South China Morning Post (August 14)
“The crisis in Hong Kong appears to be careening towards a devastating climax.” But China “must pick the least bad option to resolve Hong Kong crisis” and that’s not a PLA crackdown. The PLA would be treated “as invaders, and resistance would be fierce and casualties unavoidable.” Furthermore, “an exodus of expats and elites would follow, and the Hong Kong economy – still a bridge between China the rest of the world – would almost immediately collapse.”
Tags: Careening, Casualties, China, Collapse, Crackdown, Crisis, Devastating climax, Elites, Exodus, Expats, Hong Kong, Invaders, PLA, Resistance
Newsweek (June 4)
Thirty years ago, “the brutal scenes of troops from the People’s Liberation Army firing live ammunition on civilians peaceably calling for political reforms at Tiananmen Square shocked the world.” The outside world’s response was largely based on the prevailing wisdom that economic development supports human rights. Today, “you’d be hard pressed to find any serious analysts who still believe economic prosperity has led to a more liberated China. Instead, China has been emboldened to infringe on the rights of its own people at home and abroad, cracking down on burgeoning civil society and activists, and undermining international human rights institutions as a means of subjecting its people under its control.”
Tags: Activists, Brutal, China, Civilians, Economic development, Emboldened, Human rights, Infringe, PLA, Political reforms, Tiananmen Square, Troops
New York Times (May 25)
China is responsible for “the most aggressive effort by any country to steal secrets from some of the most prominent and successful American companies.” Despite the indictment of five PLA members, China’s massive economic espionage continues. “China, as a rising economic power, believes that ferreting out the business secrets of foreign companies is a national security interest. One day, however, it will have its own pathbreaking achievements and will want to protect them.”
Tags: China, Economic espionage, Indictment, National security, PLA, Power, Protect, Secrets, U.S.
The Economist (August 4)
“Chinese companies have started to win first place in global markets. Huawei has just overtaken Sweden’s Ericsson to become the world’s largest telecoms-equipment-maker.” Haier and Lenovo are also moving into the lead. “But Huawei inspires fear…. The company is said to be too close for comfort to the PLA. Westerners fret that the networks the firm is building are used by Chinese spooks to eavesdrop during peacetime and could be shut down suddenly during wartime. They see the firm as a potent weapon in China’s burgeoning cyber-arsenal.”
“Chinese companies have started to win first place in global markets. Huawei has just overtaken Sweden’s Ericsson to become the world’s largest telecoms-equipment-maker.” Haier and Lenovo are also moving into the lead. “But Huawei inspires fear…. The company is said to be too close for comfort to the PLA. Westerners fret that the networks the firm is building are used by Chinese spooks to eavesdrop during peacetime and could be shut down suddenly during wartime. They see the firm as a potent weapon in China’s burgeoning cyber-arsenal.”
