In recent weeks, that is the week of November 22nd – 27th, the global anti-communist propaganda machine churned into action. In this week, the Guardian ran an article titled if they take Hong Kong back, I fear Taiwan will be next. We were also treated to news that a group of independent Cuban artists were harassed and that after a protest, rare liberties were won from the oppressive state.
The mental gymnastics which are needed to first pen these stories (not facts but stories) and then to believe them are staggering, especially since the facts are out there for those who wish to see them. Let us deal with the atrocious guardian article whose headline alone makes one’s head want to explode because of its insanity.
If we break it down, the article which gives the account of a Hong Kong dissident, says that the fear is if China re-takes Hong Kong then the fear is that a forceful re-taking of Taiwan is next. In case we have forgotten, Hong Kong like Macau is apart of China, the are in fact called Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR (special administrative regions), they even are home to regiments of the PLA, so the fear expressed here is what exactly? That china will reassert authority over a province which over the past year has seen violent separatist movements? How did the Union react to the Confederacy? Or for modern readers, how did Spain react to ETA?
As it relates to Taiwan, while it is a bit more nuanced it is still none the less insane the proposition put forward by the subject. Taiwan, or to give it its proper name the Republic of China (ROC) considers itself the true head of China, that is the government in Taiwan maintains to this day the 1949 doctrine that they are the legitimate government of all of mainland china and her islands (an interesting fact about this being that the current disputed maritime border was decided upon and agreed when the KMT still ruled the mainland post WW2). The PRC considers Taiwan a renegade province and has since 1949 sought its reintegration with broader china. So again, the argument is that they fear china will re-take it stuff, a silly argument. I ask again, how did the Union respond to the Confederacy? For my Jamaican readers, how did our government respond to Tivoli a renegade town? How is Ethiopia responding to Tigray? And the list literally could go on…
Next, we go to Cuba. Here we see when the facts are broken down an American inspired plot by using young artists who have no ideology and simply lust for material objects (all while I acknowledge the importance of satisfying the want of material comfort). The issues began when Cuban American artists in an independent (read illegal as it is not state sanctioned) collective visited a house in which a member of their collective was on hunger strike. In doing so the Cuban Americans broke Covid-19 violations and were visited by the police. When the police came to serve a summons (note not arrest) he was greeted with expletives, a proclamation that Trump was their president, the Fidel was garbage and that the revolution would and should be abolished. I do not need to ask how the JCF or say any American police force would respond to verbal abuse, we have seen the videos. I do not need to ask what would happen if our dear leader were insulted, or the American darling Yoweri Museveni in Uganda, again we have seen the videos. So I ask, what is all the fuss about when a person who breaks quarantine rules and whose group insults the police and government calling for its overthrow (we can assume violently since that is what America has sought for some 60 years) are peacefully and without violence arrested?
All of those barring the insult to Fidel are crimes, they were arrested, and while being arrested crowds cheered the police and sang Fidel’s name. upon being interviewed the members of the collective admitted that they were funded by Cuban dissident groups seeking to overthrow the revolution, obtaining the money via a well-known international money transfer company. Protests were indeed held, the government committed to easing restrictions on independent artists, but what is lost is that even amidst the protests they were still chanting revolutionary slogans, greeted government officials warmly and condemned the rouges who sought to use their cause for mischief.
No country is perfect, all have their flaws, some more than others. We all know this, this is common sense, yet people feel the need to lie, to make things up out of whole cloth or exaggerate the truth to such an extent that it no longer is what it claimed to be. It is like the insults hurled against Iran for example, they are vehemently anti-homosexual yes, but then so is Jamaica and some other 60 odd countries with anti-gay laws. That imperfection is bad enough, their crimes against the Bahais are bad enough, why lie and say they are anti-woman when they have female MP’s and ministers, have female teachers, lecturers and scientists? Why the need to exaggerate their religious dogma and say they hate all other religions? Do we not see the Zoroastrian MP’s the Jewish MP’s (and largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel though you would be hard pressed to find that fact) or even the Sunni and Christian MP’s? even the issue with homosexuality is more nuanced than at first glance, when deeper research is done you see Iran has the most gender reassignment surgeries worldwide because that’s what they do to gay men and women (still bad, but a different conversation than one which begins with they hate gays full stop).
So again, why the need to lie, why the need to exaggerate claims? Why do we not mention Colombia where union workers and community organisers are hunted and executed by government death squads and how members of the FARC, now a registered political party after signing peace accords with the government, were systematically murdered or arrested on frivolous charges by the government, breaking all articles in the accord in the process, to the point where the insurgency was restarted? Why do we not mention the workings of the Japanese society which despite its modern exterior has maintained its WW2 setup, up to and including the rehabilitation of war criminals, or their treatment of Koreans, or their treatment of workers both at home and abroad? Why nary a word about the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or the UAE which are less democratic and nowhere near as liberal in their social outlook as the Islamic Republic or Iran? The answer in the end is obvious even if it is hard for some to admit openly. The nations who these lies are directed against, however imperfect, have committed the sin of standing up against American imperialism and financial bullying, it is why for example, Evo Morales and his MAS party after winning a legitimate election can be called a thief and fraudsters is hounded out of office by the army while the Haitian president remains in office despite the numerous atrocities committed against his people and even with a year of near non-stop protest. We should not fall victim to the lies which are spread by outlets and institutions which have been found either wanting for evidence or lying in their entirety. They must not be given anymore time than is necessary to debunk them. You get flack when you are over the target is the old saying, people resort to lies when the truth will not get them what they want, we are seeing those adages play out again and we must ensure that we are not shot down, used as the fools who man the guns or the person who runs with the lies of others because the truth is too uncomfortable for them.
We must do independent research and engage in meaningful debate about these issues with the parties concerned (something easily done with modern technology) if we are to find the truth and not be pawns of propaganda, let us open our eyes and make the correct choices, be angry for the correct reasons or else we will repeat the mistakes of the past with worse consequences to come this time.
jamaicachange 