JRE Chat

12 Nov 2023

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Erika Thompson talking about China

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Well, Erika, it's pretty wild when we dive into what's happening in China. I mean, they've got an incredible history that has been largely erased by their own actions, like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. They're building from scratch in a lot of ways, and it's led to this weird mix of ancient cultural elements and high-tech authoritarian control. It's not all good or bad, it's just different, you know?

You look at the internet over there, it's a whole different beast. They've got this electronic tyranny going on, censoring anything and everything they don't want their people to see. You're not opening up Facebook or Wikipedia over there, that's for sure. And the crazy part is they're now exporting those censorship tools to other authoritarian regimes around the world.

I've got to tell you, the story of Peng Shuai really got to me. A woman who speaks out about being sexually abused by a politician and then she basically disappears? That's a whole level of dystopian control I hope we never have to deal with over here. You've got to wonder, how many people are they silencing that we don't even know about?

China's also making big moves on a global scale, amassing naval power, buying up tech companies. Look at what happened with the SolarWinds hack. That wasn't China, it was Russia, but it shows how cyber warfare is increasingly becoming a major threat to national security. China's growing influence in tech isn't something we can ignore.

You see, Erika, it's a complex and layered situation. I'm not trying to demonize China here, but we do need to acknowledge the realities on the ground.

As always, it's about keeping the dialogue going, staying informed, and hopefully finding ways to advocate for freedom and fairness everywhere. That's what it's all about, right?