Forget Sovereignty, Remember Gaia!

Once upon a time Britain would have sent a gunboat up the Yangtze River. That would teach those Chinese a lesson. To hear some MPs talk about Beijing’s espionage activities, you would think gunboats were already on their way.

Except we don't have any that work anymore. And even if we did, we'd not have anyonr with the balls to use them.  

Rishi Sunak was quick to the fray. “We’ve been very clear that the situation now is that China is behaving in an increasingly assertive way abroad, authoritarian at home, and it represents an epoch-defining challenge, and also the greatest state-based threat to our economic security,” he said. “So, it’s right that we take measures to protect ourselves, which is what we are doing.” That was clear. It was also ridiculous.

Oh? Is the threat not real? What other reason could you have for being so sanguine about a foreign power's attempt to subvert our country's sovreignty? 

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, who is said to have been targeted alongside other parliamentarians in the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, was also blunt. China is not just a challenge to us, he said. It must be framed as a threat. “As they grow in power and potency, we are shrinking before them,” he said.

Seems real to me! So why would a red-blooded Englishman not feel the need to imitate the action of the tiger, stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood...?  

Today the world’s relations with China are in one area crucial. That country is responsible for more than a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, and rising. Britain is now actively participating in China’s proposed “greening” of its BRI programme, which is largely about infrastructure. Given that a third of all greenhouse gas emissions are from construction – a fact still ignored by British planning policy – this collaboration with China is central to fighting the climate crisis.

Oh. Of course. The modern beta male's response when faced with a threat. A drawn-out whine of 'But..but global warming!'. 

... a sense of proportion remains the hardest but most necessary quality to maintain in international relations. We are told daily that global heating is the greatest threat now facing the world. Unless that applies only before lunch, then it should surely lie at the centre of all relations with China.

We'd have trouble facing up to China if it came to a shooting war, Simon. What chance do you think we'd stand against that huge ball of hydrogen in the firmament?  

We Thought Lockdowns Would Be 'A Tough Sell' Once...

...the news that China is taking on the job of limiting gaming time caught the attention of so many parents I know. According to state news outlets, online gaming companies will be required to limit under-18s to just three hours of playtime a week, between the hours of eight and nine in the evening on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The regulation has teeth: companies will be required to ensure they put in place real-name verification systems or go further and take their cue from companies such as Tencent, which recently implemented a facial recognition system that asks users to play on camera to prove they’re over 18.

Well, *shrugs*, that's China for you! 

I know some western parents found themselves looking at the new rules wistfully. Imposing limits on surly children is hard and being able to – truthfully – tell a kid to stop playing video games on a weekday night because it’s against the law can sometimes feel like it would be a parenting superpower versus simply cajoling, pleading or threatening.

Sure, because as Longrider pointed out in comments on one of my posts, there are always rabid authoritarians out there who will seize any opportunity. 

And parents who think telling their children something's against the law will stop them doing it, against all evidence to the contrary... 

I’m a huge gaming fan, but even I get uncomfortable when I look at the business models – and revenue – of some of the industry’s largest players.

Why? Do football fans say 'Oh, I hope my team doesn't make too much money from ticket sales, or win too many matches'..? 

The video game world’s understanding of regulation was shaped by bruising conflicts in the 90s and 00s over whether violent games begat violent children. As clear a moral panic as one would ever see, the experience has taught too many in the industry that all concerns over its effects on children are overblown and all approaches to regulation are to be fought tooth and nail.

Maybe they are, though? 

Western nations won’t follow China’s lead too closely and as much as some western parents might wish they could, such a tight restriction would be a tough sell in a youth culture where games have a much stronger hold on the attention than anything so pedestrian as broadcast TV or music radio.

It would have been, yes. But nearly two years of the majority accepting that the governmennt has the right to order us all to stay behind our front doors may well have changed that...