6 ms·

Twitter locks account of Chinese Embassy in U.S.

55 points by empressplay 6y ago

fireeyed 6y ago
A lot of other communist Chinese government rep accounts dehumanize Uighurs. They haven’t been banned yet. Also Ayatollah who is fervent anti-Semite is still on Twitter.
- timonoko 6y ago
  There has not been a public outcry. And most of those that would even make a cry, are now banned. So.. Just welcome your new Chinese overlords and shut up.
  - cosmodisk 6y ago
    Not quite sure why you are being downvoted. Just yesterday we were reading history books about Nazis and Soviet Russia building concentration camps and we were appalled thinking this won't ever happen again, while the history repeats itself again and nobody seem to care,not at least to a larger degree.
    - cambalache 6y ago
      > and we were appalled thinking this won't ever happen again, Abu Ghraib, Bosnia, Guantanamo
- supercanuck 6y ago
  Did that account proclaim the Uighur women were no longer "baby making machines"?
alisonatwork 6y ago
There's a partial list of the people the Chinese government has announced sanctions on here: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1847554.shtml https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/25... It's unsurprising to see firebrands like Bannon on the list, but Pottinger seemed like a relatively middle of the road hawk. The worrying part is that the announcement not only bans these people from entering China, but their family members too - which means it goes further than the recent sanctions the US placed on a few CCP officials. The vagueness around "companies and institutions associated with them" also being banned really seems to up the pressure on Americans even outside of politics to toe the line. Doesn't really bode well for improved relations in the Biden administration.
- dirtyid 6y ago
  Pottinger is the architect of current China containment policies that's fairly coherent if not for Trump going off script. There's likely continuity going into Biden's China policy. He's arguably more dangerous to Chinese interest than Pompeo. I don't think there's going to be much movement towards improving relations until Biden sorts US out for a couple years and there's some semblance of where Trump/Pompeo/Hawks/Republican party is heading for next election. Sanctioning Pompeo probably a gift for his presidential aspirations anyway. Otherwise it looks pretty reciprocal, China doesn't have SWIFT levers, so have to inconvenience another way.
  - beerandt 6y ago
    It's pretty clear to me that China intends for it to be, and look like, an escalation, even if ambiguously so. They're posturing on the new admin, knowing that the Whitehouse really doesn't want to escalate. A China flex without a comparable US (escalated) response would be huge for China's superpower aspirations right now. If it backfires, then China can fall back to the position that they intended it to be reciprocal in order to save face.
    - dirtyid 6y ago
      A couple factors: Wait until "doomsday clown" Pompeo out of the office, to mitigate damage. Biden invited Taiwan's "ambassador" to inauguration, a first. I don't know which event proceeds what, but this might call for separate response. There's no space for face-saving on Taiwan redline. Off to a rough start.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > The worrying part is that the announcement not only bans these people from entering China, but their family members too I can tell from the way you wrote your post that you don't really understand the issue. The CCP is doing an automatic retaliation against the US, because that's what governments do. But Chinese citizens laugh over these announcements, because CCP members want to send their children to US universities, their adult family members to safe haven countries, and launder their bribes using US real estate. And US citizens don't want or need any of that from China. :) Xi's immediate family live in Canada and Australia, not China, because they're not safe in China. Let that sink in for a minute, and you will understand what totalitarianism means.
dirtyid 6y ago
I commented on this asymmetry before, Chinese propaganda operating freely in the west on western platforms, while western propaganda being filtered in Chinese platforms is a real foreign policy conundrum since both parties are following relevant local regulations. Hard to see how west can match without adopting similar (anti)values. Didn't take long, this only validates Chinese filtering model and plays in China's favour. I'm sure there's going to be much rationalization and wank over differences between private and government control. But IMO it's perfunctory and doesn't change the underlying effect of political censorship, in the end that's the only validation China needs.
- CogitoCogito 6y ago
  I think access to media markets should be treated similarly to trade restrictions. I don't think the Chinese government or Chinese companies should have access to the US media market without appropriate reciprocity.
hertzrat 6y ago
This is not really because of that tweet specifically, but because the USA has now accused China of genocide against the uighurs https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-china-genocide-declaration-1.5879033 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-china-genocide-declaration-...
- swarnie_ 6y ago
  This has been widely reported in the west for almost two years... What took you so long?
  - AnimalMuppet 6y ago
    Widely reported, yes. But only officially recognized very recently.
- coldtea 6y ago
  And it's not because the USA cares, it's about the trade war and the superpower piss match.
  - beerandt 6y ago
    I'd argue it's the reverse: If anything, trade concerns have prevented/deterred the US from being able to speak up sooner.
    - blackrock 6y ago
      I think if the US really cares about genocide, then: 1) They would declare themselves (US) to be genociders of the Native American Indians 2) They would declare Australia to be genociders of the Aboriginals. But.. that’ll be a cold day in hell if that ever happens.
      - yostrovs 6y ago
        That history is recognized. The issue is that genocide is happening right now in China, and hating America shouldn't blind you to that fact.
DigitallyFidget 6y ago
It's somewhat frightening how much political control social media has. Their ability to silence political ideas, people, or entities they disagree with is a lot of power for them to wield. I'm not debating justification of their action, merely the responsibility and power they hold.
- CogitoCogito 6y ago
  I do at least partially share your concerns, but the Chinese Embassy can always just release the same information through a press release from their website. Anyone interested (including news agencies) can still get that information. They're not really being silenced.

55 points by empressplay 6y ago

A lot of other communist Chinese government rep accounts dehumanize Uighurs. They haven’t been banned yet. Also Ayatollah who is fervent anti-Semite is still on Twitter.

timonoko 6y ago
There has not been a public outcry. And most of those that would even make a cry, are now banned. So.. Just welcome your new Chinese overlords and shut up.
- cosmodisk 6y ago
  Not quite sure why you are being downvoted. Just yesterday we were reading history books about Nazis and Soviet Russia building concentration camps and we were appalled thinking this won't ever happen again, while the history repeats itself again and nobody seem to care,not at least to a larger degree.
  - cambalache 6y ago
    > and we were appalled thinking this won't ever happen again, Abu Ghraib, Bosnia, Guantanamo
supercanuck 6y ago
Did that account proclaim the Uighur women were no longer "baby making machines"?

alisonatwork 6y ago

There's a partial list of the people the Chinese government has announced sanctions on here: https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1847554.shtml https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/25... It's unsurprising to see firebrands like Bannon on the list, but Pottinger seemed like a relatively middle of the road hawk. The worrying part is that the announcement not only bans these people from entering China, but their family members too - which means it goes further than the recent sanctions the US placed on a few CCP officials. The vagueness around "companies and institutions associated with them" also being banned really seems to up the pressure on Americans even outside of politics to toe the line. Doesn't really bode well for improved relations in the Biden administration.

dirtyid 6y ago
Pottinger is the architect of current China containment policies that's fairly coherent if not for Trump going off script. There's likely continuity going into Biden's China policy. He's arguably more dangerous to Chinese interest than Pompeo. I don't think there's going to be much movement towards improving relations until Biden sorts US out for a couple years and there's some semblance of where Trump/Pompeo/Hawks/Republican party is heading for next election. Sanctioning Pompeo probably a gift for his presidential aspirations anyway. Otherwise it looks pretty reciprocal, China doesn't have SWIFT levers, so have to inconvenience another way.
- beerandt 6y ago
  It's pretty clear to me that China intends for it to be, and look like, an escalation, even if ambiguously so. They're posturing on the new admin, knowing that the Whitehouse really doesn't want to escalate. A China flex without a comparable US (escalated) response would be huge for China's superpower aspirations right now. If it backfires, then China can fall back to the position that they intended it to be reciprocal in order to save face.
  - dirtyid 6y ago
    A couple factors: Wait until "doomsday clown" Pompeo out of the office, to mitigate damage. Biden invited Taiwan's "ambassador" to inauguration, a first. I don't know which event proceeds what, but this might call for separate response. There's no space for face-saving on Taiwan redline. Off to a rough start.
redis_mlc 6y ago
> The worrying part is that the announcement not only bans these people from entering China, but their family members too I can tell from the way you wrote your post that you don't really understand the issue. The CCP is doing an automatic retaliation against the US, because that's what governments do. But Chinese citizens laugh over these announcements, because CCP members want to send their children to US universities, their adult family members to safe haven countries, and launder their bribes using US real estate. And US citizens don't want or need any of that from China. :) Xi's immediate family live in Canada and Australia, not China, because they're not safe in China. Let that sink in for a minute, and you will understand what totalitarianism means.

dirtyid 6y ago

I commented on this asymmetry before, Chinese propaganda operating freely in the west on western platforms, while western propaganda being filtered in Chinese platforms is a real foreign policy conundrum since both parties are following relevant local regulations. Hard to see how west can match without adopting similar (anti)values. Didn't take long, this only validates Chinese filtering model and plays in China's favour. I'm sure there's going to be much rationalization and wank over differences between private and government control. But IMO it's perfunctory and doesn't change the underlying effect of political censorship, in the end that's the only validation China needs.

CogitoCogito 6y ago
I think access to media markets should be treated similarly to trade restrictions. I don't think the Chinese government or Chinese companies should have access to the US media market without appropriate reciprocity.

hertzrat 6y ago

This is not really because of that tweet specifically, but because the USA has now accused China of genocide against the uighurs https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-china-genocide-declaration-1.5879033 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-china-genocide-declaration-...

swarnie_ 6y ago
This has been widely reported in the west for almost two years... What took you so long?
- AnimalMuppet 6y ago
  Widely reported, yes. But only officially recognized very recently.
coldtea 6y ago
And it's not because the USA cares, it's about the trade war and the superpower piss match.
- beerandt 6y ago
  I'd argue it's the reverse: If anything, trade concerns have prevented/deterred the US from being able to speak up sooner.
  - blackrock 6y ago
    I think if the US really cares about genocide, then: 1) They would declare themselves (US) to be genociders of the Native American Indians 2) They would declare Australia to be genociders of the Aboriginals. But.. that’ll be a cold day in hell if that ever happens.
    - yostrovs 6y ago
      That history is recognized. The issue is that genocide is happening right now in China, and hating America shouldn't blind you to that fact.

DigitallyFidget 6y ago

It's somewhat frightening how much political control social media has. Their ability to silence political ideas, people, or entities they disagree with is a lot of power for them to wield. I'm not debating justification of their action, merely the responsibility and power they hold.

CogitoCogito 6y ago
I do at least partially share your concerns, but the Chinese Embassy can always just release the same information through a press release from their website. Anyone interested (including news agencies) can still get that information. They're not really being silenced.