Even if I believed you - which I absolutely don’t - it’s completely irrelevant. The intent of my government or of a foreign government has almost zero bearing

Even if I believed you - which I absolutely don’t - it’s completely irrelevant. The intent of my government or of a foreign government has almost zero bearing on my life, for the life of any other average American – someone who does not have a secret clearance, is not committing major felonies, etc. What matters is material condition, and the ability of that government to project force and change a person’s material condition. If Chinese intelligence knows who my weed dealer is, or that I on occasion drive my car faster than the posted speed limit, agents of the MSS aren’t going to tail my car and pull me over. If proof that I’m pirating DVDs hits the great firewall I’m not going to get an email threatening me with legal action. I don’t care if my government really thinks that weed purchases should be illegal or that driving 5 over the speed limit is a societal crisis or that pirating DVDs is a moral wrong: I care that they can project force against me and impact my life.