Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and Chinese dissident billionaire Guo Wengui claimed in a video released on February 7 that China might attack Taiwan in the coming years.

In the three-hour-long video Steve Bannon argued that China will attack Taiwan to distract from domestic issues, especially its economic woes. He said that as the likelihood of a war continues to increase, the Taiwanese people should resist Chinese invasion and show to the world their determination to defend their freedom. “The Western world will certainly support you,” he added.

“The Taiwanese people must know this,” Bannon said. “If you resist, we in the Western world will support you. But Taiwan itself has to tell the world that it loves democracy. You have to protect your own freedom. You have to resolutely oppose the Chinese Communist Party.”

Guo Wengui agreed that the possibility of China attacking Taiwan is growing. He claimed that a high-ranking Chinese government official told him that “the Communist Party will definitely attack Taiwan.”

According to Guo, Wang Qishan, the vice president of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), has urged president Xi Jinping to take Taiwan by force. He is allegedly backed by the faction of former president Jiang Zemin and other high-profile party members.

Guo Wengui (by VOA via Wikimedia Commons)

Guo alleged that Wang Qishan told Xi that the Communist regime would collapse within 10 years if it did not wage war against Taiwan.

Guo also claimed that he recently talked to a US army general, a friend of Bannon’s, who said that China is preparing for war.

“If the Taiwanese people unite and rise up, the United States will certainly send troops,” Guo said. “I, Steve Bannon and the general will do our utmost to lobby the US government to lead the forces of justice of the whole world and protect the Taiwanese people’s safety and interests if the Chinese Communist army threatens it. This we will certainly do. “

Guo argued that it is important to protect Taiwan because it has preserved the Chinese culture which the Communist Party has harmed.

Steve Bannon met Guo Wengui while he was working at the White House. Their first private in-depth discussion reportedly took place in October 2017. The two men found common ground in their opposition to the Chinese Communist regime. “We both naturally despise the Chinese Communist Party,” Guo said in a 2018 interview. “That’s why we’ve become partners.” Guo’s affinity with the Trump world is also shown by the fact that he is a member at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

At a press conference in November 2018 Bannon and Guo announced the establishment of the Rule of Law Foundation, which aims at collecting evidence of human rights abuses by the CCP authorities. Steve Bannon has also become a frequent guest on Guo’s live-stream shows.

Steve Bannon has been one of the most prominent and influential members of the anti-CCP lobby in Washington. “We’re at war with China,” Bannon bluntly said in a July 2018 interview. He argued that President Donald Trump needs to “unite the West against the rise of a totalitarian China.”

Guo Wengui, also known as Miles Kwok, was not always a critic of the Chinese authorities. For years the property tycoon was part of the country’s business elite with ties to powerful government officials. In 2014 he was the 74th richest person in China with a net worth of $2.6 billion. His most high-profile property development project was the Pangu Plaza, a torch-shaped building close to many of the 2008 Beijing Olympic venues.

Guo fell out of favour with the regime in 2014. The following year Li You, one of Guo’s business partners, was arrested by police on corruption charges. Ma Jian, a former senior spy chief who was reportedly close to Guo, was detained in 2016 on charges of bribery and abuse of power and sentenced to life in prison in 2018.

After fleeing China, Guo Wenhui has become an outspoken opponent of the Chinese Communist regime with a substantial internet presence. His own Chinese-language website, guo.media, claims to have around 67 million users.

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