The Asia Society, now controlled by Hong Kong “red billionaires” who have made their money on the mainland and who wish to prove themselves valuable to Xi Jinping, allowed itself to be used as a platform on Dec. 18 for Foreign Minister Wang Yi to spout lies and propaganda. Here is the passage of his remarks that inflamed me the most: “China has no intention to compete for hegemony. We never interfere in other’s internal affairs. We don’t export our system or model. Not in the least do we seek spheres of influence….”
The facts: China is establishing a global presence of domination and influence through its Belt & Road Initiative, its Digital Silk Road initiative, and its lending of money to rotten governments such as Venezuela’s.
More facts: China’s government routinely interferes in the internal affairs of other nations by penetrating their telecommunications and computer systems and extracting massive amounts of data that is then used to influence or control. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has documented how China has used its trade relationships to attempt to force nearly 30 governments to fall into Beijing’s line.
And lastly: China is absolutely exporting a model of control and corruption. It co-opts political elites in many countries through bribery and helps them maintain control of their political opponents through eavesdropping, the use of facial and voice recognition technology and other technological tools. European and American colonizers justified their actions in part by arguing that they were spreading a superior religion or political values. China’s colonizers do not make any such argument because their goals are control and wealth-creation for China. Those are hard values to sell on the world stage. Shame on the Asia Society for allowing itself to become part of China’s disinformation machine.
