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China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

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Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#111

To those that believe that they would not have turned a blind eye during WWII to the systematic extermination of Jews, the current generation has been given a similar challenge. Where is your cancel-culture now? How will our children think of us?

I don’t understand what the ‘cancel culture’ comment is supposed to mean.

There are a million tweets condemning China’s behavior... way more than the number of tweets targeting people who are ‘cancelled’

The difference is that tweets can effect a regular person’s life, and they are ‘cancelled’. China doesn’t care. A company will act to fire a single person who behaves badly because of consumer pressure; it doesn’t cost them much and is good PR. Stopping doing business with China is a lot costlier, so they don’t give in to the same consumer pressure that they would for an individual employee.

The different outcome doesn’t mean there is some hypocrisy amongst the people tweeting their support for ‘cancelling’ someone.

It just means that tweets aren’t that powerful for real change.

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why have you decided to boycott Chinese products? There's a billion people there, and most of them have nothing to do with the government. They just want to sell toys or computers or whatever it is, in order to be able to eat. I don't boycott Apple just because the country they are based in (according to the note in the box) has committed some crimes over the years. And in the US people at least ostensibly have the r…

> There's a billion people there, and most of them have nothing to do with the government. Because that billion people there is the only one who can change the government.

Are you quite aware of how much blood is spilled when China goes through political turmoil? Aside from the world wars, a huge chunk of the top 10 bloodiest conflicts in history are Chinese internal conflicts.

You're asking people who understand very well that standing up for a new government is going to be extremely costly.

In the meantime, you want to deprive them of work.

Ever wonder how those two things are connected?

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#113
post #14

Karl Marx on religion “Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.“ A popular song: Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too The CCP is sim…

> core tenant of communism Yes, that is why Lennin and especially Stalin were made into godlike figures. Mao is a prophet/father of the china also painted as infallible. And lets not forget about North Korea... ummm Peoples Republic that is Celestial Dictatorship. Marx was rolling in his grave when 'communism' was implemented across the world's nations.

Ah yes, it was never "true communism", the favourite excuse of the more extreme left.

It kinda matches the "everything I don't like is communism" of the most extreme right.

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#114

To those that believe that they would not have turned a blind eye during WWII to the systematic extermination of Jews, the current generation has been given a similar challenge. Where is your cancel-culture now? How will our children think of us?

Cancel culture never had any attention of pushing forward any reasonable change. It was mostly a tool for people to pretend that they somehow had an lasting positive impact on the world in the most convenient way. Boycotting goods made in China and substituting them with those made elsewhere is not as convenient. So cancel culture people and pretty much everyone else will pretend and argue such a measure will have no…

I really do not understand the downvoting here. The one reply on this comment says that we are not that powerful. Greta Thrunberg literally wrote a book saying this is not the case.

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#115
post #41

To those that believe that they would not have turned a blind eye during WWII to the systematic extermination of Jews, the current generation has been given a similar challenge. Where is your cancel-culture now? How will our children think of us?

Well, US greed gave China this power. Cancel culture have nothing to do with this. There were a lot of left leaning voices in the ninetees warning against the trajectory of globalism. The sell out of US manufacturing was done by people with money, not the people who dislike racism (and show it in a weird and harmful way).

[deleted]

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#116
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m voting and campaigning for politicians that I might disagree with on 99% of all issues for the sole reason that they’re willing and capable of standing up to China. For reference, my views are aligned with Sanders but I’d vote for Trump solely based on his actions towards China. I’d also say boycotting Made in China and companies kowtowing to China isn’t as difficult as people say. You might not be able to boycot…

Wow. So China’s so big of an existential threat that you’ll let one of the worst presidents in history have another 4 years to continue screwing the country? Trump’s going to win again smh.

Technically, having started no new wars, makes him one of the best presidents in history (as a non-American, that's the most important dimension of any US presidency.)

(Caveat: I think US entering WWII was justified so I don't blame FDR, and also given that Bush & Obama attacked so many countries, it's hard to find another country to invade, so arguably Trump had an easier job... but still. Good job!)

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#117
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We all have power though very little but we do. Unfortunately it is scattered. The more people care about the issue the more visible it will become

That's why I don't shut up.

Hypothetically, let's say you're a regular Chinese citizen concerned about human rights abuses and police brutality in the US.

Can you roughly estimate the impact of your forum posts, boycotts, and all that on US government policy?

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#118

Everywhere else communism and Islam are friends so why in China they are enemies?

Your statement is wrong in two ways.

1) Communism and Islam can by no means be considered "friends", reason being the antireligious policies that are inherent in Communism. You should read less Breitbart.

2) China can hardly be considered a communist country, it has been turning rapidly more capitalist ever since the official introduction of the 中国特色社会主义 theory in 1987.

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#119
post #106

Boycotting "Made in China" labelled products is not effective enough. How would you motivate large population groups to engage globally? Politicians and democratic countries should force China to stop torturing their own citizens based on religious or ethnic affiliation.

Force it how ? Countries cannot go at an all trade war. Us consumers need to reshape thw market. And most of us happend to be very pro human rights but we are just convinced into believing that nothing we as individuals do matter.

Re: China Built a Vast New Infrastructure to Imprison Uighurs

#120
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of us don't have much power. I denounced it online several times, that's all I can do. People like Lebron James, who thinks of himself like a freedom fighter, when he criticized China he ended up saying he was misinformed and he wasn't educated about the issue. He loves the money coming from China more than anything else. I want him to be reminded by this. He put his millions before human lives, just like some n…

==He loves the money coming from China more than anything else. I want him to be reminded by this. He put his millions before human lives, just like some nazi collaborators did.== All of this could be said about our current President and his family. He has far more power than LeBron James, maybe we should hold him accountable?

To play devil's advocate: the west is now in a soft Cold War with China. Given China's opaqueness, any media report about China has to be taken with a pinch of salt, especially considering how the media has acted as the mouthpiece of the state in the past (most notably in the entire Iraq WMD fiasco).

So while I certainly don't doubt that China is oppressing its minorities, I'm also loathe to believe every media report about it.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but very objectively, western media does not have a track record of being truthful when it comes to Cold War opponents.

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