This is part of my series based on my travels around China a few weeks ago.
Okay, so the guy in the video is an American hip-hop artist. He’s been in Shanghai for two decades and, specifically, in this apartment complex since before the Covid era.
He was obviously willing to speak publicly.
I say that because, unfortunately, due to years of combined Western and Chinese propaganda, many Chinese people don’t entirely trust foreigners like me and tend to be suspicious of our motives when we pull out a camera and ask to do an interview.
I can understand that.
The Big Bad Wolf
China is demonised non-stop as the big bad enemy.
Yet it’s the United States that has hundreds of military bases around the world. It’s the United States that constantly threatens with sanctions and bombings. It’s the United States that thinks it’s the most important country in the world and deserves every knee bowing to its royal highness.
China has a grand total of one military base outside of China, which is in Djibouti.
“Yes, but Jerm, China is using soft power to take over. It’s building infrastructure like high-speed rail and airports, creating debt traps!”
As it happens, I flew to China with Ethiopian Airlines, transferring at their massive Addis Ababa airport — built by the Chinese under the Belt and Road Initiative. Useful infrastructure like that beats American drone strikes any day. Just ask Libya.
Anyway.
Shanghai starvation
Tucker Carlson’s segment, when he was still at Fox News, claimed that the Chinese government locked people into their apartments and starved them to death.
Thankfully, Tucker has evolved some of his views since leaving Fox. I hope this is one of them.
Because nobody in the said apartment complex starved.
Sure, they were locked down, but so were millions of people around the world. In fact, it can easily be argued that other countries were worse off.
Italy: Implemented some of the harshest lockdowns in Europe, with entire regions quarantined and strict curfews.
India: Enforced massive shutdowns, including brutal police enforcement.
Tajikistan: Mandated the jab for all adults. China didn’t mandate the jab.
Turkmenistan: Required the jab for everyone over 18.
Vatican City: Imposed full vaccination on all citizens. So much for trusting God.
Over the years, not once has anybody in my online circles said anything about any of the above countries. I’ll even wager that most don’t even know that Tajikistan exists.
And, well, also because China is a low-hanging fruit.
Point is, Tucker got it wrong and this myth refuses to die.
It keeps getting parroted on social media, which shows the power of propaganda.
Then again, did Tucker get it wrong? Or was he also parroting what he was fed? I don’t know, now that I think about it.
Either way, I’m glad I went there and saw and heard reality with my own eyes and ears.
