The “Ku Ku Kachoo” Edition

<p>This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by China expert and law professor Julian Ku to talk through some of the week's big national security news, including:</p><ul><li>“Xi Loves Me, Xi Loves Me Not.” At the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/22/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-congress-security.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress</a> this past weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping was able to not only secure his leadership over the party and country for a third consecutive five-year term but successfully staff the party apparatus with his hand-picked loyalists. What does the Congress tell us about where China is headed under Xi’s rule?</li><li>“Huawei or the Highway.” Less than 24 hours after the close of the CCP Congress in Beijing, Attorney General Merrick Garland and his most senior deputies unveiled a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/24/doj-indicts-nearly-a-dozen-individuals-in-china-espionage-cases-00063176" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">series of indictments against Chinese nationals</a> alleged to have engaged in covert campaigns to interfere with the investigation into Huawei, penetrate U.S. research institutions, and curb protests by Chinese nationals in the United States. Is the timing a message or just a coincidence? How should the Biden administration be responding?</li><li>“4th and Elon(g).” Despite his best efforts, Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter is set to go through this Friday. But in the last few days, there have been mutterings that the purchase might be subjected to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-21/us-weighs-security-reviews-for-musk-deals-including-twitter-buy?srnd=premium&amp;sref=1kJVNqnU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">national security review by the federal government</a>. Are these rumors just Elon’s Hail Mary attempt at killing the deal? Or might they have some merit? And what will either outcome mean for Twitter?</li></ul><p>For object lessons, Alan