20 Years of Hard Work, 2 Seconds to Soar: Fujian Awaits

The “decapitation” hype just hit fever pitch. Here’s the bold new chatter: Japan’s defense officials told local media that if the Fujian carrier ever enters the Taiwan Strait, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces should team up with the US military and put sinking it at the top of their to-do list.
  
This is what some war games lay out: If China ever expands its strikes from Kyushu and Okinawa all the way down to the Nansei Islands—plus every US base along the chain—Japan would recoil into defensive mode. And then, Taiwan has no choice but to do the same, as well as the US. Suddenly Tokyo, Taipei, and Washington are all in the same foxhole. The old “defend Taiwan” story morphs into an East Asia mega-battle, where there’s zero daylight between countering threats to Taiwan and threats to Japan.
 
That’s why, as Taiwan commentator Lai Yi-chung pointed out back in July 2023, everyone needs ironclad, three-way security channels—whether defending Taiwan, Japan, or America.
  
Solid logic, the old Russian doll theory: If Taiwan’s in trouble, so is Japan, so is the US. Back under Abe, nerves in Tokyo were already frayed, serving the right wing a golden opportunity. When COVID still stalked the world in 2022, Japan mapped out a plan for 1,000 anti-ship missiles—that’s three for each of China’s 300 warships (now nearly 400, more than even America fields). Their message was clear: Chinese carriers are to be sunk before they ever manage to sail. Taiwan’s mainstream loved it. Double insurance from both the US and Japan, island stability—no need for unification nor independence. Case closed.
  
Then came reality—the Fujian carrier entered service, and shattered this stack of Russian dolls to dust. America sobered up first. The others? Not even worth a footnote.
  
Punchline to the War Game
Last weekend, China Central TV pulled back the curtain: “2 Seconds, 20+ Years—The Untold Grit Behind Fujian’s Launch.” Here’s the money quote from the expert: “Sure, our carrier jets can blast off in two seconds. But getting to that moment took more than 20 years of grit. At the start, plenty doubted. Foreign giants spent decades and still fell short. Could China pull it off? Turns out, yes we can.”
  
The narrative’s heart-tugging, but the real story is buried in the specs. Qiao Jia, who led the Fujian’s construction, spells it out: Unlike Liaoning or Shandong, the Fujian is China’s first homegrown, catapult-equipped aircraft carrier. And it doesn’t just use any catapult system—it’s the world’s first with a conventional-power electromagnetic catapult. Every inch of that tech pushed China’s engineers to the brink, and they didn’t blink.
 
Here’s the cold, hard takeaway: Don’t just stare at the Fujian in awe, or obsess over the road China traveled to get here. The killer fact is, after more than 20 years of grinding, China now owns this tech—and its world-class manufacturing machine means the next Fujian-level carrier could roll out in two years, one year, half a year, or even just two months.
  
No Magic, Just Muscle
Why should anyone take China at its word? Are the claims real—or just bluster? Against nonstop foreign skepticism and a wall of Western tech barricades, CCTV lays it bare: “We started from zero. No playbook. No shortcuts. Real power tech isn’t handed down or bought in a back room. Only by blazing new trails, daring to outdo the world, grinding in silence, and refusing to quit can we keep smashing ceilings—and locking core tech in Chinese hands.” In short, that “Made in China” label? It’s the one thing no rival can beat.
 
Let’s cut the magic act—there’s no David Copperfield here. Think Japan’s top brass wants to wait for a Trump comeback to “sink Fujian”? By all means, keep waiting. If you’ve got the nerve, then step up and show us.

Deep Blue

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Boys will be boys, I suppose. Diario AS captured the moment that stunned everyone. Marc Cucurella walked off in slides, hauling away the World Cup trophy his teammates had bled for, stuffed inside a see-through plastic bag. What was that about?

Rewind to the trophy ceremony itself. Trump handed the World Cup to Spain's captain Rodri, then simply refused to step aside and let the players have their moment. Online users mocked him for "clinging to the stage." FIFA President Gianni Infantino eventually had to physically steer the US president to the side of the podium. Nothing like it had happened in the World Cup's 96-year history.

Here is a theory, purely speculation. The Spanish players were furious but dared not say so out loud. So back in the locker room, they may have drawn lots to pick someone to speak for the team. Cucurella, whose curly hair sets him apart from Dutch legend Ruud Gullit in his own distinctive way, drew the short straw. He answered with a piece of postmodern performance art, mocking the graceless guest of honor.

For real, both Cucurella and Trump share a certain eccentric streak, so who else would it be when a stunt like that is to be pulled off? Before the final, Cucurella had already promised that if Spain won, he would get head coach Luis de la Fuente's face tattooed on his body.

Calling this a national embarrassment might be a stretch. But the numbers back up at least part of the charge. A survey that has drawn global attention just landed. The Pew Research Center reported last week that in 25 of the 36 countries and territories surveyed, most respondents view China more favorably than the United States, and that group includes Canada and Mexico.

Pew ran the poll between February and May, right as the United States and Israel were at war with Iran. Who tanked America's image? The answer is written on the wall.

A Pew spokesperson said this marks the first time in 20 years that global respondents rated China more favorably than the United States. Views of the two countries had crept close before. A clear tilt toward China, though, is new. The spokesperson noted the shift is unfolding as Covid-19 fades from memory and America's global image keeps sliding.

It all adds up. This has all played out during Trump's presidencies 1.0 and 2.0, a genuine wake-up call.

Listen to what the Pew spokesperson actually said. There is a link between the outbreak of war, the sense that the United States is not contributing to peace and stability, and falling confidence in Trump. On top of that, Trump's push to annex Greenland, the US military's capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and Washington's handling of the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas have all dragged America's approval ratings down further.

America's approval could still fall further. Why? Voters, through an indirect one-person-one-vote system, elected a president with the mental age of a five-year-old. Things were bound to go wrong. You and I both saw this coming, so there is little left to say. For reference, the countries that still hold a favorable view of the United States include Israel in first place, followed mainly by Japan, India, South Korea, the Philippines, and Poland. Even in those countries, however, favorable views of the United States have been weakening in recent years.

One postscript. After Spain's victory, reporters asked Cucurella when he would honor his tattoo pledge. His reply: "I'll definitely get it somewhere visible!" Good, very good. The most important thing is not to embarrass yourself. Above all, do not fail on the tattoo and then serve up a TACO, "Trump Always Chickens Out," as a substitute payment.

One more thing. Within less than 24 hours, Cucurella's trophy-in-a-plastic-bag moment had already outshone Messi in online popularity.