what the pop song “Gangnam Style” did for
music in 2012; it gave notice to America that
Korea can come over here and throw down
an artistic gauntlet on our own turf. Not
only can Korea play in our movie and music
playgrounds, but it can also score big.
Coming to America, Korean Version
It’s the 1980s. Jacob Yi (Steven Yeun), his
wife, Monica (Yeri Han), and their son Da-
vid (Alan Kim) and daughter Anne (Noel
Kate Cho) arrive from California to put
down roots in the Arkansas outback.
Jacob, by trade, inspects baby chickens
at a poultry farm (more like a chicken
Auschwitz, replete with smoke billowing
from heaps of incinerated baby roosters
who are of no monetary use to human
society). He determines their sex; his wife
for 20 years instead. Now he
writes professionally about
acting. In the movies.
‘Minari’
Director
Lee Isaac Chung
Starring
Steven Yeun, Yeri Han,
Alan S. Kim, Noel Kate
Cho, Yuh-jung Youn, Will
Patton
Rated
PG-13
Running Time
1 hour, 55 minutes
Release Date
Feb. 12, 2021 (USA)
(Left) David (Alan S.
Kim, L) learns from his
grandmother (Yuh-
jung Youn) about
where the minari plant
likes to grow.
(Below) Son David
(Alan S. Kim, L) and his
father, Jacob (Steven
Yeun), figure out the
best place to dig a well.
also does this.
Jacob understandably hates this job and
intends to use the family’s new stretch of
50 acres to grow the kinds of vegetables
that local Korean-Americans have a hard
time getting their hands on.
It’s a good plan; he’s put in the research
and informs Monica that if things go as
planned, “In three years we can quit chick-
en sexing.” Monica, however, is appalled
at their living conditions. They gave up a
supportive Korean community and regular
work in California to live in a double-wide
trailer in tornado land.
She despises the wheels on it, and labels
the entire situation as existing in “this hill-
billy place.” One can palpably access the
Edward Hopper-like loneliness of America
as experienced through her foreign sen-
sibilities.
To give Monica a helping hand, they in-
vite her mom, Soonja (played by Korean
screen legend Yuh-jung Youn who won
for best supporting actress), to come live
with them, in traditional Asian style. She
arrives bearing gifts: deer antler broth, an-
chovies, gochugaru (chili peppers), and
that for which the movie is named—the
minari plant. Minari (“water celery”) is a
leafy green vegetable that is used in Ko-
rean cooking; it’s sort of an edible weed
that grows near water.
Generation Gap
Little David initially doesn’t like grandma.
She doesn’t bake cookies like a normal
grandmother, and she swears too much.
He’s averse to having to sleep in the same
room with her because she “smells like
Korea,” but she immediately captures
the audience’s heart with her mixture of
irreverent elder wisdom, mischief, and
humor. Monica: “I’m sorry you have to
see how our life is now.” Soonja: “Are you
crying again? Why? Because the house
has wheels? It’s fun!”
Grandson David is a chronic bed-wetter,
and grandma teases him about it. She also
makes terrible-tasting Korean herbal tea
for his heart condition. (He has a small hole
in his heart.) David flushes the tea down
the toilet and then gets practical-joke re-
venge on grandma’s making fun of his bed-
wetting: He wees in the cup instead, and
when grandma’s distracted with watching
professional wrestling on TV (“Somebody
will get killed!”), David replaces her tea-
cup with his pee-cup. He gets the intended
reaction, but grandma also appreciates a
good practical joke, and eventually they
become fast friends.
Tribulations
So David’s got a heart defect, mom’s lonely,
frustrated, and angry, dad is harried and
put-upon, and grandma is frail. They have
no choice but to bear these crosses. How-
ever, friendly neighbor Paul (Will Patton),
who offers to work for Jacob, dispensing
many prayers, exorcisms, blessings, and
speaking in tongues—likes to bear an ac-
tual life-sized wooden cross up and down
the backwoods dirt roads on Sunday. That’s
his form of church.
There’s perhaps a nod to Robert Redford’s
“The Milagro Beanfield War,” where the
main character, Joe Mondragon, steals for-
bidden government water to irrigate his
crops. Jacob, pooh-poohing the advice of
a local water dowser about how to find wa-
ter—finding that much too witchy—tells
son David that Koreans will use their heads
and scientific deduction to not have to pay
for superstitious water divining. When the
well he deduces eventually runs dry, Jacob
ends up using the family trailer water to
irrigate crops.
Monica tells her mom, “He thinks I don’t
know.” They soon have no shower or cook-
ing water. Speaking of water, three of the
B7
ALL PHOTOS BY A24
(Far left) “Minari”
is about a Korean
immigrant family:
(L–R) Jacob (Steven
Yeun), David (Alan S.
Kim), Soonja (Yuh-
jung Youn), Monica
(Yeri Han), and Anne
(Noel Cho).
(Above left) (L–R)
Jacob (Steven Yeun),
David (Alan S. Kim),
Anne (Noel Cho), and
Monica (Yeri Han)
arriving in Arkansas.
(Left) (L–R) Jacob
(Steven Yeun), David
(Alan S. Kim), Anne
(Noel Cho), and
Monica (Yeri Han)
explore their new
home and farm.
Yuh-jung Youn won for best supporting actress
in her role as the family's grandmother.
Chinese five elements theory of wood, fire,
earth, metal, and water are well-represent-
ed in the film—their ability to nurture and
also to destroy the plans of humans.
Overall
“Minari” is timely: The Yis’ white neighbors
are quite nice. Sometimes, though, largely
due to the harmless naiveté of children,
the occasional ignorant comment or as-
sumption crops up, such as: “Why’s your
face so flat?” “It’s not.” “Wanna sleep over
at my house?”
One cute instance is a little girl in church
who approaches the Yis’ daughter, Anne,
and tries to “speak her language,” asking
Anne if she can let her know if she gets a
word right. She speaks some gibberish of
the “ching-chong” type and eventually hits
on an actual Korean word. When informed
of its meaning, the delighted child says,
“That’s so cool!”
‘Minari’ was up for six
Oscars and won one
at the 93rd Academy
Awards.
So basically, while Jacob and Monica
fight constantly throughout the film about
whether Jacob is putting the farm before
the family, much of how their life ends up
running its course is dictated by fate, and
as mentioned, the elements have much
to do with this. In a sense, the film’s char-
acters are bystanders in their own story.
The only real cultural assimilation we see
is the family going to church, and hard-
headed Jacob finally coming around to
the rural Arkansan cultural method of
locating water.
The minari plant is obviously signifi-
cantly symbolic. The essence of its char-
acter is that it endures hardship well. And
so this would fundamentally be a lesson
about going with the flow, since nature
ultimately decides things, as well as the
ability to endure, forbear, and stay the
course in life.
The Golden Globe Awards disqualified
“Minari” from the best drama category,
due to its having too much spoken Korean.
But it’s kind of a tough call: Most of the cast
is Korean, and yes, it’s mostly in Korean
with subtitles, so it was treated as a foreign
language film, yet its director, Lee Isaac
Chung, is Korean-American. It was pro-
duced by American companies (and Brad
Pitt), takes place in Arkansas, and basi-
cally explores the American immigrants’
problem of how to assimilate while holding
on to one’s roots. In any case, I’m thankful
that it won something major.
“Minari” was up for six Oscars, and won,
as mentioned, best supporting actress at
the 93rd Academy Awards. I recommend
watching the movie, and then Yuh-jung
Youn’s charming, endearing Oscar speech.
B8
FILM REVIEW
An Unflinchingly Realistic Look at Dementia
IAN KANE
T
here are some basic issues that we
all think about from time to time:
our own mortality, the meaning
of our existence, what happens
after death, and so on. But many
of us have also thought about the mortality
and decline of the elders we are related to
and love dearly.
Questions will eventually arise that con-
cern the care of our elderly loved ones, es-
pecially those whose minds begin to erode
as time passes—much like wind blowing
away a pile of sand, one grain at a time.
“The Father” is an incredibly moving sto-
ry about a once-proud man whose mind is
exhibiting signs of dementia. Thankfully,
this film doesn’t contain clichéd film-
making tropes when it comes to deeply
emotional subject matter such as this. You
won’t see any hazy flashbacks, disorient-
ing camera pans, other vertigo-inducing
camera trickery, or overly saturated vi-
gnettes. Instead, the unsettling moments
come from the gradual loss of one person’s
grasp of reality.
The film opens with an ever-dutiful
Virtue of the Brush
in a Time of Chaos
“When things are chaotic to the extreme,
order must be restored.”
- “The four books” by Zhu Xi
ALL PHOTOS BY SONY PICTURES CLASSICS
daughter, Anne (Olivia Colman), paying her
father, Anthony (Anthony Hopkins), a visit
at his upscale London flat. From the place’s
furnishings, we can see that Anthony has
had a life of prestige and importance.
Indeed, as he and his daughter trade
quips, we glean that Anthony still has stub-
born pride. We also learn that Anne is his
primary caregiver. During these opening
scenes, we see that although Anthony has
some memory lapses, his condition doesn’t
seem too extreme.
Anne has met a man named Paul (Rufus
Sewell), with whom she plans to move away
to Paris. Anthony seems surprised by the
news, but Anne assures him that she has
already discussed the matter with him.
It is also revealed that they’ve tried out
multiple caregivers for Anthony, but due to
the difficulty of handling his stubbornness
and mental condition, none have lasted
very long. It doesn’t help that he keeps tell-
ing Anne that the caregivers steal valuable
items from him (events that take place only
in his altered imagination).
Desperate to find someone who can handle
the job, Anne brings in a potential caregiv-
er, Laura (Imogen Poots), to meet Anthony.
The original calligraphy is now available for purchase at
Ins p ired O rig inal.O rg
‘The Father’
Director
Florian Zeller
Starring
Anthony Hopkins, Olivia
Colman, Rufus Sewell
Running Time
1 hour, 37 minutes
Rated
PG-13
Release Date
Feb. 26, 2021 (USA)
Anne (Olivia Colman)
tries to lovingly care
for father, Anthony
(Anthony Hopkins), who
is declining mentally.
Here, we see flashes of Anthony’s ingratiat-
ing charm as he flirts with Laura and even
breaks out into dance—telling her that he
used to be a famous tap dancer. But as soon
as he’s delighted Laura, he turns around and
becomes hurtful and offensive toward her,
embarrassing Anne in the process.
Due to her concern for Anthony’s rapidly
declining state, Anne decides to move her
father into the apartment she shares with
Paul. Paul isn’t too pleased with the situa-
tion and is unkind to Anthony, especially
after downing copious amounts of wine.
Paul feels as though he and Anne should
shove Anthony into a care center so that
they can move on with their lives together.
He backs up his spitefulness by reminding
Anne that Anthony’s doctor has recom-
mended putting him into a facility.
Although increasingly saddened by her
father’s failing state, Anne remains reso-
lute in her conviction to keep Anthony
out of a care facility. It seems as though
she would view backing out on Anthony
as a betrayal (and probably her own fail-
ure). But as Anthony becomes increas-
ingly difficult to manage, will her patience
and dedication be able to withstand the
TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2021
Rufus Sewell (L) and Anthony Hopkins in
“The Father.”
‘The Father’ is an
incredibly moving story
about a once-proud man
whose mind is exhibiting
signs of dementia.
mounting pressure?
One of the things that’s incredible about
this film is how it never quite settles into a
comfortable cadence. Although it has some
slower moments of beautifully structured
dialogue between its phenomenal cast, the
film—through Anthony’s mind—shows
random characters appearing at the same
locations or different ones, at different
times, to interact with him. The whole ef-
fect gives one a sense of extreme unease
because you never really know what’s going
to happen next.
There are plenty of films about aging,
as well as ones about people losing their
minds. However, I’ve never seen a film as
well-acted and unflinchingly realistic as
this one, as well as thought-provoking. In
the end, I hope “The Father” inspires peo-
ple to appreciate their lives (and health)
a little more, and also have gratitude for
all of the good times they have with their
loved ones while they’re still here, both
physically and mentally.
Ian Kane is a filmmaker and author
based out of Los Angeles. To learn more,
visit DreamFlightEnt.com