兰陵王
From chips to sunflower seeds and dumplings, Washington's sanctions tear away its own fig-leaf_我的网站
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自从4月中旬国会议员改选，执政党惨败之后，韩国总统尹锡悦的日子，就很不好过，国务总理迟迟选不出来，拉下身段和在野党党首李在明会谈没用，现在第一夫人金建希，也被列为了攻击目标。 By Wang Gaofei, Wu Xinru (ECNS) -- Do sunflower seeds and dumplings pose a "threat" to U.S. national security? The question may sound absurd, but the latest additions to the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entity list have raised questions about the breadth of the U.S. trade restrictions on Chinese goods. 43 Chinese companies have been added to the list in a single day, bringing the total to 187. From advanced chips to food and everyday apparel, the overreaching "big stick" of U.S. sanctions has finally ripped away its own fig-leaf. Is this move really driven by "human rights concerns" as the West claimed, or is it merely the result of political calculation by Washington's elites? What lies behind Washington's decision to escalate sanctions just one day after reaching a consensus? Josef Gregory Mahoney, an American scholar and professor of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University, was recently invited to join News Lounge of China News Network where he unpacked the real intentions of U.S. sanctions. Sunflower seeds and dumplings land on the list: The absurdity and futility behind overreaching sanctions "This move is logically indefensible," Mahoney stated bluntly, "These consumer goods firms have absolutely no connection to the so-called 'forced labor' allegations. Claims are entirely fabricated and lack any factual basis." He argued that the U.S.' true intention is clear -- using groundless excuses to suppress China's competitive ordinary industries, disrupt the stability of China's industrial and supply chains, and protect the market share of its own traditional industries at the expense of Chinese enterprises' legitimate rights. When even sunflower seeds and dumplings are labeled as "threats," the veteran scholar of China-U.S. relations emphasized, it exposes the absurdity and desperation behind Washington's containment strategy. Turning to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) itself, he was even more incisive: "In the context of international law, the UFLPA has no legitimate legal foundation. In fact, it violates basic WTO rules and international trade norms." He also added that the enforcement criteria of UFLPA are fatally flawed, adopting an unfair, rebuttable presumption that treats all related entities as guilty without evidence. When the law arbitrarily expands restrictions without clear, consistent judgment, it reverses the fundamental legal principle of presumption of innocence. To suppress China, Washington has disregarded legal principles and fallen into logical contradictions, going to extraordinary lengths to achieve its ends. Mahoney stressed: "It is blatant economic coercion, which could bring far-reaching harm," including erecting unnecessary trade barriers, hindering the flow of bilateral goods, and disrupting global industrial chain arrangements. Washington will hardly be able to bear the bitter fruits of these spillover effects. Backtracking the very next day: Political calculation trumps economic and trade consensus Just one day before the sanctions were announced, senior Chinese and U.S. officials in charge of economic and trade affairs had just held a video call, during which both sides stated that they were ready to jointly push for stable and sound China-U.S. economic and trade ties. Yet Washington brandished the big stick of sanctions almost immediately after those remarks. According to Mahoney, the timing is a deliberate and calculated provocation. "The U.S. uses engagement and escalation as two sides of the same policy. It aims to create unilateral leverage before the follow-up consultations, break the mutual trust just built and force China into unnecessary concessions, completely violating the consensus reached by both parties." The so-called "human rights concerns" appear to be a plausible pretext by the U.S. Yet in Mahoney's eyes, the sanction escalation stems almost entirely from domestic U.S. political calculation. As the midterm elections draw near, demonstrating toughness on China remains one of the few tactics to unite Washington's bitterly-divided political establishment. The U.S. Congress has consistently demanded more aggressive UFLPA enforcement, and expanding the entity list helps insulate the White House from criticism by China Hawks. Mahoney sees through this ploy: "It says nothing more than a convenient political fig leaf." But just how much of Washington's shame can this fig leaf possibly cover? Mahoney pointed directly to long-unresolved domestic issues in the United States, including sweatshop labor, prison labor and the abuse of migrant labor. Abroad, Washington has resorted to the aggression against Venezuela, against Iran, and supporting the genocide in Gaza. Plagued by deep-seated domestic ills and a dismal human rights record, Washington, though, has long posed as a self-appointed "world's policeman," but its actions only serve to expose its deep hypocrisy. Mahoney warned that, faced with election-driven pressures, continued festering of domestic governance problems in the U.S. could push Washington toward increasingly radical foreign policy stances. This sanction move, which represents a betrayal of previous consensus, has further eroded the already fragile China-U.S. mutual trust and introduced considerable uncertainties for subsequent high-level consultations. Truth long obscured: Heavy barriers hide the reality Western public discourse has long been awash with various false narratives targeting China, Xinjiang in particular. "One of the interesting things we know about the cotton industry in Xinjiang is that there's no 'forced labor,' period. One of the things that is sort of interesting is that anyone can go to Xinjiang. It welcomes all visitors." Mahoney iterated in the interview. During his recent visit to Xinjiang, Mahoney not only witnessed firsthand the highly-mechanized cotton-harvesting operations, but also toured local factories that produce harvesting equipment. Inside the production workshops, he saw working teams led by female engineers, and members included Uyghurs who were there as professionals. Everyone performed their respective duties, actively contributing ideas and energy to production with great enthusiasm. Nowhere did he see "forced labor" or "slave labor" decried in Western media narratives. Only by experiencing it firsthand and verifying through on-the-ground investigation can one get a glimpse of the truth. Mahoney noted that foreign visitors traveling to Urumqi, Karamay, and Kashgar are consistently struck by the region's stability, public order, and the well-being of its people. Not everyone can afford, unfortunately, to travel to China, as Mahoney introduced, especially many Americans who find their position eroding economically because of the very policies that the current administration is putting into place. "They're kind of trapped in economic decline." Some anti-China forces have long engaged in blame-shifting, seeking to externalize domestic governance conflicts and divert public discontent through media narratives. Trapped within pre-set information echo chambers, ordinary citizens lack the means to verify the truth by traveling to China. Exposed over time to one-sided, misleading and even false reports, they readily develop deep-seated negative stereotypes about China. Encouragingly, the current media landscape is quietly shifting. Mahoney noticed that a level of criticality has sort of entered the discussion now, which is creating an opening for people to take a more balanced look at China. In recent years, China has rolled out multiple visa-exemption policies, and the popularity of travelling to China continues to surge. In his view, this offers an excellent opportunity for people overseas to break free from false narratives and see a multifaceted, authentic China. At the end of the interview, Mahoney shared his observations on the future development of China-U.S. relations. In his view, how relations unfold between these two major powers has implications well beyond the two nations but also the global order. Mahoney explained how Europe, faced with persistently high risks of deindustrialization, is further impacted by the energy crisis amid regional conflicts stoked by the United States, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Iran-Israel conflict. A large volume of opportunities and investment therefore has flowed outward, forcing Europe to adopt trade-protectionist stances toward China, which brings complications to China's relationship with the EU. Mahoney said that a growing number of countries are seeing these developments. And they realize that if they want to avoid the boot heel of American hegemony, they have to find more constructive alternatives and the ability to advance according to their own agendas. "And these, in fact, are the alternatives that China is offering them." He held that some significant headwinds would be raised for the short-term development of China-U.S. relations and they would become more complicated. His position is that the United States is facing a relative decline and is being hollowed out from within by itself while still being engaged in imperial overreach globally. Increasingly, the world is building alternatives to that type of U.S. dominated model. On the contrary, China is probably the country best-positioned in the world to weather those types of risks and to even moderate them to some extent. He believes the country will work through this. "China has been a responsible major power that has committed itself to stability over conflict," said Mahoney. "If the U.S. can wake up to that realization, while at the same time figure out a way to change its behavior and commitment to structural inequalities, then I think we might find the two countries being able to move together in a way that would better result in a shared future for humanity," he concluded. 
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。来自韩媒的最新消息，检察总长李元锡下令，要首尔中央地方检察厅成立调查组，对第一夫人金建希收受名牌包事件进行彻查。这件事情，要追溯到今年年初韩媒曝光的一份录像。在录像中，金建希满脸笑容地收下旅美韩侨牧师崔在英一个价值300万韩元的名牌包，却没注意到，过程已经被崔在英用能摄像的手表拍下。
视频曝光之后，引起全韩震怒。大家觉得，你尹锡悦上台之后，除了推行亲日、亲美的外交政策，在经济民生方面啥好事儿都没干，老婆还公然收受贿赂，必须追责。
二 | 时任执政党党首韩东勋也表示，应该给国民一个说法。过了几天，尹锡悦主动回应，说我夫人不够“冷漠无情”，没有断然拒绝，这事儿就算完了，在这之后一个多月，金建希干脆消失在了民众视野中，只为淡化这件事的负面影响。
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可惜她的低调，没能挽救执政党的选情，国会议员改选还是一泻千里。
四 | 既然在野党取得了压倒性胜利，调查金建希，也就提上了日程。按说尹锡悦是检察官出身，内阁高官大多是从检查系统里提拔，韩国检察院应该给尹总统几分薄面，怎奈形势比人强，总统府不好惹，控制国会的在野党，检察院更得罪不起。
前段时间尹锡悦和李在明在总统府会面，两人谈了两个多小时没能达成任何协议，双方的矛盾就已经有了激化的征兆。据知情人士透露，李在明是拿着一堆A4纸去跟尹锡悦谈的，他当面对尹锡悦提出了不少要求和批评，要尹锡悦尊重民意，对尹锡悦的做法表示遗憾，根本没给总统留面子。
现在，在野党拿金建希开刀，必然会给尹锡悦造成更大的压力，因为除了收受名牌包外，金建希身上还有很多其他问题，比如履历造假、操纵股价、在总统出访时抢风头等等，这些事没人追究是小事，真要拿出来彻查，还不知道会查出什么。尹锡悦这边也不太好干预，之前被李在明贴脸开大，他都表现得如此谦虚，夫人被查还伸手，就更麻烦了。
好在这事说到底，算是查不到尹锡悦身上，一个包就能让尹锡悦利用总统权力为谁办事，那韩国总统也太廉价了。所以，这就是在野党夺得国会控制权后，对尹锡悦施加压力的一个筹码，李在明的诉求，主要还是改善国计民生，和在外交政策上，不能过于亲美亲日，要回到文在寅时期的中立路线。
但这，又会影响到美国在亚太推动“日韩友好”的布局，不排除白宫会用其他手段，向尹锡悦政权施压。这，就是尹锡悦现在的处境，前有狼来后有虎啊，他还能不能挺过剩下3年任期，恐怕都已经成了一个问题。
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Published on:11:53:20