Hell just froze over!
Far-left activist billionaire George Soros praised President Trump on Monday, writing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that Trump’s move on China and tech giant Huawei was his “greatest” foreign policy achievement.
Soros warned in January at the Davos economic forum that China was using technology to repress its people:
Transcript of Soros’ speech at Davos where he talks about the “social credit system” and “totalitarian control” of the Chinese people:
I want to use my time tonight to warn the world about an unprecedented danger that’s threatening the very survival of open societies.
Tonight I want to call attention to the mortal danger facing open societies from the instruments of control that machine learning and artificial intelligence can put in the hands of repressive regimes. I’ll focus on China, where Xi Jinping wants a one-party state to reign supreme.
A lot of things have happened since last year and I’ve learned a lot about the shape that totalitarian control is going to take in China.
All the rapidly expanding information available about a person is going to be consolidated in a centralized database to create a “social credit system.” Based on that data, people will be evaluated by algorithms that will determine whether they pose a threat to the one-party state. People will then be treated accordingly.
The social credit system is not yet fully operational, but it’s clear where it’s heading. It will subordinate the fate of the individual to the interests of the one-party state in ways unprecedented in history.
I find the social credit system frightening and abhorrent. Unfortunately, some Chinese find it rather attractive because it provides information and services that aren’t currently available and can also protect law-abiding citizens against enemies of the state.
China isn’t the only authoritarian regime in the world, but it’s undoubtedly the wealthiest, strongest and most developed in machine learning and artificial intelligence. This makes Xi Jinping the most dangerous opponent of those who believe in the concept of open society. But Xi isn’t alone. Authoritarian regimes are proliferating all over the world and if they succeed, they will become totalitarian.
Soros is now praising President Trump for forbidding U.S. businesses from doing business with tech giant Huawei.
It’s currently illegal for American companies to supply components to Huawei.
Soros is still worried that President Trump will bargain that leverage away as part of a trade deal:
“The current situation strongly favors the U.S. However, President Trump may soon undermine his own China policy and cede the advantage to Beijing.”
U.S. officials worry that the Huawei will become dominant in new 5G networks and use its switching equipment to spy on Americans.
President Trump should keep China’s feet to the fire!
What do you think about Soros, China and the trade war?
