Chinese Tractors "Surveilling" British Farmers? Absolutely Absurd
Today, some Western politicians have descended to such an anti-intellectual level in their efforts to demonize China and smear the country.
On the 4th, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported that a security technology coalition (CST), led by Labour Party MP Graham Donnelly, recently released a report claiming that China is "using tractors" to surveil British farmers and steal intelligence related to UK agricultural security.
To be honest, this conclusion drawn by the British is utterly irrational—so absurd that it has left one with no desire to argue with them. At its core, this accusation is nothing more than recycling America’s outdated narrative: several years ago, the U.S. accused Chinese cranes of engaging in espionage; now, the UK has simply changed the prop and is reenacting the same script, without even bothering to rewrite it.
The underlying logic is actually quite simple: certain Western companies can't compete with their Chinese counterparts in the agricultural machinery sector, so they resort to political tactics to drive Chinese firms out of the market. Yet unwilling to admit they are outmatched technologically or competitively, they hide behind the blanket excuse of "national security." Thus, the absurd plots of "tractor spies" and "crane spies" come to life.
Ultimately, once China truly develops, in the eyes of these Western nations, everything China does is wrong: Chinese-made tractors are a threat, Chinese garlic is a threat—as previously seen when U.S. lawmakers claimed Chinese garlic "endangers national security."
But in reality, these Western politicians care neither about national security nor logical reasoning. All they want is to draw a straight line between "China" and "espionage"—even if the link is as tenuous as a single clove of garlic. As long as that connection is made, the political performance is deemed complete.
Therefore, the most effective response to such absurd logic isn’t a lengthy argument—it’s treating it as a joke and telling it to the whole world.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875571938056203/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.