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If you can't see the obvious problems with that arrangement, re-read what you said and think about the implications until you do. It's a satellite spy office o

If you can't see the obvious problems with that arrangement, re-read what you said and think about the implications until you do. It's a satellite spy office operating as police officers abroad while conspicuously denying their role. They're barely hiding it but you bought an obvious cover story without a second thought. "They're not real police, they're not even affiliated with the government, but they'll helpfully do things like help expats put themselves on the CCP radar by performing essential services like...verifying their identities and renewing drivers' licenses." That's what the fucking consulate is for. This arrangement is like me offering to "help" you by living in your backyard and peeking in your windows randomly to make sure you're still alive.

glenstein 3y ago
Right, and playing games with words is how you have 'advisors' in Vietnam, 'team members' who aren't eligible for benefits, 'enemy combatants' whose legal designation allows them to elide any rights typically afforded the accused. I've sometimes heard it said that job search centers can help people look for jobs, but they still expect people to be able to fill out an application, because that's a bare minimum expectation that an employer is entitled to have. And I feel like there's some sort of correlate when it comes to a certain amount of functional literacy in conversations like this. If a person doesn't have the literacy to understand that the exercise of shuffling labels around to insulate from criticism or evaluation, to me that someone who's not showing up having fulfilled a bare minimum expectation of functional literacy. It's not a formal or informal fallacy but I do think it's fair to categorize it as a failure to bring the necessary type of functional literacy to a conversation of this nature.
DiogenesKynikos 3y ago
> That's what the fucking consulate is for. These sorts of services are often outsourced from consulates. For example, there are separate visa application centers set up by foreign governments in many countries. > It's a satellite spy office ... while conspicuously denying their role Unironically, that's what consulates are for. The whole story was reported as "police stations," which gave the public the false impression that Chinese police officers were roaming around Western cities arresting people. They could have been cover for spying, but what they were doing day-to-day was far more mundane than what the public thought, based on the headlines. > This arrangement is like me offering to "help" you by living in your backyard and peeking in your windows I don't see how this analogy holds. Chinese people interacted with these places on their own initiative, because it allowed them to handle bureaucratic things like renewing ID cards more easily.

glenstein 3y ago

Right, and playing games with words is how you have 'advisors' in Vietnam, 'team members' who aren't eligible for benefits, 'enemy combatants' whose legal designation allows them to elide any rights typically afforded the accused. I've sometimes heard it said that job search centers can help people look for jobs, but they still expect people to be able to fill out an application, because that's a bare minimum expectation that an employer is entitled to have. And I feel like there's some sort of correlate when it comes to a certain amount of functional literacy in conversations like this. If a person doesn't have the literacy to understand that the exercise of shuffling labels around to insulate from criticism or evaluation, to me that someone who's not showing up having fulfilled a bare minimum expectation of functional literacy. It's not a formal or informal fallacy but I do think it's fair to categorize it as a failure to bring the necessary type of functional literacy to a conversation of this nature.

DiogenesKynikos 3y ago

> That's what the fucking consulate is for. These sorts of services are often outsourced from consulates. For example, there are separate visa application centers set up by foreign governments in many countries. > It's a satellite spy office ... while conspicuously denying their role Unironically, that's what consulates are for. The whole story was reported as "police stations," which gave the public the false impression that Chinese police officers were roaming around Western cities arresting people. They could have been cover for spying, but what they were doing day-to-day was far more mundane than what the public thought, based on the headlines. > This arrangement is like me offering to "help" you by living in your backyard and peeking in your windows I don't see how this analogy holds. Chinese people interacted with these places on their own initiative, because it allowed them to handle bureaucratic things like renewing ID cards more easily.