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Why would Shanghai police care to manufacture opinion abroad? I consume a decent amount of news and rarely see Shanghai mentioned in American newspapers. Or is

Why would Shanghai police care to manufacture opinion abroad? I consume a decent amount of news and rarely see Shanghai mentioned in American newspapers. Or is this supposed to be one part of a larger effort, tasked to work on stories that are actually of global concern, having nothing to do with Shanghai?

andreilys 5y ago
It's the same reason that the NBA came under fire after one of their GM's sent a tweet out in support of Honk Kong [1]. Of course it's important for the CCP to shape opinion abroad, it's seeking to supplant the US as a global power and needs the soft-influence that the US has. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/houston-rockets-gm-morey-deletes-tweet-about-hong-kong.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/houston-rockets-gm-morey-del...
- marcosdumay 5y ago
  Yeah, threatening civilian organizations isn't how you gain soft power. The has the power it does because, aside from being very rich, before the 20th century they made extremely reasonable foreign policy decisions.
  - clusterfish 5y ago
    I don't think modern US soft power has much to do with 19th century politics. More than enough happened since then to completely override whatever was before.
    - cardosof 5y ago
      Yes and that's why many people look at both countries as equals, or equally bad actors. That wasn't always the case, though.
      - clusterfish 5y ago
        Those people either haven't lived in a dictatorship, or in a democracy, otherwise they wouldn't really have questions about which one is better, as far as treating your own citizens goes. International relations are indeed law of the jungle though, if that's what you mean.
    - marcosdumay 5y ago
      Yeah, the apex of the history of some entity happens some time after it stops doing the things that made it grow. That's almost by definition. The US has been losing influence for some decades already.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
jarboot 5y ago
Shanghai is a city with a unique role in the progression of the CCP and its global efforts. Also PLA Unit 61398 is in Pudong, the shanghai district mentioned in the article. Overall there's a lot of CCP/PLA-adjacent tech talent in the area, and of course the local police still ultimately report to the CCP.
nl 5y ago
Manufacturing opinion is only one part of what they do: The authorities used a phrase common among China’s internet police that refers to tracking down the actual person behind a social media account: “touching the ground.” With growing frequency, the country’s internet police have hunted down and threatened internet users who voice their opinions. At first, its agents focused on local social media platforms. In 2018, they began a new campaign to detain users of Twitter inside China — account owners who had found ways around the government’s blocks — and force them to delete their accounts. Now, the campaign has extended to Chinese citizens who live outside of China. The document spells out how the Shanghai police want to discover the identities of people behind certain accounts and to trace their users’ connections to the mainland. Its officers can then threaten family members in China or detain the account holders when they return to the country in order to compel online critics to delete posts or even entire accounts. The supplier should publish designated content on overseas forums. They should increase the number of views of the post and ensure that the post appears at the top of the forum. The service should be provided at least 10 times per month. Page 14 of the bidding document detailing what services the police required.
seanmcdirmid 5y ago
The Shanghai party chairman (and its always a man) is pretty influential and has a good chance of scoring a high-level national role after their stint. Also as the richest city with the most resources, Shanghai is often delegated national tasks...you shouldn't think of it at the local/state/national government separation that exists in the USA.

andreilys 5y ago

It's the same reason that the NBA came under fire after one of their GM's sent a tweet out in support of Honk Kong [1]. Of course it's important for the CCP to shape opinion abroad, it's seeking to supplant the US as a global power and needs the soft-influence that the US has. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/houston-rockets-gm-morey-deletes-tweet-about-hong-kong.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/07/houston-rockets-gm-morey-del...

marcosdumay 5y ago
Yeah, threatening civilian organizations isn't how you gain soft power. The has the power it does because, aside from being very rich, before the 20th century they made extremely reasonable foreign policy decisions.
- clusterfish 5y ago
  I don't think modern US soft power has much to do with 19th century politics. More than enough happened since then to completely override whatever was before.
  - cardosof 5y ago
    Yes and that's why many people look at both countries as equals, or equally bad actors. That wasn't always the case, though.
    - clusterfish 5y ago
      Those people either haven't lived in a dictatorship, or in a democracy, otherwise they wouldn't really have questions about which one is better, as far as treating your own citizens goes. International relations are indeed law of the jungle though, if that's what you mean.
  - marcosdumay 5y ago
    Yeah, the apex of the history of some entity happens some time after it stops doing the things that made it grow. That's almost by definition. The US has been losing influence for some decades already.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

jarboot 5y ago

Shanghai is a city with a unique role in the progression of the CCP and its global efforts. Also PLA Unit 61398 is in Pudong, the shanghai district mentioned in the article. Overall there's a lot of CCP/PLA-adjacent tech talent in the area, and of course the local police still ultimately report to the CCP.

nl 5y ago

Manufacturing opinion is only one part of what they do: The authorities used a phrase common among China’s internet police that refers to tracking down the actual person behind a social media account: “touching the ground.” With growing frequency, the country’s internet police have hunted down and threatened internet users who voice their opinions. At first, its agents focused on local social media platforms. In 2018, they began a new campaign to detain users of Twitter inside China — account owners who had found ways around the government’s blocks — and force them to delete their accounts. Now, the campaign has extended to Chinese citizens who live outside of China. The document spells out how the Shanghai police want to discover the identities of people behind certain accounts and to trace their users’ connections to the mainland. Its officers can then threaten family members in China or detain the account holders when they return to the country in order to compel online critics to delete posts or even entire accounts. The supplier should publish designated content on overseas forums. They should increase the number of views of the post and ensure that the post appears at the top of the forum. The service should be provided at least 10 times per month. Page 14 of the bidding document detailing what services the police required.

seanmcdirmid 5y ago

The Shanghai party chairman (and its always a man) is pretty influential and has a good chance of scoring a high-level national role after their stint. Also as the richest city with the most resources, Shanghai is often delegated national tasks...you shouldn't think of it at the local/state/national government separation that exists in the USA.