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Comment by bellyfullofbac | Hacker News Reader

A stupid throwaway said (I paraphrase) "why should it matter, I will never visit China", but imagine the near future where China is as powerful as the US (maybe during the 2nd Trump administration, I wish I can say I'm being sarcastic). Currently if you end up in the US sanctions list, no bank will ever talk to you, imagine if China starts having the same effect.

Already corporations are bending to China's demands (Apple, NBA, Gap, and more: https://signal.supchina.com/all-the-international-brands-tha... ).

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It is an absolutely serious matter. Chilling effect that this will have is massive. .

As an example, India recently did not let two US and Spanish nationals [1,2] enter India because they were supporting farmers' protest happening in India, cancelled their OCI status (residence permit) supposed to be for life and put other supporters on a visa blacklist. Western Punjabi journalists immediately said that they will have to self-censor themselves or the link to their parents and religious places will be cut off.

Criminalization adds a very nefarious aspect to this, and at this point it might have no teeth but it will only need one guy to be made example of.

[1]- https://thewire.in/rights/outrage-as-prominent-nri-denied-en... [2] - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amritsar/reminder-o...

Even just employment.

If your employer's ease of access to China is at risk versus your employment.... I doubt many companies side with individual.

Yeah.. so, "chilling effects".

Soon you'll be censoring yourself: "Don't blab about that shit on Twitter, if the customer complains to the CEO and we lose the deal..."

One could argue they've already achieved this power, after all they've spent hundreds of billions per year for decades influencing politicians, institutions, and corporations abroad. E.g. a well researched book on the topic,

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/11/hidden-hand-re...

And Hollywood too, the soft power that the US had for many many decades now like Chinese money too much: https://www.cnet.com/features/marvel-is-censoring-films-for-...

Well, countries are already using Interpol as a weapon to make dissidents' lives miserable across the world. The next logical step is to start demanding extraditions.

Excellent now the power of global leverage won't be monopolized by US anymore. I welcome this multilateralism especially in light of US sanction addictions.

Careful what you wish for.

Why not? Like I said we already live under sanction addict US. Adding a country or two with sanction powers won't be bad.

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