The Chinese Coronavirus is Our Tiananmen Test
Plus Paul Ryan's comments on culture, Ron DeSantis's culture wars, Central Europe's conservatism, and Russian trolls and Biden's weakness
The Chinese Coronavirus Is This Generation’s Tiananmen Test
As with the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, we are once again at an inflection point in our relationship with China, faced with the carnage caused most directly by a malevolent CCP.
The Chinese coronavirus crisis may well represent this generation’s Tiananmen Square test.
The test is as follows: With the CCP inflicting incalculable costs in blood and treasure through its unique role in spreading the coronavirus, and its related menacing behavior, will we demand reparations, or will we let the regime off scot-free, emboldening it, and encouraging it to act with impunity and still more reckless abandon in its quest for hegemony going forward?
We failed this test in 1989.
Then, when presented with the image of “Tank Man,” we did something even worse than turning our back on him. Our immediate response to the CCP’s massacre of democracy protesters was toothless. But ultimately, we proceeded still further to embrace the Communist regime, effectively rewarding its villainy by integrating it into the global economic, financial, and geopolitical system.
This is the lead-in to an article I published in April of last year at American Greatness that becomes ever more relevant as the lab-leak theory has suddenly been mainstreamed.
On this, the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, I wanted to re-share this piece, which you can read in full here.
Separately, on this week’s NatCon Squad the gang discussed:
Former Speaker Paul Ryan’s comments on culture
FL Governor Ron DeSantis’s efforts to protect women’s sports
The conservatism of Central Europe
Russia’s trolling of Democrats, and President Biden’s coddling of Moscow