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This seems to be the key paragraph: > A confident power permits debate to flourish, unthreatened by ideas; a fearful > one will seek to manipulate or shut

by geowwy 8y ago

This seems to be the key paragraph: > A confident power permits debate to flourish, unthreatened by ideas; a fearful > one will seek to manipulate or shut it down. The party is increasingly obliged > to try to replicate its domestic censorship on a global scale, to suppress > views of China that the party does not like, wherever they are manifested. > Sustained investment in propaganda in Chinese-language media and in Western > media, subtle and unsubtle attempts to exert influence through the party’s > United Front Work Department, pressuring business partners to support > political positions on Taiwan and the South China Sea, buying political > influence and muscle-flexing on Western campuses—all have caused alarm in > several countries recently, notably in Australia and New Zealand. I guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that China is trying to control the narrative overseas. Most major powers try to do the same.

mirgj 8y ago
Yes, indeed. It's quite strange that we never had this kind of criticism against US in the past when they always used the same kind of diplomacy (I mean, they're still doing it).
throw8185 8y ago
This is a good point. I definitely support free speech (that should go without saying), but it seems to be spread with a fervor not unlike how Christianity was spread during colonization. For example, is the quality of life in Mexico--with free speech and democracy--better than one like Singapore or even China? There are also different ideals of free speech too. The US version is very different from the European version. Free speech should be ultimate goal, but perhaps there are other steps that need to be achieved first.
- sgift 8y ago
  Mexico doesn't have free speech in practice: If you speak out against the wrong people you get killed by the cartels. Also, we don't know what the quality of life in China is, because ... you cannot talk about things which are critical of the government. That is technically correct, but being allowed to criticize the government without getting send to a prison seems to be a common denominator, so we could start with that. That assumes you cannot work on free speech and "other steps" at the same time. Free speech is so easy, blocking it costs more resources than just accepting it. These resources could be used for "other steps", so blocking free speech is detrimental to them.
  - lev99 8y ago
    > we don't know what the quality of life in China is, because ... you cannot talk about things which are critical of the government. If you want to know what the quality of life is like in China you can visit China and meet people living there. Visas are easy to get. It's not a secret, and there are plenty of first hand accounts of even their darkest hours.

by geowwy 8y ago

mirgj 8y ago

Yes, indeed. It's quite strange that we never had this kind of criticism against US in the past when they always used the same kind of diplomacy (I mean, they're still doing it).

throw8185 8y ago

This is a good point. I definitely support free speech (that should go without saying), but it seems to be spread with a fervor not unlike how Christianity was spread during colonization. For example, is the quality of life in Mexico--with free speech and democracy--better than one like Singapore or even China? There are also different ideals of free speech too. The US version is very different from the European version. Free speech should be ultimate goal, but perhaps there are other steps that need to be achieved first.

sgift 8y ago
Mexico doesn't have free speech in practice: If you speak out against the wrong people you get killed by the cartels. Also, we don't know what the quality of life in China is, because ... you cannot talk about things which are critical of the government. That is technically correct, but being allowed to criticize the government without getting send to a prison seems to be a common denominator, so we could start with that. That assumes you cannot work on free speech and "other steps" at the same time. Free speech is so easy, blocking it costs more resources than just accepting it. These resources could be used for "other steps", so blocking free speech is detrimental to them.
- lev99 8y ago
  > we don't know what the quality of life in China is, because ... you cannot talk about things which are critical of the government. If you want to know what the quality of life is like in China you can visit China and meet people living there. Visas are easy to get. It's not a secret, and there are plenty of first hand accounts of even their darkest hours.