Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to make China and Taiwan’s “reunification,” as well as calling Beijing’s long-achieved goal “unstoppable.”
On Wednesday, Xi invoked the “bond of blood and kinship” between Chinese citizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in a speech delivered the following day China’s military was wrapping up its war games around Taiwan.
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Xi remarked, “The reunification of our motherland, a trend of the time, is unstoppable.”
Xi also praised the annual “Taiwan Recovery Day,” which commemorates the end of Japanese imperial rule on the island at the end of World War II, in 2025.
Following two days of live-fire drills that simulated a blockade of the island, Xi’s speech was followed by what officials called a “stern warning” against “separatist” and “external interference” forces.
In terms of area, the drills were the largest ever conducted in Taiwan.
Just days after the United States approved its largest-ever arms package to Taiwan, valued at $11.1 billion, the war games, codenamed “Justice Mission 2025,” were held in the United States.
Taiwan is viewed as a part of its territory by China, which has long pledged to retake control of it using force if necessary.
Taiwan’s government, which is currently in power, maintains that the island is de facto independent, despite the fact that it has, not, informally, declared, andnbsp, independence.
Taiwan’s President William Lai Ching-te made the pledge in his Thursday New Year’s Day address to “firmly” uphold national sovereignty and strengthen the island’s defenses.
The international community is closely monitoring Taiwan’s people’s resolve to defend themselves in the face of China’s growing expansionist ambitions, Lai said.
Taiwan is officially recognized by only 11 nations, including Vatican City, while its leaders are elected and have their own military, passport, and currency.
In order to maintain diplomatic ties with Beijing, China demands that other countries do not officially recognize Taipei.
Washington is assisting Taiwan in its defenses under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, despite the US’s official recognition of Taiwan.
Although Washington is Taipei’s main supplier of weapons, the law forbids a direct military response in the event of a Chinese blockade or invasion.
According to opinion polls, Taiwanese are overwhelmingly in favor of the status quo, with much less people in favor of averting a formal unification or independence.
Xi also praised China’s advancements in fields like space and artificial intelligence in his speech on Wednesday.
Through innovation, we sought to energize high-quality development. He claimed that we made a lot of new innovations by integrating science and technology seamlessly with industries.
Bangladesh’s capital Evercare Hospital’s offices were transformed into a depressing location for mourners on Tuesday as news spread about Khaleda Zia, the country’s long-time leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who had been buried there.
Khaleda had been receiving treatment at the hospital since the night of November 23.
In front of the hospital gates, supporters, party leaders, and ordinary people quietly prayed and shed tears. According to BNP activist Riyadul Islam, “the news made it impossible for us to stay at home.” “Since there is no opportunity to see her, everyone is waiting outside. Everyone’s eyes are teary-eyed.
Tens of thousands of BNP supporters from across Bangladesh, as well as interim government leaders Muhammad Yunus, and foreign diplomats, attended her funeral on Wednesday at Dhaka’s Manik Mia Avenue, underscoring Khaleda’s legacy and how it extended far beyond Bangladesh’s borders.
But beyond the grief, Khaleda Zia’s death marks a decisive political rupture for the BNP at a critical moment, say political analysts.
The party is attempting to win the election in its absence of the party’s leader, who has remained its party’s ultimate symbol of unity despite years of illness and political inactivity, as February 12 elections are scheduled for the country.
In order to consolidate its foundation and compete in a reshaped political landscape following the upheaval and subsequent ban on the Awami League’s political activities, her passing plunges BNP into a fully post-Khaleda phase, focusing authority and accountability on her son and acting chairperson, Tarique Rahman.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman addresses mourners before the funeral prayers for his mother and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia at the Parliament building area of Manik Mia Avenue, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, December 31, 2025]Stringer/Reuters]
absence as test, relict as anchor
Khaleda Zia’s relevance spanned formally governing for decades.
Even when absent from front-line politics, she functioned as the party’s moral centre and final authority, helping to contain factionalism and defer leadership questions.
Khaleda Zia, a representative of Bangladesh’s government, was described by Mahdi Amin, an adviser to Tarique Rahman, as a “true guardian,” as a unified symbol of sovereignty, independence, and democracy.
If elected, the BNP would continue to carry out her legacy through its policies and governance priorities.
“The hallmark of her politics was a strong parliamentary democracy – rule of law, human rights and freedom of expression”, Amin said, adding that the BNP aims to restore institutions and rights that, he claimed, were eroded during the Awami League’s 15-year rule, between 2009 and 2024, under then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda’s longtime rival.
Amin reaffirmed Tarique’s status as a unified force, citing his leadership in coordinating the opposition’s movement and developing a 31-point reform agenda to restore institutional accountability and voting rights.
Analysts claim that Khaleda’s absence removes a crucial layer of symbolic authority that has long contributed to the BNP’s internal politics despite these assertions.
Writer and political analyst Mohiuddin Ahmed said Khaleda’s personal charisma played a key role in keeping the party energised and cohesive.
He claimed that “that rhythm will be disturbed.” “Tarique Rahman now needs to demonstrate through a process how to lead.” His leadership remains untested”.
Ahmed noted that Khaleda herself was a controversial political figure before the 1980s’ popular uprising that ultimately saw General Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s ascent to power. In a failed military coup, her husband, Ziaur Rahman, was killed in 1981.
Ahmed argued that the February election could play a similar defining role for Tarique Rahman: Success would validate his leadership, while failure would intensify scrutiny.
In Dhaka, Bangladesh, on November 24, 2025, the National Citizen Party leaders and an aspiring candidate speak during an interview. The Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist force, and the NCP have teamed up to form a coalition for the election [Sam Jahan/Reuters]
A tougher electoral terrain
A transformed opposition landscape makes BNP’s problem even more difficult.
A quasi-binary rivalry between the Awami League and the BNP has shaped Bangladesh’s electoral politics for more than three decades. This pattern emerged after the 1990 military coup and grew stronger with subsequent elections held in the 1990s and 2000s.
With the Awami League now absent – its political activities banned by the Yunus administration – that two-party dominance has fractured, forcing BNP to compete in a more crowded field that includes a strong alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s biggest Islamist force. The National Citizen Party, which was founded by a large number of youth leaders in the wake of the July 2024 mass movement that forced Hasina to step down from power and relocate to India, is a part of the Jamaat coalition.
Ahmed claimed that “this will not be simple for BNP.” “Post-July]2024] politics has changed the equation. He continued, “There is a new polarization emerging, and the old party dominance is no longer there.”
Important questions remain that analysts can’t resolve, such as whether the election will be held on time, whether it will be peaceful, and whether major parties can win the support of the electorate.
Dilara Choudhury, a political scientist who observed both Khaleda and her husband closely, said Khaleda Zia functioned as a “guardian figure” for not just her party, but also the country, and that her death represents the loss of a senior stabilising presence in Bangladesh politics.
Tarique, Khaleda’s son, was imprisoned in the United Kingdom from 2008 until December 25, 2025, when he came back after a number of his legal proceedings, which included those brought against him by a military-backed government in power between 2006 and 2009, or by the resulting Hasina government, were dismissed.
She claimed that Tarique’s return to the nation has lessened party fears about internal division and that his most recent speeches, which have affirmed nationalism, rejected authoritarianism, and honored the victims of the uprising of 2024, have reassured party supporters about ideological continuity.
“BNP and Awami League have both been personality-centred parties”, she said. It follows that Tarique Rahman will always take up that space within the BNP, according to Khaleda Zia.
On December 31, 2025, thousands of people gathered outside the national parliament building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to pay their respects.
From legacy to verdict
However, BNP leaders are open to the idea that the party’s future will not be determined by its past.
Although party activists’ adviser Mahdi Amin described the allegations as being mostly exaggerated, he said the party plans to address it through stricter internal controls, extortion continues to surface.
At the grassroots level, some party members say Tarique’s leadership transition will not be without challenges.
“Statementing that there will be difficulties would be unrealistic,” said Kamal Uddin, senior joint secretary of Jubo Dal’s youth wing in Cox’s Bazar district. There were disagreements with senior leaders who had ties to Khaleda Zia and Ziaur Rahman in the past. That could be a challenge in decision-making. But I think he will be able to handle it.
On Wednesday, Khaleda Zia’s funeral was held along with three other BNP activists from Cox’s Bazar, a coastal city on the Bay of Bengal, about 350 kilometers (21 miles) south of Dhaka.
Senior BNP leaders, however, dismiss doubts over Tarique’s authority.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, a member of the standing committee and Khaleda Zia’s cabinet from 2001 to 2004, claimed Tarique’s leadership credentials were already established.
Chowdhury earlier this month stated that “his leadership has been demonstrated.” “He is capable of leading the party effectively”.
Analysts say Tarique’s leadership will be tested by the party’s ability to ensure discipline, project reform, and support a peaceful election as the BNP prepares for the polls.
On social media and among political rivals, a distinct discussion has developed.
On November 29, ahead of his eventual return, Tarique wrote on his verified Facebook page that the decision to come home was not “entirely within his control” and not “under his sole control”. Critics questioned whether or not he would return, especially in light of India’s perception of the situation.
The BNP leaders refuted these claims, arguing that his return was a political and legal issue that was based on domestic circumstances rather than international negotiations, and that the party’s policy would be determined by its own interests if it were to win.
For many supporters, however, politics remains deeply personal.
Dulal Mia, age 27, who traveled from Kishoreganj, Dhaka, on December 25 to attend Tarique’s reception rally, is still fond of that experience.
He claimed that Ziaur Rahman, the then-President, had stopped by the paddy field where he was employed in 1979 and shook his hand. Ziaur Rahman is remembered for addressing drought by digging canals across the country and visiting remote areas barefoot, often without formal protocol.
The 70-year-old Liao, a military spokesman, said she wasn’t worried about war as China practiced live-fire drills and rehearsed a military blockade in the waters surrounding Taiwan this week. She was observing the stock market, playing mahjong with her friends, and enjoying her retirement.
As Liao was getting her hair cut and shampooed in time for the new year at a salon in New Taipei City, Liao claimed, “Everyday life hasn’t been impacted.” I’ve been a resident of Taiwan for 70 years. I’ve grown to like it. We must still wash our hair, everyone.
Liao’s hairstylist reaffirmed that “we’re not scared.” She hadn’t even noticed that the drills were taking place. Working people don’t have the time to concentrate on these things. They can’t do anything but work, Liao said.
Taiwanese are not indifferent to threats coming from China. While Taiwan’s 24-hour news channels broadcast news about them in quick succession on social media and for the most part remained unaffected this week during what China called “Justice Mission 2025.”
Disinformation, which is a regular component of these exercises, was also widely distributed, including a propaganda video that showed an aircraft circling the Taipei 101 skyscraper, which Taiwan’s government dismissed as fake.
However, Taiwanese people have a regular presence in their daily lives. Since 1949 when the communists won the Chinese Civil War and established the People’s Republic of China (PRC), China has asserted sovereignty over Taiwan, a self-governing democracy. China asserts that it will use force to reunite Taiwan with the PRC if necessary, and that it is becoming more assertive with its behavior in Taiwan as its confidence grows in its military prowess and capabilities.
The China Daily, a state news outlet, wrote in an editorial on Monday that the drills were “part of a series of Beijing’s responses” to Taiwan’s $11 billion arms package, as well as a warning to [Taiwanese President William] Lai Ching-te authorities in Taiwan.
Washington does not officially acknowledge Taiwan, but it has made a pledge to support Taipei’s defense in accordance with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and the 1982 Six Assurances.
Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, added that the exercises were “a necessary step to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity” and were “a punitive and deterrent action against separatist forces who seek Taiwan’s independence through military expansion.”
Due to the resilience of Taiwan’s economy and the “sacred mountain,” or “sacred mountain,” which many people in Taiwan refer to as the “silicon shield,” which many believe will shield Taiwan from invasion, Liao is confident that China won’t launch an attack. For its own high-tech industries, China depends on TSMC’s advanced semiconductors. The stock market is up 200 points today, look. Everyone would be selling their stocks if fighting broke out today, right?” said Liao.
Despite Chinese military exercises taking place close by, Liao, 70, had her hair washed and cut this week.
We’re a little numb, you say?
The exercises, which were conducted after then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, the highest-ranking American official in decades, served as reminders of Chinese drills in 2022 for many interviewees.
The exercises lasted four days in August that year, including live-fire drills, naval deployments, air sorties, and ballistic missile launches.
They inaugurated a new era of Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) violations in Taiwan. Only 41 violations were recorded in November 2021. According to information from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, that number had increased to 266 by November of this year. China has conducted six extensive military exercises around Taiwan since the Pelosi visit in 2022.
According to polls from the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington, DC, Taiwan’s population has been impacted by this growth. It found that just under 65 percent of people were concerned about a cross-strait war in 2023, a moderate increase from just over 57 percent in 2021. In contrast to the 46% who said they thought Xi Jinping was more likely to use force against Taiwan five years ago in 2021, nearly 58 percent of respondents said they thought.
We’ve gotten used to it, according to Ms. Yeh, who owns a flower shop in New Taipei City. Customers swung in and out of the two days of Chinese war games this week as usual. The drills that are taking place just offshore were not discussed.
However, she continued, “even if people weren’t showing it on their faces, the drills seemed more serious this time,” and the atmosphere felt different this time.” She said, “I believe Taiwanese people are resigned to their fate.” There is nothing we can do for regular people, he said. What else can we do besides vote in Taiwan?
Yeh claimed that her trust in the KMT to protect Taiwan has gotten worse as escalating cross-strait tensions and the warmth that the country’s main opposition party, the Chinese Nationalist Party, exhibits toward China.
After being a lifelong KMT voter, she again in 2016 voted for Tsai Ing-wen, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate in 2024.
The Kuomintang has repeatedly blocked the DPP’s proposed special defense budget, while the Chinese Communist Party has turned down its engagement with the DPP, which supports Taiwan’s distinctive identity and sovereignty. Cheng Li-wun, the KMT’s new chairperson, has alleged that Lai is bringing Taiwan to war-torn ends and has given a meeting with Xi 2026 prior.
“I can only watch,”
Wang, a 19-year-old university student, shared her thoughts with Yeh. As she studied with a friend at a cafe on Wednesday, she said, “I’m a little worried, even to the point where I want to write a will.” “This time feels more serious,” he said. Although it seems more realistic, I feel helpless because I can only watch.
Wang claimed that Taiwan’s atmosphere had already become tense. In the center of Taipei on December 19, a 27-year-old named Chang Wen stabbed and exploded smoke grenades, killing three people and injuring 11. In the city, this kind of violence is uncommon. The cause of Chang’s death is unknown, and he acted alone during a police chase.
The island was shaken by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake off Yilan’s northeastern coast on Saturday, despite the magnitude’s small-damage.
On Thursday, January 1, 2018, this is the situation:
Fighting
According to the Reuters news agency, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported on Telegram that Russian forces had shot five Ukrainian drones into the city on Thursday night.
Six people were hurt overnight in an attack on Russian drones that targeted apartment buildings and crucial infrastructure in Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities.
In a formal decree this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the military to deploy reserve soldiers to protect critical infrastructure. Additionally, the order directs the government to create a list of “critically important facilities” that need to be protected.
The order, according to The Moscow Times, comes in response to recent changes to Russian law that allow for the arrest of reservemen during wartime.
Statements from the new year
In a televised address on New Year’s Eve, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that despite his desire for the war to end, he would never sign a “weak” peace agreement that would “only fuel the war.”
A crucial 10% of the vote is still undecided, according to the Ukrainian leader, who said a peace agreement was “90 percent ready.” The fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe, and how people will live will be determined by the 10%, he said.
In his televised New Year’s Eve address, Putin declared he believes Moscow will prevail in the war after nearly four years of Russian forces occupying Ukraine. During the speech, he urged Russians to “support our heroes.”
In this still image from a video released on December 31, 2025, the Russian Defense Ministry claims a drone was downed while retaliating what it describes as a Ukrainian attack on the Russian president’s residence in Novgorod, Russia.
allegedly an attack on Putin’s residence
In a Telegram post, Russian Major-General Alexander Romanenkov referred to an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on one of Putin’s homes as a “terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime.”
Romanenkov claimed that the low-flying drones had flown to the residence in the Novgorod region of Russia through Bryansk, Smolensk, and Tver.
Russian forces used various “anti-aircraft missile systems, mobile fire teams, and electronic warfare systems” to fire 91 drones as they flew between Sunday and Monday, according to Romanenkov.
An alleged Ukrainian drone was shot down during the attack, according to the Ministry of Defense’s photo on Telegram.
According to an unnamed US official, the CIA does not believe the attempted attack on Putin’s residence occurred, according to The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The official claimed that Ukrainian drones were stationed in the area, but they were striking military targets far away from homes.
Diplomacy
On Wednesday, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told X he had fruitful discussions with Zelenskyy and government representatives from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, were also present for the discussions.
“We focused on how to advance the discussions in a practical way on behalf of Trump’s peace process, including developing effective deconflict mechanisms to help end the war and prevent it from resuming,” Witkoff said.
Zelenskyy thanked Romania and Croatia on X for contributing to the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PRURL) initiative, which assists Ukraine in purchasing US-made weapons, and thanked them for it.
Croatia announced this week that it would commit $ 17.6 million to PURL, while Romania announced this week that it would commit $ 58 million.
Since PURL’s launch in August, Zelenskyy reported that 24 nations have contributed nearly $1.5 billion, including nearly $1.5 billion in December.
At least five people have been killed by the US military in yet another alleged drug smuggling boat attack, and the coastguard has been ordered to launch a search for survivors.
The location of the attacks was not disclosed in the US Southern Command’s statement on Wednesday.
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The eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have previously been the target of attacks.
The military claimed the ships were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and that they “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes” in a video posted by the Southern Command on social media.
The claim was denied by the military because there was no supporting evidence.
According to the statement, “Three narco-terrorists were killed in the first engagement aboard the first vessel.” The remaining narco-terrorists “abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before subsequent engagements sank their respective vessels,” the statement continued.
Later, it claimed that the vessel was struck twice by another vessel and that the second ship struck caused two fatalities.
The US Coast Guard was informed to “activate the Search and Rescue system,” according to the military.
The US military’s request for a rescue mission was notable because it attracted significant scrutiny after it carried out a follow-up strike on their disabled boat in early September, killing the victims of the attack.
While the administration of US President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers claim that the follow-up strike was legal, some Democrats and legal experts claim that the military committed a crime.
Eight people were being sought in the Pacific Ocean after leaving their vessels, according to a US official cited by the Reuters news agency.
The US Coast Guard also disclosed to the agency that it was working with nearby vessels and had deployed a C-130 aircraft to search for survivors.
Under the Trump administration, there have also been survivors of previous US strikes. After surviving a US military strike, two survivors were repatriated to their home countries in October.
Following a second US strike that had left a victim, Mexican authorities launched a search and rescue operation later that month. That person was not discovered.
According to the Trump administration’s announcements, the attacks on Wednesday increase the total number of known boat strikes to 33 and the total number of fatalities to at least 112.
Trump has asserted that Washington is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels while denying that the attacks are a necessary escalation to halt the flow of drugs into the US.
As part of an ongoing campaign to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US accuses of narco-terrorism, his administration has also established military forces in the area, including the deployment of more than 15, 000 troops.
Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking and asserts that Washington is attempting to seize Maduro’s largest oil reserves in the world.
Trump claimed on Monday that this was the first time Washington had conducted land operations in Venezuela and that it had “hit” an area where ships are loaded with drugs.
As nations one time zone at a time transition to 2026, New Year’s Eve celebrations are taking place all over the world.
Large crowds gathered at public viewing points and fireworks greeted midnight in the first major cities to celebrate the new year.
Countries from across the Americas will mark the end of the global transition with celebrations that span from Times Square in New York City to Rio de Janeiro’s beaches.
