Source: Asia Times
by Gran Newsham
“For years, the idea of speaking forthrightly to China would evoke an admonition from the US State Department and most of the American policymaking class: ‘We can’t do that. They won’t like it.’ They’d often add, ‘China has red lines, don’t you know?’ There are things you are told you just can’t say – questioning China’s political system, Taiwan, democracy, human rights and China’s ‘development rights’ (challenging China’s right to do anything it wants – legal or illegal – to develop its economy and industry). In short, you can’t mention any of the things that make communist China such a threat to peace and prosperity. … When it comes to the Chinese Communists, if you won’t say it in public – as Reagan did with the Soviets – it’s a win for the communists.” (10/19/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/talking-with-china-say-what-youre-told-you-cant-say/