Sandy Johnson
Harry Member
I wouldn't discount the potential for the balance of power in the world to shift quickly or China's hunger to do so. Consider this:Definitely the US government would be my choice to live under. The US government also poses a much larger risk to me and my family than the Chinese government. I don’t really care what info the Chinese steal about me. I’ve worked with Chinese companies a couple times in the past, and their defining features seem to be zero strategy and low competence. They’re not a threat during my lifetime anyway.
The US government is the more immediate threat, even though they share the low strategy and low competence things.
China looks at the US and sees a major rival- We're over there cramping their style in the south china sea, we're supporting rouge elements of what they consider their country(Taiwan), we're projecting power across the globe in places they also have an interest, and we're supporting and providing weapons to places like Japan and South Korea. They would like very much to have the US in a weakened state so they can expand their influence and power.
So what are some ways they can weaken the US and gain an advantage without accidentally going to war with the country that has the most aircraft carriers and nuclear weapons in the world? Steal intellectual property, state secrets, gain some influence over politicians, and attempt to destabilize our government. What's an easy and cheap way to destabilize? Stir up some internal strife and civil unrest. Make Americans fight with Americans. The internet provides perfect access to run influence operations inside the United States. You don't need to send people in country, you just need a group that's really good at sending inflammatory targeted information to the right demographic via the internet. Now, how do you make sure your influence operations are successful? That they're hitting the right audience with the perfect message? You find a way to collect data on that population so you can better tailor your campaign to get to the right people with the right message. Tik tok is perfect for that.
We're in "The Information Age", where information is now a weapon. There are many countries out there that want the US weakened from within.