Read Online  |  May 18, 2026  |  E-Paper  | 🎧 Listen

“Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it.”

— Miguel de Cervantes, “Don Quixote”

Cathy He
Politics Editor

Good morning, happy Monday! Here are today’s top stories.

• Two decades ago, Zhang Tianliang, a Chinese scholar and expert on the Communist Party, escaped to the United States to find freedom. Now, he’s set to release a documentary, “China’s Stealth Invasion,” which lays out all the infiltration tactics in Beijing’s tool chest. “The Chinese Communist Party considers America as its biggest enemy,” Zhang told The Epoch Times. “I can’t just watch it manipulate this country and erode its way of life.”
• Thousands of Americans, of all ages and backgrounds, convened on the National Mall yesterday, singing in unison, arms raised together in prayer. They were in the nation’s capital for a faith-based celebration known as “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.” Many told The Epoch Times that the day was about healing and compassion.
• President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Gov. Jeff Landry, arrived in Nuuk yesterday for his first trip to the Danish territory. Speaking exclusively with The Epoch Times, Landry said the trip is meant to identify business opportunities and possible medical support for the island.
• The WHO declared an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda a “public health emergency of international concern.” The outbreak, caused by a rare strain of the Ebola virus, has led to more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths. U.S. agencies have issued several travel alerts for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and nearby Uganda over the outbreak. 
• 🍵 Health: What is a colonoscopy and what are its benefits and potential risks?

Zhang Tianliang, senior fellow at the Consilium Institute and professor at Fei Tian College, in Cuddebackville, N.Y., on May 10, 2026. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

A Scholar Escaped China Two Decades Ago. Now He’s Warning About Beijing’s Infiltration in America.

All Zhang Tianliang’s faith in the Communist Party crumbled right there, in a large state auditorium in Beijing.

They had all been waiting there, hundreds of them, shut inside since that sweltering morning in July 1999, bewildered.

It was the start of a bloody persecution, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the Cultural Revolution, although no one knew at the time. “Wait until 3 p.m. You will see it on TV,” the officers told them.

At 3 p.m. sharp came the revelation: Falun Gong, the spiritual practice they and millions of others had taken up, had been banned by the Chinese leadership. As the crowd processed their shock, a state-run documentary began to play on the many television screens mounted to the ceiling, attacking the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi.

Of all the claims that set Zhang reeling, one was enough to undo his Party loyalty in one fell swoop: a short clip from a talk Li had given months prior that Zhang had watched in full. The snippet cut out a phrase mid-sentence, reversing Li’s meaning.

If the regime could alter a speech to fabricate incriminating evidence, what else was it capable of?

It hit Zhang that the Party might have been lying to him his whole life.

A year later, in 2000, Zhang escaped China for the United States. Twenty-six years later, he’s a Chinese history professor, political commentator, and coauthor of several books on communism that have been translated into more than 20 languages. A talk show he appeared on, “Discussions on Chinese Communist Party Culture,” circulated around China via video copies and broadcast, and reached tens of millions of people by his estimates.

His most recent endeavor is the English-language documentary “China’s Stealth Invasion,” which lays out all the infiltration tactics in Beijing’s tool chest. The film is described as “a high-stakes investigative documentary examining how the Chinese Communist Party may be exploiting America’s openness, institutions, and dependencies to expand influence from within.”

Zhang said that America took him in when he was at his most vulnerable, and now that the freedoms of his second home are at stake, he sees an obligation to speak out.

“The Chinese Communist Party considers America as its biggest enemy,” he told The Epoch Times. “I can’t just watch it manipulate this country and erode its way of life.” (More)

IRAN CEASEFIRE

• The United Arab Emirates said that a drone struck a generator at its nuclear power plant and caused a fire amid a continuing ceasefire between Iran and the United States. No country has taken responsibility.
• Trump delivered a new warning to Iran’s leadership and said that Tehran must move quickly or “there won’t be anything left,” providing an update on what the administration wants from the regime as a tentative ceasefire continues to hold up.

POLITICS

• China will purchase at least $17 billion per year of U.S. agricultural products over the next three years, the White House said. The commitment was made during talks between Trump and regime leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last week. The Chinese regime has not yet confirmed the deal. 
• Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration’s drug research center, said that she was firedfrom her position, days after the FDA commissioner resigned.

LATEST NEWS

• A guilty plea by a California mayor has exposed Beijing’s campaign to use domestic elections as a way to shape political outcomes in the United States, and experts warn that the threat will only deepen.
• An administrative consolidation of federal wildland firefighting resources will be tested in the coming months, with the National Interagency Fire Center warning more than 60 percent of the United States is now in drought and AccuWeather projecting that up to 8 million acres, primarily across the parched intermountain West, will burn by fall.

An airport staff member checks passengers’ luggage passing through an X-ray machine at Terminal 3 of the Orly airport, in Orly on the outskirts of Paris, on June 22, 2020. (Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images)

WORLD

• China has told companies within the country not to comply with the European Union’s anti-subsidy investigation into Nuctech, a major Chinese manufacturer of airport security equipment.
• An Iraqi national and Iranian-backed commander charged in the United States with terrorism-related offenses has been linked to the shooting that took place outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto in March.
• Alex Saab, a Colombian businessman and close ally of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, was deported to the United States on Saturday, according to Venezuela’s migration agency. The regime said that Saab was deported because he had been implicated in the commission of various crimes in the United States.

 

OPINION

• The Politicization of Everything—by David Solway (Read)
• The Price of Tomatoes—by Mollie Engelhart (Read)

Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting hosts a film screening of its documentary “Silent Harvest: The Courage to Speak Up,” at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on May 15, 2026. (Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times)

🇺🇲 America in Photos: USS Gerald R. Ford Returns, National Police Week, and Rededicate 250 (Look)

💸 Money: What Happens if I Keep Working While Earning Social Security? (Read)

💛 Inspiration: The Tendency to See the Bad in Others, Instead of the Good (Read)

🎵 Music: Love Across Decades: Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann (Read & Listen)

🧬 (Sponsored) Crepey, crinkly skin? A University of Paris report reveals skin can become up to 50% thinner with age—leading to that “orange peel” look. A new report uncovers 5 warning signs and a simple way to help restore firmness. See the findings here* 

HEALTH

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

Colonoscopy: The Most Used Screening Test for Colon Cancer, Here Are the Benefits and Risks 

Colonoscopy is the most widely used screening test for colon cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

It is considered the gold standardand is more accurate than two other common screening methods—stool tests and sigmoidoscopy—because it allows doctors to see the entire colon and remove any potentially problematic polyps during the same procedure.

However, there is ongoing debateabout who should undergo a colonoscopy and when. Not everyone will get colon cancer, and the procedure could lead to overdiagnosis as well as rare but serious side effects.

The colon is the main part of the large intestine and is about 5 feet long in adults. The rectum stores stool until it passes through the anus. Together, they make up most of the large intestine, absorbing nutrients and converting liquid waste into solid stool.

During a colonoscopy, a gastroenterologist inserts a thin, flexible tube with a lighted camera (colonoscope) through the anus to examine the lining of the rectum and colon. The tube introduces air to gently inflate the colon so the doctor can see more clearly. If polyps or other abnormalities are found, they can often be removed immediately using tools such as forceps, snares, or electrocautery devices passed through the scope.

The procedure takes about 20 to 45 minutes.

Most colonoscopies in the United States are performed under sedation or anesthesia, so patients may sleep through the entire procedure. Those who choose lighter sedation—or none at all—may feel some discomfort.

The primary purpose of colonoscopy is to prevent or detect colon cancer. (More)

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Thanks for reading 🙏

Have a wonderful day!

—Cathy He, Madalina Hubert, and Kenzi Li.

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