That only worked when China was a small country economically. Once China passes the U.S. and becomes the #1 economic superpower, none of this matters. These small fish "allies" are not really important.

> I'm amazed at the short-term thinking behind these moves - and the fact that HN, of all places, is cheering it

Everything you said here we already know. What you don't realize is the world is going through an invisible war right now at a scale of world war 3. These first world country people have never lived a difficult life so they just think everything will be all right just because it's been all right through their entire life. When China gains its dominance by bullying the rest of the world and the rest of the world just trying to "take the high road", they will realize there's no longer anything they can do about the situation because the Chinese economy has become too strong. This is why countries like India are taking the same route already (They were the ones who banned TikTok first).

There is no permanent "ally" in the world politics. If you naively think "taking the high road" will win you allies even if it means losing your power, you should study history and learn to see long term.

> you get global influence and alliances

The US already has that.

> You don't get world-class talent moving to your country by being a totalitarian state

Which is why immigrants prefer US to China, banning tic tok is not going to change that.

>No, by taking the "high road" and valuing freedom and rights, you get global influence and alliances that are worth far

How can anyone paying attention to global politics for the past 20 years claim this?

>I'm amazed at the short-term thinking behind these moves

The short-term thinking was Western companies doing everything in their power to appease the CCP in order to gain access to a huge market.