The Federalist has a couple of foreign policy articles today dealing with the current China trade issues.
Trade With China Has Turned Into Giving Away Our Values For Their Money: Free trade with communist nations will defeat every law we have. In a free market with an unfree nation, we have created a competition of systems, and bad systems will drive out good.
FOREIGN POLICY: China’s Ultimate Goal Is To Control American Culture, And Companies Should Resist It: If we let the Chinese government set limits on what we can say or do, if we give up our freedom for short-term financial gain, we will lose our ability to create the best products.
Trade With China Has Turned Into Giving Away Our Values For Their Money: Free trade with communist nations will defeat every law we have. In a free market with an unfree nation, we have created a competition of systems, and bad systems will drive out good.
The most recent example of American business leaders kowtowing to Chinese Communist Party Chairman Xi Jinping is seen in the way the National Basketball Association cracked down on dissent from one of its employees. The situation is benign enough by American standards: Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted a message of support for the pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong — just another American praising democracy and peaceful protest.
But support for democracy is far from harmless in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party. Word got back to the NBA that dissent from the party line was unacceptable for any corporation that wants to do business with them. Morey’s tweet disappeared, and the league issued a groveling apology.
It wasn’t quick enough, though. ... Some sources reported that the Rockets even considered firing Morey for his thoughtcrime. In China, the Rockets are already being cast down the memory hole.
The NBA scandal has brought it to people’s attention, but it has been the lie behind trade with China since that nation was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001. We trusted China to play by the rules, and our mistake was apparent very quickly. Those who would adhere to it in the face of that evidence are willfully blind.
But is it enough to call the rich liberals in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street hypocrites? Clearly, the case has been proven again and again, but what good is it if conservatives and liberals just point fingers at each other?
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Republicans can help individual workers, increase American civil liberties, and preserve nature merely by standing up to China — something they and Democrats have spectacularly failed to do for decades now.
A Republican Party that stands up to China can actually stand up for human rights. That’s a favorable contrast to a party that says the right things then sells out to the highest bidder. Standing up to China and taking control of our own economy, society, and inalienable rights is the right thing to do. It’s also the way to win with the voters. President Trump and congressional Republicans should seize this opportunity for the country’s sake and for their own.
But support for democracy is far from harmless in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party. Word got back to the NBA that dissent from the party line was unacceptable for any corporation that wants to do business with them. Morey’s tweet disappeared, and the league issued a groveling apology.
It wasn’t quick enough, though. ... Some sources reported that the Rockets even considered firing Morey for his thoughtcrime. In China, the Rockets are already being cast down the memory hole.
The NBA scandal has brought it to people’s attention, but it has been the lie behind trade with China since that nation was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001. We trusted China to play by the rules, and our mistake was apparent very quickly. Those who would adhere to it in the face of that evidence are willfully blind.
But is it enough to call the rich liberals in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street hypocrites? Clearly, the case has been proven again and again, but what good is it if conservatives and liberals just point fingers at each other?
...
Republicans can help individual workers, increase American civil liberties, and preserve nature merely by standing up to China — something they and Democrats have spectacularly failed to do for decades now.
A Republican Party that stands up to China can actually stand up for human rights. That’s a favorable contrast to a party that says the right things then sells out to the highest bidder. Standing up to China and taking control of our own economy, society, and inalienable rights is the right thing to do. It’s also the way to win with the voters. President Trump and congressional Republicans should seize this opportunity for the country’s sake and for their own.
FOREIGN POLICY: China’s Ultimate Goal Is To Control American Culture, And Companies Should Resist It: If we let the Chinese government set limits on what we can say or do, if we give up our freedom for short-term financial gain, we will lose our ability to create the best products.
If ESPN thought shutting down on-air discussion about China and Hong Kong would please its Chinese master and protect the commercial interests of itself and its corporate parent Disney, it’s dead wrong. What China wants is not simply to police a few words on social media or on air. It wants to control American culture, period.
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We have seen Marriott fire an hourly employee in Omaha, Nebraska, for liking a tweet a Tibetan group posted. The three biggest U.S. airlines — American Airlines, United, and Delta — bowed to China’s demand and changed their websites to list Taiwan as part of China despite the fact that Taiwan has been self-ruling since 1940 and is under a completely different political and economic system than mainland China.
Most recently, Apple pulled a popular app, HKmap.live, from the App Store because Hong Kong protesters have been relying on it to track police activity on the streets and to avoid trouble spots. Apple deemed such usage of the app “illegal.” The company revised its decision and brought the app back a day later after widespread outcry.
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Many of the “backlashes” Western companies receive come from an online Chinese group referred to as “Wumao,” Chinese users who are on the government’s payroll to support the government’s policies and messaging.
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Whenever the Chinese government wants to police a foreigner’s or a foreign company’s speech and behavior, “Wumao” is deployed to flood the person or company’s site and social media with condemning posts. These paid trolls do not represent thoughts and preferences of the majority of ordinary Chinese citizens.
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The reason America has the best products and sport teams is not because we are a rich and powerful nation (keep in mind, China is rich and powerful too), but because Americans live in a free country and enjoy freedom of expression. We are free to be as creative and as productive as we see fit. It’s this freedom that enables talented Americans to create music, characters, products, and sports teams with universal appeal that transcends cultures.
...
We have seen Marriott fire an hourly employee in Omaha, Nebraska, for liking a tweet a Tibetan group posted. The three biggest U.S. airlines — American Airlines, United, and Delta — bowed to China’s demand and changed their websites to list Taiwan as part of China despite the fact that Taiwan has been self-ruling since 1940 and is under a completely different political and economic system than mainland China.
Most recently, Apple pulled a popular app, HKmap.live, from the App Store because Hong Kong protesters have been relying on it to track police activity on the streets and to avoid trouble spots. Apple deemed such usage of the app “illegal.” The company revised its decision and brought the app back a day later after widespread outcry.
...
Many of the “backlashes” Western companies receive come from an online Chinese group referred to as “Wumao,” Chinese users who are on the government’s payroll to support the government’s policies and messaging.
...
Whenever the Chinese government wants to police a foreigner’s or a foreign company’s speech and behavior, “Wumao” is deployed to flood the person or company’s site and social media with condemning posts. These paid trolls do not represent thoughts and preferences of the majority of ordinary Chinese citizens.
...
The reason America has the best products and sport teams is not because we are a rich and powerful nation (keep in mind, China is rich and powerful too), but because Americans live in a free country and enjoy freedom of expression. We are free to be as creative and as productive as we see fit. It’s this freedom that enables talented Americans to create music, characters, products, and sports teams with universal appeal that transcends cultures.