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China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

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Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#271
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xi has shown repeatedly that he’s serious about corruption. As others have noted, some of the highest civilian and military officials have been removed for it. Some sentenced to death. He sees it as a challenge to his legitimacy and China’s power, which, as you’d expect are the most important things to him; even if you take the most cynical view. Another timely example, because it is the World Cup, is the Chinese foo…

> to his concept of China’s honor and global standing. Or his sinocentricity and even racism (as in superiority of chinese people). There's been a long standing view in China about their own superiority of others, including all the way into the way they view their national pride as extending back further than any other civilization, even though external historians might view it more like several disjoint civilization…

I don't think this makes any sense, what you argue would imply that the external historians would say that Japanese history starts in 1947 or that French history starts in 1958, but I'm not sure if they nor people of those countries would agree with that.

The point is, there's a lot more to history than political organization. A continuous culture and language is a big part of why civilizations extend far beyond the current governing regime.

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's one of the big cultural differences that people from the West don't really get - that "saving face" is one of the core concepts that Eastern societies are built on - not the actual things that, when discovered, cause you to lose face (e.g. corruption).

yeah since when does "saving face" not happen in the West? Isn't there a war in europe that's been going on for four-ish years now that essentially a face-saving operation that has killed nearly a million?

There was a great essay I read a few years ago that I can't locate, about how much of Western society is driven by the threat or actualization of humiliation. The Black Freedom Struggle (all incarnations) was won (inasmuch as it was won) not really through moral appeals or the imposition of practical reality, as much as through the humiliation of the slaver/segregationist position on the global stage and in the media.

You want to win? Make them look stupid in such a way that continuing to fight makes them look even more stupid. Pain doesn't stop people, practical futility doesn't stop people; but, faced with the prospect of being considered persona non grata or a laughing stock or just robbed of their dignity, whether they win or lose, that is when people will call the match and walk off.

So, yes, face is a Western thing, too.

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Xi has shown repeatedly that he’s serious about corruption Xi is also fantastically corrupt. He wasn’t born a billionaire.

And he still isn't a billionaire. There's no credible evidence to suggest he's even 8-9 digit millionaire outside of FLG spam or US intelligence / DNI copium that he's hiding $$$ via extended family, who leveraged their princeling/read family stature to get rich well before Xi. Like all signs comports with wikileak CIA profile that Xi is incorruptible by money / not $$$pilled. See bloomberg investigation 10 years ago…

> he still isn't a billionaire

There is credible evidence his family controls billions of dollars of assets. Those assets accumulated in direct correlation with his power. Chinese state media disagrees, and if that's your cup of tea for Chinese leaders' corruption, I guess sure, Trump's also clean as a whistle.

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isnt that just the winning end of corruption? Are we really heralding purging political opponents as anti corruption? Imagine if Trump won and put Harris in jail.

> Imagine if Trump won and put Harris in jail. Trump definitely thought about doing that, but even the judges he appointed wouldn't go for it. He still talks about putting Obama in jail for reasons.

Trump's trying to put Comey in jail.

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#275

I sometimes see people "celebrate" this, with the rationale that China is cracking down on white-collar crimes and handing out sentences unheard of in the west. But, are these sort of things just examples of selective prosecution? Would the inner circle members of CCP leadership realistically face the same prosecution and sentencing, if they were to be caught doing the same?

As opposed to the US where even if white collar criminals are caught and punished they get pardoned by Biden or Trump, Obama, etc... Every US president has pardoned white collar criminals

Biden didn't pardon SBF.

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a complex system of layers of representatives being elected on the local level, various institutions and levels of governance that you know literally nothing about and yet has been incredibly successful at uplifting it's people. In the simple mind of the western chauvinist this rich five thousand year old culture and complex society with good and bad, gets flattened into antagonistic slogans like "single party a…

Ah yes, the old - it’s too complex to understand by outsiders argument. And claims of racism to boot. Taiwan is Chinese, they don’t have this system. So spare me the crocodile tears. Single party rule and state controlled media with one of the most sophisticated censorship infrastructure in the world has exactly one simple goal.

Which goal is that?

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#277
post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone else curious as to what OP is talking about, I had to look this up: > The protest was a late-night/noise demonstration (involving fireworks) against immigration detention policies. It turned violent when a shooting injured a police officer. Prosecutors described it as an "act of terrorism" linked to an alleged antifa cell; defendants and supporters denied organized antifa ties and framed it as protected pr…

Only one person opened fire. He got 100 years. (I agree that he shouldn't have gotten a slap on the wrist for what he did, but I'll happily point out that killers serve less, if at all.) The rest got 70. None of them had guns. The guy who got 30 years wasn't even at the protest. --- There is no universe where this is not completely batshit insane, but it's interesting to see you use the exact same logic[1] the CCP ha…

I think your confusion comes from the fact this wasn't a protest gone awry, it was an organized domestic terrorist attack. It was a small group of armed people in body armor who privately organized a domestic terrorist attack intending to cause damage and hurt/kill federal officers in an ambush. The only reason the officer lived was because Song's gun jammed before he could kill people and get away.

Certainly if this was a jihadist attack, a lifetime sentence would be appropriate. Why should it be different just because they're white?

Re: China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

? Everyone in the party is incolved in similar crimes. The only thing they are guilty off in addition is a lack of loyalty to emperor xi. Incompetence and criminal corruption, that you can edit out of history, but intrigue is unforgivable.

Are you sure? Do you have an example of substantial disaster or scandal that resulted in loss of life and loss of face for China, but perpetuators got away? For UK I have: Grenfell tower scandal (over 100 dead, no one in prison), infected blood scandal (thousands dead, no one in prison), postmaster scandal (thousands falsely imprisoned , no perpetrator in prison), etc.

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