Hundreds of political leaders and experts recently produced the first comprehensive global strategy for democracies around the world to confront the growing aggressions of the Chinese Communist Party.
“The 2020 paradigm shift in people’s attitudes toward China was a concrete change from the old conventional wisdom that an economically vibrant China would progress toward more freedom for its people, to the new conventional wisdom that the Chinese Communist Party is, in fact, the virus that endangers the world,” wrote Peter Van Praagh, the president of HFX.
Van Praagh said the real challenge is no longer about finding ways to work with a China governed by autocrats, but for the world’s democratic governments to cooperate effectively with each other to face the China threat.
Exclusive polling conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs for HFX, in which citizens from 28 countries rated China’s expected impact on world affairs in the next decade, showed a stark deterioration in China’s global reputation. As of September, 42 percent of the participants rated China positively, an 11 percent drop from the same month in 2019, and a 16 percent fall from 2017.
“All leading human rights organizations testify that oppression is intensifying in China, but it is clear that the CCP’s ambitions do not stop at China’s borders,” the HFX handbook reads.
The CCP’s global ambitions, powered by its rapidly expanding economy, aim to make the world a safe haven for authoritarianism.
And the CCP possesses a large inventory of tools to help it achieve its goals.
Domestically, China uses internet censorship, propaganda, and surveillance to control the general public and eradicate Party dissidents. It runs reeducation camps to monitor minority groups such as the Uyghur Muslims.
Internationally, China’s multitrillion-dollar global infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative are used to gain a foothold in foreign territories. Major companies such as Huawei were employed to boost its technological shortcomings and sponsor cyber-espionage and influence operations.
- Ignoring China’s attempts to interfere in democratic societies;
- Submitting to, collaborating with, or participating in any censorship or self-censorship of ideas, writings, artistic endeavors, or statements related to the People’s Republic of China;
- Participating in any business or technology-related practices or exchanges that aid and abet the CCP’s oppression of its own people;
- Neglecting to oppose attempts by the People’s Republic of China to bring global governance of the internet and technological standards into alignment with its own authoritarian values and ambitions;
- Supporting or engaging in any kind of punishment or sanction of anyone for engaging in criticism of China;
- Failing to support democratically minded people and governments across the world who face pressure or intimidation by the People’s Republic of China;
- Knowingly buying or trading in Chinese products or services made with forced labor, or that are the result of criminal activities such as counterfeiting or intellectual property theft.
