Recent events in China, such as Beijing’s treatment of a tennis star and its COVID-19 cover-up, show that the country resembles the dystopian society of “1984.”
The book “1984“ has reached the stage in popular culture where it’s quoted a great deal. The author, George Orwell, depicts a scary future where an authoritarian government erases history, denies basic freedoms, and changes the acceptable truth based on political expediency. This is happening in mainland China and depicted through three events: the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) treatment of female tennis star Peng Shuai; its mishandling of COVID when it first broke out in Wuhan and the current underreporting of cases and deaths; and its bizarre claims in the South China Sea.
Peng did what many in the West take for granted. She revealed on social media that a former high-ranking CCP official allegedly sexually assaulted her. Her post was deleted within minutes after being shared on Nov. 2, and her social media account with millions of followers was deactivated shortly thereafter. The Chinese regime on Nov. 17 issued an email supposedly from Peng. Then, on the following day at a press briefing, the foreign minister spokesman dismissed questions about Peng’s whereabouts. Soon after, she was seen in a video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee—but that didn’t satisfy the world that she was okay and not under duress. Finally, after a few weeks, Peng talked to the media. But she immediately denied having been sexually assaulted, saying that her now-deleted post was misunderstood and she wanted her privacy respected.
That only deepened the confusion because her post clearly used the Chinese word for “force” and the accusation was publicly posted. Despite Beijing’s best efforts of covering up the situation, it can’t make it go away with political buzzwords. Peng’s media interview reeks of a forced public appearance. Beijing might force Peng to say that 2 plus 2 equals 5, but the rest of the world remains concerned about the obvious government control, her whereabouts, and the pressure she’s facing.
The entire world is seeing the effect of the Omicron wave. And yet, even though the upsurge of infections is shattering records (but bringing small and short bumps to hospitalizations and deaths), Chinese authorities claims that China only has a handful of infections. Vigorous enforcement of mitigation measures, or essentially locking people in their homes, can supposedly lower the case count. But many Western policymakers have avoided the concentration camp-like facilities. And countries, such as Australia, that have locked their people up are still facing a record-breaking surge in infections. In other words, turning a country into a bio health security state doesn’t eliminate the coronavirus.
A woman uses a loudspeaker to give advice to residents as they line up during a mass testing in Tianjin, China, on Jan. 9, 2022. Sun Fanyue/Xinhua via AP
This means that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is cooking the books. As a military analyst, this doesn’t surprise me, as Beijing has manipulated its military spending to look benign for decades. But considering there’s a strong chance the Chinese communists (Chicoms) created the virus in a lab and let it leak—and then there’s evidence they lied to the world about the virus not being airborne—it’s the height of mendacity to claim that only their government is good enough to eradicate it.
In reality, the Chicoms lie, cheat, and then claim credit for a victory they never achieved and try to shame the West for it. This is something a 5-year-old child might do, but it’s with the strong arm of their censorious and lying government that makes it a “1984” level authoritarian lie.
The final point is one that’s more familiar to Westerners, but should be mentioned in the same list as current egregious behaviors. The Chinese claims on the South China Sea and even Taiwan are wholly made up. Taiwan was an afterthought for much of Chinese history. The island was settled late and never an important center of culture. The Qing Dynasty partially settled it and did not make it a province until 1885! The Chinese lost control of it shortly thereafter, and the Japanese ruled the island until 1945!
China has never been a naval power, though river borne warfare was important and resulted in large navies, and the Ming Dynasty sent famous and impressive treasure fleets for a short time. The mainland Chinese government never controlled the territories in the South China Sea, but claimed them in the nine-dash line between 1946 and 1948. This is an artificial and modern invention that rejects long-standing laws regarding international boundaries and exclusive economic zones. It’s forced upon the world because the CCP insists upon it, and it continues to build artificial islands to buttress its claims and support potential military operations. The West must retain the courage to call out this behavior as the artificial and illegal attempts by an authoritarian government to seize territory that it has never historically possessed.
The communist regime in China blatantly lies and suppresses the truth—a real life example of the “1984” regime. Once we understand that facet, the world’s people, policy experts, and government leaders must continue to point out the CCP’s lies and hold China to high standards of human rights.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Morgan Deane
Author
Morgan Deane is a former U.S. Marine, a military historian, and a freelance author. He studied military history at Kings College London and Norwich University. Morgan works as a professor of military history at the American Public University. He is a prolific author whose writings include "Decisive Battles in Chinese History," "Dragon’s Claws with Feet of Clay: A Primer on Modern Chinese Strategy," and the forthcoming, "Beyond Sunzi: Classical Chinese Debates on War and Government." His military analysis has been published in Real Clear Defense and Strategy Bridge, among other publications.
