IS BEIJING STALKING ME? March 24, 2023
I can’t identify every individual visitor to my blog, but I’m flattered to have readers from around the world, including Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Poland, Israel, India and the Philippines. Still, one visitor country troubles me.
I’m not paranoid, claiming “they” are out too get me. Of course, paranoia can be an effective political tactic, as demonstrated by a former American president. But with all the media coverage of Chinese spy balloons and TikTok data accumulation, I suspect Beijing might be making me one of many public sources from which it gathers foreign intelligence.
All intelligence services—including America’s—gather information from public sources like newspapers, television, radio, websites and social media. This undertaking has deep roots in the past.
Analysis of seemingly innocuous news, opinions and comments may yield small gems. Put together, they form a picture of a political, economic or military development. The more gems, the more focused the picture.
Why do I wonder solely about China? The United States is on good—or at least neutral (i.e., Poland and India)—terms with all the other countries where I have readers. And I do know some people overseas.
I have cousins in Israel. I’m not a fan of the Netanyahu government but strongly support Israel’s right to exist. I doubt the Mossad (Israel’s CIA) finds me a threat.
I have a friend in England—a talented actor/writer/director of Pakistani descent. A friend’s daughter lives in Canada. She may be reading me of late. Another friend is a university teacher in Poland. We’ve been pen pals for a few years, connected through a mutual friend in San Francisco. I see no foul play coming from Warsaw.
Readers from any of the countries I’ve mentioned—or haven’t, like Brazil—have legitimate interests in what I write. The hottest example: Disney+ just began streaming season three of “The Mandalorian,” a show Carolyn and I really like. Given all the publicity for the launch, people from around the globe have read, “The Mandalorian and the Jews” (2-5-21). Just yesterday and the day before, 184 people from 15 countries (most from the U.S.) read that post.
My most popular post ever, “Street Games of the 50s” (8-22-14), still gets numerous hits each week.
As to China, a couple I know has a daughter in Beijing. Perhaps they passed on my website’s URL or a few posts. But I have more than one visitor from China. And, I’m sure that the security arm of China’s People’s Liberation Army casts a broad eye on the blogosphere. Why me? Doubtless, they want to assess what Americans think about China, particularly its relationship with Russia. I’ve written about Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine. I am not a fan of either.
This past week, China’s Strongman-in-Chief (analyze that, Beijing!) Xi Jinping visited Putin in Moscow. From an American point of view—from much of the world’s POV—this was not a good look. It came only days after Putin’s indictment for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Will Beijing come after me? I don’t think I’m a candidate for poisoning at an airport or being tossed out of an upper-floor window. Those are Moscow tactics.
But I might be on China’s “watch this guy” list. You never know.
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