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As Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam [fights to survive](, sheâs taking heat from another government whose population is similarly skeptical of Beijing: Taiwan, an island claimed by China.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has strongly supported the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators whoâve opposed Lamâs âevil billâ to allow extraditions from Hong Kong to the mainland for the first time. And her government didnât like that Lam used a grisly murder in Taiwan to justify the move.
âEmbrace democracy & stand on the right side of history!â Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu implored on Twitter amid a fresh round of enormous protests over the weekend.
The issue has given Tsai â whose popularity has faltered in recent months â a bump in the polls ahead of a January election in which her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party will face a tough challenge from the more China-friendly Kuomintang.
Both parties, however, have dismissed the âone country, two systemsâ model that China applies to Hong Kong as [unworkable]( in Taiwan, which already has a functioning democracy.
For Chinese President Xi Jinping, the fallout from the extradition bill is proving to be a big problem. While he wants to integrate both Hong Kong and Taiwan with the mainland, Beijing's strong-arm tactics have only made their populations more wary of Xiâs rule.
âBeijing turned the whole generation of students to be dissidents,â said Joshua Wong, a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist [released from prison]( today.
In the wake of mass protests, Lam spoke of the need to be humble and suspended consideration of the bill. To eventually win over the people of Hong Kong and Taiwan, Xi may need to do the same.
[Daniel Ten Kate](
Global Headlines
Just In:Â Iran [says it will exceed](Â agreed-upon limits on its inventories of low-enriched uranium June 27, potentially breaching for the first time a landmark 2015 agreement that was meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear bomb. Itâs the latest blow to the accord, which suffered a potentially crippling blow when President Donald Trump nixed U.S. support.Â
[Campaign snapshot]( | About to break records for the longest expansion, the U.S. economy looks like a 2020 asset for Trump, who's been quick to claim credit. But, as [Christopher Condon]( and [Steve Matthews]( explain, that doesnât mean it will carry him to a second term. Trumpâs campaign has [reportedly]( dropped pollsters after leaked surveys showed him trailing former Vice President Joe Biden in key states. A new [poll](, meanwhile, suggests a majority of Americans would be âvery uncomfortableâ voting for Trump in 2020.[Feeling the burn]( | Huawei Technologies founder Ren Zhengfei is predicting that U.S. sanctions will curtail the China tech giant's revenue by about $30 billion over two years. In Washington, U.S. companies â including some that have long advocated more protectionist policies â [are lining up]( for a hearing to drive home a now-common point: Trumpâs proposed tariffs are bad for business. The stakes are high, with a fresh wave of threatened duties set to hit essentially all remaining Chinese imports.
[Heir apparent?](Â |Â Boris Johnsonâs momentum toward becoming the Conservative Party leader and the U.K. premier appears unstoppable despite not taking part in the first televised debate of the race to succeed Theresa May yesterday. While his five remaining rivals sparred over whether to suspend Parliament to deliver a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, Johnson won the endorsement of pro-Brexit lawmaker Esther McVey and today of the moderate Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
[Darkness falls]( | Argentina isnât ruling out that a cyberattack caused a blackout that hit five South American countries. The electricity cuts, which led to outages in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and Paraguay, could have been the result of a âtechnical issueâ or simple humidity, said Carlos Garcia Pereira, who heads Transener, Argentinaâs largest power-transmission operator.
[Eco power]( | The Greens are now Germanyâs most popular party, with polls showing them surpassing Chancellor Angela Merkelâs Christian Democrats. Their rise is due to their shift to the mainstream in the eyes of urban professionals and voter disappointment with the ruling coalition. Worse yet for Merkel, surveys put Green leader Robert Habeck with more than twice the support of Merkel's heir apparent, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.Â
What to Watch
- Italian Deputy Premier Matteo Salvini is in Washington today and is expected to meet Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo. Heâs also [hoping]( to see Trump, the man he cites as his political inspiration.
- The Supreme Court is likely to issues a fresh batch of rulings this morning in Washington as it enters the homestretch of its term. Potential decisions [include]( whether the Trump administration can put a citizenship question on the 2020 census and if courts can strike down voting maps as too partisan.Â
- China asked the World Trade Organization to suspend a dispute against the European Union in an announcement that preserves the EUâs ability to apply higher anti-dumping measures against certain Chinese imports.
[And finally](... The internationally recognized Libyan premier is calling for a United Nations-backed conference to end the battle for control of Tripoli as conflict threatens to rip apart the North African oil producer. While Fayez Al-Sarraj says he wouldnât succumb to the offensive by eastern-based strongman Khalifa Haftar, he suggested the gathering could decide on a road map for elections this year. But the prime ministerâs suggestion fell short on two key elements: outlining cease-fire lines and how to include Haftar in talks.
Fighters loyal to Libyaâs internationally recognized government fire a heavy machine gun in May during clashes against Haftarâs forces. Photographer: MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP
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