Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America close the week with three crazy martinis and a champagne toast. They sigh as President Trump tweets that he is ordering U.S. companies to scale back in China in response to the very real practice of China ripping us off. They also evaluate former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne’s claims that he was ordered to conduct political espionage on four presidential candidates in 2015-2016 on orders from the FBI and Justice Department. They react to CNN hiring disgraced former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as an analyst. And Jim offers a toast to the late David Koch for his tireless efforts to expand freedom and opportunity to Americans.
China
Sanctions Crippling Kim, Is Trump Abandoning Hong Kong? PolitiFact’s Pants on Fire
David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America welcome the news that U.S. sanctions are inflicting a devastating economic toll and putting a lot of political pressure on North Korean Dictator Kim Jong-Un. They also cringe at reports that President Trump promised China two months ago that he would not condemn a Chinese crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong. And they hammer PolitiFact for refusing to criticize Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris over their characterization of Michael Brown’s death as murder. PolitiFact says, “Legally, it wasn’t. How much should this word choice matter?”
Hong Kong Protests: ‘This Is Their Last Stand for Autonomy’
Listen to “Hong Kong Protests: ‘This Is Their Last Stand for Autonomy'” on Spreaker.
Tensions in Hong Kong remain very high as huge numbers of residents there continue pro-democracy protests aimed at keeping the communist Chinese regime at arm’s length and forces loyal to the Chinese government take stronger action to put down the protests.
A leading expert on China policy says the showdown is critically important and that President Trump must do much more to support those demanding their freedom.
The demonstrations began in June in fierce opposition to a proposed law in the Hong Kong legislature that would make extradition to mainland China much easier. With more than a million people in the streets, officials shelved the legislation. But protesters want it permanently withdrawn and more power in determining their government among other demands.
“People in Hong Kong, and not just the pro-democracy kids on the streets but also a very large segment of the Hong Kong population, just believe this is their last stand for autonomy,” said Gordon Chang, a China expert and author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”
Peaceful protests have turned more confrontational lately, both in the streets and this week at an airport sit-in. Chang admits some of the demonstrators have gotten more rowdy but he sees something out of place with the Hong Kong police as well.
“I don’t think they’re answering to the Hong Kong commissioner of police. I think that essentially we’re seeing Beijing dictate what’s going on,” said Chang.
Chang says YouTube videos show supposed Hong Kong police officers unable to speak the native Cantonese language or present their police identification. Another shows an officer oddly addressing fellow officers as “comrades” and another showing an officer alternately speaking Cantonese and Mandarin, which is highly unusual he says.
And as China appears to be taking a hard line on the protesters, President Trump appears to be going very soft on China, at least for now.
“The Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation, very tough. We’ll what see what happens. But I’m sure it’ll work out. I hope it works out for everybody, including China, by the way,” said Trump on Tuesday.
“He’s also said things like, ‘This is a matter between Hong Kong and China.’ That is uninspiring and completely inadequate,” said Chang.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Chang discuss how China is likely to act as the protests continue, why he believes this crisis matters a lot to the United States, and what the proper U.S. position should be right now.
Hong Kong Protests, Cuomo & Fredo, A Tribe Called Crazy
Listen to “Hong Kong Protests, Cuomo & Fredo, A Tribe Called Crazy” on Spreaker.
Alexandra DeSanctis of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss the growing discord in Hong Kong, as demonstrators demand their freedom but also fear Chinese intervention. They also discuss CNN host Chris Cuomo’s rant at a heckler for calling him “Fredo.” And Alexandra unloads on Harvard Prof. Laurence Tribe for alleging that white supremacy and the pro-life movement are intertwined.
Lesson from Hong Kong: The Link Between Christianity and Freedom
Listen to “Lesson from Hong Kong: The Link Between Christianity and Freedom” on Spreaker.
In recent weeks, massive protests in Hong Kong drew the world’s attention, but while the media focused on the political issues at hand, little was made over the fierce battle over Christianity between Hong Kong and the communist Chinese regime.
The latest round of unrest was triggered by a proposed law allowing the extradition of people in Hong Kong to mainland China. Millions of people poured into the streets and into the legislature to denounce the bill and the firm belief that China is hand-picking politicians in Hong Kong to do its bidding.
The people of Hong Kong are determined to protect religious freedom (and their other freedoms). The Chinese government makes no secret that it wants to stamp out Christianity in China and in Hong Kong.
When the United Kingdom handed control of Hong Kong to China in 1997, a deal was struck to allow Hong Kong to effectively govern itself and maintain freedoms of religion, speech, and the press that it enjoyed under British rule.
That means Hong Kong residents are fully aware of how the Chinese are putting Muslims into concentration camps, persecuting Christians and churches, and reportedly harvesting the organs of Buddhist prisoners. Thus, Hong Kong is fiercely protective of the rights its people ought to have in full for another 28 years.
Colson Center for Christian Worldview President John Stonestreet says Hong Kong knows what the rest of the world needs to understand – that a vibrant Christianity is almost always accompanied by much freer societies than we see from atheist regimes and others.
Stonestreet says there are two main reasons for this, starting with the now almost universal understanding that each life has value.
“Every single person has inherent dignity from the moment of birth to the moment of natural death. That is a Christian idea that has now infected the world. Now everyone talks about human dignity as if it’s a thing, even though we disagree on what wee mean by that,” said Stonestreet.
He says that inherent dignity fuels the demand for freedom.
“We believe God created us. Not only did he give us dignity but he gave us freedom, that ultimately our conscience answers to him. My mentor, Chuck Colson, said it very well in the Manhattan Declaration. ‘We can ungrudgingly render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but we can never render unto Caesar what belongs to God,” said Stonestreet.
He says that is what compels China and other authoritarian regimes to try to stamp out the church. It simply cannot tolerate any challenge to its claim of absolute power. He says President Xi Xinping is trying to recreate himself in the mold of perhaps the worst mass murderer in world history.
“This is Mao-like stuff. The Christian gospel runs completely counter to that. When the early Christians said ‘Jesus Christ is Lord,’ there is an implicit ‘and Caesar is not.’ Well, when Hong Kong Christians say ‘Jesus is Lord,’ there is an implicit, ‘and the Chinese government – specifically Xi Xinping – is not,'” said Stonestreet.
“That very idea spawns all kinds of other freedoms, like freedom of speech and freedom of association, the freedom to order our public lives and how we set up our business around our deeply-held beliefs.
“So you can really see how the unique Christian idea of who we are as humans spawned freedom of conscience and how freedom of conscience and how freedom of conscience is really the foundation for all the other freedoms we have,” said Stonestreet.
Listen to the full podcast to hear more on the background of the Hong Kong-China tensions and China’s attempt to meddle in Hong Kong affairs. Stonestreet also explains how Chinese persecution is leading to a refugee crisis and how that crisis is putting the U.S. in a difficult position.
Hong Kong Extradition Fails; Clinton Denies Epstein Ties, Kobach Jeopardizes GOP Majority
Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America praise Hong Kong ditching the Chinese extradition bill. They discuss Bill Clinton claiming ignorance of Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking and pedophilia.They scrutinize Kris Kobach’s chances to win the Senate seat in Kansas as well as the potential impact upon the Republican majority. And Jim and Greg close the show by raising a toast to the legacy of the late Ross Perot.
Mexico Sends Troops to Border, Chinese Concentration Camps, Bernie Proposes Student Loan Plan
Jim Geraghty of National Review and guest host Gregory Knapp discuss the Mexican government deploying 10,000 troops to the border to crack down on illegal immigration to the U.S. They cover the real concentration camps that the Chinese have constructed. And they discuss Bernie Sanders’ plan to wipe out all student loans.
Why the Trade War Hurts China More
Listen to “Why the Trade War Hurts China More” on Spreaker.
The United States and China are engaged in high-level trade talks punctuated by tariffs inflicted in both directions, and while U.S. consumers may soon feel the pinch of higher prices, a leading China expert says the communist regime in Beijing is suffering far more.
“China has a trade-dependent economy and we do not,” said Gordon Chang, an East Asia policy expert and author of “The Coming Collapse of China.” “Last year, China’s trade surplus with the U.S. accounted for 199.3 percent of it’s overall merchandise surplus. That’s incredible dependence on access to the U.S. market.”
According to Chang, the U.S. needs to hammer China for anywhere between $150-600 billion to counter China’s prolific theft of U.S. intellectual property, or IP.
Many free trade advocates, including those in President Trump’s own party, agree that China is running roughshod over intellectual property rights but they contend Trump’s approach will only result in higher costs for American consumers.
Chang agrees that Americans will feel some pain, but he believes it will be mild compared to the impact on China.
“Yes, these tariffs will hurt us but China, up to now, has been absorbing probably more of the cost of these tariffs than we have. So President Trump has been correct,” said Chang, who warns the financial impact on American consumers will get more severe the longer the trade impasse continues.
“As he extends tariffs to all Chinese good, which could happen in the not-too-distant future, then the percentage borne by the United States will be higher for sure. But at some point, we have got to recognize that we cannot sustain the loss of all of this IP and that this is a critical threat to our economy and our society,” said Chang.
But Chang insists if we’re going to stop China’s predatory practices, the U.S. must pursue this course.
“We’ve just got to realize that we cannot get out of decades of misguided trade policy with China and expect there will be no cost. There is a cost already and we’re going to have to bear it in ways which are more obvious than in the past,” said Chang.
Listen to the full podcast to hear whether no deal is better than a good deal with China for the foreseeable future and why Chang thinks Trump is making a big mistake in how he is dealing with China when it comes to the North Korean nuclear threat.
Hong Kong Protests Succeed, SCOTUS & Cake Bakers, Iranian Uranium, Trump Fires Pollsters
David French of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America discuss Hong Kong hitting pause on an extradition agreement with the Chinese government following massive protests. They also examine the Supreme Court’s approach to Christian vendors vs. the LGBT agenda. They consider what comes next after Iran’s decision to exceed the low-grade uranium limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal. And they also discuss the Trump campaign’s decision to fire its pollsters after unfavorable leaks of bad numbers.
High Tension in Hong Kong
Listen to “High Tension in Hong Kong” on Spreaker.
More than a million people flooded the streets of Hong Kong on multiple occasions this week in an effort to derail legislation that opponents believe is the last chance to save the business hub from the clutches of the communist Chinese regime in Beijing.
Wednesday’s protests turned violent as local authorities lashed out at the demonstrators who succeeded in delaying a vote on extradition legislation.
“The Hong Kong government, at the prodding of Beijing, has proposed an extradition bill which would allow China to take people off the streets of Hong Kong in effect,” said Gordon Chang, an East Asia policy expert and author of “The Coming Collapse of China.”
“Hong Kong right now has extradition agreements with twenty nations, not including China. The extradition bill would broaden that and that would give Beijing the ability really to bring Hong Kong to heel. As Hong Kong democrats say, this is the last stand of the city,” added Chang.
Listen to the full podcast to hear Chang explain what Hong Kong will look like in the coming years if the extradition bill becomes law and which very powerful ally protesters have on their side.