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The risks of working with Chinese state-owned enterprises are well known. The risks of working with private companies (large and small) in China are are also gr
by shasheene 7y ago
The risks of working with Chinese state-owned enterprises are well known. The risks of working with private companies (large and small) in China are are also great with CCP "party cells" officially embedded into at least half of private companies. Less discussed is the China's highly-successful "patriotic education" campaign implemented in response to the 1989 pro-democracy protests (the Tiananmen Square massacre). All school children since the mid-1990s have been indoctrinated from birth with a Chinese Communist Party's highly-exaggerated historical narrative called the "century of humiliation". This world view says the US and the European colonial powers held China down between 1839 to 1949, and that only the CCP's leadership China will regain its rightful place as global leader. Its false and highly-exaggerated for a number of reasons (China at its historical peak was never more than a regional power, never a global leader, and the CCP has done more to hold China's development back than western colonialism and the war with Imperial Japan).
Since the patriotic education system came into force in the 1990s, generations of schoolchildren indoctrinated. These students, now adults, have entered the workforce with the ideology continuing to be reinforced by state-propaganda and censorship.
This "century of humiliation" mindset is part of what helps justify the China's strategy of large scale technology theft (theft is a core component of the Made In China 2025 industrial strategy).
Interestingly enough, the CCP promotes its ethno-nationalist ideology far beyond its borders via the United Front Work Department to try and influence everyone, but especially overseas Chinese diaspora communities. It doesn't matter whether someone was born in China, or live as part of an overseas diaspora community, or have Chinese ancestral heritage but have lived for generations in another country, the Chinese Communist Party sees every single ethnically Chinese people in the world as owing allegiance to it, and wants to leverage these people to achieve its goals.
Defeating the CCP's ethno-nationalist agenda and highly-exaggerated historical narratives will be difficult, but understanding it is the key to fighting back against the widespread theft of advanced technology from developed countries to China.
EDIT: Why the downvotes? The "patriotic education" campaign, "century of humiliation" narrative, United Front Work Department and state-led technological theft are all core methods in the CCP's strategy (leading situations like the one in the featured article). If you think this comment is reasonable and meets the guidelines, please view it via the permalink and then 'vouch' it.
- ivalm 7y agoWhile I agree with much of your sentiment at least two things stand out as not quite right: > China at its historical peak was never more than a regional power This is entirely a matter of foreign policy. In terms of production/population/capability, during many periods ancient china would rival/surpass the greatest contemporary empires. I don't think it's appropriate to say "they were not that great" if the main thing that differentiates them from "great" empires is that they didn't pursue a program of unconstrained conquest (and often closely related enslavement/ethnic cleansing). > the CCP has done more to hold China's development back than western colonialism and the war with Imperial Japan This is also not very clear. India had opportunity to work with the west/open market/democracy earlier than China yet is clearly falling behind China in development. In fact, I think one of the main reason for such compliance on the part of Chinese populace is that the standard of living really did skyrocket all within single generations. In 2000 people lived incredibly better than in 1980; now entering 2020 people live much, much better than they did in 2000. To disregard the magical transformation in standard of living (especially in urban areas) is disingenuous. ---- At the same time I don't want to detract from what I believe is the main point. The deep ethno-nationalism and the sick man of Asia narrative that the government is instilling in the youths is truly troubling. It blinds seemingly educated people to obvious abuses by the government and casts the specter of "evil US" as a boogeyman justifying terrible Chinese actions. Even many of the Chinese I met in the US still believe in "US constantly acting nefariously to subvert China" story, despite living in the US for years...
- shasheene 7y agoAs far as China at its historical peak goes, the sentiment I was trying to express is the PRC's goal is for China to regain the world's most powerful nation and the worlds most powerful military with all nations recognizing this and being tributaries (and that this position is an exaggeration from historical truth). On the second point, the CCP certainly deserves a lot of credit for Deng Xiaoping's reforms and the economic expansion since 1978. Though much of the early gains was to undo the Mao's collectivization of rural lands.
- ivalm 7y ago