Think About ItHow China Bullies Its Rivals and What That Should Teach Us About Recognizing the Same Behavior Here

When the power was cut to the Stone Creek Republican Club Christmas party in 2025, think about it. When power was cut to the George W. Bush presidential campaign during its visit to the Villages in 2004 by a disgruntled Democratic Party operative working for Sumter Electric, think about it. When Covid lockdowns took place, and you were told to trust the science without being allowed to question it, think about it. When political leaders at the national or local level behave like children and tell you to shut up and go away, think about it. When school textbooks reflect revisionist history designed to support DEI principles and present fiction as fact, think about it. When form over substance continues to rule the roost, think about it. When people who claim to be Republicans play games of continual posturing that would be better suited to the Democratic Party, where that kind of nonsense is tolerated, think about it. And when major defense contractors reap ridiculous profits and pay outrageous salaries to chief executive officers who are nothing more than employees gaming the system at the cost of the American taxpayer and our national defense, think about it. The tactics are not that different. The playbook looks familiar. Connect the dots.

Understanding China’s Pressure Campaign and Why It Matters to Your Family’s Future

Let me tell you something that needs saying plainly, because the evening news is not going to spell it out for you. We are in a Cold War with China. Not the kind where everybody acknowledges it and acts accordingly, but the kind where one side pretends it is not happening while the other side presses every advantage. And if you think this is somebody else’s problem because you are seventy-two years old and planning your next cruise, I need you to think again. Think about your grandchildren. Think about the world they are going to inherit if we keep sleepwalking through this.

What happened recently between China and Japan is not an isolated diplomatic spat. It is a textbook demonstration of how Beijing operates when any nation dares to speak truthfully about Chinese aggression. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a simple observation in November. She said Japan could get drawn into conflict if China tried to seize Taiwan by force. That is not an inflammatory statement. That is a geographical and military reality. Japan sits right there. But Beijing treats honesty the way a bully treats a smaller kid who finally speaks up. They came after her with everything they had.

And when I say everything, I mean information warfare, economic coercion, legal manipulation, cultural punishment, and military intimidation. These are not new tactics. They have been refined over the years of squeezing Taiwan. Now they are being deployed against a major U.S. ally. If you think they will not eventually be aimed directly at us, you have not been paying attention.

Let us talk about the information warfare piece first because it reveals something important about how Beijing thinks. They used artificial intelligence to generate fake content attacking Takaichi. Fake text messages. Fake photos showing jewelry she supposedly received as bribes from Taiwan. Character assassination on an industrial scale. They did the same thing to Taiwan’s leaders before the 2024 election. Deep fakes. Fake opinion polls. Anything to undermine public confidence in elected officials who refuse to bow to Beijing.

Now here is where the sarcasm becomes unavoidable. When confronted with evidence of these campaigns, China’s Foreign Ministry said with a straight face that China is a victim of disinformation. That takes a particular kind of audacity. It is like the schoolyard bully punching you in the nose and then telling the teacher he is being picked on. And some folks in Washington seem perfectly happy to believe him.

The economic coercion is equally instructive. China is now the world’s second-largest economy, and it uses trade as a weapon. They banned Norwegian salmon after a Chinese dissident won the Nobel Peace Prize. They banned Lithuanian goods after Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a representative office. And within days of Takaichi’s honest comment, they halted Japanese seafood imports and restricted rare earth exports to Japan. They also warned Chinese tourists not to visit Japan, citing the threat of earthquakes. The earthquake that poses the real threat is the one Beijing creates when any nation tells the truth about its intentions.

Remember when they banned Taiwanese pineapples in 2021? Same playbook. Different target. The message is clear. Cross us, and we will hurt you economically. And the message to everyone else is equally clear. Keep quiet or you are next.

Then there is what Beijing calls lawfare. Using legal claims and treaties as weapons. They cite World War Two declarations to justify their claim to Taiwan. They use a 1971 UN resolution to argue that the international community already recognizes Beijing’s sovereignty over the island. Their diplomats argued at the United Nations that Japan should not qualify for a permanent Security Council seat because of Takaichi’s atrocious behavior. Atrocious behavior is defined as stating an obvious military fact.

When Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate in 1987 and said, " Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall, he was speaking plainly about a regime that imprisoned its own people behind concrete and barbed wire. The Berlin Wall eventually fell. But let me remind you of something. China still has a wall. The original Great Wall was built to keep invaders out. Today, Beijing has built something different. A virtual wall. A digital wall. A military wall. A wall designed to keep freedom out and control in. No free elections. No free press. No free speech. No freedom of choice on anything that matters. The wall still stands. And some people seem perfectly content to pretend it does not exist because confronting it might be uncomfortable.

The cultural leverage is almost petty by comparison, but it tells you something about the mentality. A Japanese singer was performing in Shanghai when the lights and music were suddenly cut off, and she was escorted offstage. Another Japanese performer had her concert canceled with almost no notice. She performed anyway to an empty stadium. This is how a regime acts when it feels challenged. It punishes artists and entertainers to send a message to the broader population. Fall in line or face consequences.

And then there is the military flexing. China ended 2025 with large-scale military exercises around Taiwan. These drills were designed to send multiple messages. To Taipei, the message was submit peacefully or face the consequences. To Tokyo and Washington, the message was, " Stay out of it, or we will cut off any assistance you try to provide. They even posted satellite imagery showing their Coast Guard ships had traced a heart-shaped path around Taiwan. They called it an act of love. That is the kind of love that comes with a fist behind the flowers.

Here is what I need you to understand. This is not going to get better on its own. The people who think we can negotiate our way to a peaceful coexistence with Beijing are the same people who thought we could trade our way to a democratic China. How did that work out? We gave them Most Favored Nation status. We welcomed them into the World Trade Organization. We shipped our manufacturing jobs overseas and bought their products by the container load. And they used every dollar to build a military designed to challenge American power and intimidate our allies.

Some folks in Washington still think if we just avoid provoking Beijing, if we just speak softly and avoid uncomfortable truths, everything will work out fine. That approach has a name. It is called appeasement. And it has never worked. Not in the 1930s. Not during the Cold War. And not now. Peace through strength is not just a slogan. It is the only strategy that has ever kept aggressive regimes in check.

You are fifty-five or older. You have lived through enough history to know how this works. The choices made today determine the world your grandchildren and great-grandchildren will live in. If we continue to pretend that China’s behavior is acceptable, if we continue to accommodate their aggression because confrontation is inconvenient, we are handing them a future that belongs to generations not yet born.

The wall still stands. The question is whether we have the clarity and the courage to say so plainly and act accordingly.