[xtypo_dropcap]I[/xtypo_dropcap]n the ad a Chinese professor in Beijing in the year 2030 explains to his class why great nations decline. The punch line to his explanation of why the United States declined is “and now they work for us.” The students in the lecture hall erupt in self-satisfied laughter.
This is one of a number of ads targeting China as the cause of American economic ills that have been run supporting both Democratic and Republican candidates in the waning days of the midterm elections.
The ads reflect growing anxiety about the decline of America’s economic and political power and fear of the rise of China. Polling done by the Pew Research Center shows that 47 percent of Americans think that China’s growing economy is a bad thing. Seventy-nine percent think China’s growing military power is a bad thing.
According to Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, the way in which candidates’ campaign ads have targeted China for America’s problems ignores how some American politicians have cooperated with leaders of the Chinese regime.
That cooperation lies at the heart of what he calls the “China model.”
Mr. Wei said, “Years ago, some Chinese and American politicians reached an agreement: they would use China’s cheap labor and America’s high consumer prices to make a huge profit. In the last dozen years or so, capitalists from America and China, as well as various interest groups in China, Chinese officials, and their families, all became rich.
“This agreement is the so-called China Model. Many American politicians, out of self-interest or the interests of a small group of people, supported giving China permanent-most-favored-nation status. Products made in China could enter the U.S. market freely, yet this favored treatment was not reciprocated.
“In fact, it was a one-sided benefit given by the United States to China. The Communist Party will not open up its market to America,” Mr Wei said.
Mr. Wei said that the ordinary citizens of both countries have suffered the consequences of this arrangement. He said American workers have lost their jobs permanently, while, due to significant inflation, the value of Chinese workers’ wages is falling.
Moreover, Mr. Wei said that while huge profits are made by buying goods cheap in China and selling them in the United States, that profit is in effect extorted out of the Chinese workers. Those workers are not allowed to unionize and the regime seeks to have them work at very low wages.
Mr. Wei believes these profits have fueled a dynamic that has made U.S. politics tilt more and more towards China.
Mr. Wei said, “China uses money to buy off western capitalists and lets them profit in Western society. This way the Western capitalists will use their profits to buy off Western politicians. In the end, Western politics becomes more and more pro-China.”
Now that voters are paying more attention to China, Mr. Wei expects U.S. politicians to become more cautious, as being too close to the CCP will be a negative politicians will want to avoid.
Mr. Wei observed that in a democracy in the end votes are more important than money. “Once a politician loses an election he is nothing,” he said.
“This election has exposed the issues now. If the U.S. politicians still want to speak for the CCP at the expense of the people’s interest and money, they must be careful because next time they may not be elected. Every candidate will pay attention to the consequences,” said Mr. Wei.
As a result, Mr. Wei believes that there will be policy changes regarding China issues. “There is information saying that the White House will toughen up when it comes to China issues.”
Read the original Chinese article
This is one of a number of ads targeting China as the cause of American economic ills that have been run supporting both Democratic and Republican candidates in the waning days of the midterm elections.
The ads reflect growing anxiety about the decline of America’s economic and political power and fear of the rise of China. Polling done by the Pew Research Center shows that 47 percent of Americans think that China’s growing economy is a bad thing. Seventy-nine percent think China’s growing military power is a bad thing.
According to Chinese dissident Wei Jingsheng, the way in which candidates’ campaign ads have targeted China for America’s problems ignores how some American politicians have cooperated with leaders of the Chinese regime.
That cooperation lies at the heart of what he calls the “China model.”
Mr. Wei said, “Years ago, some Chinese and American politicians reached an agreement: they would use China’s cheap labor and America’s high consumer prices to make a huge profit. In the last dozen years or so, capitalists from America and China, as well as various interest groups in China, Chinese officials, and their families, all became rich.
“This agreement is the so-called China Model. Many American politicians, out of self-interest or the interests of a small group of people, supported giving China permanent-most-favored-nation status. Products made in China could enter the U.S. market freely, yet this favored treatment was not reciprocated.
“In fact, it was a one-sided benefit given by the United States to China. The Communist Party will not open up its market to America,” Mr Wei said.
Mr. Wei said that the ordinary citizens of both countries have suffered the consequences of this arrangement. He said American workers have lost their jobs permanently, while, due to significant inflation, the value of Chinese workers’ wages is falling.
Moreover, Mr. Wei said that while huge profits are made by buying goods cheap in China and selling them in the United States, that profit is in effect extorted out of the Chinese workers. Those workers are not allowed to unionize and the regime seeks to have them work at very low wages.
Mr. Wei believes these profits have fueled a dynamic that has made U.S. politics tilt more and more towards China.
Mr. Wei said, “China uses money to buy off western capitalists and lets them profit in Western society. This way the Western capitalists will use their profits to buy off Western politicians. In the end, Western politics becomes more and more pro-China.”
Now that voters are paying more attention to China, Mr. Wei expects U.S. politicians to become more cautious, as being too close to the CCP will be a negative politicians will want to avoid.
Mr. Wei observed that in a democracy in the end votes are more important than money. “Once a politician loses an election he is nothing,” he said.
“This election has exposed the issues now. If the U.S. politicians still want to speak for the CCP at the expense of the people’s interest and money, they must be careful because next time they may not be elected. Every candidate will pay attention to the consequences,” said Mr. Wei.
As a result, Mr. Wei believes that there will be policy changes regarding China issues. “There is information saying that the White House will toughen up when it comes to China issues.”
Read the original Chinese article
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