Marsha Blackburn: “Alice's statement is loaded with historical context and correctly implies that what we are seeing now is the culmination…”

“Alice's statement is loaded with historical context and correctly implies that what we are seeing now is the culmination of a slow but sure violation of the laws and norms that once defined Hong Kong's semiautonomous relationship with mainland China. These protests erupted after what Beijing argued was a simple proposed change to existing extradition laws, but the people saw it for what it was--a thinly veiled threat to Hong Kong's relative autonomy. It wasn't a takeover. It was just that foot in the door, and China is nearly unparalleled in its ability to turn a foot in the door into a permanent existing condition. Sometimes their power plays are very obvious, and sometimes they are not. On my recent trip to Djibouti, I saw firsthand the influence of China's debt-trap diplomacy. Here is what debt-trap diplomacy is. It is a fancy way of saying that China has increased its influence around the world by offering to struggling nations that they are going to hold their debt in exchange for preferential treatment on trade or maybe a physical presence such as a port or other sweetheart deals. In Djibouti City, I saw this tactic run wild. Now China would say that what they have done is to help the Djiboutians create a ``smart city'' in the Horn of Africa, but in reality they have negotiated their way into creating a full-blown surveillance state. Cameras are everywhere--on every corner and every street, with 24/7 footage--and guess where that footage lands.…”