In its latest attempt to crush human rights and civil liberties, China has used extreme digital Censorship To mask the nationwide protests sparked by the November fire in a high-rise apartment building in a majority-Uyghur neighborhood of Urumqi.
Strict internet censorship is only a small part of China’s larger ambition to achieve complete digital authoritarianism. Using state-of-the-art AI monitoring technology, advanced biometrics and mandatory DNA testing, the communist regime has managed to herd millions of Uyghurs into concentration camps and forced labor facilities while turning an entire region into an open-air prison.
Beijing’s digital authoritarianism is embedded in its brutal suppression of religious and ethnic minorities through the widespread use of advanced surveillance technology and myriad digital tools. To make matters worse 80 countries It has now adopted Chinese surveillance technology, allowing China to export its repressive practices abroad. This subtle and sometimes silent form of social control is particularly nefarious.
China’s technological ambitions extend beyond its borders. The CCP also hopes to harness its massive oversight power to advance the country’s larger ideological project, which combines authoritarianism with practical efficiency to meet the needs of the country’s vast population. Seen as “wolf warrior diplomacy”, Beijing is seeking to increase its bureaucratic control at home while zealously spreading communist propaganda abroad.
By failing to take more aggressive action, the United States and its allies have allowed China to penetrate and corrupt some of our largest markets. China’s growing influence over dominant corporations not only diminishes our economic power, but also poses a direct threat to democracy and freedom.
In recent years, Washington has taken many precautions to push back against the Chinese stronghold, such as banning US government agencies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE to help build 5G networks. Recently, state agencies and federal agencies have begun TikTok ban, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, from government agencies. Prominent advocates of banning TikTok, US Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr have likened the platform to “digital fentanyl” due to its disruptive, disruptive, and deeply disruptive effect on users, particularly young Americans. The United States also imposed export controls On the advanced computing chips that China used to strengthen its military system and create weapons of mass destruction.
It is no secret that the communist system is unstable. Its authoritarian tactics to mobilize the economy resulted in near flat GDP and more in youth unemployment. By using key diplomatic levers such as transnational networks, banks, and university professors, the United States and its allies can significantly destabilize the authoritarian system and undermine Beijing’s attempts to manipulate the global system.
First and foremost, as Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are partners in eliminating democratic ideals, we must proactively promote and defend them. Countries must unite and partner with the United States to counter Beijing’s attempts to create a new world order rooted in Leninist notions of power and subversion. We cannot neglect to seek participation and partnership with other countries outside the European Union such as Africa and Southeast Asia. Through a combination of defensive and offensive measures, the United States and its allies can limit global adoption of China’s 5G infrastructure and international pressure on the communist regime to adopt controls on government subsidies.
the expansion Wall Street giants like JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley in Chinese markets have also undermined the United States’ ability to promote Taiwanese sovereignty and condemn Beijing’s human rights record. 2022 Report The Hong Kong Watch and the Helena Kennedy Center for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University found that three major stock indexes include at least 13 companies that have supported or contributed to the watch situation in China’s Xinjiang region.
Dependence on Chinese markets greatly hinders our fight to defend democracy and civil liberties. Instead, we should implement Buy America rules to reduce dependence on China and increase domestic production. Moreover, we must require strict reporting and data collection on Chinese companies in the United States, and severe penalties on the capital market. The Communist Party can no longer be allowed to control our valuable companies and businesses to spread illiberal ideals.
Finally, we must mobilize American colleges and universities to condemn and resist Chinese state-sponsored espionage. For decades, China has also relied heavily on proprietary theft to avoid costly and time-consuming research and development. The Department of Justice found that China commits up to 80% of intellectual property theft worldwide.
In no way should scientific and commercial progress be achieved through share For U.S.-funded researchers and exploits from major academic institutions in the United States and abroad. Instead, we should collaborate with institutions to strengthen public-private partnerships, secure collaborative remote research, and protect academic freedom.
By allowing hostile actors to invade our networks, we are setting a precedent that threatens not only our own future, but also the future of democracy around the world.
China’s iron grip on American markets has forced our diplomats and senior officials to refuse to support Taiwan independence and remain complicit in China’s campaign to overthrow the world order. The future of democracy is at stake, and the weight of history pressures us to prevent the free world order from falling.
The United States already has many political, economic, and diplomatic tools at its disposal to fight authoritarian regimes, but without strong enforcement, these tools remain worthless. American companies and lawmakers must realize that a government that does not respect human rights and religious freedom will ultimately harm their own interests.
Nuri Turkel is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and author of No Escape: The True Story of China’s Uyghur Genocide. This was written by The Dallas Morning News.
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