Hotznplotzn

@Hotznplotzn@lemmy.sdf.org

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Hotznplotzn , (edited )

So we see another chapter of coercion, it's just that tankies will now whining while applauding when China is doing the same thing. Beijing has been bullying its 'partner' countries for decades, now we have one bully more in the world. Canada would be well-advised if it traded away as much as it can from both the U.S. and China.

Has someone said that a rules-based order and democratic systems are better for the world than these regimes?

Hotznplotzn ,

with a small markup for the fellow poorly paid American assembly worker

You forget that the fellow poorly paid Chinese assembly worker endures even more hardship under a coerced labour regime. We must have transparent global supply chains - something China has been lobbying against for years - 'if this shit is to ever get better.'

Hotznplotzn ,

Oh, no, your fellow Chinese worker will still suffer from forced labour under the same regime while the markup goes the corporation owner. It's just now a Chinese company owner under the control of a dictator. That's the same thing, but you criticize the one and praise the other. What a hypocrisy.

Hotznplotzn ,

It’s time for some allies, like Europe

Yeah, but Carney didn't make a deal with Europe last week but rather with another bully that doesn't value the rule of law. I hope Mr. Carney corrects this mistake.

Hotznplotzn , (edited )

We know how things work.

You are just parroting propaganda.

Hotznplotzn ,

World Enters “Era of Global Water Bankruptcy” - UN Scientists Formally Define New Post-Crisis Reality for Billions

“Global Water Bankruptcy: Living Beyond Our Hydrological Means in the Post-Crisis Era,” (here is the full report, opens pdf) argues that the familiar terms “water stressed” and “water crisis” fail to reflect today’s reality in many places: a post-crisis condition marked by irreversible losses of natural water capital and an inability to bounce back to historic baselines.

Hotznplotzn , (edited )

All carmakers are doing that, not just Toyota. If someone posts a similar report about China's BYD you are whatabouted to death, but if it is about a non-Chinese carmaker, there are no whataboutisms.

Is the data collection good or bad now? Should we have digital sovereignty in Europe and other democracies or just import ChEaP cHiNeSe CaRs?

[Edit typo.]

Hotznplotzn , (edited )

All carmakers are doing that, not just Toyota. If someone posts a similar report about China's BYD you are whatabouted to death, but if it is about a non-Chinese carmaker, there are no whataboutisms.

Is the data collection good or bad now? Should we have digital sovereignty in Europe and other democracies or just import ChEaP cHiNeSe CaRs?

[Edit typo.]

Hotznplotzn ,

alcoholicorn

Chinese companies must report to the Chinese party-state, and that includes sending data back to China collected also by cars. There is ample evidence for this. The Chinese government's grip on its companies to 'collaborate' has even been growing stronger in recent years.

Hotznplotzn ,

Argentina has been ramping up surveillance for year, not after Trump's bailout. Before the pandemic, in 2019, the local government in Juju, a province in the country's north, was proud to say thatJ ujuy can be "safe like China" after they installed China's ZTE:

Jujuy already has close ties to China. A Chinese company is heavily invested in lithium mining in the province and China has provided the financing and technology for a huge solar farm, South America's largest.

So Trump comes as an addition also to South America, but he is not the only elephant in the room.

Hotznplotzn ,

Argentina has been ramping up surveillance for year, not after Trump's bailout. Before the pandemic, in 2019, the local government in Juju, a province in the country's north, was proud to say thatJ ujuy can be "safe like China" after they installed China's ZTE:

Jujuy already has close ties to China. A Chinese company is heavily invested in lithium mining in the province and China has provided the financing and technology for a huge solar farm, South America's largest.

So Trump comes as an addition also to South America, but he is not the only elephant in the room.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

Venezuela has reportedly been unable to operate Russia's defense system, and Russia allegedly contributed to that failure. The New York Times wrote,

The Venezuelan military’s incompetence appears to have played a big role in the U.S. success. Venezuela’s much-touted [Russia-made] antiaircraft systems were essentially not connected when U.S. forces entered the skies over Venezuela’s capital, and they may not have been working for years [...] Russia shared in the failure, officials and experts said, because Russian trainers and technicians would have had to ensure the system was fully operational and help keep it that way [...] “Russia’s own war demands in Ukraine may have limited its ability to sustain those systems in Venezuela, to make sure they were fully integrated,” [one expert] said. -- [Archived]

Hotznplotzn OP ,

If that’s bad, why the same ...

Yes, this is very bad, as China helps the Iranian regime to suppress its citizens. The estimates how many of Iranians have been killed vary, but even the lowest numbers are in the thousands. China is contributing to that by providing the same technology that it uses in Xinjiang and other regions to suppress the population.

A recently leaked wedding video laid bare the luxurious lives of Iran’s political elite and highlights hypocrisy of Islamic Republic. A recent survey found that Iranians are so desperate about their totalitarian government that they agree more on regime change than what might come next. Similar surveys are fully in line with other research such as on in 2022 that found that a majority of Iranian reject compulsory hijab and an Islamic regime.

Reports and interviews of exiled Iranians who have family at home clearly say they want a regime change as ‘people need to take back Iran by ourselves and for ourselves.'

I could continue almost endlessly with such reports, all of them, of course, very reliable, but I guess it woudn't bear fruit here.

What makes this whataboutism to defend China and authoritarian regimes - because this is how your comment can only be interpreted - is not the whataboutism itself as such is widespread on Lemmy. This time it comes from a moderator, though. It's amazing how many admins and mods here in the Lemmyverse. There are 'soft' versions of the grad and bear communities where violence against civilians is literally celebrated, as another study on left-wing extremism in from last year showed.

Our findings reveal a substantial increase in user activity and toxicity levels following the migration from the [subreddits] r/GenZedong and r/GenZhou to lemmygrad .ml. We also identify posts that support authoritarian regimes, endorse the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and feature anti-Zionist and antisemitic content. Overall, our findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of political extremism ...

We all have different opinions, and that's good for a lively discussion. But in these communities they are literally cheering the death and the violence against innocent people such as Ukrainian civilians. If you don't believe me or the study, please feel free to visit their communities and read their post and comment yourself.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

Also, the economic crisis in Iran is mostly created by Western sanctions, so if we really cared about Iranians, we would stop that.

Yes, the Western sanctions hurt the Iranian society, and I am all in for ending this. I have not looked myself into the data and my knowledge of the Iranian economy is very limited, but what I hear and read from those who do is that ordinary citizens in Iran wouldn't benefit much from the country's wealth even if sanctions were lifted. This is one reason why people demand a regime change.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

It's amazing that you pick one sentence and put it in a weird frame, and then it's all about "EU hypocrisy" lecturing "Africa on free trade" and speak of borders and people.

I am sorry, but did you even click the link?

Hotznplotzn OP ,

I don’t see anything in the language here that indicates China is threatening war with Australia.

It is the same bullying we have been hearing from Chinese officials over many years now. Chinese envoys have already threatened Australian and Japanese people over its support for Taiwan as well as the current Japanese PM personally.

Chinese imperialism has a long-standing history across a wide range of territories and issues, comprising Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea, and the persecution of Uyghurs and suppression of Tibet and Inner Mongolia. Officially there are 55 ethnic minorities in contemporary China - all people other than Han-Chinese - that speak more than 300 languages, and these cultures and languages are suppressed by a wide range of measures including included forced labor and factory work, suppression of Uyghur and Tibetan religious practices, political indoctrination, forced sterilization, forced contraception, forced abortion, mass arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, mass surveillance, family separation, sexual violence, to name a few.

China's relations with Africa have also been accused of being neo-colonial, particularly the Belt and Road Initiative.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

Australia is literally a imperial colony of the largest empire in the history of the world

Your statement is wrong. Please read my brief comment in this thread. You'll find more information about Chinese imperialism in Asia and across the world across the web.

Hotznplotzn ,

My first thought when reading the title was that he could also claim the Fifa World Cup Trophy. It was meant to be a joke, but now I am not so sure that it won't happen :-)

Hotznplotzn , (edited )

The federal government is working on an auto policy, expected to be released in February, that it hopes could help grow Canada's 125,000-worker auto industry and eventually “leapfrog” over the U.S.

It this is Canada's goal, a collaboration with China is the wrong decision. Chinese carmakers may built cars in Canada, but they will bring their own (Chinese migrant) workforce, and all parts will be delivered by Chinese suppliers. The entire supply chain is a closed shop.

The workers in these companies are subject to devastating conditions, one more recent example that made it to public awareness was Chinese carmaker's BYD factory in Brazil. In May 2025, Brazilian prosecutors were suing Chinese electric vehicle company BYD and two of its contractors, saying they were responsible for human trafficking and conditions "analogous to slavery":

... Authorities halted construction of the plant late ... after workers were found living in cramped accommodation with "minimum comfort and hygiene conditions" ... Some workers slept on beds without mattresses and one toilet was shared by 31 people ...

.. construction site staff had their passports confiscated and were working under "employment contracts with illegal clauses, exhausting work hours and no weekly rest" ... workers had up to 70% of their salaries withheld and faced high costs to terminate their contracts.

"Slavery-like conditions", as defined by Brazilian law, include debt bondage and work that violates human dignity ...

[Edit to correct typo.]

Hotznplotzn ,

China is doing that everywhere, and it has nothing to do with the host country's 'climate around immigration.' Incoming migrant workers are usually accommodated in separate building near the industrial sites, and they likely have little contact with the local population as it's the case in Hungary, for example (or in Brazil, just read the linked article above).

Just last summer, Chinese migrant workers have blocked the entrance to BYD's factory in Hungary over workers' rights violations, and the local Hungarian population protested against the BYD plant over environmental concerns. Both with little success, Hungary PM Orbán is a fan of China ... (you'll find ample evidence for this across the web).

There might be a few Canadian managers that will act as a 'face' to the Canadian public, but the majority of workers come from China. And so will the the suppliers as the entire Chinese supply chain is a closed shop.

Hotznplotzn ,

What do you think? Every country has this problem if and when a war 'persists'.

Russian Soldiers Confront PTSD, Alcoholism and Suicidal Thoughts After Fighting in Ukraine

The battle Russia has not yet fought: The mental health of its war veterans

And, not to forget, there are also victims:

Ukraine: Mental Health Crisis Intensifies for Children

There are -unfortunately- many reports on that across literally all wars.

Hotznplotzn ,

What do you think? Every country has this problem if and when a war 'persists'.

Russian Soldiers Confront PTSD, Alcoholism and Suicidal Thoughts After Fighting in Ukraine

The battle Russia has not yet fought: The mental health of its war veterans

And, not to forget, there are also victims:

Ukraine: Mental Health Crisis Intensifies for Children

There are -unfortunately- many reports on that across literally all wars.

Hotznplotzn ,

Rafael Reif has also been a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering since 2017 and a long-standing promoter of pro-China talking points.

Hotznplotzn ,

Rafael Reif has also been a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering since 2017 and a long-standing promoter of pro-China talking points.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

The same what I thought. Sometimes I feel you could post one of Grimms' Fairy Tales and someone would comment on the US. It's sort of a standard response.

Hotznplotzn OP ,

@YappyMonotheist

Japan and the Philippines signed a defense pact now, in 2026, not 'pre-WWII,' and the reason is China's aggression, imperial behaviour, and warmongering. Read something else than your propaganda channels and get a life.