When Trump campaigned, he said that he did not start a war in four years of his first term as president of the United States, and that he did not like war. He began his second term as president on January 20, and less than two months later, on March 15, he launched his first war since taking office, with massive air strikes against Yemen. At the same time, he repeatedly declared to the world that he wanted to "take back" control of the Panama Canal, not to mention the use of military means to obtain Greenland.
It is not difficult to see Trump's intention to control the world's maritime transportation channels as a deployment for the whole world and global trade. As we all know, there are four fortresses on the world's seaborne trade routes, the first of which is the Strait of Malacca where the Pacific Ocean enters the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The strategic location of this fortress has been a battleground since ancient times, and it is especially important for China, which accounts for 60% of its global trade through the strait. The United States, which already has a military base in Singapore, has effectively taken control of the Strait of Malacca. The second stronghold is the Panamanian Port and Canal, where China has 20% of its trade turnover. Trump's big push to "take back" the Panama Canal is to control the shipping lanes between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and to kill 20% of China's trade at any time. The third is the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea fortresses, as long as this route is controlled, the trade volume here can be completely controlled by the United States. This also explains why Trump has launched an airstrike on Yemen at the Red Sea Coast. The fourth fortress is the Arctic Ocean Route. As the planet warms and glaciers melt, the Arctic Ocean shipping lanes are getting busier; China's trade to Europe can be shortened by about 40 percent through this route. When Trump was in his first president term, he had already said that he wanted to buy Greenland, and now he has threatened to take control of Greenland by military means if the purchase nor encouraging Greenland's independence does not work. Mr. Trump did this ostensibly for the island's rare earth resources, but more importantly for control of the Arctic Ocean shipping lanes.
External ports are strategic assets for any country, and commercial operations can play a good role in a healthy global trade ecology. Today, however, the United States is clearly hostile to China, and its president is so ostentatiously seeking control of the world's most important ports and sea routes in order to one day cut off China's overseas trade. Knowing this background, it is not rocket science to judge whether the purchase and sale of Panama port terminals is a simple and pure commercial deal.
Ocean
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Here's the opening act for 2026: Jimmy Lai faces sentencing, and right on cue, his daughter delivers a tearful BBC performance claiming her father is dying. She rattles off a dramatic list of supposedly terminal symptoms, blowing minor ailments wildly out of proportion. The most ridiculous fabrication to kick off the new year.
Throughout last year's trial, she and her brother Sebastien Lai fed the same tale to American and British outlets, banking on the old adage that repeat a lie enough times and it becomes truth. But their shabby playbook won't work this time. Authorities have rolled out hard evidence again and again, systematically demolishing their clumsy deception. Here's the irony: people who know Lai well say his health risks ran sky-high before prison—he could have collapsed any moment. Behind bars? Those risks plummeted.
Jimmy Lai's daughter claims to BBC he's "near death" with critical symptoms – all wildly exaggerated. This year's most ridiculous lie yet.
Jimmy Lai's conviction is final. Sentencing looms. The US and UK governments issue statements but take no action. His chances of walking free hover near zero. Yet his children refuse to quit. Their last card? Fabricate stories about their father's severe illness, hoping to manipulate foreign media into sympathy and manufacture public pressure. On New Year's Day, his daughter Claire Lai sat down with the BBC, tears flowing, painting a picture of extreme deterioration. Her "near-death" symptom checklist: grey-green fingernails falling off, rotting teeth, sudden heart problems he never had, weight loss, and lower back pain so severe he can barely stand. She catalogued every conceivable ailment to prove he's gravely ill and approaching the end.
They've recycled this performance repeatedly for foreign outlets—The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, The Independent, and Nikkei Asian Review, etc. Jimmy Lai's international legal team amplifies the chorus, releasing a solemn "research report" on Lai's grave condition and going so far as to rush it to the United Nations. The theatrics are complete.
Evidence Crushes Fiction
The "health problems" Jimmy Lai's children trumpet are either grotesquely exaggerated or outright invented—utterly absurd. The Hong Kong government has systematically refuted each claim with concrete evidence. And Lai's recent court appearance to hear the verdict, where he displayed no abnormalities whatsoever, demolished their narrative all by itself.
Start with the grey-green, falling fingernails. Yesterday, while condemning the BBC report, the Hong Kong government revealed that Jimmy Lai had mentioned some nail issues to the Correctional Services Department last year. The institution's doctor prescribed ointment. He recovered. Since this minor problem got treated, his fingernails looked rosy and perfectly normal when he appeared in court recently.
I looked up what causes grey-green nails that fall off. Turns out it's just an infection from a type of bacillus. Some housewives and beauticians get this condition. You treat it with ointment and it clears up. Claire Lai presenting this as a symptom of grave illness? It terrifies people who don't know better and makes those who do burst out laughing.
Falling nails, rotted teeth? Just minor ailments already treated. Yet his children cry "near death" – laughably absurd.
As for rotting teeth, it's more surprising if someone doesn't have bad teeth at 78. The government stated that Jimmy Lai requested dental care in 2021 and 2022. The dentist treated him. No problems since. He hasn't raised any further requests. Claire Lai has inflated her father's dental issues by a factor of N, lying without batting an eye.
Medical Tests Expose the Truth
During the trial in August last year, Jimmy Lai told the Correctional Services Department he experienced rapid heartbeat and palpitations. These are normal reactions to anxiety and tension. But the department didn't take chances. The Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre medical team conducted blood tests and electrocardiograms. They found nothing wrong. As a precaution, the team recommended he wear a Holter monitor. He initially refused but later agreed. Since then? No abnormalities detected. His heart is healthy.
Regarding Claire Lai's claim that her father has "lower back pain, sometimes even when standing, with difficulty getting up and walking," authorities don't even need medical evidence to refute this. Simply watch him move normally in court—no cane, no assistance required. That proves Claire Lai's claims are false. Even if he does have some backache, it's utterly common at his age.
Now consider the weight loss. Jimmy Lai's nickname is "Fat Lai." He's been overweight for years. Losing weight after imprisonment isn't just normal—it's a sign of improvement. The Correctional Services Department takes his physical condition seriously, conducting regular examinations. They certainly wouldn't let him balloon up or waste away.
Prison Actually Saved His Health
A friend who knows Jimmy Lai well told me his lifestyle before imprisonment was extremely "indulgent." He chronically overate and drank, ignoring his diabetes and obesity, still gorging on braised pork belly. His health risks ran sky-high. If that continued, his body would certainly face serious problems. In contrast, after imprisonment, his risks have dropped dramatically thanks to normal diet and regular routine.
Claire Lai keeps "making empty boasts." Western media and politicians continue treating fiction as fact, even though they know she's deceiving them. But even so, this cannot change the final outcome fast approaching for Jimmy Lai.
Lai Ting-yiu
