Authoritarianism and Exploitation: News when it comes to China, ignored in the West

https://www.euractiv.com/section/cybersecurity/news/huawei-admit-chinese-law-obliges-companies-to-work-with-government/

The Chinese government and the ruling CCP are deplorable. There's no need to mince words. They are enemies of Christ and Beijing represents a bestial power vying for its place on the world stage.

That said, let's be clear in our thinking. We shouldn't be surprised that in general terms the Western media supports the agendas of Wall Street, Washington, London et al. This is to be expected. There's an ideological common ground and most certainly there are economic interests at work. This is true directly in the case of the corporate media but it's also true when it comes to outlets like NPR and the BBC. While they're granted a degree of freedom when compared to corporate profit-based entities like FOX or CNN, they nevertheless have their concerns and connections which keep them toeing the line.

But as Christians we ought to think differently about all of these questions and we shouldn't rest in some kind of Western default setting. This sort of thinking has been conditioned and reinforced by the hosts of compromised and often false teachers who sit at the apex of Western Christianity and its many corrupt and often heretical institutions. These leaders and their institutions are often invested (directly or indirectly) in the Western order, in the system itself and thus they have an interest in how the narrative is presented.

So many things could be said but for the sake of New Testament simplicity, suffice it say they do not live as pilgrims and strangers. This is not their 'worldview' nor does it define their ethics. They are invested in the world and its systems and in many cases they have justified this by confusing the West and so-called Christendom with the Kingdom of Christ. They've done so to their peril and as they've put their trust in this cruciform Babel and its mighty swords, they too will perish when it falls and meets its doom.

What does this have to do with Beijing? It's simply this. Our media continues to paint China in a negative light and certainly some of this is justified. And Christians will drink up this information because they want it to be so and it fits their narrative.

Again, Beijing is indeed deplorable and its policies are immoral.

However, there's an irony in that so many of the things being said about Beijing are equally true of the United States and yet that statement is immediately deemed out of bounds. False teachers and Christo-American idolaters insist that 'moral equivalence' when it comes to comparing America and nations like China or Russia is clearly a violation of the 'Biblical Worldview' they ostensibly represent and teach.

And yet do their views stand up to Scriptural scrutiny? Not in the least for they are predicated on a wrong-headed view of both the Kingdom of Christ and the West and its claims to represent a Christian order.

Constantinian Christendom and its contemporary manifestations represent a legacy of apostasy, of the New Testament ethic turned on its head, of lies called truth, evil called good, and violence called peace. In fact I continue to assert that in reality we must judge such 'Christian' claims in different and frankly harsher terms than the claims of governments made by the lost for the lost.

So someone like Albert Mohler may be right. There isn't 'moral equivalence'. In fact the West and its 'Christian' claims must be judged in more direct terms and held to an even greater accountability. Where that leaves Mohler and his ilk and what kind of 'Christian' wisdom they possess is certainly something to ponder.

The truth is that the United States is like China, an evil empire. Its narrative is different. It has a different facade and a different Babel-mandate but when compared to the Scriptures (and history) it is weighed and found wanting and its claims must be rejected.

This does not mean that its enemies are now good or should be embraced. But it does allow a bird's-eye view, a heavenly perspective in which we can have discernment. While we don't wish Beijing to triumph we are not partisans for America or the West either.

Whose side are we on? Christ and Truth. The kingdoms of the lie don't own us and we owe them no allegiance beyond obeying the laws of the land and payment of the tax. How can we evangelise them if we share in their lies?

With this perspective we can begin to understand history and current events and we can tell the truth.

Does China manipulate its corporate sector and compel companies to work with the security services? Yes, of course. This is hardly shocking.

But what is shocking is that Western media reports this with some kind of moral indignation.

Are they stupid? Are they fools? Are they counting on the fact that their audiences have forgotten or... do they really think that when Western governments do this, then it's okay?

The Patriot Act threw open the door and in the wake of 9/11 a vast array of corporations were compelled to cooperate with US security services. They had to share data, let the NSA tap their lines and in some cases modify hardware. They forced programmers to leave open 'back doors' so that software could be infiltrated and hacked by government employees and contractors.

Is there a bank or international corporation that lists on Wall Street that doesn't cooperate with Washington? And how many directly collaborate and in some cases are compelled to do so under threat?

Apparently the Snowden revelations were a flash in the pan and have already gone down the memory hole. It is unbelievable to me that Western media outlets which have a long history of state collaboration would dare to make such moral claims.

Is Beijing guilty? Of course, but no more and no less than Washington, London, Paris and Brussels. But it's okay when Western governments do it, that's the assumption.

But when China does it, then it's bad.

It is bad but it's egregious on all sides and I have no more trust for Washington or London than I do for Beijing. As Christians no one is on our side. Some enemies are more pronounced, some methods more dangerous but don't be fooled and don't be fooled by biased reporting.

Along similar lines I had to laugh listening to the charlatan Mike Pence as he ran about warning other nations not to 'sign on' to China's programmes. He spoke of Beijing's attempt to mire them in unnecessary debt and that they would be much better off sticking with the United States.

This was absurd. Does China use debt to its advantage? Indeed, that's what powerful nations do and the United States through institutions such as the IMF and World Bank does the very same thing. And this is where Wall Street and the other Western markets exercise great control over the politics of Washington, London and Berlin. The loans are often wed to the financial markets giving investment banks and hedge funds great influence on the policies of their own governments and the politics in the indebted states that have taken out the loans. The pathway to these loans is often dubious and frequently wed to political manipulation on the part of the United States and other Western powers. In other words they make sure that the correct political leaders are installed who will sign up for the loans and thus their countries are effectively enslaved and owned by the markets and the powers behind them.

This topic has been explored for decades and there are many dissenting voices, commentators which have laboured to expose this. But the media is largely silent and it's hardly surprising. They are mouthpieces of this very system. Well do I remember 1999 when the World Trade Organisation (WTO) hosted meetings in Seattle. The event was met by widespread protests and the subsequent Battle of Seattle was broadcast across television airwaves and dominated the media for a couple of days. The thing was most people were utterly confused about who the protestors were and what the dispute was about. There were some attempts at explanation but the media (by my estimation) did a poor job and quickly moved on. To this day I think many still fail to understand just what anti-globalisation is all about. The protestors were largely demonised and dismissed. The media did its job.

And for people like Mike Pence it's as if their protests did not occur and their objections do not exist. Is China a powerful country seeking to expand its power at the expense of others? Most certainly but the United States is the last entity on earth that can claim to hold the moral high ground.

And what of Pence's professed Christianity? Where's the morality in championing such a system? Where's his commitment to both fact and truth? Somehow the Christian Worldview as taught by Mohler and others allows professing Christians like Pence and Pompeo to manipulate the truth and not only that their manipulations (their lies) are counted moral and just.

The Chinese government may be detestable and it's causing Christians to suffer but what of the American system and the False Church of Evangelicalism? It may grant a type of freedom and it is certainly wed to riches and power but it devours souls and truth be told it's a far more dangerous thing. Reject them both and guard your heart.