Nan introduces the topic concerning the recent Town Hall interview on CNN, noting that he understood the persecution of the Uyghurs. Nan also questions AT&T’s lobbying to remover China Telecom from the Commerce Departments blacklist.
Amy’s story is about food rationing. She mentions that Cuba is the only country currently using food rationing. She also mentions that both Cuba and China use two currencies. She explains that China used to have quotas for certain foods.
Amy describes her god parents, to acted as mentors. Her godfather was an excellent surgeon and his wife was a nurse. During the Cultural Revolution, they suffered various accusations and abuse. Her godmother, a dignified woman, knew she would be publicly criticized the following day and chose suicide. The night she killed herself, she gave Amy’s mother all her ration coupons.
When Amy returned, her mother gave her the coupons. Amy saved the coupons and took them back to the labor camp. In 1974, when Amy was about to leave for engineering school, she met a man in a noodle restaurant. He described how constantly hungry they were in his village. Before she left, she gave the man her remaining coupons. About a year later, she heard that the man had been arrested and put in jail for selling food stamps on the black market. She describes how horribly the man was abused.
When Amy questions whether she should have given him the coupons, Billy thinks we should look at intent. Nan thinks the circumstances created by the communist regime created the situation where ridiculous laws” were likely to be broken.
Many years later, Amy met the man again in Shanghai. He had been imprisoned for 10 years when a young lady married him and moved to Shanghai.
Nan points out that we have to differentiate from the hostility of the regime and the generosity of the people.
Billy plays a clip from Biden’s town hall meeting on CNN. Biden explains that he has to speak out against China’s various human rights abuses, because the US public expects it. Nan recalls under G. W. Bush and Obama, both presidents gave “lip service” to China’s human rights abuses and suggests that Biden wants to go back to that same policy of offering the same “lip service”. Nan distinguishes the 5000 year history of China from the 70 year history of the CCP.
Billy asks about the previous 14 Dali Lama’s. He points out that the CCP has replaced the monk who chooses the next Dali Lama with a CCP appointed monk. Billy suggests that the effect on Chinese culture of the CCP is very negative.
Nan suggests that corporate interests have been protected while the government has offered only lip service to Human Rights issues, sacrificing us jobs, technology transfer and other abuses.
Mark suggests we have enjoyed the products made from cheap Chinese labor. He asks what we should do with Chinese policy. Nan suggests we can live without China and recommends that decoupling is the right direction. He suggests cheap labor does not have to come from China. Nan points out that AT&T would benefit from a relationship with China Telecom, while the working class does not benefit. Likewise, the US president is taking care of the corporate interests. Nan point out that in the last 2 years many companies started moving to Vietnam and Taiwan, under pressure from US tariffs. Mark points out that the trade deficit has increased over the last 4 years.
Terry heard in Biden’s speech, China wanting to be the most powerful country in the world and Biden allowing that. Amy thinks the US is helping China become more powerful. Nan thinks American people really need to watch out to make sure we are not on that path. He points out that China will treat other countries the same way they treat their own people.
Steve brings up Hunter Biden’s nefarious activities. He suggests communists practice “the art of war”, while we are afraid of our own shadow. He suggests the CCP are professional con-artists.
Reggie asks Amy if she thinks the US will ever be able to hold China responsible for the virus. Amy does not think so, especially with the new administration.
(Break)
Mark has a tendency of looking at life as a chess game. He things China looks at us as a conquest. He believes most of our politicians have sold us out already. He suggests we are in a battle for goodness or evil and recommends we choose the righteous path.
Nan suggests we remember the sacrifice of American soldiers, but we should also recognize the American manufacturing workers who have sacrificed their jobs to try and make China free. Nan points out that cheap labor is not the only issue. He points to an article talking about electrical power transformers imported from China where intercepted in the US to try and find Chinese backdoors. Nan points out what a severe national security concern such an imported technology represents.
Gordon mentions that “this is a long game”. He describes the use or infiltration of US Universities. He suggests that the Japanese design safeguards into electronic components made in China.
The team talks about the benefits of products produced domestically or in a country we trust. Nan thinks we should return to thinking about making the lives of the US middle and working class better.
Nan and Amy mention Biden’s rescinding of the executive order requiring disclosure of The Confucius Institute relationships with US Universities.
Wendy asks about the corporate mandate to create wealth for the shareholders. She asks if we are considering the right concept of wealth.
Dick suggests that the world “is living on zero or negative interest rates” and that China wants to be the reserve currency of the world. At some point, Dick predicts that “the parties going to be over”, when China instigates the collapse of international currencies. Amy also worries about currencies, but thinks digital money is the thing to keep an eye on, with China rolling out a digital currency right now. Dick asks if digital money is the catalyst to bring down the “western system”.
Mary suggests “we are watching reality TV shows while this stuff is happening”. She is concerned with the Paris Climate accord and asks why China is granted Third World status, when they’re the worlds largest polluter. Nan describes the negotiations to get countries to join the accord as requiring China and India to be bought into the program. Nan describes many occasions climate change negotiations have prevented human rights efforts with regards to China.
Billy recounts how much the US has reduced pollution in his lifetime. Meanwhile, China and India are the worst polluters in the world. He wonders how we are going to force them to clean up their act. Nan is not convinced we need to. The team discusses many aspects of environmental concerns.
John suggests we are repeating the error of the 20’s and 30’s. Nan asks if the US would defend Taiwan.
Bill recommends the movie “It’s A Great Laugh”, suggesting that it fits with recent events.
Krishna suggests that Bill typifies the naivete of many Americans who do not understand the depth of cynicism of people in other parts of the world.