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I think it's precisely an attitude like this which is the problem. The US/UK and China are incomparable. For example, you can say what you just said without con

I think it's precisely an attitude like this which is the problem. The US/UK and China are incomparable. For example, you can say what you just said without consequence. Try that in China. There is no rule of law there, prosecutors get a 99% conviction rate and political opponents are disappeared. The communist government system has killed over 100M and China actively organ harvests political prisoners. the US and UK may have done terrible wrongs but they are held endlessly to account. I don't want to get into a dreadful endless debate about foreign adventures (I am not a fan of the Afghan or Iraqi wars by the way) but there is just a world of difference between a totalitarian state and a democratic one. Imagine the police turning up and arresting you for that comment and you disappear never to be heard from again. That is the reality for many Chinese dissidents. Don't undervalue the freedoms gifted to you by the imperfect state in which you live.

pjc50 6y ago
TBH, sanctions are inconceivable on China for the same reason - they are now simply too large and too much money is at stake. There's also the question of effectiveness. Iran has been under sanctions for most of my adult life, and still appears to be islamist. Ditto north korea. Going further to provoke a war is much worse. The uighur situation is far more concerning than the errors of the pandemic, which was like Chernobyl a mistake and misgovernment rather than intentional.
bergstromm466 6y ago
> Imagine the police turning up and arresting you for that comment https://twitter.com/_SecondThought/status/1332746172570677250 https://twitter.com/_SecondThought/status/133274617257067725...
- mixedCase 6y ago
  While I found that sort of intimidation tactic reprehensible, an actual arrest is clearly a step beyond it, enslavement or murder as practiced by the CCP is on yet another level.

pjc50 6y ago

TBH, sanctions are inconceivable on China for the same reason - they are now simply too large and too much money is at stake. There's also the question of effectiveness. Iran has been under sanctions for most of my adult life, and still appears to be islamist. Ditto north korea. Going further to provoke a war is much worse. The uighur situation is far more concerning than the errors of the pandemic, which was like Chernobyl a mistake and misgovernment rather than intentional.

bergstromm466 6y ago

> Imagine the police turning up and arresting you for that comment https://twitter.com/_SecondThought/status/1332746172570677250 https://twitter.com/_SecondThought/status/133274617257067725...

mixedCase 6y ago
While I found that sort of intimidation tactic reprehensible, an actual arrest is clearly a step beyond it, enslavement or murder as practiced by the CCP is on yet another level.