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Somaliland Opens Diplomatic Office In Taiwan Despite Strong Objections From Beijing

Via The Cradle

The breakaway African territory of Somaliland opened a new representative office in Taiwan on Friday, saying it had the right to establish diplomatic relations despite objections from Somalia.

"We have the right to choose who we have relationships with. It's our prerogative, and so it hasn't been successful as far as pressure tactics," stated Mahmoud Adam Jama ​Galaal, Somaliland's representative to Taiwan, at a press conference to mark the office opening.

Rti photo

Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu also spoke, saying, "Taiwan and Somaliland are both beacons of democracy, freedom, and rule of law."

Located on the strategic Horn of Africa, Somaliland has functioned as a de facto state since declaring independence from Somalia in 1991, with its own governing institutions and security structures – despite receiving no recognition from any UN member state until Israel recognized it in December. 

Galaal added that Taiwan, which also lacks international recognition, is a "very important ally." Somaliland and Taiwan first established representative offices in each ⁠other's capitals in 2020.

Taiwan separated from China after the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government retreated to the island and established the Republic of China (ROC). The Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland and has claimed Taiwan as its territory since that time.

Galaal said Somaliland and Taiwan would not succumb to pressure from Beijing and Mogadishu to sever ties.

Somalia condemned Taiwan's attempts to establish "unauthorized" diplomatic relations with Somaliland.

“"Somaliland remains an inalienable part of Somalia, and we strongly condemn external attempts to bypass the legitimate federal government in Mogadishu," Ali Mohamed Omar, Somalia's minister of state for foreign affairs, stated on Friday.

After Israel became the first state to recognize Somaliland's claim to independence, Mogadishu condemned it as a “deliberate attack” on Somalia's sovereignty. 

Israel is seeking closer ties with Somaliland as part of its effort to establish military bases allowing it to project power in the Red Sea, including in the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, where Yemen's armed forces are dominant.

In a blow to Somaliland, Washington recently declared support for the sovereignty of Somalia.

A State Department report titled “Potential Areas for Improved US Engagement with Somaliland” was submitted to Congress on 1 June and published by the media on 2 June. 

In that report, the State Department said that Somaliland was a part of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the US maintains a positive relationship with Somaliland “within that framework.”

Republic of Somaliland has a right to choose its own relationships, and pressure tactics from Beijing and Mogadishu have not succeededin altering its friendship with Taipei, its top diplomat in Taiwan said on Friday at the opening of a new office. https://t.co/cGmMRvqROJ pic.twitter.com/7oynvCt6Sk

— REPUBLIC OF SOMALILAND (@RepOfSomaliland) June 12, 2026

A US congressional source told Middle East Eye (MEE) at the time that the US was not planning to recognize Somaliland. 

“Though lobbyists, including former Trump officials Tibor Nagy and Peter Pham, had raised the hopes of Somalilanders over US recognition, there was never a sign that the president would go through with it,” the congressional source said.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 23:20

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Which States Are Leading America's Economy?

America’s biggest economies aren’t always its strongest.

While California, Texas, and New York dominate in economic size, long-term competitiveness depends on a broader mix of factors, from business creation and labor market strength to innovation and investment.

This 2026 analysis by WalletHub evaluates all 50 states and Washington, D.C. across 28 indicators of economic activity, economic health, and innovation potential.

This ranking, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, highlights the states that are building the foundations for future growth.

Where Every State Ranks in 2026

The ranking below evaluates the economic strength of all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in 2026:

Rank State Total State Economy Score 2026 1 Massachusetts 69.4 2 Washington 67.3 3 Utah 65.9 4 California 65.0 5 Delaware 63.0 6 North Carolina 60.3 7 New York 57.6 8 Texas 57.0 9 Colorado 56.4 10 Florida 54.3 11 Idaho 53.4 12 Georgia 53.1 13 New Hampshire 52.9 14 Virginia 51.2 15 Arizona 51.1 16 Connecticut 51.0 17 Tennessee 50.8 18 South Carolina 49.3 19 Montana 48.9 20 Maryland 48.7 21 Minnesota 48.1 22 Indiana 47.4 23 Kansas 47.3 24 Oregon 47.1 25 New Jersey 46.2 26 New Mexico 45.7 27 Michigan 44.6 28 Alabama 44.4 29 Vermont 44.4 30 Pennsylvania 44.2 31 Wisconsin 43.5 32 Alaska 42.9 33 District of Columbia 42.1 34 Nebraska 41.7 35 Nevada 41.1 36 Arkansas 40.3 37 Illinois 40.1 38 Ohio 39.8 39 Iowa 39.3 40 North Dakota 38.8 41 South Dakota 38.7 42 Missouri 38.4 43 Oklahoma 38.3 44 Hawaii 38.3 45 Mississippi 36.2 46 Wyoming 35.9 47 Rhode Island 35.4 48 Maine 33.8 49 Louisiana 33.2 50 Kentucky 32.4 51 West Virginia 25.4 Why Massachusetts Leads the Ranking

Massachusetts outperformed larger states including California, Texas, and New York thanks to its combination of innovation output, STEM talent, and business formation.

It is also home to many of the nation’s fastest-growing tech companies, with business creation propelled by its innovation-driven economy and world-class universities.

Despite being the nation’s 15th-most populous state, Massachusetts is well-positioned to drive innovation and economic growth as technology rapidly accelerates.

Innovation Is the Biggest Separator

The 10 highest-ranking states differ significantly in geography, politics, and industry mix. However, they share a common strength: generating new ideas and new businesses at a considerable rate.

Like Massachusetts, Washington is powered by technology and research. Notably, software developers rank as Washington’s most common occupation. California remains the epicenter for AI giants and venture capital activity. Utah is now one of the country’s fastest-growing tech hubs, with cost-of-living-adjusted median household income reaching $91,600, the highest in the nation.

In contrast, many of the lowest-ranked states produce fewer high-growth companies due to lower investment levels, fewer patents, and less-developed innovation ecosystems.

The New Geography of Growth

One of the clearest patterns in the ranking is the continued rise of the Sun Belt. North Carolina, Texas, Florida, and Georgia all rank among America’s economic leaders, reflecting years of population growth, business investment, and job creation.

North Carolina ranks sixth overall, ahead of New York and Colorado. In 2025, it gained a net 84,100 residents, the highest in the country. Texas places eighth, while Florida and Georgia also rank among the top 15. Tennessee and South Carolina also finish comfortably in the upper half of the ranking, while both states recorded some of the strongest domestic migration gains last year.

The result is a broader shift in America’s economic map. While coastal innovation hubs remain dominant, many Southern states are becoming important centers of growth in their own right.

The States Building Tomorrow’s Economy

The rankings suggest that future economic leadership will depend less on size alone and more on a state’s ability to attract talent, support entrepreneurship, and turn innovation into growth.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the fastest-growing states by 2050.

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 22:45

Jalen Brunson is fired up.

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China's New AI Agent Risks Trapping Western Tech In Rights Abuses: Analysts

Authored by Jarvis Lim via The Epoch Times,

China's new state-backed artificial intelligence (AI) platform threatens to stifle domestic tech innovation through forced ideological compliance, and in the West, it could also be used to cover up the regime's human rights abuses, analysts warn.

A screen advertising Xinhua News Agency in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, on March 2, 2020. Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Xinhua, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), will spend more than 1.1 billion yuan ($162.38 million) to launch an AI agent to propagate Chinese leader Xi Jinping's thinking, according to a feasibility study published on its website on June 5.

Dubbed "Xinhua Yudian," the platform positions itself as an indispensable tool for journalists, a practical asset for party cadres, and a trusted information source for the general public, the study showed.

"Through 'Q&A on Xi's Words' and 'Xi Study Guide,' it presents the core essence and practical requirements of the general secretary's important discourses," the report said.

In 2023, China passed the "Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services," prohibiting content that could incite subversion, threaten national security, or damage the country's image.

The measures require market participants to "uphold the core socialist values," according to a translation.

Cementing Control

Feng Chongyi, an associate professor in China studies at the University of Technology Sydney, said Xinhua's latest move signals that Beijing views every new AI technology developed domestically as a tool to consolidate its grip on power.

"This shows the CCP is attempting to reinforce the personality cult around Xi Jinping," Feng told The Epoch Times.

"Xi has already rolled out similar initiatives, requiring middle schoolers and party cadres to study and even take exams on his political ideology."

Charles Cheng-chung Lo, a professor with the Graduate Institute of Science and Technology Law at the National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, said the regime aims to aggressively marshal national resources in AI and technology to protect its "political security."

"Political security means safeguarding the CCP's leadership and ruling status, as well as its socialist system with Chinese characteristics," Lo told The Epoch Times.

"Under such a system, all technological development naturally faces strict state regulation based on this political premise."

'Extreme Self-Censorship'

Lee Chung-chih, deputy convenor of the Strategic Industries Program at Taiwanese think tank the DIMEs Center, said China's generative AI models, such as DeepSeek, are engineered to strictly conform to Party dogma, leaving them unable to provide objective answers on political, historical, and social issues.

The rise of agentic AI - autonomous software systems capable of taking action and performing complex tasks on behalf of users - is set to entrench that dynamic further, he said, pointing to Xinhua Yudian as the latest example.

"This is completely detrimental to the verification and creation of knowledge," Lee told The Epoch Times.

"China is currently locking its society into an 'isolated universe.'"

Lee said the platform's proposed functions, such as content inspection, traceability, correction, and guided documentation, could prompt Beijing to demand that private AI firms align with Xinhua's standards.

"If private AI developers refuse to comply, the sector could wither and talent may flee," he said.

Lee warned that pushing these rigid censorship standards to the extreme would lock China's entire information ecosystem into a cycle of ideological compliance, stifling genuine innovation.

"Chinese journalists and scholars will start using AI to engage in hyper-conformity, aiming to outdo the state's own narratives and push even further left," Lee said.

"This extreme self-censorship just to please the authorities will leave them completely blind to genuine technological breakthroughs or geopolitical crises from the outside world."

Global Infiltration

Lo said foreign AI products and services seeking to integrate with this state-run platform will likely face surveillance under Xi's concept of "comprehensive national security" - an overarching doctrine where ideology now dictates all aspects of Chinese governance.

"In other words, the price of tapping into China's vast market is strict localized regulation," Lo said.

He said that securing this access could mean filtering out factual answers on sensitive topics, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy movement, to meet Beijing's political red lines.

"The likelihood of self-censorship will increase as ideological screening becomes the inevitable compliance cost for entry," Lo said.

But the risks could extend further, as any Western tech firms that choose to partner with platforms like Xinhua Yudian may inadvertently become tools of CCP repression, according to Feng.

"Many companies operate under the belief that technology knows no borders, selling their products to the CCP," Feng said.

"What they fail to realize is that Beijing could harness their advanced technology on Xinhua Yudian and others to further violate the privacy and human rights of ordinary people."

Feng said that adopting these authoritarian standards could ultimately backfire, endangering the developers' own home nations.

"If democratic societies fail to counter Beijing's cognitive warfare, Western AI systems forced into compliance will essentially hand the regime a digital backdoor," he said.

"It allows China to push this warfare seamlessly across frontiers, severely subverting the international order."

Tyler Durden Sat, 06/13/2026 - 22:10

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