And good riddance to 2025

Commentary from Bloomberg on a possible New Year’s resolution for UK (and other) policymakers, referencing the book All That Glitters by Martin Thorley…

Again and again, parties that appear independent and self-interested on the surface turn out to have connections to the United Front, a Communist Party-controlled network of groups and individuals that are used to advance its aims. Commercial interests grease the wheels, sometimes helping to frame the terms of debate; British politicians are happy to play along, particularly in the unelected House of Lords. No wrongdoing is alleged or nefarious purpose suggested. All the same, if you’re British you may read with a sense of unease. There appears to be an underlying United Front presence mingling with UK elites of various sectors, as Thorley writes. An open and donor-driven political culture makes easy targets for such actors. The impression is of a system being played — expertly.

…The [nuclear power plant] episode shows up a core error in Western perceptions of China — the assumption that the country is a divisible entity composed of divergent interests. Companies, under this framing, can be expected to act according to commercial rationality. The image is by carefully curated design; it’s also false. China isn’t divisible: It’s a unitary Leninist party-state. Everything can be subjugated to the Communist Party’s strategic aims when necessary…

That doesn’t mean that the Communist Party dictates everything that happens. But it has a “latent network,” in Thorley’s words, ready to be activated when needed. And the party that controls this network is both ruthless and deeply antagonistic to the practices and way of life of Western nations: freedom of speech, rule of law, multiparty democracy. A more muscular party state has started to manifest this antipathy with practical actions: crushing Hong Kong’s freedoms, supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, intimidating overseas universities. Cede influence to such a power at your peril.

For fans of eye-catching titles to opinion pieces – Elon Musk Should Rot in Hell.