The American Interest speculates that progressives’ honeymoon with China will be short-lived, a consequence of President Xi’s crackdown on online content:
Nationalism and “healthy†family values are in, say the Chinese censors, while homosexuality and references to China’s past use of force against neighbors are out. And lest one think the guidelines were mere suggestions, the authorities have already begun to enforce them with severe force. As the FT reported last month, the government has already coerced top tech groups into deleting 300 mobile video platforms and firing 10,000 journalists who were in violation of the rules.
China has lately earned plaudits among Western liberal bien pensants for its paeans to the Paris agreement and rhetorical opposition to Trump’s protectionism. But China’s role as the liberal darling isn’t likely to last long as Xi turns key liberal beliefs into thought crimes.
They’re dreaming. One could hardly be less liberal than the Palestinians and they’ve been “liberal darlings” for the last 60 years. Before them the Soviets maintained that role for most of the 20th century, despite censorship of the media, active opposition to religion, and murdering tens of millions of their own citizens. There is a hierarchy of values and notionally liberal values fall way down on the list. The farce is strong with those ones.
I was unaware of any particular progressive fondness for China, let alone anything that could be construed as a honeymoon. They are not “liberal darlings”, they are a large, repressive empire.
Yes, they support the Paris Accords, but so does basically every other nation on Earth.
I suspect that The American Interest is just making sh.t up.