Background:
- Huawei is a gigantic Chinese tech company that produces and sells smartphones (among other things). Huawei have used their tech to spy on Western nations (e.g. US, UK), steal technology, steal trade secrets, and continue to sell their products to nations which have international sanctions against them (e.g. Iran).
- All this despite multiple warnings from multiple nations, the arrest of their CFO, and so on.
- Hence American companies including Google and Microsoft have banned Huawei products. So have several other companies from other Western nations. More will likely follow. No one wants the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate them via Huawei.
- Ironically, big tech companies like Google may be big brother, but I guess Chinese companies like Huawei are an even bigger big brother.
In short, we live in "interesting" times.
> "but I guess Chinese companies like Huawei are an even bigger big brother."
ReplyDeleteNot to defend Huawei, but, given all the NSA (and other "Five Eyes") programs revealed to the public in recent years, this comment is hard to credit. Surely an example of "selection bias". As far as I can see, both the US and Chinese governments have advanced many programmes for mass surveillance of their own populations, and spying on others overseas - even allies, heads of states.
"Not to defend Huawei, but, given all the NSA (and other "Five Eyes") programs revealed to the public in recent years, this comment is hard to credit. Surely an example of "selection bias". As far as I can see, both the US and Chinese governments have advanced many programmes for mass surveillance of their own populations, and spying on others overseas - even allies, heads of states."
Delete1. Of course, the same or similar could be said about many other nations (e.g. the UK).
2. Here's a key difference. In the US, this kind of mass surveillance would be against the principles on which the US was founded. Indeed, many if not most Americans oppose mass surveillance for these very reasons. However, mass surveillance is consistent with the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
I'm not sure what the point is in arguing whose mass state surveillance is better than whose. Yes, I suppose hypocrisy is in *some* regards a better thing than unapologetic wrong. But that's surely of little relevance to Christian apologetics, unless (which, I'm sorry to say, it is for some of my American friends and acquaintances) American exceptionalism is thought to be an important position to defend?
DeleteI can't help myself from noticing, though, that your response shifts the grounds of (as I say, surely pointless) argument from a) whose mass surveillance is the "biggest" to b) whose mass surveillance involves the most dishonesty. That seems touchingly naïve. I'm pretty sure that not many state security agencies around the world are making sure that all their activities are compliant with the Boy Scout's code of honour.
"I'm not sure what the point is in arguing whose mass state surveillance is better than whose."
DeleteI brought up other nations because you mentioned the US and China as if these were the only two nations where mass state surveillance was a concern. (Strictly speaking, my original comment was talking about companies rather than nations, though of course there's overlap.)
"Yes, I suppose hypocrisy is in *some* regards a better thing than unapologetic wrong. But that's surely of little relevance to Christian apologetics, unless (which, I'm sorry to say, it is for some of my American friends and acquaintances) American exceptionalism is thought to be an important position to defend?"
Well, it's important to defend democratic values like freedom of religion if one wishes to continue the work of Christian apologetics, evangelism, and so on in freedom.
"I can't help myself from noticing, though, that your response shifts the grounds of (as I say, surely pointless) argument from a) whose mass surveillance is the "biggest" to b) whose mass surveillance involves the most dishonesty. That seems touchingly naïve. I'm pretty sure that not many state security agencies around the world are making sure that all their activities are compliant with the Boy Scout's code of honour."
I'm responding to you on your own grounds, so if there's a shift in the grounds, then you may need to reconsider your own argument.
China has an interesting (and mostly tragic) history, and probably an even more difficult time ahead.
ReplyDelete"China has an interesting (and mostly tragic) history, and probably an even more difficult time ahead."
DeleteJust a brief and simple modern history of China:
China was an empire for most of its history.
Europeans began to make footholds in China in the 1500s (e.g. Macau in the mid-1500s). It was the mid-1800s which began what's known as "the century of humiliation" (1839-1949) for China, where Europeans took control of major ports and cities in China. The last emperor was forced to abdicate in 1912.
China was a republic from 1912-1949, though really it was more like a period of warring states. Some form of unity took place under Sun Yat-sen who was the leader of the Nationalist party, but after Sun Yat-sen's death his disciple Chiang Kai-shek took leadership of the Nationalists. The Nationalists were opposed by the Communists led by Mao Zedong.
WW2 saw an uneasy truce between the Nationalists and the Communists while Imperial Japan carved up China.
After Japan was defeated, the Nationalists and the Communists began fighting again. The Communists emerged victorious in 1949, and the Nationalists fled to Taiwan, where they established a government and the modern nation of Taiwan.
From 1949 until today, the Communists have ruled China.
The major exceptions were Hong Kong and Macau which were port cities in China ruled by the British and the Portugese, respectively. Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997 while Macau was handed over in 1999.
Google just doesn't want to give up its corner on the market of spying on Americans. They could lose their third-party marketing clients to Huawei.
ReplyDelete