South Park had officially launched “the China issue” into the mainstream American consciousness

The latest episode of South Park jumped on the NBA-China saga at an unbelievable speed and weight. This is also the grimmest and most violent South Park episode I have ever seen (and South Park had not been shy of showing extreme violence on their show…)

But in my opinion, the NBA-China saga and this episode of South Park had officially launched/exposed the entire “China issue” “out in the open” – and for the first time, become part of the major public discourse in the USA (and not just USA, but the entire world).

CONTEXT

For some context, the NBA Team, Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey tweeted tweeted on Friday (and then deleted) an image with the slogan: “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong” in solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters.

In retaliation, China banned everything Houston Rocket.

Smearing everything worse, NBA releases a “conciliatory” response to try to appease China market and the Chinese Government (very much like what the Chinese Govt would want). However, this sparks unprecedented disgust among the American public, claiming NBA had capitulated/betrayed the United States.

NBA under fire from all directions after response to Rockets-China incident

For more than a decade, NBA teams have traveled to China every autumn to stage exhibition games and to spread the sport’s gospel in a crucial international market. This year, the league finds its annual overseas journey consumed by the political fallout prompted by an executive’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protesters.

So major is this issue that South Park immediately made an episode that criticises all American corporations that had “sold out” their “soul” in the chase for “Chinese money”; and made it a point to reveal all the human rights allegations, the unspoken state-sponsored crimes, and censorship that China impose on all that wanted “in” in China.

Despite several major issues between USA and China in the recent years, like the South China Sea issues or the Trade War launched by the Trump administration – “the China problem” had not really penetrated the “mainstream” in the American society than just the superficial understanding that China had not been “nice”.

“the China problem” had not really penetrated the “mainstream” in the American society than just the superficial understanding that China had not been “nice”.

All the accusation thrown at China by the Trump administration, had largely been ignored by at least half of the population as just “Trump being Trump” – and downplayed Trump’s attempt to “pin back” China, as just him being erratic or being “a jerk that he had always been”.

However, with wildly popular and politically incorrect South Park weighing in absolute terms that China IS the antagonist, and that the public should know about how China had been manipulating US corporations and Hollywood to bend to the Chinese will.

China in response, banned absolutely all things South Park, and literally scrubbed South Park off the Chinese internet – which immediately backfires as a self-inflicting doubling down on what South Park had already been accusing China of.

TURNING POINT

This unwitting “geopolitical event” is likely to set the American public firmly against China – the public relations war that China had been waging, to play the American public against the US administration for being “bullies”. All the Chinese narratives on how Trump and his administration are being the unreasonable party in the trade talks and how they are the actually the good guys trying to make a deal: has now lost all it’s credibility.

All the Chinese narratives on how Trump and his administration are being the unreasonable party in the trade talks and how they are the actually the good guys trying to make a deal: has now lost all it’s credibility.

With the lack of credibility within the eyes of the American public, public support for any action against China is likely to rise. This is looking also to be incredibly positive for President Trump’s re-election campaign: as he had been largely the first major figure in US politics to had taken aim at China right at the outset.

With huge American public interests now on the wrong-doings of China as well as increasing awareness of Chinese influence on corporation, entertainment and sports – media are also like to become increasingly anti-China (and pro-American). Increase public support will also embolden Trump’s administration to take even tougher stances and actions against China.

The cards now are increasingly stacked against China. With the lack of break through in the Trade War negotiations, Hong Kong protest unabated and now, potentially losing public support in the USA completely – it is hard to see how China can break this trend of worsening conditions. And we have yet to touch on the housing bubble, debt crisis, rising unemployment and credit crunch that China is facing…

This turning out to be a nightmare that China just can’t wake up from.