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Comment by znfi | Hacker News Reader

One thing I find rather odd is how noone raises an eyebrow that apparently the US happily admitts to having some enormous spy network in China.

It is especially puzzeling if one compares it with the reaction to foreign countries supposedly making posts or buying ads on Facebook or Youtube with the intent of influencing elections in the US.

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Would you be surprised if China had an intelligence network in the US? I don't think any major country would be surprised - the "great game" is as active as ever...

I guess the argument is not just about US "happily admitts to having some enormous spy network in China", but about accuse other countries spy on US as if its a crime while US is very happy to do the same thing to other countries.

As analogy, you can accuse others stealing when yourself can stand on a moral ground of not stealing.

Or you can steal but then don't accuse others. That's fine because you don't see stealing is a crime based on your value. "great game" is as active as ever, every body is doing this.

But if you accuse others stealing while happily admit you steal all the time and in very large scale, then there will be surprise, not for every body but for some body.

"you" means anybody, could be "me", "s/he". No offense

Espionage is a crime in most (all?) countries though?

Part of the "game" is pretending that you're not involved in espionage despite all players knowing that it occurs. Morals don't really come into it, since there is no reward for having the most "fair" intelligence agencies.

Really? Spying on other countries is a bit of an open secret. Hell, the US often spies on allies and vice versa.

My understanding is that as long as protocol is followed, it's just a fact of life. If a country oversteps it's bounds then then the spy (often using embassy employment as a cover) is expelled.

>One thing I find rather odd is how noone raises an eyebrow that apparently the US happily admitts to having some enormous spy network in China.

What do you think the CIA does? Are you really so naive as to not believe that US spy agencies don't, well, SPY? We have both declared and undeclared agents, as every major country does.

>It is especially puzzeling if one compares it with the reaction to foreign countries supposedly making posts or buying ads on Facebook or Youtube with the intent of influencing elections in the US.

It's not "puzzeling" at all. Big difference between spying and actively trying to influence an election.

Yeah, big difference. But both are illegal. Both are things that pseudo-naive people and commentators bloviate about Russia or China doing. Both are actively pursued all the time by US administrations... for decades¹. And that's the nice side of US policy, the one that doesn't end up with hundreds of thousands of bombs dropped on your country by super-patriots.

1. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-us-intervention-foreign-...

There is a big difference between gathering information and active sabotage. Even allies tend to spy on each other somewhat.

If you imply China is doing sabotage, then I would suggest you check your information source. My bet would be western MSM . The reality is sabotaging US is against China's own interest as the view by Chinese elite while most western MSM speculate otherwise.

On the other hand, CIA has a reputation of sabotage in history. Not against China in last couple of decades though.

Are you saying you believe the US spy network (in China, or in general) is only for gathering information?

what on earth is puzzling about it? who wouldn't be outraged? do you think people ought to just roll over and say 'well i guess we deserve it'?

the public reaction (among those who actually believe in russian interference) is one of outrage, not shock that such a thing happens.

we go to war and kill people abroad, many civilians, and nobody galaxy-brains when america executes a murderer. this may come as a surprise, but in-group and out-group ethical dynamics differ substantially in nearly all circumstances.

Generally, one country spies on another, and that one tries to stop them.

What is puzzling about that?

How was it reported in China?

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