Watched the Bret / Tucker piece. It is hard to take one man’s assessment as the whole or only or even at all true. (which he admits is a valid critique). But he is certainly a good and compelling / convincing storyteller.
I think his assessment of the OCP in China (to create a “migrant army” is completely off base. His population gender-birth game theory take completely ignored the cultural psychology of Chinese history - favoring males (if only able to have one child) for the social responsibility of late and end of life care of the parents.
I think it seems more likely that the Chinese Darién camp in Panama is run by some big time Chinese snakehead rather than some CCP shadow op. People there would be told not to talk to anyone, especially white “foreigners” (as all non Chinese people are called). I would wager good money that there’s a shady, independent Chinese businessman who basically owns that camp and views it as an entrepreneurial endeavor…and could give piss all about the CCP.
It seems more likely that the Chinese people in the camp are lower-middle / middle-middle class - they can afford a ticket to Ecuador and buses and boats to avoid the gap but not the other, more expensive ways to get into the US or CA or AU or NZ or UK. Rather than them being PLA sleeper agents.
I think there are few women because 1) the gender imbalance and 2) women in China, especially, would be told that this journey is super dangerous (and the US itself is super dangerous too!) and that they’ll be violated in an innumerable number of ways, so of course very few want to take the trip. And by Bret’s own logic, given the gender imbalance, a woman in China has better prospects staying in China and taking her pic of a surplus of men…
Also the narrative in China is the world outside of China (where the CCP cannot protect you) is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS (even though most crime affecting Chinese people abroad is Chinese triad types running schemes of the Chinese enclave abroad). So it would not be surprising for them to natural reserved or even fearful / suspicious of all non Chinese people on what is already such a dangerous trip full of unknowns. This certainly a thing that snakehead captains exploit of great control both on that trip and even once migrants arrive in the US.
I think it’s disingenuous to position it as “very strange” that Chinese people would take the Darién route to the US. If they can’t get into Canada or Mexico first directly (they can’t) then they’d have to take that route like, well, everyone else - but they’re paying top dollar and travel as a cultural enclave so their a ready made business opportunity for anyway willing to run them on boats.
So in total, I think his take on a “Chinese invasion of America” through the Darién gap route planned all the way back in 1980 when the OCP was established (to create an abundance of males for a migrant army) and when China was still a technologically backwards, !Maoist/Stalinist nation no more than 5 year out of a long decade of OTHERWORLDLY political turmoil (the Cultural Revolution 1966-76) which was preceded only by what was perhaps the greatest famine humanity as ever known (Great Leap Forward 1958-62) - is absurd faaaaar beyond the point of idiocy.
All this said, his illuminations about the IOM - international organization for migrants - thought I’m sure they’d dispute his characterization of their mission and core beliefs - seems worth at least a further look.
There are certainly reasons to be concerned about the CCP and the things they do, but this ain’t it. And all this of course is MY take, informed by having lived in China, done business in China, studied Chinese history, studied Chinese politics and political economy, and speaking the language.
So, my Twitter midwit take assessment stands - but I’m not applying this label comprehensively - I’m not saying YOU are a Twitter midwit. But I AM saying that this is Twitter midwit take.
GFY🧡💜🤙🏿⚡️🫂