China’s Global Long March
The United States State Department has wisely decided to begin a policy of reciprocity towards Chinese diplomats. As of two weeks ago, “Chinese diplomats inside the United States are now required to notify the U.S. government before visiting state or local officials as well as academic or research institutions.” The objective of this policy is to subject to Chinese diplomats the same treatment and restrictions that the Communist Party does American diplomats in Beijing. This is to be part of the larger measures taken to change behaviour and contain China’s efforts to infiltrate American institutions and advance its global agenda. Whatever the criticisms it has since elicited from the Chinese government, this is an intelligent move.
Given that recent events have again shown the Communist Party’s mastery of soft power, further success in what has been called Cold War 2.0 will rely on the ability of the US and the West to engage in effective public diplomacy. This is, of course, a type of diplomacy that consists of a conscious effort to reach out to foreign populations in order to win hearts and minds. It is not merely an image-building endeavor; it must be a feature of the broader national security strategy, which is, in the American case, based upon geopolitical competition. As political scientist Stephen Brooks describes it, it “is undertaken to protect and promote the goals of foreign policy” and is “based on the premise that the information, ideas and images others have” of the country matters to the achievement of them.
In a battle between idea systems, such programs are crucial in repelling the subversive designs of a regime like China. Which is why consecutive American presidents deployed them in the struggle against the Soviets. Believing in the effectiveness of information and ideological warfare, those in Washington established communications programs to counter Soviet propaganda and offer an honest, convincing image for America and liberal capitalism to those who, due to the dogmatism of their Marxist despots, might’ve despised it. The mass promotion of individual rights and liberal democracy certainly galvanized the resistance movements that eventually brought about the dissolution of the Soviet Empire.
Resembling this history is the recalcitrance being shown in Hong Kong, especially the emotive spectacle of protestors singing the Star-Spangled Banner. As they are evidently showing a liking for American Revolution, this would have been a fruitful opportunity to engage with them on a covert level to cultivate an image and connection. Alas, it was somewhat squandered, but these are the sorts of scenarios in which strong public diplomacy can do a tremendous good.
For as a revolutionary regime, the Communist Party sees everything it does as a propagandistic act. The government and its sycophantic press portray the Communist party as the innocent ones in Hong Kong. In their formulation, they are the valorous party being attacked by a band of Western-backed barbarians. Deceitful and demagogic, government publications explaining their vision of the new world order provide delicious insight into Chinese manipulation.
Upon reading a recent government white paper, one could gather that the cause of China is the cause of humanity. The way of the future, it appears, is “socialism with Chinese characteristics.” China’s development is an opportunity for the world, this paper assures us, and its only mission is pursuing the happiness of its people and the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” With shameless duplicity, it denounces “the Cold War mentality” of the United States, taking subtle shots at the “psychological imbalance” and “deep-rooted prejudice” of the Trump administration. More astonishingly, it claims that “China will never pursue hegemony, or expansion, nor will it seek to create spheres of influence.” Taiwan, Tibet, and Japan would beg to differ. But the purpose here is to contrast its angelic self with the imperialist Americans, who deserve to be uprooted for their militaristic ways.
And as was the case with the Soviet Union, there is no shortage of “useful idiots” to help peddle this drivel.
Most dangerous are the useful idiots in the West who have been seduced by China’s economic and cultural influence. Take the NBA, which has been the source of much controversy because of how craven its players and executives have been in their capitulation. Amid the cacophony over the Houston Rockets’ GM Darryl Morey’s support for Hong Kong and Lebron James’ censorious response, it was reported that Beijing urged the NBA to fire him. After a recent game, the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving was asked a question regarding the affair. To which he gave a morally confused answer, saying that it is the job of public figures to speak about what they believe in, but they should leave the Hong Kong/China issue alone. As, after all, “there’s enough oppression and stuff going on in America.” A masterpiece of hypocrisy and obfuscation, the public statements of recent weeks sound as if the NBA has its players ironically imbibe Maoist agitprop for the purposes of marketing. For the almighty dollar, ambitious enterprisers are more than willing to become something of a “wholly-owned subsidiary” of the Communist Party, as Vice President Mike Pence quipped.
Worse repugnancy has been displayed in Hollywood, where filmmakers and actors have become worryingly eager to allow their films to be outlets for Chinese propaganda. According to the Chinese-state funded publication Xinhua, Chinese and Hollywood screenwriters have met repeatedly to “exchange notes” and “learn from each other.” One need not be a super sleuth to understand whom the teacher and the student is in this relationship. China has certain requisites for what can be shown if Hollywood would like to reap the fruits of its market. No film can show the country in a negative light, and they must toe the line when it comes to China’s views on certain disputes. A recent film, Abominable, was banned from cinemas in Vietnam because of a scene that showed a map asserting China’s unilateral claim over the South China Sea, a highly disputed area. The ramifications for Hollywood if it did not legitimize China’s dubious claims on this question, one can only wonder.
What’s more, actors and filmmakers are unabashedly hypocritical when it comes to China’s theft of intellectual property (which could be indirectly aided by the involvement of Google in artificial intelligence projects). For they are ever so indignant when it comes to Russia’s assault on America’s institutions in the 2016 election, but China’s similar wrongdoings have went without comment. Responding to Tucker Carlson’s inquiries into this strange inconsistency, the director Rob Reiner deflected by assuring Tucker and the viewers that America has done bad things too. Indeed, Tinseltown’s finest have done us an unprecedentedly brave service safeguarding democracy against foreign rogues.
However, it’s not only areas of cultural exchange such as sports and entertainment that have fallen under the spell of Chinese prestige; it has also further corrupted institutions like the UN. China has long been an influential player, contributing much to peacekeeping missions and the like. With a comfortable seat on the Human Rights Council, it makes nonsense of criticisms of its Uyghur concentration camps, with the government oscillating between stories that they are “vocational schools to learn Chinese” or that they are facing threats of terrorism and separatism. All the while the UN’s Secretary-General has been scandalously taciturn and countries feel pressured by China to do the same, lest they’re involvement in the Belt and Road initiative be jeopardized. Not only that, China has been able to tacitly enforce the “one China rule” at the UN, isolating and excluding Taiwan from the body ever since Resolution 2758 was put forth in 1971. Just recently, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu rightly lambasted the UN for not allowing Taiwan to participate in the system, given its population and successes in various areas of development. The West should support this and cease tolerating the repulsive treatment of Taiwan, which is a result of useful idiots sitting idly by while China imposes its geopolitical vision.
And of course the same has been true for other institutions in the West. In several countries, there are cases of China attempting to interfere with the political process, spread propaganda in independent media, and shape academic institutions. A study done by the Hoover Institution delves into the depth of China’s footprints in countries including Australia, Canada, and Britain. In Australia, for instance, there have reportedly been informant networks to keep watch on Chinese immigrants to ensure they’re not defying the Party line. And politicians have been pressured by the Chinese to ratify controversial treaties that favour Beijing. Similarly in Canada, independent Chinese media overwhelmingly toes the party line, launching disinformation attacks against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and the Taiwanese. While in Britain, academic journals at universities like Cambridge and Nottingham are forced into self-censorship in order to secure funding and partnerships with Chinese organizations.
The problem that has brought us to this predicament is mistaking some necessary economic partnerships for potential moral alliances in the globalized world. Empowered by us being overly generous with our trust, China has taken stellar advantage of its assets as it embarks on a global long march through the institutions. Forceful demands of reciprocity, as the United States has done, will do much to finally contract and contain the confidence of the Chinese behemoth.
