5 ms·

You're clearly missing a bit of nuance on the context if you call tencent the same thing as the Chinese government. You think the CCP would be making investmen

You're clearly missing a bit of nuance on the context if you call tencent the same thing as the Chinese government. You think the CCP would be making investments into foreign social networks that they block? I It makes no sense. There's limited leverage over Reddit for the same reason. Anyone accessing them from China does it over VPN anyways.

learc83 8y ago
>You think the CCP would be making investments into foreign social networks that they block? No, that's why they are allowing Tencent to do it for them. You think this deal doesn't have CCP approval? Tencent has an executive Party Committee who's explicit purpose is to make sure the company is advancing the Party's goals.
- yourbandsucks 8y ago
  There are 100 million party members in China. It's a big part of getting ahead. Of course the deal was approved in the boring sense. Neither that nor party membership mean that this is strategically interesting to the government.
  - learc83 8y ago
    So the largest companies in China going around buying up pieces of social media and entertainment companies around the world isn't strategically interesting? The Chinese government forced a US company to publicly apologise when their website merely listed Hong Kong on the same level as China in a dropdown. The government attempts to control the global narrative about China in any way they can. Of course they were involved with this.
    - yourbandsucks 8y ago
      I'm trying to get something out of this comment beyond "any international business by Chinese companies is nefarious by definition", and I have to admit that I can't. I guess if they know their role and stick to manufacturing it's ok? As far as Hong Kong.. they've got a pretty fair reason to be oversensitive about westerners implying it's not part of China.
      - learc83 8y ago
        What you should get out of it is that Chinese companies are effectively a proxy for the government. And the Chinese government operates the largest and most effective censorship program in the history of humanity. So maybe we don't want to sell them a stake in media and entertainment companies. >As far as Hong Kong.. they've got a pretty fair reason to be oversensitive about westerners implying it's not part of China. Maybe we should have let the people of Hong Kong vote on the issue. Regardless, they did the exact same thing with Taiwan.
        yourbandsucks 8y ago
        So you can't think of any reason that the Chinese would be upset about specifically English speaking people implying Hong Kong isn't part of China? I mean, I get that you don't like them, but at a certain point it becomes willful ignorance.
        learc83 8y ago
        I know why China is upset about it. They know that a large percentage of the population of Hong Kong doesn't want to be part of China. And they have done everything in their power to make sure that the Hong Kong independence movement doesn't gain a foothold. From punishing protestors to eroding local autonomy, to encouraging mainland immigration, to manipulating global speech. This isn't about some disadvantaged country being sensitive because they were taking advantage of by colonial powers a century ago. This is about a modern colonial power asserting dominance over an oppressed people. >I mean, I get that you don't like them Yeah I don't "like" a government that puts millions of people in reeducation camps because of their religion. A government who most likely executes political prisoners to harvest their organs. I don't like a government that insists that the populations of Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong have no right to self-determination. If you don't dislike such a government, I'd suggest that you are the one being willfully ignorant.
        yourbandsucks 8y ago
        1997 was not a century ago. Bias buster for you: what if you applied the same level of hostile rhetoric and numerical exaggeration to the deeds of the other 4 UNSC members over a given timeframe? Or, God forbid, applied dispassionate analysis to all 5? Let me guess, that's whataboutism?

learc83 8y ago

>You think the CCP would be making investments into foreign social networks that they block? No, that's why they are allowing Tencent to do it for them. You think this deal doesn't have CCP approval? Tencent has an executive Party Committee who's explicit purpose is to make sure the company is advancing the Party's goals.

yourbandsucks 8y ago
There are 100 million party members in China. It's a big part of getting ahead. Of course the deal was approved in the boring sense. Neither that nor party membership mean that this is strategically interesting to the government.
- learc83 8y ago
  So the largest companies in China going around buying up pieces of social media and entertainment companies around the world isn't strategically interesting? The Chinese government forced a US company to publicly apologise when their website merely listed Hong Kong on the same level as China in a dropdown. The government attempts to control the global narrative about China in any way they can. Of course they were involved with this.
  - yourbandsucks 8y ago
    I'm trying to get something out of this comment beyond "any international business by Chinese companies is nefarious by definition", and I have to admit that I can't. I guess if they know their role and stick to manufacturing it's ok? As far as Hong Kong.. they've got a pretty fair reason to be oversensitive about westerners implying it's not part of China.
    - learc83 8y ago
      What you should get out of it is that Chinese companies are effectively a proxy for the government. And the Chinese government operates the largest and most effective censorship program in the history of humanity. So maybe we don't want to sell them a stake in media and entertainment companies. >As far as Hong Kong.. they've got a pretty fair reason to be oversensitive about westerners implying it's not part of China. Maybe we should have let the people of Hong Kong vote on the issue. Regardless, they did the exact same thing with Taiwan.
      - yourbandsucks 8y ago
        So you can't think of any reason that the Chinese would be upset about specifically English speaking people implying Hong Kong isn't part of China? I mean, I get that you don't like them, but at a certain point it becomes willful ignorance.
        learc83 8y ago
        I know why China is upset about it. They know that a large percentage of the population of Hong Kong doesn't want to be part of China. And they have done everything in their power to make sure that the Hong Kong independence movement doesn't gain a foothold. From punishing protestors to eroding local autonomy, to encouraging mainland immigration, to manipulating global speech. This isn't about some disadvantaged country being sensitive because they were taking advantage of by colonial powers a century ago. This is about a modern colonial power asserting dominance over an oppressed people. >I mean, I get that you don't like them Yeah I don't "like" a government that puts millions of people in reeducation camps because of their religion. A government who most likely executes political prisoners to harvest their organs. I don't like a government that insists that the populations of Taiwan, Tibet, and Hong Kong have no right to self-determination. If you don't dislike such a government, I'd suggest that you are the one being willfully ignorant.
        yourbandsucks 8y ago
        1997 was not a century ago. Bias buster for you: what if you applied the same level of hostile rhetoric and numerical exaggeration to the deeds of the other 4 UNSC members over a given timeframe? Or, God forbid, applied dispassionate analysis to all 5? Let me guess, that's whataboutism?