Recently, we mentioned in this space that we want to do a better job of highlighting the good things being done in the world. And we want to do that. Really. Unfortunately, you sometimes come across something so out of the left field, so demonstrably bad that you have no choice but to throw the flag.
What is it that is so egregious? Chinese state media recently put out some information on how great they did with their COVID response. How the data shows how much better they did than their Western counterparts. There are a few significant points to make here. Let’s begin with the fact that the government is a communist dictatorship that does not allow dissent and tightly controls the flow of information. The Chinese government doesn’t allow Twitter past the Great Firewall and only allows Google and Facebook because those companies willingly comply with the government’s oppressive censorship requirements. They’ve also been caught pulling a few shenanigans regarding their COVID response as well, such as where it came from, how long it had been active, whether or not human to human transmission was possible, the list goes on. In short, getting trustworthy information out of China is difficult at best.
What is just as concerning is the tendency of some outside of China to take their word for it and even admire their actions. Even if the claims China makes about its economy are true, they do it by grossly exploiting and abusing their own populations. The same is true of their much lauded COVID response. Even if they really did knock the case and fatality numbers down so swiftly, they did so by doing things like literally welding people inside their homes to prevent them from leaving. No, that isn’t made up. Or if they didn’t weld your door shut, they might come and physically drag you to a hospital. People unable to access healthcare jumped from balconies, a child with special needs died because his father was forcefully taken into quarantine. The human rights abuses that were going on boggle the mind. And the worst part is even outside of China, even in an article somewhat critical of China’s human rights record, the first words reference China’s economy. Again, even if it’s as great as they say, why should that be the first thing someone talks about? It seems misguided to say the least.
It’s especially misguided in light of China just sweeping away such concerns, saying they were necessary “for the greater good” because after all, the case and fatality numbers reported went down. At least that’s what the Chinese government reported. Regardless, anytime people start glorifying the suffering of others in the name of some greater good, people should get nervous. This is particularly true given that the people talking about the greater good are never the ones doing the suffering. In fact, one way to be sure that you are dealing with the actual human rights abuses is that the policies put forth are done so with no concern as to how others will suffer while the people enacting them are not even remotely touched by their own policies.
Of course, this is hardly an issue unique to China. Too many people in governments around the world and in major corporations take similar approaches, deciding what information you get to see, what sort of things you should sacrifice for the common good as they define it, while sacrificing nothing themselves. It may not be to the same extent as locking people in their homes, but all too often the difference is not one of kind but of degree.
Rather than censoring data, it needs to be shared, far and wide. TARTLE currently is not banned in China so we provide an avenue for people there to be able to share data and connect with the wider world in that way. Perhaps, as more people become more aware of good, truthful data, things can begin to change there, because for once, it will be the government that doesn’t have a choice.
What’s your data worth?
The Chinese government doesn’t allow Twitter past the Great Firewall and only allows Google and Facebook because those companies willingly comply with the government’s oppressive censorship requirements.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to TARTLE Cast with your hosts, Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby. Where humanity steps into the future and source data defines the path.
Alexander McCaig (00:24):
Welcome to TARTLE Cast [foreign language 00:00:26].
Jason Rigby (00:28):
Yes, Alex.
Alexander McCaig (00:29):
Do you speak any Mandarin?
Jason Rigby (00:30):
No.
Alexander McCaig (00:30):
Okay, no problem. So China greater China. The greater good. What is truly utilitarian, right? What is...
Jason Rigby (00:43):
Well, I think it's even crazier Alex because-
Alexander McCaig (00:45):
History is written by the winners, not the losers.
Jason Rigby (00:47):
Yeah, exactly. And we always have to be careful that mentality. Here's the article, "China's COVID success story is also a human rights tragedy."
Alexander McCaig (00:56):
Okay, and let's talk about how data is the underlying thing defining this whole article. It said, in the first paragraph, that China will be the only economy-
Jason Rigby (01:09):
Major economy in the world.
Alexander McCaig (01:09):
...major economy in the world posed for growth. Before anything happens here, people dying, COVID going out there, whatever all the human rights tragedies that are currently happening in China, the number one focus is that their data is showing them that, "We have economic growth. Screw any human rights. I don't care about anything else. We're going to have growth." That is the number one thing you're looking about? Your focus is more important on economic gain than the health, safety and rights of the people within your state. First of all, it's a communist state. Okay. I've never lived in China. I've never been there. I don't understand the mindset. But when I hear that your focus is on economic data before the data of the human right and someone's health, that's an issue. That's a travesty, in my mind. So let's just kind of dive in here to what this aspect between COVID in the economy and what was really going on in certain provinces, within China, and how they're defining something as a victory through their data. And what is not a victory.
Jason Rigby (02:21):
Yeah. China's state media said this, which China state media-
Alexander McCaig (02:24):
State media, yeah.
Jason Rigby (02:26):
So its propaganda, "History has not ended. What has ended is the myth of America." And they said this, "The world is undergoing profound changes, unseen in a century, but time and the situation are in our favor." So, already they're creating this division. They're saying, "We're greater. We, yes we, imposed on your human rights. But the end, the outcome-"
Alexander McCaig (02:52):
"Look at the game."
Jason Rigby (02:52):
"...is going to be great." And there's this slippery slope or this dichotomy that always happens when we look at it. Like social media right now. These social media companies. "Well, we're doing this for the greater good of you." Who are you-
Alexander McCaig (03:07):
To decide what's the greater good for me.
Jason Rigby (03:09):
...to decide that... Yes, exactly.
Alexander McCaig (03:12):
You've never even asked. "The greater good of the economy." You think I care about that when I'm talking about the longevity of my life? The public health of people in China. You think I'm really worried about the economy growing, in a time like this, when you're freaking cementing my door shut?
Jason Rigby (03:27):
Yes. "Chinese authority [reportedly 00:00:03:31] imposed draconian measures." This is what the article says, draconian measures. "To restrict movement in Wuhan and into the cities in Hubei province, officials were seeing sealing apartment doors to prevent people from leaving their homes." So officials were seeing sealing apartment doors-
Alexander McCaig (03:47):
Yeah, I'm good. I'm just bringing up a thing of China in Wikipedia
Jason Rigby (03:50):
... to prevent people from leaving their homes. "Videos circulating online showing residents yelling from their homes in despair." So, and they were cracking down. They had... They cracked down and had stringent censorship. "A man with kidney disease jumped to his death from his apartment balcony after he couldn't get access to healthcare facilities for dialysis. A boy with cerebral palsy died at home, alone, after his dad. Who was his sole caretaker, was taken away to be quarantined." It was brutal, but guess what happened? The numbers went down. It was brutal, but guess what happened?
Alexander McCaig (04:18):
Yeah, by taking away people's choice.
Jason Rigby (04:21):
And this is what began to come out in the state media there, "The sacrifices were necessary. Thanks to censorship. Thanks to not allowing victims to speak out."
Alexander McCaig (04:34):
I don't want... Without saying this word, this is the same thing that happened in the late 30, early 40s. I don't have to say the word because I don't want it to get picked up on the freaking YouTube streams.
Jason Rigby (04:44):
But the propaganda that they put out there, they glorified suffering. So they said, "Hey, you guys are suffering. We love that you're suffering for the greater good."
Alexander McCaig (04:57):
Yeah. You're glorifying data because you think it's something of glory. Again, where's the respect of actually polling the people within that state? Getting the appropriate data from the people that are locked inside their damn homes. Right? Where is the balance? The human rights. Where's the transparency of the government and how you've come to those numbers and how do you come to that perspective?
Jason Rigby (05:18):
But this just isn't in China and we're not picking on China. We see this in a lot of different countries, we see this in corporations. It's like, "You need to sacrifice Alex for this greater good. And I have decided what the greater good is. But all I'm asking from you right now is to give up your rights"
Alexander McCaig (05:37):
So then let me ask you something... I'm going to point at you too. Am I sacrificing for a cause or am I sacrificing myself for you?
Jason Rigby (05:44):
Well, it's always for-
Alexander McCaig (05:45):
No, am I sacrificing-
Jason Rigby (05:46):
... economic gain.
Alexander McCaig (05:47):
No, I know. Am I doing it for you or seriously am I doing it for a cause? Because if you are defining it, if one is defining for the many, then I'm only sacrificing for you, not the cause. But if the many decide that this is everything that we're going to sacrifice for, now you're sacrificing properly for the cause.
Jason Rigby (06:06):
Yeah, and this is interesting to me. Listen to this, "Beijing has imprisoned many human rights activists, lawyers, journalists, and religious personnel for advocating for ideas unsanctioned by the communist party. A stringent internet censorship has protected them from false information and from the country, from the turmoil, the U.S is experiencing now." That's what they said. They said, "We have to have stringent censorship to protect us from..." They don't want their people to receive false information.
Alexander McCaig (06:30):
They don't want to give them good data. No, not false information. Don't give me that crap. You just don't want to give them data. People should have the right to choose for themselves. Once they receive information, knowledge and data, they choose what they want to do with it.
Jason Rigby (06:42):
This is why censorship is such a slippery slope.
Alexander McCaig (06:45):
It is a slippery slope.
Jason Rigby (06:46):
Yeah, you take Donald Trump off Twitter. I get that. But what have you done? I mean, no, I don't think anyone likes the guy, republican or democrat or whatever you are. Independent-
Alexander McCaig (06:58):
But do you like saying that you don't like the guy?
Jason Rigby (07:00):
Yes. Exactly.
Alexander McCaig (07:01):
But I remove your right to say you don't like him.
Jason Rigby (07:04):
It's a slippery slope and you have to be very careful when you have the internet and you start censoring. They were talking about the younger generation of China knows nothing of Twitter or Google.
Alexander McCaig (07:14):
Why?
Jason Rigby (07:15):
They know nothing of those websites.
Alexander McCaig (07:16):
They need that.
Jason Rigby (07:17):
They don't know even what they are.
Alexander McCaig (07:18):
They need it. They need, listen, access to data. What about... Think about all the good things like educational access you can get just from those two things. Come on, there's so much data that is being missed. Right? And so when they're saying here's 50% of the model. Here's 50% of how the world operates. Well, how is anyone in China supposed to do anything if they only have 50% of the data.
Jason Rigby (07:39):
So they literally, they were talking about this in this article, that they doubled down in censoring the internet during COVID time. And they scrubbed any social media posts that criticized the government from the internet. So they had like a squeaky clean-
Alexander McCaig (07:51):
Why are you so afraid of being criticized? Why are you so afraid of transparency? Doesn't that up your game?
Jason Rigby (07:57):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Alexander McCaig (07:58):
But the thing is, when you are criticized by it, you have to use force. Because when the people start to decide and you're like, "Crap, this is really making us look bad." What do you got to do? Now you got to force people into working with your model that they don't agree with.
Jason Rigby (08:10):
But what if a majority complained? A great government would say, "We hear you. We serve you," this majority, "so we need to look into this. Let's talk about this. Let's engage."
Alexander McCaig (08:23):
China, TARTLE is not banned there. So if everybody wants to come together on a data packet, okay. We've got our U.S servers over here. Hopefully they don't have any jurisdiction or someone tries to haunt us with it. But if there's something that needs to be learned, if there needs to be a collective of data that comes together, pulling all these people from all these disparate provinces together to really bring out some truthful information that hasn't been censored ,and they can share that info with the rest of the world. They can share that data about themselves. This is important. It's important about your public health. It's about your government transparency. It's about your rights as a human being. That option is there for you to share it. So we're here to talk about... We hear you. We see what's going on is not good. I mean, I don't agree with it. And I'll openly say that outright. I don't agree with that type of force.
Jason Rigby (09:13):
But we don't agree with an American or UK-based social media company that is imposing on people's human rights.
Alexander McCaig (09:19):
Yeah. Any sort of human rights imposition or an imposition on freewill or blocking data that effectuates real good decisions from being made, that's an issue. We're agnostic to the political spectrum of it. We're on the side of human life. And we do that with looking at data and say, "How do we elevate human life?" And that is not an elevative approach when you start censoring data. And so people of China, the Republic of China, whatever you want to call it, the state, if you want to share information, if you want to be economically incentivized outside of your own country and have people listen to what's going on, start sharing your data on TARTLE. We're here. We're open for it. We're not censoring anything that's coming through from you guys because you sit in that specific area. All voices are voice to be heard.
Jason Rigby (10:04):
Every person matters.
Alexander McCaig (10:05):
Every single person matters.
Jason Rigby (10:07):
Regardless if you're in China, Australia, Brazil, doesn't matter.
Alexander McCaig (10:10):
Or if your door's been cemented shut and you're stuck in there and the government won't let you out, go on TARTLE. All right?
Jason Rigby (10:15):
We would love to have you.
Alexander McCaig (10:16):
We're here.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
Thank you for listening to TARTLE Cast with your hosts, Alexander McCaig and Jason Rigby, where humanity steps into the future and source data defines the path. What's your data worth?
