The WEST's war of words against CHINA. Starting with the Uyghurs.

[TrueTomHarley]

3 hours ago, JW Insider said:

Strange. I can't see it, but I believe you. I see that the emoji you put on TTH's post is still there from before. It sounds like you don't even see the option, unless you see it, but they don't submit. Sounds like an issue for the admin or Librarian to explain.

Crazy goings-on here. I am getting so many like that my system crashed. You probably don’t see it, though. I am even getting liked from 4J. He has never done anything other than laugh before.

On 8/19/2020 at 4:19 AM, Arauna said:

The recent court case in USA (which  received NO ATTENTION in the media) indicates that the FDA received NO conclusive testing for any of the vaccines that they have been mandating for our children for the past 20 years.

Is this what you mean. Ad nauseum the claim was made that all the studies showed how safe they were. One dogged fellow kept after them—he had to sue to do it—and the facts revealed was that there had been no studies at all. It is a little more detained than that, but that is the gist of it.

https://www.icandecide.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ICAN-VS-CDC-LAWSUIT-PR.pdf

On 8/19/2020 at 4:19 AM, Arauna said:

To me it is a great pity that these super rich corporations (the pharmaceutical industrial complex) want to control everything and just give vaccinations for everything. 

It is also impossible to sue vaccine-makers. They are protected from lawsuit, and a separate ‘vaccine court’ (funded by taxpayers) handles claim of vaccine injury—which fights every claim tooth and nail.

In this day when lawyers can and do sue everyone under the sun for everything, they CANNOT sue vaccine makers. Does anyone think automobiles would be as safe as they are today if they were immune from lawsuit? We would still be driving Pintos, that burst into flame when hit from the rear, or Corvairs, that flip over if you’ve gotten the tire pressure wrong.

[JW Insider]

@César Chávez, Thanks for bringing up the author, Martin Jacques. He is actually a pretty good resource. He seems to be fair and balanced and also shows how ridiculous and exaggerated several of these wild claims regarding China actually are.

[JW Insider]

20 hours ago, Arauna said:

They are in competition with their own neighbors and have established fishing areas all around their artificial islands.

There are disputed areas for fishing, and disputes about the artificial islands. But it's interesting to compare the currently claimed boundaries with the maritime boundaries that the United States supported before the Communist Party took over in China in 1949. If you go back to the 1947 maritime border, you will see the border that the US had no problem with the 1947 border as claimed by Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang government. (In fact those maritime boundaries were in use even before the Kuomintang.)

The CFR website (Council on Foreign Relations) points to the US State Dept website, state.gov, where one can see a map comparing the pre-Communist borders (1947) with the borders China has currently claimed (2009). You can see they are hardly different at all. But the main thing to note is that the Spratly Islands have always been well within these accepted boundaries, and that's where the artificial islands have been expanded.

 

It's not like there has been any war or treaties or land purchases among any of these countries since 1947 that would have resulted in an update to these 1947 boundaries. 

When there are such disputes the UN often raises the 200 mile limit "tradition" as a starting point, which is then adjusted at adjacent borders which create a conflict, and various underwater natural ridges that might create further adjustments. You can see how valuable it is to own an island where these 200 mile limits aren't encroached by another claim. Look how much water the United States owns in the Pacific based on these United States owned islands (in blue below):

There is more water under US jurisdiction (EEZ) from a few small islands in the Pacific than there is in the entire Gulf of Mexico.

See: https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/territorial-disputes-south-china-sea

and https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/LIS-143.pdf

 

[Arauna]

On 8/22/2020 at 2:23 AM, TrueTomHarley said:

Ad nauseum the claim was made that all the studies showed how safe they were.

NO - the court case asked for copies of all the tests done - there were NONE they could provide... they produced twenty papers which were not studies.

! 

[Arauna]

On 8/22/2020 at 4:16 AM, JW Insider said:

Council on Foreign Relations

Have you studied the council of foreign relations?  Once you know what they are up to I do not think you will trust them ever again!  In USA, they are the ones implementing agenda 2030 as we speak! Their policies are all UN related - completely. 

 

[Arauna]

On 8/22/2020 at 2:23 AM, TrueTomHarley said:

which fights every claim tooth and nail.

Yes not only that - it is not worth taking these vaccine producers to court because I think the cap is 30,000 dollars.  They are totally protected! When you need speech therapists, all kinds of therapists for these children one can use 30,000 dollars in one year for one child only.  If you have two of these kids.... well they are doomed to become little animals because you will not be able to afford the training needed for them to get them to function in society.   I worked with 2 of these children in one family....  It costs a fortune to train these kids.

 

[Arauna]

On 8/22/2020 at 1:26 AM, César Chávez said:

China has become an integral part of the international system,

This is a reply to all who think china is still the same as 20 years ago: The UN sees China as the model to follow and  China has great  influence at the UN.  One example: the WHO leader is pro-china as Ethiopia has close links with China.  China lobbied for him to be appointed - why?   Close ties, and he is as corrupt as they can be.

China is putting heavy taxes on all who remain in Hong Kong.  It will soon be impossible for any to live there and the call is for them to return to the mainland.... But  (it seems) by your standards, these kind of controls are not draconian .... just normal business ..... just like using body parts and imprisoning religious groups.....  to you, their internal human rights record is not so bad - you are sure the information leaking out is bogus...... you go on  ignoring all the testimonies which are CONTINUALLY leaking out.

I watch different testimonies.....  and not all the same people as it was implied.  I just happened to put the first ones who came up recently - and one woman was sitting in both.   I have seen many of them - all heartbreaking stories and fearful. 

They are now saying that it is not just 1 million people in camps but it may be up to 3 million.....  The typical method of communism (even capitalistic communism) is:- control the press, control all communications to a level where people are afraid to talk.  The threat of long jail sentences.......not just for the perpetrator but the entire family.  They put the entire family in jail if one person speaks out - grandmothers, grandfathers, uncles, aunts , brothers and sisters and young children.  Their eye does not feel sorry - the narrative is completely controlled by government.  This is why the information is trickling out. .....  But their are those who still speak out.  Those in USA talk of being harassed by chinese spies and chinese student bodies at universities.

If you do not understand this way of thinking then you do not understand communism..... you have been blinded by the pro-china propaganda ....   I am not pro-USA by pointing out their atrocities.  For me there is no excuses for China's record of abuses in their own back yard. 

 If this is acceptable to UN human rights council of which China now has a influential role then this will spread to the rest of the world..... watch this space because - if you live long enough - you will see this coming to your own back yard..... if UN gets their way.......   and bible prophecy with King of North is true.  King of north will only allow the God of fortresses to be worshiped - pone god only - no religion.

 

[JW Insider]

4 hours ago, Arauna said:

Have you studied the council of foreign relations?  Once you know what they are up to I do not think you will trust them ever again!

I don't trust them at all. And this is more for what they actually stand for openly, rather than the various conspiracies that will develop around any such entity. Their purpose is to try to put a more respected, academic or rational "face" on decisions made by and for the most imperialist Western and Western-supporting powers. (Primarily the United States)

Even before the UN, they have long been involved in defending policies that support American interests everywhere in the world.

I used them as a resource here to show what is admitted with respect to China, even by an entity that cares nothing for Chinese interests.

[JW Insider]

12 hours ago, Arauna said:

This is a reply to all who think china is still the same as 20 years ago:

That would certainly not be me, but it appears some of your comments were directed at me, so I'll respond.

12 hours ago, Arauna said:

The UN sees China as the model to follow and  China has great  influence at the UN. 

The UN does not generally see China as the model to follow. China has been one of the five permanent members of the UN security council since the inception, with US, UK, France, USSR/Russia. But the primary power of each of the permanent members is not to influence, but the ability to vote down initiatives from other countries. In other words, to keep things from happening.

China's more recent willingness to speak up, however, does send a chill through the West however. China has spoken out again human rights abuses in several places, even the United States.

Also, I won't deny that China has more influence. Many more nations have had experience with China in the last 20 years, and several of those countries who have adopted a Chinese "model" have also had similar experiences in reducing human rights issues, raising people out of poverty, infrastructure gains, employment gains, health care and longevity gains, etc.

The Rwandan case is relevant here. There is an old "Hamiltonian" economic model from a time before the USA was imperialist, and it is credited for much of what some call a human rights miracle in Rwanda (post Tutsi/Hutu of course). There are others who credit the Chinese economic model here. The arguments and how they have spilled over into nearby areas of Africa (mostly Congo and further south) are extremely informative. At any rate, the UN sees a lot more votes and studies in favor of adopting a Chinese model. So this is true. Would love to discuss Africa further with you, perhaps in another post.

12 hours ago, Arauna said:

One example: the WHO leader is pro-china as Ethiopia has close links with China.  China lobbied for him to be appointed - why?   Close ties, and he is as corrupt as they can be.

I don't believe that Tedros A. Ghebreyesus ("Tedros") is corrupt. He has a nearly impeccable record when it comes to heath issues in Africa, successfully managing campaigns against malaria, tb, hiv, ebola, infant death, etc.  Almost all African nations supported him for WHO director, and so did most Asian nations, including China. The UK, US, and Canada wanted their man: David Nabarro. The final vote for "Tedros" of all the nations in the UN was something like 133 out of 185. When it was clear Tedros was about to win, an American advisor to Nabarro came out with a last minute smear campaign. This was just three days before the final vote, and although unverified, it was published in the NYT. For simplicity, here's how Wikipedia puts it:

• In May 2017, just prior to the WHO election, stories surfaced about an alleged cover-up of three possible cholera epidemics in Ethiopia in 2006, 2009 and 2011. The outbreaks were allegedly wrongly labelled as "acute watery diarrhea" (AWD)—a symptom of cholera—in the absence of laboratory confirmation of Vibrio cholerae in an attempt to play down the significance of the epidemics.^[63][64] UN officials said more aid and vaccines could have been delivered to Ethiopia if the outbreaks had been confirmed as cholera. The allegations were made by Larry Gostin, an American law professor who was acting as an adviser to rival candidate David Nabarro from the UK.^[64] The African Union delegation to the UN dismissed the report, published in The New York Times, as "an unfounded and unverified defamation campaign, conveniently coming out only days before the election."^[65] Tedros denied the allegation of a cover-up and said he was "not surprised at all but quite disappointed" by what he called a "last-minute smear campaign."^[64]

Note that amidst so many great successes, this is the only thing mentioned as a negative about Tedros in the Wikipedia entry. (Although it is also known that he was subjected to many blatant racist attacks; since he is black and Nabarro is white.)

Even if you go to the UK's BBC, which supported Nabarro, you can read an entire long article about him here. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51720184 and it's all positive, with barely a mention of the supposed cover-ups. (Note that it would have been just as easy to smear Tedros in the other direction, since the point was that he would have received more money and aid for cholera treatments if he had labeled 100% of the questionable cases as cholera before final laboratory confirmation of "vibrio cholerae." At the core of the complaint is that he could have received more money if he had only been willing to name the disease in question as cholera.

There have been very corrupt African leaders who have been praised by the West, but when an African leader supplants a white man, or helps too many Africans, he can easily be labeled corrupt. Most of those overly influenced by Western media will just accept it without question.

[JW Insider]

13 hours ago, Arauna said:

China is putting heavy taxes on all who remain in Hong Kong.  It will soon be impossible for any to live there and the call is for them to return to the mainland.... But  (it seems) by your standards, these kind of controls are not draconian

China is now doing exactly what the United States does in this regard. By Bloomberg's standards they are not draconian. In fact, read closely what bloomberg.com says, and you will see that this "new" law isn't even new. It is merely a somewhat greater enforcement of a law that has always asked rich people in Hong Kong to pay their taxes. It's really about the same thing that happened in the United States when certain countries began sharing banking data through more transparent methods. This makes it possible to include more details about how and when taxes should be paid, even if the requirement was there all along. For the United States, and many Western countries previous tax havens in many countries became no place for the rich to hide money. (Still some exceptions; see Panama Papers.)

I'll just quote most of the article for the remainder of this post, and you can note the parts I highlighted. The basic problem is not China here at all, but the fact that Hong Kong, especially in the millionaire class, have fought to keep the prices high in HK, and this is especially noticeable in housing. This can be put squarely on the shoulders of a class of people like Jimmy Lai, who promote HK riots about diversions, even though some of the participants know, deep down, that they are really rioting over the results of capitalism run amock, which necessarily pass through periodic phases of economic downturn. We have seen something similar happen in other places over BLM and Floyd although, deep down, many of the rioters don't really care about those issues.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-19/why-china-s-new-tax-push-has-mainland-expats-worried-quicktake

Why China’s New Tax Rules Worry Bankers in Hong Kong

Facing a slowing economy and ever-tighter budget, China has turned its attention to generating more revenue by taxing its citizens living and working outside the country — similar to how the U.S. targets Americans abroad. The drive could undermine the appeal of a post in an expensive city such as Hong Kong or Singapore for thousands of bankers and other white-collar professionals from the mainland. But a lot of details are still murky.

 

1. What’s changed?

First off, a revised tax code took effect last year that’s intended to lower the burden on the poor and the middle class by making the rich pay more. Chinese citizens have been obliged to pay taxes on their global income for many years. But for those working abroad, it hadn’t been generally enforced. Largely, tax experts say, that’s because there wasn’t a detailed legal basis nor guidelines for coordination. In January, however, Chinese authorities issued instructions on how to comply with the tax law while abroad -- a move that caught many Chinese expats off guard. Chinese state-owned enterprises in Hong Kong started telling workers who had transferred from the mainland to declare their 2019 income so they could pay taxes back home. Employees in other locations such as Singapore got the same message.

2. And?

China has started automatically exchanging information with dozens of jurisdictions -- including Hong Kong and Singapore -- about bank accounts belonging to people subject to taxes in each member country, making it harder to hide.

Nowhere to Hide

Tax rates are significantly higher in mainland China

3. Who does the law apply to?

Anyone domiciled in China can be seen as a tax resident regardless of physical location. A domicile doesn’t refer to a specific property but an overall assessment of your household registration, family relations and economic interests. For those living abroad -- be it to study, work, travel or something like an extended visit -- if they will eventually return to China after removing these factors, they are seen as having a domicile in China, and thus subject to Chinese tax rules. In addition, under the revised law, foreigners working in China are considered tax residents if they reside in China for more than half a tax year -- at least 183 days -- similar to many other countries.

4. What does it mean for the pocketbook?

Investment bankers in Hong Kong, for example, typically earn about 25% to 30% more than those in Shanghai, according to recruiters. Much of that premium gets whittled away by higher living costs, but that’s long been offset by the tax difference: Hong Kong’s highest salary tax rate is only 17%, about a third of the top bracket in mainland China. (Under the new reporting system, the taxpayer would get credit in China for tax paid to Hong Kong, but the difference remains due.) And the revised law doesn’t apply just to paychecks. Income from dividends and property sales are also subject to taxation back home. That’s likely to force many companies to shoulder much of the extra tax burden or risk an exodus of Chinese expats.

5. What’s the impact been?

As of mid-July, it appeared that only employees at state-owned companies who had transferred from China were explicitly instructed to pay taxes in China on their 2019 income. China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong and the State Taxation Administration didn’t respond to faxes seeking comment.

6. And for workers in other categories?

It’s unclear how Chinese authorities will apply the law to citizens who were hired outside China or work for private companies. Hong Kong companies, for example, have no obligation to report employment and tax details to any authority outside the city -- that remains an individual’s obligation. Tax advisers including Jason Mi, a partner at Ernst & Young in Beijing, recommend Chinese tax residents “pay attention to the increasingly refined Chinese tax laws and consult with qualified tax accountants or lawyers.”

7. How much tax revenue are we talking about?

There’s no official estimate, but there are a lot of Chinese workers abroad as well as sheltered assets and income. For example, Hong Kong has granted more than 340,000 immigration visas to people from mainland China over the past five years, government figures show. Shortly before the revised tax code took effect, Boston Consulting Group estimated China’s overseas wealth at about $1 trillion.

8. What does this mean for Hong Kong and Singapore?

It could be a big blow if Chinese expats decide the reward, career boost and adventure of working abroad isn’t worth the extra costs. In Hong Kong, in particular, the developments come as many other foreign expats are considering leaving as China tightens its control of the city, leading to fears of a brain drain.

9. Doesn’t the U.S. do this?

Similar. If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns and paying estimated tax are generally the same whether you are in the United States or abroad. An American’s worldwide income is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where he or she resides.

10. Is there any way to avoid it?

Some people say they are considering moving back to China to avoid the double whammy of high living costs and high taxes. Another option would be to swap into another passport and cancel one’s Chinese household registration if a person has lived in the place long enough to qualify. Some tax experts say individuals in Hong Kong, especially those who are locally hired, can try to prove to China’s tax bureau that their residency, family ties, economic interests and long-term destinations are closer to the definition of a Hong Kong tax resident than a mainland one.

11. What about raising salaries?

Some companies may act to soften the blow by boosting salaries or bonuses, particularly for high-ranking executives. Others will have to take the hit themselves.

 

[Arauna]

On 8/22/2020 at 12:10 AM, 4Jah2me said:

o be so political and anti one country as @Arauna 

I see through your guise.  You always try to bait me with outrageous and false blanket statements.  I am too busy at present to even go there. 

Just for the record for everyone: I have empathy for the Chinese people and feel very sorry for them because they have been high-jacked by a small number of elite and super rich party-people who are connected to the central state (CCP) and run the state like a totalitarian thugocracy.  No freedom of press and no freedom of religion - obey the state or else.... This is the new law and order in China.  It did not always appear to be so because foreigners were a welcome cow to be milked - it was part of the long-term strategy of the leadership.....

Similar aspects showing up in the west.   The Chinese people are living under an ideology that has already infiltrated the west and is totally anti-god.  I do not like the CCP because they are taking their people into totalitarian oppression. They have NO respect for life which is not believed by some people on here because you have drunk the pro-china cup of political correctness.... it is easier to go with the main narrative and trust the regular sources completely...... despite them knowing that China is engaged in severe measures for any news leaking out.  I see great similarities prior to the Hitler war.  People did not want to believe what was going on there.  Even the Jews themselves thought it would improve and did not leave Germany in time.

Meanwhile the news of terrible atrocities are trickling out of China - just like in north Africa - which is totally ignored by the press and Human rights organizations which are not doing their job.  They are amplifiers of the two opposing sides with a lot of opinions and no truth. Those who could  speak out (who were oppressed by these ideologies)  are silenced because the human suffering is not allowed to be exposed.  

Western opportunistic rich persons (which includes some of congress and senate) will just go back to making mega money in china (if sanctions are lifted) until they are no longer of value to China  (Most of the western technocrats have homes and businesses in China and have been cashing in on the growth there and even had children on boards of companies earning mega bucks).  They will be treated like kings while they have something of value - money and intellectual property - to be milked by China.  Regular or working class  foreigners are no longer welcome in china.  

China is part of the King of the North because they side with Russia (New agreement made this week which basically replaces the BRICS agreement.  They will not use US currency and are partners...... and Iran supplies China with oil.)

On 8/24/2020 at 6:48 AM, JW Insider said:

Bloomberg's standards

I used to get Bloomberg news in my inbox ..... cancelled them recently.  Not worth my time to waste on them. 

I am not going to argue with any of you - frankly - I do not have the time....at present 

I will say this:   I have seen how the new scholars of Islam write extensively quoting each others writings to show how Islam is not dangerous and a wonderful peaceful religion.   I call it circular scholarship.  They also just quote from the books that seem to confirm their beliefs and ignore all the other books which show the true nature of Islam. In fact many of these books which describes the true nature of Islam are now banned on Amazon and other publishers.  They will not 'touch' accredited scholars that do not preach the propaganda message.  If I did not know Islam so well I would also have fallen under the spell (propaganda) of these writers.  

Farrakhan is quoted everywhere in the press (like a rock star) even though he is denying the terrible black slavery in Sudan and other parts of Africa going on.  He is supported by money from middle east. Christians being sold as slaves for 400 dollars every day.  Girls sold as sex slaves and all the most horrific killings - villages being wiped out.  NOTHING in the western press about Muslims selling black people as "Abeed" which is the arab word (and means a ugly N-word for black slave).   BLM  don't care about their brothers being killed or used as slaves in Africa.... If you investigate their leadership the organization is NOT about black lives at all but about another insidious ideology.  Iran also supports the slavery in China of their Sunni -brothers because it is not their brand of Shia-islam.

 

I have seen the same circular reasoning when I investigated Darwinism and evolution.  Why have we come to a point in history where one is not viewed as intellectual if one believes in a creator and seen as backward in your thinking if one believes in a god?   The same scholarly  "METHOD" is applied in each of these disciplines (which is the wrong word for these subjects) because it promotes  lies and false reasoning.  Very little evidence given and a lot of theory  is accepted.  Quote upon quote in books and papers of scholars who have little touch with reality. They keep quoting and building on the bits they can use and ignore the GLARING  DISCREPANCIES regarding this modern ideology or RELIGION of evolution...... which is actually the right designation for it because it is NOT a science. 

Similarly - quoting all the pro-China books and ignoring all the reports coming out of China is the new narrative... similar to Islam and evolution.  The UN loves China and see them as the future model for the world.  Most of the powerful super-rich  have children sitting on boards of Chinese companies and earning mega bucks for their corruption.  USA has been sold out and a new ideology is on its way.  

I listen to real life painful stories of people who have managed to escape.  If you think you understand totalitarianism - think again.  I listened to a North-Korean woman the other day.  Her story is remarkable and true.  These low down people  are 'fodder' to these kind of regimes and they can tell you what real communism is.  She fled to China and was also sold as a slave there.  They dare not complain to Chinese authorities because China sends them back to North Korea knowing that they will be killed.  Yet china sits on the human Rights council.  Harrowing stories and yet people survive.  Listened to a Sudanese man today, while I was working, who told how he was captured as a slave at age ten and sold on the market in Libya. He saw how lives do not mean anything to these people. People are killed very quickly and treated with savagery.  

Hitler's savagery is back in full force all over the world and has a new face...... but this time ..... one is not allowed to talk about it..... it is politically incorrect.

[JW Insider]

On 8/26/2020 at 6:41 AM, Arauna said:

I am not going to argue with any of you - frankly - I do not have the time....at present 

Not a problem. But I'd like to leave off with one idea to think about. I'll just pick out a couple of the last things you brought up regarding China:

On 8/23/2020 at 9:39 AM, Arauna said:

the WHO leader is pro-china as Ethiopia has close links with China.  China lobbied for him to be appointed - why?   Close ties, and he is as corrupt as they can be.

Think about who tried to convince you that the WHO leader, "Tedros," is "as corrupt as they can be." Think about where you would have read something like that, in order to repeat it. There is absolutely no evidence of his corruption, and, in his case, a ton of evidence that he was not corrupt. In fact, it was his apparent lack of corruption that the UK/US bloc ended up picking on to try to turn it into a point of corruption. And even if it had been corrupt to undercount the unproven cases of cholera, which ended up providing his ministry with less money than they might have otherwise received, then how does this prove he was "as corrupt as they can be?"

It's pretty easy to see where this comes from, and most of those persons who repeat such things are simply repeating exaggerations because they fit a "necessary" narrative. Ultimately it's probably a lie just to fit a narrative about China.

For that matter, look again at who tried to convince you that the following was true:

On 8/23/2020 at 9:39 AM, Arauna said:

It will soon be impossible for any to live there and the call is for them to return to the mainland.... But  (it seems) by your standards, these kind of controls are not draconian .... just normal business

Think, again, about where you would read such things. Who tried to convince you that enforcing a tax law that affects rich persons who have been hiding their income from taxation in Hong Kong was somehow draconian? In the United States this is considered normal business. While thousands of rich persons in the United States have been hiding their money in illegal tax havens, as it becomes possible to close up these loopholes, the United States has often done it -- and no one uses the word "draconian."

You probably know that "draconian" is a reflexive cliche in Western writing for all things that China does. When Covid-19 lockdowns began in China, dozens of Twitter pundits wondered how long it was going to take for the West, especially the United States, to find ways to call it "draconian."

And sure enough, we all know that mistakes must inevitably have been made during the first few days and weeks of this virus. But when China handled this particular outbreak faster and more efficiently than any country has ever handled a virus outbreak in history, the word "draconian" was in all the Western papers and news media outlets.

When local Chinese leaders arrested a doctor who was trying to help his friends break the quarantine and get out of the city and province, national Chinese leaders made them release the doctor and told the local leaders they handled it wrong. The same thing happened with other over-reactions by local leaders. Perhaps a lockdown or quarantine really does seem draconian, even if it is the best way to try to save lives, when one is not yet sure of the full nature or danger. But for enforcing an existing tax law? That's draconian, too?

It's even easier to see where this one comes from. But when it comes to actual evidence, one might then decide to test a hypothesis that many more of these "draconian" measures are coming from the same place. Then one might wonder why only one vehemently anti-communist cult (Falon Gong) had claimed "organ harvesting" starting in 2006. Now a few separatists Muslim Uyghurs have joined in this claim.

So, here are two groups, one with only about 40,000 known members worldwide, claiming they are part of a horrendous genocide. Western researchers, speaking for the two groups have claimed before the UN, things like the following (reported in Business Insider):

• Sabi told the UN council on Tuesday that China's efforts involved "hundreds of thousands of victims," describing it as "one of the worst mass atrocities of this century."  He did not specify how many organs the China Tribunal believes had been harvested, or the number taken from Uighurs and from Falun Gong members. "Victim for victim and death for death, cutting out the hearts and other organs from living, blameless, harmless, peaceable people constitutes one of the worst mass atrocities of this century," he said.

The press almost never touches the other side of this story including the fact that all evidence is merely word-of-mouth reporting. And some of that reporting has been laughable.

It's also difficult to explain why we rarely hear about other beliefs and claims of the cult that everyone would know immediately are obviously false. Why the cover-up of their insane beliefs?

The same goes for the Uyghurs. Why do we so rarely hear about the thousands of Chinese Uyghur separatists who have joined Isis and other terrorist groups, fighting in Syria, and ending up in Turkey rather than going back to face justice in China. What would the United States do if citizens joined Isis or other terrorist groups?

And why does no one point out that so many of their claims are ludicrous, such as the claims that their language is being snuffed out, when signs in the Uyghur's provinces are in both Chinese and their own language? Why are they allowed to claim that their music and culture are being snuffed out, when other parts of China celebrate their music and culture, and their music is even popular among many Han Chinese in Beijing.

Claims can always be true or false, or have elements of both. But it's the contradictions and proven exaggerations that should make us wonder if we ought to look at various claims more closely before repeating them as if they must necessarily be true.