Fleming: Facebook User Data Guaranteed to Go to Beijing With Meta's Recent Deal | China in Focus

Welcome to China in Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Our top story. Washington is taking aim at one of Maduro's close allies, China, adding four Chinese companies that transport Venezuelan oil to its sanctions list. Meanwhile, Maduro says he's ready for serious talks with the U.S. Concerns are growing over Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp user data ending up in Beijing. It comes after Meta recently announced it's buying Chinese-founded AI startup Manus. KC Fleming joins us to break it down. China rolls out a new Latin America strategy, challenging U.S. power closer to home and why Taiwan could be the real bargaining chip. Lockheed Martin has won a Pentagon contract worth over $300 million to arm Taiwan. The deal addresses the urgent operational needs of Taiwan's air force coming just two days after China finished major military drills. And the U.S. Department of Agriculture is announcing the rate of financial aid per acre for farmers affected by the trade war. Those who qualify can expect payments by late February. The U.S. imposed sanctions Wednesday on four Chinese companies and vessels tied to Venezuela's oil sector. It's the Trump administration's latest move against Venezuela's Maduro regime. In this time, it also sends a rare but strong signal to the regime's close ally, Beijing. The U.S. Treasury announced the newly sanctioned firms on Wednesday. One of them is based in southern China's Zhejiang province and the other three are based in Hong Kong. That's alongside four oil tankers with ties to those firms. U.S. officials say the global shadow fleet transporting Venezuelan oil has been serving as the regime's lifeline. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant also said the U.S. will not allow the Maduro regime to profit from oil exports while it floods America with deadly drugs. Zooming in on China's role in Venezuela's oil industry, China's private crude refiners account for about one-fifth of the nation's refining capacity. About 95 percent of the Venezuelan regime's revenue comes from oil. And China is its biggest buyer, despite U.S. sanctions. Just one day after the U.S. announced the sanctions, Maduro said his regime is willing to hold serious talks with Washington. That could include allowing U.S. investment in Venezuela's oil sector and cooperating with the U.S. on combating drug trafficking. The comments published on New Year's Day come as the U.S. ramps up military and economic pressure on the regime, accusing it of fueling the drug crisis in the U.S. Concerns are swirling after MEDA's recent announcement to acquire Chinese-founded AI startup Manus. What does this mean for user data across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp? CEO of business warfare and counterintelligence company Black Ops Partners Casey Fleming joins us to unpack it all. Casey Fleming, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you back on the show. Great to be here. So MEDA is set to acquire a Chinese-founded AI startup called Manus, which has relocated to Singapore, trying to separate from its Chinese roots. Now, it says it's different from rival AI developers with what it claims to be a truly autonomous agent. Now, this is reportedly worth about two billion dollars, this deal. And MEDA says that this deal would help improve its own AI through access to that agent, which can help, say, plan trips or, you know, write papers and stuff. First, what is your reaction of this deal? Negative. It's very negative because all technology coming out of China is weaponized against the West. That's part of the mantra of Xi Jinping and the CCP. We will weaponize everything against the West. So from a technology perspective, you can never trust Chinese technology wherever it ends up. So Manus was created in China by the CCP or under the CCP's watchful eye, and then they recently relocated to Singapore. So I guess there's no problem with that, but there is. I want to delve into that a bit because the co-founder, one of them, actually goes by the name Red. And then as the Wall Street Journal is noting, it does seem the company is trying to differentiate itself by, say, moving to Singapore and so forth. But it did actually announce a partnership, as in Manus, with Alibaba, which is the Chinese e-commerce giant, back in March. So there is that as well. And given that MEDA under it, you know, there's Facebook, there's Instagram, also WhatsApp. What does that mean in terms of American data on those apps? Could it go to Beijing? In my opinion, it's guaranteed to go to Beijing. Technology and companies and business must adhere to CCP law of 2015, 16, 17, 18. And you must support national security, which means espionage, intelligence, stealing IP, stealing data, and weaponizing everything. So for us in the intelligence community, it's standard operating procedure by the Chinese Communist Party. And it's another example of the US government looking the other way or just being out of pocket and out of the job. This should never have been approved. So yes, all of your apps on your phone, you know, are suspect. And when you look at technology, it's extremely difficult. Let me just say it, impossible to unwind technology, to merge it together, because the original core will always be there. And again, it's weaponized against the West. So, you know, those of us who've been working this issue for many, many years know that this is something that's very serious. AI is just at the beginning stages of collecting information, then also turning it around and using against you. So it's all part of cognitive warfare. This is just another engine in cognitive warfare. And the US government should have said, no, no way. No external technology is going to be able to hit the minds and the brains of our children, our youth, and our population. So we've got to protect our brains. It's called cognitive warfare underneath the large umbrella, which is unrestricted warfare. Well, Casey Fleming, as always, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. Less than a week after the US rolled out its new strategy for the Western Hemisphere, China quietly fired back. It released a policy paper on Latin America that signals increased US-China competition for influence in the region. While Beijing insists it won't budge in America's backyard, analysts say that stance comes with conditions, especially when Taiwan's in the China's policy paper on Latin America frames Beijing as a key partner in the global south, arguing the global balance of power is shifting away from the US. Beijing has followed up on every major move from the Trump administration to reassert influence in the region. 24 Latin America and Caribbean countries are counted as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative. On top of that, it has overtaken the US as the top trading partner for several regional economies. Beijing has condemned US military pressure there, even as Chinese state media aired a simulated military war game showing Chinese forces operating near Cuba and Mexico. US officials worry Chinese backed ports could double as strategic military hubs in the future, including potential footholds in the Caribbean. At the same time, Beijing's top priority is clear, isolate Taiwan from countries that recognize its independence. Seven Latin American countries still recognize the island, and China is offering incentives to countries willing to step away. While the Trump administration strategy doesn't name China, its warnings about debt traps, espionage and foreign influence makes clear who Washington sees as the threat. The Pentagon giving Lockheed Martin an over $300 million contract on Wednesday to sell military equipment to Taiwan. The DOD says the contract is meant to meet the urgent operational needs of Taiwan's air force. It comes days after China staged a major military drill surrounding Taiwan. The State Department also called on the Chinese regime to stop its military pressure on Taiwan Thursday. During the drill, Beijing fired missiles and sent a large number of warplanes and naval vessels near the island. Taiwan has pledged to strengthen its defenses and protect its sovereignty in the face of growing pressure from China. President Lai Ching-de called for unity at home following recent Chinese military drills around the island. Help is on the way for American farmers. The Department of Agriculture has announced the next phase of its Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. The program will consist of $11 billion in one-time payments, and $1 billion will go towards specialty crops and sugar. Here are the details. President Trump unveiled the aid package in early December. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins says qualifying farmers should expect to see aid payments by the end of February. Farmers were hit by months of strain from the fallout of the U.S.-China trade war, with Beijing earlier in the year ceasing buying American soybeans in favor of crops in South America and other markets. By November, Trump said China had agreed to increase its volume of American soybean imports weeks after his administration negotiated a three-year deal with Beijing. China will impose an additional 55 percent tariff on beef imports that exceed quota limits from major suppliers. That includes the United States, Brazil and Australia. China's Commerce Ministry says the move is aimed at protecting its domestic cattle industry. The total beef import quota for 2026 will be 2.7 million tons, slightly below China's record imports in 2024. The measures will take effect January 1st and will remain in place for three years, with quotas rising annually. Moving on to some tech news. The U.S. has granted an annual license allowing Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC to import U.S. chipmaking equipment to its plant in China. TSMC says the approval will ensure uninterrupted factory operations and product deliveries. South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have also received similar licenses. The companies previously relied on exemptions from U.S. export controls aimed at limiting China's access to advanced technology. Those exemptions expired at the end of December, requiring new licenses for 2026. Coming up, another international market is closing its doors to Chinese suppliers. Mexico's sweeping tariffs on Asian products took effect on New Year's Day, hitting China the hardest. We look at why it matters to the U.S. market. A campaign group is reviewing whether to reform or replace the World Health Organization. It comes as the U.S. exits the WHO in three weeks, citing concerns over funding and influence from the Chinese regime. More on that after the break here on China In Focus. Welcome back to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Mexico's sweeping tariff hikes on Asian imports have gone effective on Thursday, with Chinese products affected the most. Thousands of goods, including cars, clothing and home appliances, will face steep tariffs this year, many reaching 35 percent. This comes as the U.S. is expected to renegotiate trade pacts with Mexico and Canada. The Trump administration has warned both countries not to transship cheap Chinese goods into the U.S. market. These tariffs aren't targeting China alone. All Asian countries without a free trade agreement with Mexico are affected, including India, South Korea and others. Beijing launched protests, hinting at an ongoing probe against the country and potential consequences. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum defended the tariffs, saying they're meant to boost domestic production. A campaign group is seeking to either reform or replace the World Health Organization, a project aligned with the goals of the Trump administration. The U.S. is pulling out of the WHO in three weeks, citing concerns over funding and CCP influence. Washington also wants a new organization to better fill the global health role. NTD's international correspondent Malcolm Hudson brings us more. The United States is due to withdraw from the World Health Organization on January 22nd, citing numerous issues the Trump administration says the WHO has failed to correct. Campaign group Action on World Health is reviewing the WHO with the end goal to either reform or replace it. Their chief executive, David Roach, highlighted the WHO's funding model. Now the United States is leaving. The largest funder has become Bill Gates through the Gates Foundation. And the second largest funder is the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. And between the two of them, they're representing 25% of the whole funding The WHO has become increasingly reliant on quote specified voluntary contributions from the private sector, governments and public private alliances. These earmarked funds make up a larger part of its budget than the core fees paid by member states and are direct to causes of the donors choosing. You have to be able to trust that when the WHO is giving its advice, when it's formulating policy, it's doing so objectively. And it's not doing so because people or organizations have bought influence. Political influence is also a major concern, particularly from the Chinese Communist Party. A December 2024 report by the House Oversight Select Subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic described the WHO's response to the pandemic as an abject failure, saying it placed China's political interests ahead of the WHO's international duties. Roche said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus got far too close to the CCP. And that's because Dr. Tedros was essentially China's pick and is China's pick. He very early on in the pandemic response was praising China for its actions. He was praising them for lockdowns. And he actually said that this is a model that the rest of the world should behold and should follow. Speaking in November at a conference hosted by the campaign group Together Association, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya said the US leaving the WHO is a challenge to the quote ecosystem that produced the panic during the pandemic. If we can replace the WHO, and this is the goal that the United States has to replace the WHO with a structure that actually cares about the health of the world public. Roche said action on World Health's independent review panel will say which is the best route to take to radically reform the WHO or completely replace it with a new organization. Both of these options could potentially be quite expensive, quite difficult to do. It requires on the consent of member states. But we've got to do this because the WHO as it exists today cannot continue to fester in the way that it has been for quite some time now. Action on World Health is expecting to finish its review of the WHO early next year. Malcolm Hudson, NTD News, UK. The battle over influence in Latin America. The US has knocked out a loading facility linked to Venezuelan drug boats sometime before last Friday. What does the move mean for power competition in an area that's America's backyard? And how did Venezuela become the linchpin for Beijing to expand its influence in Latin America? NTD's Don Ma spoke to Joshua Phillips, senior investigative reporter for The Epoch Times and host of Crossroads for Insight. The US hit an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs. And this marks the first known instance that the US military has struck Venezuelan land. Can I ask you, is the Trump administration escalating its counter-narcotics operation? Yeah, the Trump administration absolutely is escalating these counter-narcotics operations, which, again, it's designating them as anti-terrorist operations. So the Cartel of the Sons, working with Tren de Aragua, both gangs designated by the United States as international terrorist organizations, they're the ones running the show with this. And I would say not only does this probably represent the first of, I would say, many coming operations in Venezuela. This is also a shot over the bow to other surrounding countries. One of the big ones being Colombia. Colombia is trying to stir the pot right now, threatening Trump, talking about these things. Trump's telling them that we know the locations of every single one of the drug facilities. He's threatening to bomb those. He told Mexico, actually, even recently, that America knows the locations, even the home addresses, basically of all the leaders of the cartels. And so Trump, it looks like, is going to start running these operations to destroy cartels all throughout Latin America. And his previous statements when he was on the campaign trail was, any country that does not work with us on it, he will expose the connections of the government officials or the organizations, whatever it is, to the cartels, which is a big problem throughout most of the Latin American region. Okay, so Josh, you're saying that this could lead to many more operations in Venezuela. What would be the impact of that? Would there be any concerns with it? The only impact you're going to have is the media crying foul about it. And politically, you have some pushback. But no, it's really nothing. Again, if you remember back during the war in Afghanistan or the war in Iraq, America was doing strikes of this all the time on terrorist organizations. Barack Obama, former president, he used to use drones for just about everything. They called him the bomber-in-chief a few times. And so the same types of things, the double-tap, quote-unquote, operations, they strike a vehicle, guys get out, they strike them again, they crawl for their lives, they strike them again. We watch that over and over again in video footage of strikes like that, going back to the Bush and Obama administrations. The designation of the cartels, including the ones in Venezuela, and notably, including most of the Venezuelan leadership, including Maduro himself, they are effectively under the same designation as any other terrorist organization. And I don't think this is going to be a ground war. I think they're going to be watching us just bomb them. You might have some special operations forces abductions or operations to take people out. But most of it's going to be drone bombing. Okay, Josh, as well, you're an expert when it comes to China. So I want to ask you a China-related question. So Beijing recently voiced support for Venezuela. What role does China play in this situation? How dependent is Venezuela on China? In my opinion, China and Russia are the two main pictures of Venezuela. And I would say, actually, what you're watching right now is not about oil, it's not about drugs, it's about the battle of who runs Latin America. So the United States has applied a policy going back to the early 1800s called the Monroe Doctrine. Basically, no new European colonies in the Americas. North America, Central America, South America. No European colonies involved. That went into the Cold War. That was the basis of the Cuban Missile Crisis. That was the basis of us trying to keep the Russians out of Latin America. Chavez, Hugo Chavez, was the main one who changed that, working together with Fidel Castro. Hugo Chavez, the former leader of Venezuela, who handpicked Maduro as his successor, created various organizations throughout Latin America, which pushed out the United States. It was intergovernmental agreements to not engage with America, no military engagement, no business engagement, push America out, get rid of the Monroe Doctrine, and bring China in instead. And what they did was, the Chinese Communist Party, the Belt and Road Initiatives, a lot of the pilot programs were in Venezuela. They were the beachhead to bring Chinese influence into the entire Latin American region, as they ran other organizations and operations to facilitate election organizations, cartel organizations, drug organizations, killing political rivals, getting their guys in place, and effectively conquering all of Latin America, not just through China, but it's just this kind of socialist, deeply, deeply communistic type government, what they call the pink wave. That was a big part of it. And so China actually has basically replaced the United States in most of Latin America. And Venezuela is the linchpin with this. Venezuela is the key piece with all of this. They pull that out, a lot of China's influence goes out the window. And I would say also, it's no coincidence that what is the United States saying in its national defense strategy? They're saying, we're going to bring back the Monroe Doctrine. That is the narrative right now. Well, all right, Josh. I mean, what can I say? Insightful as always. And in fact, I learned a lot. Thank you so much for speaking with us. My pleasure. Thank you. That's all for today's China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. If you have any feedback on the show or have something you'd like to see us cover, send us an email at chinainfocusandntd.com. We'd love to hear from you. For on the clock original news coverage, visit us at ntd.com or download our NTD app. Thanks for watching. See you soon.