Xi’s Moral Depravation Throws China into the Great Implosion | Jimmy Lai
Despite CCP’s growing power and overbearing arrogance, some had been complacent. Nevertheless, wolf warriors are no longer hiding their ambition to conquer the world. The Wuhan pandemic is the wake-up call of how precarious the situation has become. CCP’s otherworldly belief system imperils not only Western values, ways of life, ethics, morality, and social harmony, but it also threatens everyone’s sense of decency and dignity.
I can see why some compare the Wuhan pandemic to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan’s undeclared assault alerted the Americans to the threat of nationalist authoritarianism in Japan and Germany. The tide turned when the United States participated in the war.
CCP’s overreach in the 21st century puts on guard not only the Americans but also everyone who is living a peaceful, dignified life. CCP poses more than just military and economic threats; the regime is the antithesis of ethics and our way of life.
I cannot speak for the others how shocked one can be when he sees NBA bowed to CCP’s pressure. But I am sure everyone sees from this episode the barbaric nature of the authoritarian regime. The Wuhan pandemic makes everyone critical of CCP hence the rise of anti-China sentiment. CCP will meet not only containment but also a full-fledged ideological confrontation. It is going to be catastrophic for CCP.
Western civilization’s supremacy, coupled with the United States’ military might, is systematically and intellectually advantageous. China’s emergence does not have the momentum to tip the balance of power. Both the United States and China know that even if there are incidental conflicts between China and the US, they are unlikely to escalate into hot wars as the disparity between them remains enormous.
On the contrary, the clash of values and ideologies is acute and growing bitter. With its economic purchasing power, the CCP corrupts the morality and ethics of the liberal society we cherish. Just a case in point, companies doing business in China have to surrender their intellectual properties and comply with unfair conditions.
From the outside, China’s market looks too good to miss, and the CCP takes advantage of this mentality to change the rules of the game. After four decades of economic reform, China became a powerhouse of business and technology. However, as China becomes unprecedentedly powerful, its strangle on others also grew more forceful. While we have yet made sense of Xi’s calls for another revolutionary long march, he aspires to lead humanity to a common destiny. Xi’s ambition is no joke!
There is no doubt everyone wants to be part of the Chinese market. But if it means we have to accept the authoritarian regime’s twisted values, what is the moral cost of doing business with China? Unfortunately, too many companies are eager to play by CCP’s rule of the game. It may be too late when business executives realize they must ignore their conscience to get things done in China. But only when they feel uneasy, helpless, and overwhelmed, they see the moral deprivation after when CCP’s ideology takes over the world. CCP’s abuses remind the fact that we can only stand our ground if we defend morality.
While Xi sees himself as the leader of humanity’s common destiny, the reality is somewhat contrary to the vision. We see the moral cost of doing business in China, and no one will tolerate the CCP bullying. This year, foreign minister Wang Yi’s tour in Europe was poorly received because the free world no longer remains silent to the CCP.
Domestically, Xi made himself the nation’s biggest fool preaching the revolutionary propaganda. I do not know if Xi’s Maoist fetish has anything with his upbringing or if it is just simple insanity. After four decades of prosperity and experience encountering the outside world, the Chinese can’t fall for the Maoist appeal. Chinese are no longer ignorant nor fanatical. Most people understand there is no way back to the old days and no reason to do so. Nevertheless, over the journey to the revolutionary Jǐnggāngshān, Xi told the Chinese he wanted to go the other way round.
Going against the market order and squandering the nation’s resources will only make the situation worse. The embargo on computer chips will deal a fatal blow to the Chinese economy. Xi borrows from Mao’s playbook mobilizing all the nation’s resources to develop and produce homegrown computer chips, the way Mao’s China feverishly made steel with backyard furnaces during the Great Leap Forward. From backyard steel furnaces to amateur semiconductor fab, alas, how unfortunately it is for China to have such dumb fools at the top?
When people are not free and their energy drained by the authority, they cease to fantasize about the glorious future and direct their creativity to resist the tyrannical oppression. The creative disruption resulting from people’s resistance can end dynasties or even bring about a new era.
Xi pushes the nation to its limit and the point of no return. Digital surveillance system keeps track of everything everyone does, and there is no more room for people to fantasize about anything, including their country’s greatness.
The deprivation will throw the country into an implosion. When people stand against the ever-present surveillance, it is the beginning of the end. The people will make use of the cutting edge counter-surveillance technology from the outside world, to take over walled garden cyberspace, form consensus, and take on the regime. It is what the CCP is afraid of the most.
If the US imposes a total computer chip ban, it will severely impede China’s technology research and development. On the other hand, if civil society has more access to advanced technological support from the outside world, it might get around the regime’s control and facilitate freedom of information. Technical assistance can be provided from anywhere and does not even need to be anywhere close to China. As long as people have free speech to reach consensus, they can build solidarity and keep powers in check. When people can impose adequate checks and balances, there will be no room for dictators.
(Jimmy Lai is the founder of Next Digital, which publishes the Apple Daily and Next Magazine in Hong Kong and Taiwan.)
P.S. When I host dinner at home, I always order Sang Kee’s braised goose slices and offal takeout and serve them as appetizers. I am so blessed to come across these treats that are so flamboyantly delicious.
Editor’s note: the article was penned before the author’s detainment
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