South China Morning Post has an update in the category of Furious Responses to US Arms Sales to Taiwan (“China sanctions US defence companies over Taiwan arms deal,” January 7, 2024):
China has announced fresh sanctions on five American defence companies in a furious response to last month’s US arms sale deal with Taiwan.
The Chinese foreign ministry said on Sunday the five sanctioned companies were BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operations, AeroVironment, Viasat and Data Link Solutions.
Beijing said Chinese companies and individuals were banned from doing business with the sanctioned firms and all property in China owned by the firms would be frozen under China’s Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law….
“We urge the United States to abide by the one-China principle…stop arming Taiwan, and stop targeting China with illegal unilateral sanctions.
“Otherwise there will be a strong and resolute response from China.”
The Chinese government is really into this “strong and resolute” stuff. Is it some kind of S&M thing?
China should not be freezing the assets of companies it doesn’t want to do business with. So stop doing that, China. But otherwise, fine, don’t do any more business with these defense firms. Don’t be buying any more things from these firms for your military (if you were).
Also ban all commerce within your country with the following American businesses currently operating in China: KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, AT&T, GE, Apple, Intel, Dell Computer, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, IBM, and all other US firms currently operating in China.
In 2022, C4ISRNet reported:
The depth of the tech companies’ dependence on China is quite striking. Amazon, for example, has maintained a close relationship with the Chinese government, including a partnership with the country’s propaganda arm and adjusting its operations to align with China’s strategic priorities. Other companies including Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft have 10% of their collective AI research labs housed in China, and such investments are increasing.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced the development of four data centers in the country, raising the company’s total number of facilities in China to nine. The Microsoft Research Asia center in China has been termed the “cradle of Chinese AI,” and “played an instrumental role in the growth and development of both Dahua and Megvii.” Both companies have been tied to the surveillance and oppression of ethnic and religious minorities in China
And, less than a month ago, Microsoft celebrated both its 30th birthday and expansion into China. At the same time this celebration was happening, it was announced that Chinese state-sponsored hackers attacked Microsoft Exchange, putting nearly 30,000 U.S. businesses and governments at risk.
Let the restaurant chains finish out the day, China, but end the presence of Amazon, Microsoft, and other tech firms in Chinese markets immediately. Treat their enhancements of your evil propaganda and surveillance as anathema. Rip those enhancements out of your technology and throw them into the fire.
