He's paranoid about spies because he know how much effort China has made to place spies everywhere abroad, and he assumes that the West is doing the same.
Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
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Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#22> Police in Henan province have urged citizens to quiz neighbors they mistrust on pop culture to ascertain their patriotism, while Shandong province state media published posters with the tagline “spies might be all around you.” All this campaign will do is generate a ton of false positives. They'll end up duplicating Russia's practice of reporting people you don't like as unpatriotic. The US also has some experience…
> The US also has some experience with the practice [1], but fortunately those days are way behind us. You must have been in a coma for several years after 9/11. There's also the recent anti-China initiatives by the Justice Department / FBI indicting dozens of professors and researchers, the majority of which have failed to secure any convictions for spying or espionage.
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Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#23Winnie the Pooh taking a page out of old Joe Stalin's book - make everyone fear you so much that they don't even trust their own family members.
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#24> Police in Henan province have urged citizens to quiz neighbors they mistrust on pop culture to ascertain their patriotism, while Shandong province state media published posters with the tagline “spies might be all around you.” All this campaign will do is generate a ton of false positives. They'll end up duplicating Russia's practice of reporting people you don't like as unpatriotic. The US also has some experience…
Like this? Don't worry you still have a few days to "Take the pledge to protect"... for #SeeSayDay 2023
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#25Remember: if you see something, say something.
But when China does it there's actual outrage. I wish people here had the same outrage about us doing the same thing in the West, where that outrage could actually possibly have an impact on the real world other than just propping up two-minutes hate on the official enemies. Getting mad about China's numerous repressive measures achieves literally nothing, because they don't care about our opinions at all, whereas getting mad about all of the same stuff being done here could actually change something.
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#26Remember: if you see something, say something. But when China does it there's actual outrage. I wish people here had the same outrage about us doing the same thing in the West, where that outrage could actually possibly have an impact on the real world other than just propping up two-minutes hate on the official enemies. Getting mad about China's numerous repressive measures achieves literally nothing, because they d…
In July, one Chinese employee was allegedly reported to the police by his colleagues after failing to remember the lyrics to a popular Chinese song at a karaoke night aroused their suspicion.
“He turned out to be a you-know-what,” one user who knew the group wrote on social media app Xiaohongshu, named after Mao’s Little Red Book that was used to compel the nation’s population to inform on each other. China offers up to 500,000 yuan ($68,160) to citizens who successfully report spies.
That post, which Bloomberg hasn’t been able to verify, garnered some 16,000 likes as users enthusiastically exchanged tips for spotting spies. Not knowing slang popularized by the annual spring gala broadcast or mnemonic devices taught in math class could all be hallmarks of a spook, they said.
Are things like this happening in the West?
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#27Remember: if you see something, say something. But when China does it there's actual outrage. I wish people here had the same outrage about us doing the same thing in the West, where that outrage could actually possibly have an impact on the real world other than just propping up two-minutes hate on the official enemies. Getting mad about China's numerous repressive measures achieves literally nothing, because they d…
In July, one Chinese employee was allegedly reported to the police by his colleagues after failing to remember the lyrics to a popular Chinese song at a karaoke night aroused their suspicion. “He turned out to be a you-know-what,” one user who knew the group wrote on social media app Xiaohongshu, named after Mao’s Little Red Book that was used to compel the nation’s population to inform on each other. China offers up…
Pablo González detained in Poland without accusation? Julian Assange? Snowden?
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
It’s perhaps wishful thinking to believe that oppressive states will automatically fall apart. Stasi-infested East Germany could well have kept existing had it not been located next to a Western democracy that everyone was looking towards. Look at Eritrea or North Korea, for example. China, too, doesn’t have a direct neighbor that exerts the same influence on it as West Germany on the GDR. Moreover, China already beg…
In time, all states fall apart. Or get conquered. Or lose a civil war / revolution. Or whatever. Sure, China has a bunch of advantages (large scale, distinct ethnic/national identity, etc.) that the GDR didn't have. But Chinese history records ~4,000 years of dynasties, emperors, generals, etc. with similar authoritarian ambitions - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasties_in_Chinese_history Saying "This Time Will Be…
Some of those dynasties lasted hundreds of years. Most recently, the Qing dynasty lasted longer than the United States has (the US being one of the world’s older democracies). I don’t think it’s much solace to people living today that they only need to endure 450 more years of autocratic rule before their nation undergoes a revolution.
And just because the ruling class is overthrown in a country doesn’t mean the material quality of life for everyday people changes. One autocrat replacing another isn’t much better.
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#29I went to school with someone who grew up in Ukraine before the fall of the wall, and her comment was that society twisted itself into distrusting and ratting on neighbors for ‘bad’ behavior.
Low trust societies are the worst for the citizens and the best for the corrupt in power. These activities are great for keeping the status quo.
Re: Xi’s Security Obsession Turns Ordinary Citizens into Spy Hunters
#30Worth adding to the Evil Overlord List: When making decisions about my security forces, I will bear in mind the example of East Germany's supposedly all-knowing and all-powerful Stasi...and of how utterly useless they proved to be. Better to be accidentally killed by the Hero's comic-relief Sidekick than to have my Evil Empire collapse without the Hero having had to lift a finger.
It’s perhaps wishful thinking to believe that oppressive states will automatically fall apart. Stasi-infested East Germany could well have kept existing had it not been located next to a Western democracy that everyone was looking towards. Look at Eritrea or North Korea, for example. China, too, doesn’t have a direct neighbor that exerts the same influence on it as West Germany on the GDR. Moreover, China already beg…
North Korea would collapse in a week if it wasn’t propped up by China. I don’t think these evil systems are very stable long term without outside support.