Italy – China’s Virus & Surveillance Gateway to the West

ER Editor: It is referenced below, but see for yourself this CNN report from earlier this month titled Venice is watching tourists’ every move. The report is worth a look, but quite disturbing for the way it basically cheerleads for a Chinese-style surveillance state. ‘Privacy implications’ are mentioned merely as a footnote at the end. The revealing phrase ‘sustainable tourism’ crops up.

We admit to being wrong about cheerleading for China’s involvement through the Belt and Road Initiative in Italy. Given the sorry state of Italy’s economy, which is never allowed to improve through EU ‘leadership’, especially through the economy-crushing covid measures latterly, participation in this project seemed like a useful thing for the nation a couple of years back. In the fulness of time, however, it is clear that Chinese influence, of which there are many examples, no less the interference in the US presidential election among many others, seems to be no less than an existential threat to the West.

We remind readers that it was Italy, specifically the US embassy in Rome, that was the final destination of the US election vote tallies post-midnight, received and sent by Leonardo satellite, that is owned by the Vatican and, in part, the Italian government. See Italygate Part 1: Is The Italian Govt Directly Involved in US Election Fraud against Trump? [VIDEO] and Italygate, Part 2: Obama and Renzi Accused of Being Masterminds of US Electoral Fraud.

Taken together, we can assume that Italy had chosen the Chinese camp some time back.

********

Italy – China’s virus gateway to the West

EDWARD GIFFORD

AROUND a year ago we in these isles were beginning to hear of a flu-like virus floating around China; assured that it was of no consequence, we carried on as normal. Fast forward a month or so and the scene in Italy was likened to Armageddon; the Italians began to make a series of policy responses that were very much like China’s own. The answers to why Italy was the first to ‘catch’ Covid, first to lock down, and now first in Europe to build a social control grid in Venice to watch tourists’ every move,all seem to point in one direction: China, and specifically its Belt and Road Initiative.

On the surface, this project is a global infrastructure development project linking China – the East – and Europe – the West. The project isn’t geographically limited to the old Silk Road: nations in Africa and South America are being tapped on the shoulder and invited to join. The initiative says China is to ‘secure through trade and infrastructure the future prosperity of the Chinese people and promote economic growth and co-operation’.

Partner nations are granted loans from Chinese state banks or the Chinese-led Asian Development Bank; these often come with preferential rates of interest or looser repayment plans than other NGOs. In return the country will build the infrastructure the Chinese request: deep water ports in Italy or Pakistan, railways across Central Asia. Alternatively the country may use the money as it wishes but must give Chinese firms a free hand to develop their own projects within its territory. These loans and the accompanying conditions have been criticised as predatory and neo-colonial, taking advantage of poorer nations to trap them in debt and ensure they kowtow to the lender. Of course, it is hypocritical for Western nations or NGOs such as the IMF to denounce practices in which they themselves are involved – but that is a discussion for another time. (ER: Indeed, what is the difference between the IMF/World Bank and the Chinese government in this respect?)

Of more interest is the fact that Italy was the first G7 member to join this project, in 2019. The two nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth €2.5billion involving infrastructure projects around Italy, including energy and shipping. A lesser-known part of the scheme is the creation of a legal and political ‘level playing field’ between partner countries. Indeed, there is a centralised court which oversees adherence and deals with disagreements. It is no great leap to see the project as a way to create a new Sinocentric economic system, to wean countries away from the US into the hands of China.

It is common practice for China to move its own workers into partner nations; see examples from Nigeria, Zambia and Kenya. Recently Italy has experienced a sustained increase in Chinese immigration, described here by Jonathan Foreman. In Milan, riot police were brought in to quell disorder in Chinatown after police arrested a Chinese woman. Residents have been concerned after Chinese textile factories moved into the city, saying they have caused pollution, traffic and unrest.

Imagining that China would use Italy as the gateway to advance its own policies, and for these to be seen as legitimate coming from a G7 nation, is not difficult. As China welded citizens inside their houses in response to Covid-19, Italy started what would become a default policy across the West: lockdown. Indeed, Professor Neil Ferguson recently admitted to being surprised that he has been able to get away with such draconian action in a free country, citing Italy as an example.

Meanwhile another Chinese export has arrived in Italy: the chilling Social Control grid in Venice. The freedom controlling spectre once confined to the dystopian world of science fiction is here. Under the guise of ‘promoting responsible tourism’, Venetian authorities have constructed an all-seeing, all-knowing unescapable system of surveillance. It knows where you are, where you have been, what you have bought, how long you have been here, whether you are a local or a tourist, where you have come from …

CONTINUE READING HERE

************

Published to The Liberty Beacon from EuropeReloaded.com

••••

The Liberty Beacon Project is now expanding at a near exponential rate, and for this we are grateful and excited! But we must also be practical. For 7 years we have not asked for any donations, and have built this project with our own funds as we grew. We are now experiencing ever increasing growing pains due to the large number of websites and projects we represent. So we have just installed donation buttons on our websites and ask that you consider this when you visit them. Nothing is too small. We thank you for all your support and your considerations … (TLB)

••••

Comment Policy: As a privately owned web site, we reserve the right to remove comments that contain spam, advertising, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, or personal/abusive attacks on other users. This also applies to trolling, the use of more than one alias, or just intentional mischief. Enforcement of this policy is at the discretion of this websites administrators. Repeat offenders may be blocked or permanently banned without prior warning.

••••

Disclaimer: TLB websites contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of “fair use” in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, health, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than “fair use” you must request permission from the copyright owner.

••••

Disclaimer: The information and opinions shared are for informational purposes only including, but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material are not intended as medical advice or instruction. Nothing mentioned is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*