The Chinese are masters at copycat capitalism; give them a blueprint–or even an item they can reverse-engineer–and they’ll speedily and inexpensively start manufacturing knockoffs. Some of us worry about quality control (understatement alert) for components of everything from computers to aircraft. Whatif they are selling us stuff that will fail at a sensitive moment? Or just plain fail?
It’s hard to separate national security concerns from the quality control issue, and of course “national security” is sometimes subject to surprising definition. In Iran, for example, we find that the Chinese have penetrated the Koran market, and Chinese knockoffs cost less than Iranian-made versions. But the cheap Chinese Korans have lots of typos…
I wonder if those “typos” are just typos, or if there is a systematic ideological campaign under way. I mean, the Beijing regime is quite concerned about radical Muslim separatists in the West. Why not subvert the doctrine, and make a profit at the same time?
Inquiring minds await the detailed report of the Iranian “Koran Oversight Office.”
Yes, you bet I’m serious.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member