China has reiterated its opposition to any contact between US officials and Taiwan’s government following a meeting between top politicians and the self-governing island’s president, Tsai Ing-wen.
Texas Sen Ted Cruz and Gov Greg Abbott met with Ms Tsai on Sunday while she was passing through Houston on her way to visit Taiwan’s Central American allies.
At a news briefing in Beijing on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China was firmly opposed to any contact between Taiwan’s leader and „anyone from the US government“.
He said such contacts threaten to disturb and undermine relations between Washington and Beijing.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has been ratcheting up diplomatic pressure on the independence-leaning Ms Tsai since her election last year.
Mr Cruz said in a statement that he and Ms Tsai „discussed our mutual opportunity to upgrade the stature of our bilateral relations“ in their meeting, which addressed arms sales, diplomatic exchanges and economic ties.
An official with Republican President elect-Donald Trump’s transition team said neither Mr Trump nor transition officials would meet with Ms Tsai.
Her stop in the US was scrutinised by Beijing for any signs that Mr Trump’s team would risk its anger by further engaging with Taiwan.
President-elect Trump breached diplomatic protocol last month by speaking on the phone with the Taiwanese leader.
Mr Trump raised further concerns in Beijing when he questioned a US policy that since 1979 has recognised Beijing as China’s government and maintains only unofficial relations with Taiwan.
US politicians often meet with Taiwanese presidents when they travel through the United States, most recently in June when Ms Tsai met in Miami with Republican Sen Marco Rubio of Florida.
The tabloid Global Times, published by China’s Communist Party, said in an editorial on Sunday that Beijing would take a hard line toward any contacts between Taiwan’s government and the incoming Trump administration. China „should also impose military pressure on Taiwan and push it to the edge of being reunified by force“, it said.
China has „seized the initiative. The US and Taiwan now should restrain, or be forced to restrain, themselves“, the newspaper said.
„Tsai needs to face the consequences for every provocative step she takes,“ it said.
AP

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Russia says US allegations that it ran a hacking campaign to influence the American presidential elections are „reminiscent of a witch-hunt“.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow was tired of the accusations.
He said a report released by US intelligence agencies detailing the allegations was groundless.
It is the first official reaction from Russia since President-elect Donald Trump received the report on Friday.
The unclassified report contains allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered the hacking of Democratic Party emails to damage Donald Trump’s Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, and influence the election.
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In his comments on Monday, Mr Peskov said Russia „categorically denied that Moscow had been involved in any hacking attacks“.
„Groundless accusations which are not supported by anything are being rehearsed in an amateurish, unprofessional way. We don’t know what information they are actually relying on. “
The claims amounted to a „witch-hunt“, he added.
Read more on the report here
Mr Trump used the same „witch-hunt“ term last week in a New York Times interview to disparage the hacking claims, which he has repeatedly rejected since winning the presidential election in November.
But his incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, told Fox News Sunday that the president-elect had accepted the findings of the report, which was presented to him by intelligence chiefs on Friday.
„He’s not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular campaign,“ Mr Priebus added.
He did not clarify whether Mr Trump believed the report’s assertion that Russian President Vladimir Putin had directly ordered the hack.
Mr Trump described his meeting on Friday with National Intelligence Director James Clapper, CIA Director John Brennan and FBI Director James Comey as „constructive“ and said he would ask, within 90 days of taking office, for a plan on how to stop cyber attacks.
But he declined to single out Russia, saying it was one of several countries, outside groups and people who „are consistently trying to break through the cyber infrastructure of our governmental institutions, businesses and organizations including the Democrat(ic) National Committee“.
With less than two weeks until his inauguration, Mr Trump is under increasing pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to respond to the allegations.
President Obama has already expelled 35 Russian diplomats from US soil over the hacking. Russia said it would not reciprocate.

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Here’s a look at the most memorable moments from the 2017 Golden Globes, including Meryl Streep’s acceptance speech, Jimmy Fallon’s lackluster hosting, funny presenters and awkward flubs.
Meryl Streep campaigned on behalf of Hillary Clinton, so expectations were high that when she took the Golden Globes stage to accept the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award, she would comment on the recent election. But how political would she be? Pretty political, as it turned out. She used her speech to call out President-elect Donald J. Trump for seeming to mock a disabled New York Times reporter , and to warn that a free press would need to be defended.
“This instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kinda gives permission for other people to do the same thing,” she said. “Disrespect invites disrespect, violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”
The room roundly applauded her remarks, but on social media some conservative commentators immediately criticized her and the target of her remarks had his own take.
In an interview with The Times, Mr. Trump dismissed Ms. Streep as “a Hillary lover” and said that while he had not watched the ceremony, he was “not surprised” to come under attack from “liberal movie people.”
— Daniel Victor and Patrick Healy
Read the full text of Meryl Streep’s remarks and read more about the president-elect’s comments .
Jimmy Fallon, generally an ebullient cruise director for awards shows, wasn’t a presence so much as a nuisance. The “La La Land” intro only really worked if you’d already seen “La La Land,” and the segment lacked the pep and fun of, for example, his “Glee”-oriented musical intro to the 2010 Emmys. There was barely a monologue, but a teleprompter snafu probably shouldn’t derail a comedian who hosts a TV show five nights a week. The rest of his material was tiny — and not funny — interstitials introducing the presenters with strained wordplay. Does this show need a host? Maybe not.
— Margaret Lyons
Read a review of the telecast.
Even cynical awards-show watchers had to smile when the songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, ages 31 and 32, came bounding onto the stage to collect their Globe for the moody “La La Land” tune “City of Stars.” The young men had clearly not yet received the show business memo that awards are to be accepted with practiced (false) modesty and coolness. “We need to calm down!” shouted Mr. Paul. “We’re so nervous!” They charmingly dedicated their best song award to “musical theater nerds everywhere.” (Mr. Pasek and Mr. Paul also wrote the music for the celebrated “Dear Evan Hansen.”) The same kind of emotion could also been seen whenever the cameras passed the “La La Land” table, where the two producers who shepherded the film the longest, Fred Berger and Jordan Horowitz, ages 35 and 36, could be seen melting down with joy as their film racked up one prize after another. Add in multiple trips to the stage by the film’s director, Damien Chazelle, 31, and it felt like an arrival moment for a new set of Young Turks. On to the Oscars?
— Brooks Barnes
Read about the making of “La La Land.”
There’s no movie called “Hidden Fences.” There’s “Fences,” starring Viola Davis and Denzel Washington, and there’s “Hidden Figures,” starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe. First Jenna Bush Hager said it on NBC’s red carpet show when she was interviewing Pharrell Williams ( who is a producer of “Hidden Figures” ), and then Michael Keaton said it onstage. Look alive out there, folks.
— Margaret Lyons
Read about Pharrell Williams’s reaction.
Donald Glover’s two acceptance speeches for his work on the FX show “Atlanta” were touching and personal (“I grew up in a house where magic wasn’t allowed”) and also hilarious (“I’d like to thank the Migos — not for being on the show, but for making ‘Bad and Boujee.’ That’s the best song ever”). “Atlanta” was one of the best, most distinctive shows of last season, and everything about the show’s win, and Mr. Glover’s velvet suit, and the cast’s eyes-closed portrait felt unique and just right.
— Margaret Lyons
Read the complete list of Golden Globe winners.
It was a night of facial hair and sparkles, fairy princess frocks and character dressing, with the characters, and the (Hollywood) royals, dressed straight from the silver screen playbook. Of course, some costumes are less obvious than others. And when it comes to the red carpet, at least pretending to dress as yourself as opposed to, say, a cut flower or Disney caricature, has power.
Ruth Negga , for example, in a silvery-gold sequined T-shirt gown (who doesn’t love the idea of a T-shirt gown?) by Louis Vuitton, took the idea of dressing for the award you want, a popular seasonal trope, and gave it a dose of futuristic cool. Evan Rachel Wood, channeling Marlene Dietrich and David Bowie (and Julie Andrews in “Victor/Victoria”) in an exactingly cut Altuzarra tux with white vest, offered absolute proof of her words that when it comes to awards season, there was no dress required. And Thandie Newton, in off-the-shoulder white Monse, flames picked out in paillettes licking up her hem, just hinted at the idea of an avenging angel come to earth.
Also on the best-dressed list, though in a more classical mode: Emma Stone, in star-strewn blush-pink (pink was a trend) Valentino, metaphor obvious but still undeniably enchanting; Brie Larson, in strapless red Rodarte with a draped and beaded bodice, matching lips and Veronica Lake hair; Natalie Portman, in ’60s-inspired chartreuse Prada maternity gown, a little “Jackie,” but not too much; and Viola Davis in sunshine yellow one-shouldered sequined Michael Kors, so bright she gave off her own light.
For good or ill, Fashion with a capital F dresses can often look overdone or out of place on what has become a pretty visually safe space, and such was the case with Nicole Kidman’s Scottish shipwreck of a puff-sleeved corseted Alexander McQueen. Ditto Sarah Jessica Parker’s white cold-shoulder Vera Wang, with its echoes of both wedding dresses past and Princess Leia. And ditto Janelle Monáe’s bubble-skirted Armani: short in front, trailing in back, sequined on top. Just when you had taken one detail in: whoa! There was another. The red carpet just doesn’t reward risk. At least the very boring — all those sequined columns, yawn — doesn’t linger long in the brain.
— Vanessa Friedman
Read a review of the night’s looks and see a red carpet slide show .
In “Nocturnal Animals,” Tom Ford’s twisty drama, Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays a sadistic thug who menaces a family on a deserted highway. Critics singled out the terrifying performance but on the awards circuit so far, the actor had garnered just one award (from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival) before his surprise Golden Globe for best supporting actor. Left empty-handed were favorites like Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight”). On the red carpet, Mr. Taylor-Johnson said he watched movies about Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer to prepare, while his wife, the director Sam Taylor-Johnson confessed, “It wasn’t my favorite part.”
— Stephanie Goodman
Read a review of “Nocturnal Animals.”
Tracee Ellis Ross’s acceptance speech was an elegant combination of meaningful ideas and gleeful spontaneity. Winning the Globe for best actress in a comedy (“black-ish”), Ms. Ross said that her award was also for “all of the women, women of color and colorful people whose stories, ideas and thoughts are not always considered worthy and valid and important.” She said that it’s “an honor” to be on a show that tells stories “outside of where the industry usually looks.” She also seemed absolutely delighted to have won. Isn’t this what we want from an acceptance speech? A little humor, a bit of thoughtfulness, some seemingly true human emotion.
— Margaret Lyons
Read more about Tracee Ellis Ross’s speech.
It’s time to retire “Sofia Vergara is not a native English speaker” as a comic premise. She came out and said “anal” twice and then “anus,” the big joke being that she can’t pronounce “annual.”
— Margaret Lyons
Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig’s introduction for best animated feature was hilarious. And thank God — the otherwise abysmal banter segments were draining every iota of energy out of the ceremony.
— Margaret Lyons
The actors who really stole the show were, for the most part, under the age of 15: the kids from “Stranger Things” and Sunny Pawar, the pint-size Indian actor who played a lost child in “Lion.”
The “Stranger Things” boys — Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Noah Schnapp — arrived together, charming the red carpet with their sharp outfits and snappy moves. Caleb later grabbed a selfie with Ryan Gosling during a commercial break.
And onstage during the show, when Sunny was hoisted up to the mic by Dev Patel, who plays the older version of their character in the drama “Lion,” the entire ballroom erupted in awws and coos , the sound of hundreds of hearts melting.
— Cara Buckley
Read a review of “Lion” and a review of “Stranger Things.”

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Donald Trump and his Cabinet picks are preparing to face public questioning over their business conflicts, their approach to Russia and other issues during a critical week of confirmation hearings and the president-elect’s first news conference in nearly six months.
Trump plunged Monday into another fight with a high-profile critic, this time in a three-part tweet responding to actress Meryl Streep’s denunciation of him from the stage of the Golden Globe awards.
Trump called the Academy Award winner who had supported Democrat Hillary Clinton „one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood“ and „a Hillary flunky who lost big. “
Bigger issues await the president-elect and at least nine of his Cabinet and other nominees this week. He becomes the nation’s 45th president on Jan. 20.
His nominees to be the nation’s top diplomat, lead law enforcement officer and head of homeland security are among at least nine picks set to parade before Senate committees beginning Tuesday. A day later, Trump faces reporters about how he’ll disentangle his global empire from his administration, and more. Trump has pledged to step away from the Trump Organization during his time in office, but has yet to say specifically how he will do that.
Perhaps the most pressing issue is how Trump responds to the U. S. intelligence community’s briefing Friday on its conclusion that Russia meddled in the election to help him become president.
Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, said Sunday that Trump indeed has accepted that Russia was responsible for the hacking, which targeted the Democratic National Committee and a top aide to former rival Hillary Clinton.
„He’s not denying that entities in Russia were behind this particular campaign,“ Priebus said in an appearance on a Sunday television news show.
Intelligence officials allege that Moscow directed a series of hacks in order to help Trump win the White House in the race against Clinton. Trump has expressed skepticism about Russia’s role and declined to say whether he agrees that the meddling was done on his behalf. He’s also said improving relations with Russia would be a good thing and that only „stupid“ people would disagree.
„My suspicion is these hopes will be dashed pretty quickly,“ said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. „The Russians are clearly a big adversary. And they demonstrated it by trying to mess around in our election. “
An unclassified version of a report presented to Trump last week directly tied Russian President Vladimir Putin to election meddling and said that Moscow had a „clear preference“ for Trump over Clinton. Trump and his allies have bristled at any implication that the meddling helped him win the election. He won the Electoral College vote with 306 votes, well over the 270 votes required to become president.
The comments come ahead of a consequential week for Trump and his Cabinet picks.
Democrats complain the schedule is rushed. The government ethics office says it hasn’t received even draft financial disclosure reports for some of the nominees set to appear before Congress this week. Many are wealthy businessmen who have never held public office.
Trump’s nominees, meanwhile, have been going through extensive preparation in the days leading up to the hearings. Transition officials said Sunday they’ve spent more than 70 hours participating in full-blown mock hearings, with volunteers playing the role of senators asking questions.
—
Kellman reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Vivian Salama in Washington contributed to this report.

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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Mourners are paying respect to former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as Iran observes three days of mourning following his death.
President Hassan Rouhani and his administration on Monday appeared at a mosque in northern Tehran, where Rafsanjani’s body was brought.
Residents in the Iranian capital also expressed their grief at the loss of Rafsanjani, who suffered a heart attack on Sunday and died at the age of 82.
Maziar Rezaei, a real estate agent, told The Associated Press: “I don’t know who is going to fill his place. He kept Iran safe from hard-liners for so long.”
Zahra Qorbani, a tailor, says she is worried about her children’s future. She described the late leader as a “man who always tried to fix Iran ’s relations with neighbors and the world.”
Copyright © 2017 The Washington Times, LLC.
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