So unless you've been living under a rock, you know that china has been detaining, torturing, raping, organ-harvesting, and doing all kinds of other horrible things to the (majority Muslim) Uyghur population, and no one's done a thing about it. Why? Because china makes all our stuff: if it's plastic, metal, synthetic, or fabric, there's a 99% chance it came from china.
Major manufacturers pressure the governments not to act because they don't want to lose income by suddenly being unable to produce cheap stuff for us to buy.
And china knows this. What're the manufacturers going to do? Spend millions building factories and training people in all the OTHER countries with dubious labour practices that can produce things for pennies? Unlikely.
First of all, no one wants a war with china. I doubt china even wants a war. Also, they're smarter than that. Their big thing is applying pressure, which is why chinese students studying in the west are afraid to speak out against the government: a family member might go missing. So, what they'll do (and I'm sure they've already started doing) is infiltrate everything they can. They'll send immigrants to live in western countries, set up business, get into government, police, etc. They'll manufacture our electronics and put their own chips in to spy on us, they'll attempt to bully us into installing their 5G network, they'll buy our water. To what end? Well, probably to hold us all hostage at some point or another.
Obligatory: "not all chinese". Of course not, I don't believe the entire country is out to get us, I'd wager that 80% (or more) of them just want to live their lives, not cause problems in the world, and don't support all the horrible things their government is doing but of course they're afraid to speak up. When I say "chinese", i mean the government and their supporters.
Anyway, more about their shady practices is a google search away.
So what can we do? What SHOULD we do?
Well, of course the first thing you should do is email your political leaders and tell them this is not OK, that your country should take a stand against china, and your country should CERTAINLY NOT hand over their infrastructure to a chinese controlled network provider:
Links:
US:
We the People Help Congress Act on the Mass Genocide of Uighur Muslims in China
Canada:
Prime Minister Trudeau
If you have links to those prepared emailing services please post them, I can't seem to find them!
The next best thing to do is stop giving them our money: a boycott, which is easier said than done of course. They make EVERYTHING, and we're not all flush with enough cash to afford the more expensive locally made/fair trade version of everything we want/need. Also, if we just stopped buying things that are made 100% guilt-free...well...we would probably have to stop buying things altogether. So what do we do?
The most effective thing to do is buy second hand or locally made, when and where you can, especially for housewares. The first time an item is purchased, china may have got their money, but they won't get it the second, third or fourth. In fact, depending on where you buy from, that money may end up in charities or stay in your community! If buying dinnerware second hand makes you a bit squeamish, just remember you probably eat at restaurants where knives, forks, and spoons have passed through hundreds of hands; this is no different. I fully understand not wanting to purchase electronics or clothing second hand though. I myself prefer to get electronics and clothes new, but once I have them, I try to treat them VERY well, so they'll last a long time. I also urge you NOT to buy cheap chinese electronics, especially smart home related systems. You may save $200 on that home security camera, but I bet you that $200 they're sending your recordings through chinese servers. It's best to assume that no matter what any company says; if the parent company is chinese, the chinese government has access to ALL of it.
Next, you can try avoiding chinese made items using an app like Buycott. I'm not sure if it has a specific china campaign, but it may in the future, and it has some other ones which you may find useful.
Finally, make dua. Make dua that they end their campaign against the Uyghurs and other peoples, that the rest of the world stand up to these injustices, and that they get EXACTLY what they deserve.
Major manufacturers pressure the governments not to act because they don't want to lose income by suddenly being unable to produce cheap stuff for us to buy.
And china knows this. What're the manufacturers going to do? Spend millions building factories and training people in all the OTHER countries with dubious labour practices that can produce things for pennies? Unlikely.
First of all, no one wants a war with china. I doubt china even wants a war. Also, they're smarter than that. Their big thing is applying pressure, which is why chinese students studying in the west are afraid to speak out against the government: a family member might go missing. So, what they'll do (and I'm sure they've already started doing) is infiltrate everything they can. They'll send immigrants to live in western countries, set up business, get into government, police, etc. They'll manufacture our electronics and put their own chips in to spy on us, they'll attempt to bully us into installing their 5G network, they'll buy our water. To what end? Well, probably to hold us all hostage at some point or another.
Obligatory: "not all chinese". Of course not, I don't believe the entire country is out to get us, I'd wager that 80% (or more) of them just want to live their lives, not cause problems in the world, and don't support all the horrible things their government is doing but of course they're afraid to speak up. When I say "chinese", i mean the government and their supporters.
Anyway, more about their shady practices is a google search away.
So what can we do? What SHOULD we do?
Well, of course the first thing you should do is email your political leaders and tell them this is not OK, that your country should take a stand against china, and your country should CERTAINLY NOT hand over their infrastructure to a chinese controlled network provider:
Links:
US:
We the People Help Congress Act on the Mass Genocide of Uighur Muslims in China
Canada:
Prime Minister Trudeau
If you have links to those prepared emailing services please post them, I can't seem to find them!
The next best thing to do is stop giving them our money: a boycott, which is easier said than done of course. They make EVERYTHING, and we're not all flush with enough cash to afford the more expensive locally made/fair trade version of everything we want/need. Also, if we just stopped buying things that are made 100% guilt-free...well...we would probably have to stop buying things altogether. So what do we do?
The most effective thing to do is buy second hand or locally made, when and where you can, especially for housewares. The first time an item is purchased, china may have got their money, but they won't get it the second, third or fourth. In fact, depending on where you buy from, that money may end up in charities or stay in your community! If buying dinnerware second hand makes you a bit squeamish, just remember you probably eat at restaurants where knives, forks, and spoons have passed through hundreds of hands; this is no different. I fully understand not wanting to purchase electronics or clothing second hand though. I myself prefer to get electronics and clothes new, but once I have them, I try to treat them VERY well, so they'll last a long time. I also urge you NOT to buy cheap chinese electronics, especially smart home related systems. You may save $200 on that home security camera, but I bet you that $200 they're sending your recordings through chinese servers. It's best to assume that no matter what any company says; if the parent company is chinese, the chinese government has access to ALL of it.
Next, you can try avoiding chinese made items using an app like Buycott. I'm not sure if it has a specific china campaign, but it may in the future, and it has some other ones which you may find useful.
Finally, make dua. Make dua that they end their campaign against the Uyghurs and other peoples, that the rest of the world stand up to these injustices, and that they get EXACTLY what they deserve.
