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Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
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2 Dec, 4 tweets, 1 min read
In addition to Biden lobbying the Biden adminstration for Coke, wrap your mind around that for a minute, there is a bigger issue at play here journalists will never understand. So key me break it down for you 1/n
The Uyghur forced labor bill basically treats all products produced in Xinjiang as coming from the fruit of forced labor and therefore sanctionable when traded internationally to the US subjecting the firms not just to product loss but penalties. With me so far? 2/n
So ask yourself: why is Coke lobbying AGAINST the Uyghur Forced Labor Act? They have no bottling plant in Xinjiang. They don't export Coke from China to the US (I mean we aren't that fat). So why does Coke even care about the Uyghur Bill? They are acting directly at the 3/n
Request of Beijing. Beijing had made it clear they will punish foreign firms even if they just remain silent, they have to actively help Beijing. Coke is effectively acting as a foreign agent because they have no actual risk from the Forced Labor Act. That's why

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Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
29 Nov
I see lots of people gasping outloud at this "exclusive" when it is really a great big yawn though I know journos wouldn't know or understand the difference. Let me explain 1/ reuters.com/technology/exc…
First, we know that China has had facial recognition in cameras for many years. Second, we know China has had a vast network of surveillance cameras in urban areas and increasing into rural areas for years. Third, by the transitive property and by databases we have obtained 2/n
We know that China can watch targeted individuals in real time as they walk across a city for instance. Fourth, within these databases the facial recognition system not only links to individual information such as id number, passport number, facial measurements etc. 3/n
Read 8 tweets
Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
29 Nov
Because unlike journalists I actually want to highlight facts and make corrections, I am going to highlight a story that I Tweeted out that now appears to not be true but not entirely untrue and illustrate how news spreads on the internet. So follow me a minute 1/n
A few days ago, I tweeted out a news report from Africa that China was taking over the Entebbe airport for Kampala, Uganda. The credible local outlet reported that China was taking it over so I was not claiming something not in the news report 2/n
This report seems to stem from another East African news paper claiming the same thing in the headline. The story however is sparse on specific details primarily noting that China refused to renegotiate 3/n theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/business/h…
Read 13 tweets
Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
26 Nov
There are a couple of specific issues I find so appalling about academia and the university on everything with China. First, they are the polite plausible deniability apologists for the CCP. Mind you they are not Global Times apologists they are more pernicious because 1/n
It does not sound like rank apologism. They will say things like"we are concerned about..." or "human rights issues continue to..." but they continue to treat CCP money like any other dollar and do nothing to actually challenge the problem or put anything at risk. 2/n
Consequently out of that same mouth they will call for engagement and need to work together and better understand. This is a more dangerous form of apologia because while it may nod at the problem it urges speeding up on the road to hell. There is a second season 3/n
Read 8 tweets
Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
22 Nov
My two youngest are attending English language school for the FIRST TIME EVER. Everything else has been 100% Chinese. At the beginning of the year my kids took a standardized test with all their classmates. Now let me remind you my kids have NEVER gone to school in English 1/n
They scored in top 10% in English. Note I'm not a tiger Dad. We have kids books and I try to limit their screen time but that's pretty much the extent. No tutors or cram schools. I asked the teacher "how the hell did they score so high they've never taken an English class?" 2/n
"Do they read?" "Uhh yes we have like kids books we got as gifts. We don't let them spend every waking moment on a device." "There you go." "That's it?" What stunned me more than anything if my kids should not be in the top 10%. They shouldn't. What stuns me here is how 3/n
Read 5 tweets
Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
20 Nov
So since the NYT has done a story on China Moly, a Congolese mine, and Hunter Biden I've been getting pinged a bunch and I think there is a key aspect that needs to be fleshed out. Hunter's firm really played no role here BUT (drum roll) that actually makes it worse 1/n
China Molybendum is the key Chinese player here is a major Chinese mining firm. They mine a variety of metals which are frequently found together like copper, tungsten, and cobalt. They are listed in HK and one of the largest globally in their category of preferred metals 2/n
Beijing had given China Moly and other Chinese firms marching orders about preferred sectors and investments. For China Moly that meant EV inputs like cobalt. Freeport McMoran a US company mining similar metal portfolio owned the Congolese mine producing copper and cobalt 3/n
Read 15 tweets
Professor Howitzer Balding 大老板 Profile picture
18 Nov
There's a very simple dividing line: if you have business in China you don't talk about fight club. If you don't have business in China you talk about fight club. Marriot blocks refuses to host conference in Prague because they have business in China. 1/n
Li Na and Emma Raducanu say nothing because they have business and safety issues in China. US media outlet won't talk about employees of US media outlets imprisoned in China because they either want to stay in China or they want back into China. Business interest: ✅. 2/n
Universities, professors, and think tanks won't really say anything about China other than nibbling and the edges because they basically pay the bills and get tenure with full price Chinese students. That's a business interest. 3/n
Read 4 tweets

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