Opium had been introduced into China in the 7th century. By 1729 it had become such a problem that the Yongzheng emperor (ruled 1722–35) prohibited the sale and smoking of opium. That failed to hamper the trade, however, when the British later discovered the value of the opium trade, they determined to benefit. There was a great demand in the West for Chinese goods such as tea, silk, and porcelain, but there was not much demand in China for Western goods. The British improved their trade balance by obtaining opium from India and selling it at a great profit in China.
Drugs helped the imperialist Brits profit handsomely from China’s addiction. In the 21st Century – I guess you could say turnabout is fair paly. That is, since the unwise gift of Hong Kong to the Chinese by the failing British empire and the greedy oligarchs in the U.S. who gave China WTO status in 2000 under Bush/Clinton – the last 25 years or so have proved that cheap Chinese goods has turned this Maoist 3rd world country into an economic super power and is quite simply much more of a threat to the freedoms and enlightenment of the West than Russia or the former Soviet Union ever were. We now seem addicted to their drug of cheap goods – and this makes us dependent on an evil empire.
The Chinese are smart resilient people who though lacking in the same individualistic spirit that gave us the Western enlightenment and rise of science – are on a path to dominate the world in the way we feared we would see if Communism ever succeeded in the USSR. Fortunately, Reagan and our freedoms and most of all strong economy took the failed Communist system down in the USSR and led to most of Eastern Europe rejoining the West.
Sadly, the greedy Oligarchs in the EU and West have turned our attention to Russia – which is more aligned with the West than a Marxist autocratic Chinese culture could ever be. And though Trump is vilified by the illiberal left in the US and EU – he is right to end the slaughter in Ukraine. We must accept the history that Europe for much of the last two and a half centuries has been the real aggressors – not Russia. That Napoleon invaded Russia not the other way around. That Britain, France and the Ottoman Turks teamed up in an attempt to take Crimea – the Crimean War. That Finland and Nazi Germany did in fact team up in the siege of St Petersburg with over a million Russian civilians starved to death. That Nazi Germany did in fact invade Russia and cost the lives of 20 million Russians bearing the brunt of actually freeing Europe – here on May 8 the 80th anniversary of VE. Victory in Europe over Nazi Germany – NOT Russia – who was the ally of the West until the end of WW2 and the beginning of the cold war – which fortunately we won thanks to a strong Reagan economy.
Bottom line – we must not just say America First – but Western enlightenment and Civilization First. Yes, I’m happy we now have an American Pope. I also realize that this country was founded by Protestants – not Catholics. I also recognize the original founding religion of it all – Judaism. We all must unite against the godless atheists, Marxists, greedy Globalists and the Communist Chinese – who are the actual existential enemies.
Oh, and there is this evil drug Fentanyl that is odorless and laced in relatively harmless party drugs where Americans are dying at a rate of about 100,000 per year – made in China – exported to the Cartels in Mexico. A double whammy the last administration ignored completely – the Border and China. Yes, we have real drugs from China and a kind of drug where we are hooked on in cheap goods, but it is time for our version of the Opium wars to reject these autocratic imperialists in China that do not care about our people, freedoms, human rights or Western exceptionalism. America first. Western civilization first.