Former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fed Fleitz accused the Biden administration of failing to stand up to Chinese atrocities and censorship over fears of offending the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Speaking on the John Solomon Reports podcast, the former administration official noted the weekend’s widespread protests against Beijing’s draconian “zero COVID” policies.
Thousands converged on university campuses and took to the streets demanding that President Xi Jinping step down and the ruling communist party relinquish power.
Fleitz declared that there is not a better moment than now for the U.S. “to speak out on behalf of freedom and on behalf of all people fighting for freedom.” He expressed his belief that the Biden White House is too worried about inflation and the economy as well as offending the CCP.
The U.S., he lamented, is sorely lacking leadership.
Shanghai
Brutal beatings carried out by the police.#Shanghai #ShanghaiProtests #ChinaProtests #ChinaUprisingThread pic.twitter.com/9b5OszTRCf— 247ChinaNews (@247ChinaNews) November 30, 2022
The Chinese people, according to Fleitz, know well that their government is corrupt and lying to them. However, they face a strong surveillance state that will undoubtedly jail many of the demonstrators.
State suppression means average citizens cannot access the internet outside of China, and at the same time they are subjected to “incredibly aggressive propaganda and press censorship.”
This combination, added to harsh prison sentences that may be handed down for dissent, makes it all the more remarkable that so many Chinese are braving the consequences to protest government actions.
Beijing appears to have reached its limit of tolerance for the mass protests sweeping the nation. The CCP’s powerful security machine swept through the country after the weekend demonstrations to stifle further unrest.
Police descended on previous protest sites and checked cell phones for apps and virtual private networks (VPNs) used to organize the rallies.
Some demonstrators were even contacted and warned against returning to the streets.
In a Tuesday meeting, China’s Domestic Security Chief Chen Wenqing pledged to “effectively maintain overall social stability.” Avoiding direct references to the demonstrations, Chen said law enforcement will “strike hard against infiltration and sabotage activities by hostile forces.”
Fleitz is right. The Biden administration is cowering under the economic difficulties created by its own policies and placing its own economic concerns ahead of speaking out against human rights violations. Leadership from the White House is glaringly obvious only by its absence.
