Louis, As a communist in the west, you are bombarded with many conflicting stories, and have no idea who, or what, to believe. You want to side with the Chinese state, because of Xi's grand speeches on YouTube, about restoring Mao's legacy. You want to celebrate what he has done, as far as eradicating poverty, about how the Belt and Road Iniative has improved the lives of countless Africans. Africans whose dreams of post-colonial socialism were ruined by decades of US puppet rightist military dictactorships. Right or wrong, many in the west see China as restoring this dream to Africa.
None of this fits with stories of Uhygur concentration camps, about abductions by secret police, stories of torture, or people with advanced college degrees being trained for the most menial jobs, or Han Chinese settler colonialism. Critics of China talk of reeducation, a loaded word that reeks of the worst Cold War McCarthyite smears and propaganda. If you,as a communist, speak out about any of this stuff, whether it is real or staged, you risk aligning yourself with both the worst elements of both the reactionary right, and the imperialist liberals. Nor do I understand the hate piled on Ben Norton, Max Blumenthal, or the Qiao Collective. Maybe you could explain that one to me. Maybe it is a similar situation to what sincere, and honest, communists, in the USA faced in both the 1930s and 1950s, when wanting to side with the Soviet Union. This is what happens to communists in a country that lacks a strong left, with real leaders. I'm not the biggest fan of Jacobin. I'm looking for someting with a more detailed historical background on the recent history of Xinjiang. Not what the Turks did in the 17th century. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#7618): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/7618 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/81477310/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
