Remember that episode of “24” where Jack Bauer intercepts a low-level courier making a delivery at an abandoned warehouse? Jack roughs up the courier to find out who he’s working for. The courier – knowing he works for a transnational criminal organization bent on destroying America – grimaces and screams but won’t reveal anything. He defiantly turns to Jack and says, “You don’t want to see what I’ve seen. I promise you, this is bigger than you can imagine. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”   

Actually, every episode of “24” went something like that.  

The moral of the story is the courier didn’t start out intending to support criminals or terrorists. He was offered some extra money to do a job and he took it. Only slowly did he realize what he was a part of. That's the point where he had a choice. Quit and expose the bad guys. Or keep taking the easy money and become one of them.  

The Elites Chose Poorly 

We have a whole lot of these couriers in America right now. Business leaders, politicians, and other useful idiots. They took their first “job” in the 80’s when the US began increasing trade with China to integrate them into the global economy. The vision was that an economically successful China would become a free society.  

Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy

We thought we could export Big Macs and Happy Meals and spread democracy to places like China. We thought we could use our money to get China to be more like us. Instead, they used our money to get us to be more like them.

5:15 PM ∙ Oct 24, 2022

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You could be forgiven for being naïve in those days. Until the Tiananmen Square massacre.  

That was in 1989. Still, optimists asked us to overlook those atrocities and bring China into the community of nations by admitting them into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Surely, free trade would make liberty ring in China while access to cheap labor would make cash registers ring in America. One of those turned out to be true.  

Three decades later, it's time to wake up. Business and political leaders acting naive in order to maintain the flow of profits is unforgivable.  

We mentioned earlier that China Risk Is Investment Risk. But it’s also human rights risk, national security risk, and global economic security risk. If we want to keep doing business with China, here are a few of the items we have to overlook.  

Ethnic genocide and slave labor: The UN, US government agencies, and various journalists have exposed what’s happening to the Uyghers. Tim Cook knows it’s happening. Larry Fink knows it’s happening. All of their elitist friends know it’s happening. And they all ignore it.  

Thomas George @thomasg_grizzle

It’s great the blue checkmarks got Adidas to drop Kanye; now can they help out the Uyghurs forced to make Nike sneakers? Or are we just not gonna talk about that…

5:34 PM ∙ Oct 25, 2022

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Suppression of free speech and dissent: Chinese citizens don’t have access to the same internet you do. They only see what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants them to see. Dissenters disappear, just like in the old Soviet Union. The CCP recently rounded up 1.4 million citizens in a “security campaign” ahead of the CCP congress meeting.  

Social credit system used to track and control citizens: The CCP uses video surveillance, phone tracking, and other measures to ensure their citizens remain slaves to the state. It’s like an episode of Black Mirror. And they are just getting started.  

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) exploits poor countries: The CCP is the ultimate loan shark and pawn shop rolled into one. They offer loans to poor countries to build infrastructure. When those countries default on the loans, China takes ownership of that infrastructure. Luckily, some of this is blowing up in their face, but don’t count out the CCP’s ability to stick with their long-term vision of dominating the global economy. Watch this video to see what happened to one country who took part in BRI.

Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China @ipacglobal

#IPAC 🇦🇺 co-chair Senator @kimbakit speaks to BBC World News on the Chinese government's use of 'debt trap diplomacy' through the Belt and Road Initiative. Kitching called for democratic states to offer an alternative for global infrastructure needs.

2:34 PM ∙ Sep 29, 2021

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Flooding the USA with deadly Fentanyl: Chinese manufacturers supply fentanyl to the Mexican cartels. The cartels smuggle it into our country. And Americans die. It’s now the leading cause of death for adults 18-45. More than suicide, car accidents, and cancer. The CCP claims to have cracked down on the producers in their country, but they also reported zero COVID deaths for months at a time (which we know is not true). The CCP lies, the Fentanyl keeps flowing, and Americans keep dying. It’s an act of war.  

Mike Bean @Wildbeans

This is Tyrus' perspective on Fentanyl. "It's a terrorist attack...an act of war." Listen and think about it. He is right.

3:56 AM ∙ Sep 29, 2022

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Tracking and manipulating Americans with TikTok: TikTok has been called digital Fentanyl because it’s highly addictive and a tool for weakening America. It’s owned by a Chinese company called Bytedance that claims it doesn’t share user data with the CCP. More lies. TikTok shares data with the CCP, tracks user locations, and spies on users – potentially stealing passwords.  

As a bonus, its algorithm reprograms the brains of our youth to adopt eating disorders, believe in radical ideologies, and waste a good portion of their cognitive potential watching short videos about nothing. Never in history has there existed a better tool for information warfare. If you have TikTok installed, you are carrying CCP spyware in your pocket.

Sorry to break that to you. You might think, “I have nothing to hide.” But it doesn’t matter. Do you really want a hostile government, which has plans to dominate the United States, to know everything from your location, to who you hang out with, to how you think? 

Scott Adams @ScottAdamsSays

TikTok is using mind control to hide their ability to program American citizens any way they want. How much do you think the TikTok algorithm will promote stories about Fentanyl precursors shipped from China to Mexican Cartels to kill 100,000 American again this year? Wake up.

🔥 @melodicbit

@ScottAdamsSays Did anyone believe he'd ban it? https://t.co/q62OkFDKCH

12:27 PM ∙ Aug 22, 2022

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By the way, TikTok is banned in China. Even though it’s a Chinese company! They use a different app called Douyin that has time limits for kids and serves up more educational content (along with government approved propaganda). Interesting contrast, huh?  

Threats to invade Taiwan: China already betrayed Hong Kong. After taking it over from the UK in 1997, they promised to allow Hong Kong relative freedom and autonomy for 50 years. Twenty five years later, the crackdown is complete. Now the CCP has turned their eyes toward Taiwan. While China has danced around the idea of invasion for many years, their threats are becoming more direct. And invasion may happen sooner than most experts thought possible just a few years ago with terrible consequences for Main Street. As Bloomberg wrote last year, “The World Is Dangerously Dependent on Taiwan for Semiconductors”. A Taiwan invasion would shut down a key part of the supply chain that powers our electronics, vehicles, and appliances. It would mean economic catastrophe.  

Telegraph World News @TelegraphWorld

He added that "a very different China" had emerged under Mr Xi and that any war over Taiwan would have an "enormous" impact on global trade

telegraph.co.ukChina could invade Taiwan by end of the year, US warnsMilitary officials have indicated heightened alarm over Beijing’s intentions towards the island...

11:34 AM ∙ Oct 21, 2022

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 Threats to global security: China has accelerated military spending over the last 10 years and now has more ships than the US Navy (350 to 293). While they don’t have superior firepower – yet – and their troops are poorly trained, the CCP isn’t stopping. China surprised US intelligence last year with their test of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that circled the globe. Perhaps we surprised them in return by standing down our military to purge dissenters, sidelining military members – including Navy SEALs – who refused COVID vaccination, botching the Afghanistan withdrawal, and turning Bagram air base over to a terrorist state (who will likely turn it over to China). It sometimes leaves the impression that our leaders don’t even care anymore.  

Yes, our military spending dwarfs China's for now. But let’s not be naive again. China clearly has a more aggressive and focused stance on growing their military strength. The current trajectory of their military versus ours is a disaster waiting to happen. And it’s our obsession with “free trade” that funds their ambitions. We need to change course before it’s too late.  

Coming To Our Senses 

So where does this leave us? Unfortunately, the business and political elites embraced their role as couriers long ago. If anything, they sought out a bigger cut of the action and higher levels of authority in the grand scheme. They know about all the red flags mentioned above. They’ve weighed them against the power and wealth they acquire by doing business with China. And they cast their lot with China.  

Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy

I have a feeling this is the last we’ll hear of Hu Jintao. Brace for the beginning of a new era, I don’t think the world is quite ready for what’s coming.

ian bremmer @ianbremmer

problem: if you’re doing business in china, you can’t comment on today’s hu jintao incident. have to ask yourself how much intellectual honesty is worth. https://t.co/X4b6yH3zbx

10:28 PM ∙ Oct 22, 2022

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Will Hild @WillHild

Classic @BlackRock - in attempting to debunk the claim that they are wed to the CCP, they parroted CCP propaganda by using the phrase "reunification with Taiwan."

BlackRock @BlackRock

That’s not true. We have highlighted for the past year the investment risk should China take steps to accelerate reunification with Taiwan. (2/6)

5:11 PM ∙ Oct 13, 2022

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As for the rest of us, we’ve essentially become low level couriers, too. We still buy imports made with cheap Chinese labor. We still support companies that bet on China for profit growth.  We still elect leaders who are either compromised or incompetent when it comes to facing the risks of doing business with China. Perhaps we don’t need to feel too guilty. We didn’t take the CCP threat seriously because we didn’t really know what we were a part of.  

But we know now.  

We’ve seen too much to be able to look away now. So we’re faced with a choice. We can either quit and expose the bad guys. Or we keep taking the easy money and become one of them.  

The solution is to get involved at all levels. As citizens, consumers, investors, business leaders, and government leaders. No matter how difficult, we must aggressively de-couple our economy from China. As fast as humanly possible. With no compromises.  

Doing so will increase freedom, prosperity, and security for America and every other freedom-loving nation on the globe.  

This is the way.  

-Jeff and Luke