why the US should be tough on China- and why not

[chair]

China is a lousy communist dictatorship. The government suppresses free speech, spies on its own citizens, mistreats minorities, and let's just say that you'd rather not get caught up in their "justice" system.
They've taken advantage of the West's hunger for cheap goods to build their economy (hard to blame them for that), and try to use their economic power for their own political purposes.
In short, in many ways an Evil Empire.

So what should trigger a tough response from the US and Europe? Hong Kong.
No- not COVID-19. The Chinese didn't respond as quickly as they should have to the virus, but they aren't to blame for how Italy, France, UK, Spain and the US handled the crisis.

Hong Kong is a clear case of political freedoms being stomped on the China. Hong Kong needs western support. Hong Kong is where China is wrong and bad, and needs to be faced up to. So where is the Free World when it comes to Hong Kong? Nowhere, as far as I can tell.

Instead the US is blustering about the "Wuhan Virus". Why? Because talk about freedom and human rights is cheap, but actually doing something is hard. And fighting China on a question of principle won't help in the upcoming elections.

 

[ok doser]

... fighting China ...

We could nuke them, I spose :think:

 

[ok doser]

... Hong Kong needs western support.

Hong Kong, the former British colony? THAT Hong Kong?

The brits have nukes - let them deal with it.

 

[User Name]

Hong Kong is a clear case of political freedoms being stomped on [by] China. Hong Kong needs western support. Hong Kong is where China is wrong and bad, and needs to be faced up to. So where is the Free World when it comes to Hong Kong? Nowhere, as far as I can tell.

Where is the Free World when it comes to the people of mainland China? Their freedoms are being stomped on. Mainland China is where the CCP is wrong and bad, and needs to be faced up to.

Trump is the first president to face up to China in many decades. We have to start somewhere.

 

[chair]

Where is the Free World when it comes to the people of mainland China? Their freedoms are being stomped on. Mainland China is where the CCP is wrong and bad, and needs to be faced up to.

Trump is the first president to face up to China in many decades. We have to start somewhere.

I think the "somewhere" should be Hong Kong, where China is clearly wrong. Not COVID-19, where the US is trying to pin it's own failures on the Chinese.

 

[User Name]

I think the "somewhere" should be Hong Kong, where China is clearly wrong.

I don't follow your point. So far as I know, the Chinese government has been doing the same to the mainland Chinese that it is doing to the people of Hong Kong.

 

[chair]

I don't follow your point. So far as I know, the Chinese government has been doing the same to the mainland Chinese that it is doing to the people of Hong Kong.

That is true, though Hong Kong has (or had) a special protected status. My main point is that the virus is NOT the right thing to use as a basis for being tough on China. Try Hong Kong, or the Uighurs. Real human rights and political freedom issues.

 

[User Name]

That is true, though Hong Kong has (or had) a special protected status. My main point is that the virus is NOT the right thing to use as a basis for being tough on China. Try Hong Kong, or the Uighurs. Real human rights and political freedom issues.

I concur. Trump may be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, but he is the first president since Nixon to go off script regarding the CCP, and it's about time. Biden has no clue whatsoever about how to deal with China. We'll have to take what we can get.

 

[chair]

Many US presidents (not all, but many) have a tendency to "kick the can down the road". Example? North Korea.

 

[ok doser]

That is true, though Hong Kong has (or had) a special protected status. My main point is that the virus is NOT the right thing to use as a basis for being tough on China. Try Hong Kong, or the Uighurs. Real human rights and political freedom issues.

So you don't really give a crap about the oppression of the Hong Kongese, you're just using them as a convenient means to satisfy your Orangemanbad obsession

 

[chair]

So you don't really give a crap about the oppression of the Hong Kongese, you're just using them as a convenient means to satisfy your Orangemanbad obsession

No. Sorry. I honestly believe we should support Hong Kong, and the Uighurs. I believed that a year ago. I honestly think that going after the Chinese because of the virus is stupid, and not based on facts.

I live in Israel. Do you know how many people died of this virus yesterday? The day before? Look it up. We had the same information that the US had, but with very different results.Edit: The point being that the problems that the US has in dealing with COVID-19 aren't due to the lack of information from China, but rather from the lack of prompt action on the part of the US. This is only partially the fault of President Trump.