5 ms·

I Overheard a Secret Chinese Meeting in Micronesia on Vacation

33 points by dralley 3y ago

ratg13 3y ago
Someone want to post a description for those of us that don’t watch videos?
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  March 13, 2023, a vacationing couple go to have an early dinner at a mostly empty restaurant on a tiny island. The restaurant is owned by the government or people in the government and the only other table there is a meeting between the governor and Chinese officials a few days after this same state published a 12-page screed about how Kosrae should denounce China and back Taiwan. The discussion was about China wanting help from them in their upcoming war with Taiwan. The video also gives background, such as China is providing a lot of aid and the roads being built look suspiciously like potential landing strips. Kosrae is the only remaining state in Micronesia not de facto currently pwned by China. If China took control if it, all of Micronesia could effectively be closed to US ships to cut Taiwan off from American military aid, among other things. Although Oceania, of which Micronesia is only one part, is full of tiny islands, they claim large spans of water around them as part of their "nation." I have seen them described as tiny islands but large ocean states or something like that. When he walked in, the two groups were discussing the aforementioned 12-page letter. As soon as he came in, they promptly changed the subject. Every time the Chinese mentioned "China", they lowered their voiced. The local governor, thrilled to be courted by the Chinese and not savvy about international politics, loudly replied to all their questions, oblivious to his presence, and made three attempts to get the discussion back on track and about the letter while the Chinese avoided the topic. It being a tiny island in a big ocean, the Chinese diplomats were stranded there an additional two days. He knew the local guy at the table was the governor because the plates of his vehicle said "governor." For the next two days, the governor entertained his stranded guests by giving them a tour of the island, which allowed the vacationers to run into them repeatedly. The local governor continued to act like a politically unsavvy local who felt his ego all puffed up by the presence of his important guests and repeatedly and loudly announced who they were every chance he got. The video ends with suggesting there is currently a cold war ongoing in the Pacific. China is trying to establish control of waters "from Hong Kong to Honolulu" and this would create a shipping and naval bottleneck forcing American ships through waters within range of Chinese big guns. He is concerned a shooting war is coming and this could be a problem for the world, though it's currently drama quietly playing out in "backroom" deals over pizza across probably every island in the region. This is not out of line with headlines I saw a few days ago concerning Chinese air exercises.
  - op00to 3y ago
    We don’t need ChatGPT summaries that are longer than the video here. Please think about how this does nothing to expand the conversation.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
    - 1317 3y ago
      I thought it was perfectly fine, much more context than the one upthread, and doesn't read like chatGPT. The video is almost 20 minutes long, I think it's a stretch at best to call that summary "longer than the video"
- robga 3y ago
  - The vlogger and his wife overheard a secret meeting between Chinese government officials and a Micronesian governor discussing help for China in an upcoming war over Taiwan. - The meeting took place on the island of Kosrae in Micronesia. - Recently, the president of Micronesia wrote a letter denouncing Chinese interference and recommending supporting Taiwan instead. - Losing control of Micronesia would weaken US supply routes in Asia and force a bottleneck in supporting bases in countries like South Korea and Japan. - The Chinese officials tried deflecting the conversation away from the recent anti-China letter. - Local residents said China had been bribing politicians and threatening leaders who didn't cooperate. - Other countries like Fiji and the Solomon Islands have been shifting towards China, making Micronesia's alignment more important for the US. - The vlogger decided to share what he witnessed with Micronesian government contacts, though the outcome of that was unclear. - The video argues that a "cold war" is happening in the Pacific as spheres of influence are reshaped. - Micronesia's strategic location and political alignment will impact stability in the region.
  - op00to 3y ago
    I like this dudes videos, but this video was almost 20 minutes of navel lint picking about Micronesia. Your summary said in 15 seconds what took the vlogger 15 minutes. Thanks!
  - defrost 3y ago
    * Other countries like Fiji and the Solomon Islands have been shifting towards China, ... That's the take home point for anybody unaware of China reaching out to smaller nations in the Pacific and elsewhere across the world. They're following in the path of European colonisers and offering big loans with small | deferred interest rates and building support for China, Chinese ports and ground stations. It's entirely possible to overhear discussions between chinese diplomats | business consultants in small nations, it's unlikely to hear any deep chinese secrtes, just sweet talking and general misdirection. "We'll give you access to large amounts of money and kickstart big public works if you just support us with votes in the UN" is very much a teaser to lock people in for the longer term plans.
    - 3y ago
Ancalagon 3y ago
What are the chances: 1) A high-enough Chinese official was at the same hotel, in a not well-known Asian nation, at the same time, within earshot of 2) a youtuber with sufficient hearing, analytical skills, and user base and 3) said official be dumb enough to talk about likely highly classified geopolitics within earshot of said youtuber? Versus: 1) Youtuber is making up said stories for clout/views? * Note: I do not work for the CCP, although I guess that's exactly what someone working for the CCP would say... Edit: I've been informed it was a pizza spot instead of hotel. My point still stands.
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  What little I've watched so far of the video indicates this occurred at a pizza place that is one of two eateries on the island and this one is owned by "the government" or people currently high up in the government. The Wikipedia article is confusing. It speaks of both an island and state that use the name Kosrae, lists 6600 total population for the state and 1500 as the largest population of any of the islands, an island named Lelu. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosrae https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosrae So if this is one of two restaurants on a tiny island with fewer than 1500 inhabitants, it's not insane to think he really overheard a government meeting with Chinese officials held at an establishment the government or those officials own. Fact is stranger than fiction and "one in a million" odds means someone will experience it. This is the internet, not the mall in your hometown. People with statistical outlier experiences show up all the time on the internet. So do liars, charlatans and con artists, "but what are the odds..." is a pretty weak argument in this case.
- bsder 3y ago
  > What are the chances: Higher than you might expect--with some obvious downgrade due to being an "influencer". Reporters used to book flights on routes to SF and SJC before major conferences to eavesdrop. I once was a random fourth in golf in with a judge and two lawyers who talked about how to take advantage of the Chargers/Qualcomm Stadium deals. etc. People like to brag. People get busted for crime all the time because they can't keep their damn mouth shut.
- dralley 3y ago
mensetmanusman 3y ago
China has just built some of the largest military field hospitals across from Taiwan. The same goes for massive new air raid shelters across the straits. Their official policy is also to take back Taiwan. cool to witness intro scenes of war movies 70 years from now.
perilunar 3y ago
Pithy quote: "Because history tells us when there's a vacuum thing tend to suck"

33 points by dralley 3y ago

ratg13 3y ago

Someone want to post a description for those of us that don’t watch videos?

DoreenMichele 3y ago
March 13, 2023, a vacationing couple go to have an early dinner at a mostly empty restaurant on a tiny island. The restaurant is owned by the government or people in the government and the only other table there is a meeting between the governor and Chinese officials a few days after this same state published a 12-page screed about how Kosrae should denounce China and back Taiwan. The discussion was about China wanting help from them in their upcoming war with Taiwan. The video also gives background, such as China is providing a lot of aid and the roads being built look suspiciously like potential landing strips. Kosrae is the only remaining state in Micronesia not de facto currently pwned by China. If China took control if it, all of Micronesia could effectively be closed to US ships to cut Taiwan off from American military aid, among other things. Although Oceania, of which Micronesia is only one part, is full of tiny islands, they claim large spans of water around them as part of their "nation." I have seen them described as tiny islands but large ocean states or something like that. When he walked in, the two groups were discussing the aforementioned 12-page letter. As soon as he came in, they promptly changed the subject. Every time the Chinese mentioned "China", they lowered their voiced. The local governor, thrilled to be courted by the Chinese and not savvy about international politics, loudly replied to all their questions, oblivious to his presence, and made three attempts to get the discussion back on track and about the letter while the Chinese avoided the topic. It being a tiny island in a big ocean, the Chinese diplomats were stranded there an additional two days. He knew the local guy at the table was the governor because the plates of his vehicle said "governor." For the next two days, the governor entertained his stranded guests by giving them a tour of the island, which allowed the vacationers to run into them repeatedly. The local governor continued to act like a politically unsavvy local who felt his ego all puffed up by the presence of his important guests and repeatedly and loudly announced who they were every chance he got. The video ends with suggesting there is currently a cold war ongoing in the Pacific. China is trying to establish control of waters "from Hong Kong to Honolulu" and this would create a shipping and naval bottleneck forcing American ships through waters within range of Chinese big guns. He is concerned a shooting war is coming and this could be a problem for the world, though it's currently drama quietly playing out in "backroom" deals over pizza across probably every island in the region. This is not out of line with headlines I saw a few days ago concerning Chinese air exercises.
- op00to 3y ago
  We don’t need ChatGPT summaries that are longer than the video here. Please think about how this does nothing to expand the conversation.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - 1317 3y ago
    I thought it was perfectly fine, much more context than the one upthread, and doesn't read like chatGPT. The video is almost 20 minutes long, I think it's a stretch at best to call that summary "longer than the video"
robga 3y ago
- The vlogger and his wife overheard a secret meeting between Chinese government officials and a Micronesian governor discussing help for China in an upcoming war over Taiwan. - The meeting took place on the island of Kosrae in Micronesia. - Recently, the president of Micronesia wrote a letter denouncing Chinese interference and recommending supporting Taiwan instead. - Losing control of Micronesia would weaken US supply routes in Asia and force a bottleneck in supporting bases in countries like South Korea and Japan. - The Chinese officials tried deflecting the conversation away from the recent anti-China letter. - Local residents said China had been bribing politicians and threatening leaders who didn't cooperate. - Other countries like Fiji and the Solomon Islands have been shifting towards China, making Micronesia's alignment more important for the US. - The vlogger decided to share what he witnessed with Micronesian government contacts, though the outcome of that was unclear. - The video argues that a "cold war" is happening in the Pacific as spheres of influence are reshaped. - Micronesia's strategic location and political alignment will impact stability in the region.
- op00to 3y ago
  I like this dudes videos, but this video was almost 20 minutes of navel lint picking about Micronesia. Your summary said in 15 seconds what took the vlogger 15 minutes. Thanks!
- defrost 3y ago
  * Other countries like Fiji and the Solomon Islands have been shifting towards China, ... That's the take home point for anybody unaware of China reaching out to smaller nations in the Pacific and elsewhere across the world. They're following in the path of European colonisers and offering big loans with small | deferred interest rates and building support for China, Chinese ports and ground stations. It's entirely possible to overhear discussions between chinese diplomats | business consultants in small nations, it's unlikely to hear any deep chinese secrtes, just sweet talking and general misdirection. "We'll give you access to large amounts of money and kickstart big public works if you just support us with votes in the UN" is very much a teaser to lock people in for the longer term plans.
  - 3y ago

Ancalagon 3y ago

What are the chances: 1) A high-enough Chinese official was at the same hotel, in a not well-known Asian nation, at the same time, within earshot of 2) a youtuber with sufficient hearing, analytical skills, and user base and 3) said official be dumb enough to talk about likely highly classified geopolitics within earshot of said youtuber? Versus: 1) Youtuber is making up said stories for clout/views? * Note: I do not work for the CCP, although I guess that's exactly what someone working for the CCP would say... Edit: I've been informed it was a pizza spot instead of hotel. My point still stands.

DoreenMichele 3y ago
What little I've watched so far of the video indicates this occurred at a pizza place that is one of two eateries on the island and this one is owned by "the government" or people currently high up in the government. The Wikipedia article is confusing. It speaks of both an island and state that use the name Kosrae, lists 6600 total population for the state and 1500 as the largest population of any of the islands, an island named Lelu. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosrae https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosrae So if this is one of two restaurants on a tiny island with fewer than 1500 inhabitants, it's not insane to think he really overheard a government meeting with Chinese officials held at an establishment the government or those officials own. Fact is stranger than fiction and "one in a million" odds means someone will experience it. This is the internet, not the mall in your hometown. People with statistical outlier experiences show up all the time on the internet. So do liars, charlatans and con artists, "but what are the odds..." is a pretty weak argument in this case.
bsder 3y ago
> What are the chances: Higher than you might expect--with some obvious downgrade due to being an "influencer". Reporters used to book flights on routes to SF and SJC before major conferences to eavesdrop. I once was a random fourth in golf in with a judge and two lawyers who talked about how to take advantage of the Chargers/Qualcomm Stadium deals. etc. People like to brag. People get busted for crime all the time because they can't keep their damn mouth shut.
dralley 3y ago

mensetmanusman 3y ago

China has just built some of the largest military field hospitals across from Taiwan. The same goes for massive new air raid shelters across the straits. Their official policy is also to take back Taiwan. cool to witness intro scenes of war movies 70 years from now.

perilunar 3y ago

Pithy quote: "Because history tells us when there's a vacuum thing tend to suck"