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China is real mad
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because the US is being a Chad.
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Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Matt Gnaizda,
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filling in for Chris Chappell again,
who’s still lost in the Matrix.
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Is Agent Chris the bad guy or the good guy?
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In the meantime, the United States
has been busy angering China.
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And nothing angered China more than that the US
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and its allies did at last
weekend’s Shangri-La Dialogue.
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As you know, over the years,
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China has been
rapidly advancing its military capabilities.
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Among other things, they’re
preparing to take over Taiwan.
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Part of this involves China
militarizing the South China Sea,
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by creating artificial islands and
building military bases on them.
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And China is constantly pushing boundaries with
neighboring countries like the Philippines…
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China has gotten away with
more and more over the years,
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always stopping just short of anything
that would provoke all-out war.
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They’re like a cat pushing a
dish to the edge of the counter,
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making eye contact as if to say,
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“I know you don’t like that I’m doing
this…
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but I’m gonna do it anyway.”
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But it seems like, finally, someone is
noticing what the Chinese Communist Party
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is doing and is ready to call it out.
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Enter US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
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Last weekend, Hegseth spoke
at the Shangri-La Dialogue,
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also known as the Singapore security forum.
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The Shangri-La Dialogue is in its 22nd year.
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This year, the US sent one of its
largest-ever delegations to the event,
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while, curiously, China sent only a minor
delegation
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and cancelled its planned speech.
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Historically, this forum has been
a place for both the US
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and China to make their pitches to the
region about cooperation.
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But with China all but absent,
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things
were a little different this year.
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Hegseth even mocked the CCP’s absence.
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“We are here to stay, and,
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as a matter of fact, we are here this
morning, and somebody else isn’t.”
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I know the US casts a big shadow,
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but now they’re also throwing shade.
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Hegseth made it clear that Washington
doesn’t seek a war with China.
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Which is a similar message to the speech that
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President Trump gave on his
Middle East tour last month.
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It’s part of Trump’s foreign policy of
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“Don’t start nothing, won't be nothing.”
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But Hegseth wasn’t exactly soft on China, either.
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“Again, to be clear, any attempt by
Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force
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would result in devastating
consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world.
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There’s no reason to sugarcoat it.
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The threat China poses is
real and it could be imminent.
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We hope not, but it certainly could be.”
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“Don’t do it, kitty. Don’t do it!”
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Much like the US has done with its Western allies,
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Hegseth also took the opportunity
to demand Indo-Pacific allies
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raise their defense spending and work more
closely with each other to deter China.
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He said it doesn’t make sense for
the US to ask its European allies
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to increase their defense spending by a large amount
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and not ask the same
of its Indo-Pacific allies.
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Although, I imagine some of the
Indo-Pacific allies were thinking,
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“Ooh, we were hoping you wouldn’t notice that.”
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In addition, the Under Secretary
of Defense posted on X that
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the 5% defense spending target for
NATO countries is the new standard
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for allies around the world, especially in Asia.
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Some Indo-Pacific countries are already
there,
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and there have already been
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plenty of joint military drills between
the US
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and various Indo-Pacific nations,
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along with plenty of US military aid.
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So,
really, what Hegseth promised was basically,
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“we’re not going anywhere.”
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And
the message was appreciated!
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A few members of the US delegation
to the Shangri-La Dialogue…
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confirmed that in conversations they
had with Asian officials at the meeting,
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the US commitment to regional
security was warmly welcomed.
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Gee, I can’t imagine why China
wasn’t stoked to show up at
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what turned out to be a
“China is the problem” forum.
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While there, Hegseth also announced
some specific defense initiatives
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between the US and its regional
allies to deter threats like China.
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“The first project plans to establish repair
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capability & capacity for
radar systems in Australia.
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It will also enable Indo-Pacific
allies operating aircraft,
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including New Zealand and the Republic of
Korea,
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to repair aircraft in the region
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rather than relying on single repair
sources in the continental United States.
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The second is a project that will develop
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standards for small unmanned aerial
systems across the Indo-Pacific.”
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Helping allies! Committing to security!
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So…surely, there’s no controversy, right?
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Hahaha.
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Democratic Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth
called Hegseth’s speech patronizing
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and noted that “his idea where
we wrap ourselves around you -
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we don't need that kind of language.
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We need to stand with our allies, work together,
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and send the message that America is not asking
people to choose between the PRC and us.”
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I know Tammy Duckworth was in the military,
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but I didn’t realize she also served
as a member of the tone police.
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Now, Hegseth did not ask Indo-Pacific
nations to choose between China and the US.
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Instead, he recognized that it’s a
complex situation for many countries.
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“We know that many countries are
tempted by the idea of seeking
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both economic cooperation with China
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and
defense cooperation with the United States.
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Now, that is a geographic necessity for many,
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but beware of the leverage that the
CCP seeks with that entanglement.”
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Um…yeah. Fair.
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Of course, it is a complex situation.
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Because despite the CCP’s behavior,
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not everyone in the Indo-Pacific
sees it as an out and out threat.
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Fun fact: Chinese money is the world’s
most effective blindfold and earplugs.
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It’s apparently perfect at tuning out reality.
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One regional expert points out that…
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besides a few exceptions,
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“the perceptions of
the threat from China among Asian countries
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is not parallel to European
perceptions of Russia”
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and that many countries in Asia have “a
more sanguine take of China”,
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where “they recognise the challenge
posed by China in the South China Sea
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but otherwise they are willing to work
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with China on almost everything else.”
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Essentially: sure, China
always teeters on invading
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sovereign nations and kicking off World War III…
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but we save a little more money by
buying their cheap crap.
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Worth it!
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There’s also a lot of
uncertainty about whether the US
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would really send troops to
defend Taiwan, or any other ally,
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should China go too far.
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Some analysts point out that
President Trump seems more willing
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to make deals with bad actors on the world
stage, such as Russia, Iran, or Hamas…
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than taking aggressive action
to support allies against them.
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Which makes sense, since Trump
is known for making deals.
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And for being a bad actor.
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But the Trump Administration has
suggested that this new approach
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is a strategy aimed at realigning
Russia with the US against China…
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or otherwise allowing US allies in the Middle
East and Europe
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to tackle threats there,
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freeing up the US to focus on the CCP.
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As Secretary Hegseth made clear,
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the US isn’t
looking for a regime-change war against China.
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It prefers to deter the CCP, both by boosting its
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presence in the Indo-Pacific and
empowering its local partners.
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For starters, President Trump aims to exceed
his first term’s weapons sales to Taiwan.
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And he’s committed to “enhancing
hard deterrence” for Taiwan.
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What is hard deterrence?
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Wouldn’t China like to know.
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Earlier this year, Hegseth
visited Japan and the Philippines
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and praised their historic alliance with
the US,
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vowing to deepen cooperation.
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In fact, just days ago, at a
meeting of defense ministers,
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Japan, the US, and Australia agreed to help the
Philippines increase its defense capabilities.
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And also at the Shangri-La Dialogue
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, the
Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense
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publicly lambasted China’s regional
aggression and pointed out that
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many countries in the region
were cooperating to challenge it.
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It’s beautiful how China is
bringing nations together
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against it.
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It’s not beautiful from
China’s perspective though.
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They were big mad about Hegseth’s speech.
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Not long after the conference,
China’s Singapore Embassy
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blasted Hegseth’s speech on
Facebook, of all places,
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saying that the speech was “steeped in
provocations and instigation”
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and that Hegseth had “repeatedly
smeared and attacked China and
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relentlessly played up the
so-called 'China threat'”,
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adding that “as a matter of fact, the US itself is
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the biggest 'troublemaker' for
regional peace and stability.”
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It’s part of China’s foreign policy of
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“Nuh uh, you are.”
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The main problem with that narrative
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is that Hegseth already pointed out
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that the US isn’t trying to overthrow the
CCP or go to war—
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it’s trying to prevent one.
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The Chinese Communist Party
seems to be lashing out because,
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as their low-level delegation may
indicate, it’s being isolated.
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Between improving US military readiness,
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closer cooperation between the
West and its regional allies,
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and tightening relations amongst
the CCP’s regional rivals,
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President Trump’s new plan for taking on China
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just might work without even a shot being fired.
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And that’s a real chad move.
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At least, it’s working so far.
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Hopefully everyone keeps their eyes and ears open
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And not covered by Chinese money.
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And while we at China Uncensored
don’t take any Chinese money,
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We do need American money to
keep making this show for you.
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So I invite you to join our China Uncensored
50-Cent Army over at ChinaUncensored.tv.
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You’ll get a bunch of exclusive benefits,
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Once again, I'm Matt Gnaizda. Thank
you for supporting China Uncensored.