The Empire Of Lies.

From the Persian empire that stretched from Iran into Central Asia and Egypt to the British empire covering nearly a quarter of the planet, the world has witnessed various superpowers ruling large swathes of territories. The idea of 'empires' seemed to have faded away with countries under British rule gaining independence, following the process of decolonisation. Or at least that was the understanding: until a totally different genre was introduced in 2023 .... TheEmpire of Lies.

Previously, the Biden administration felt that the erstwhile optimistic approaches to China were flawed, and that China posed 'the most significant challenge of any nation: state in the world to the United States'. However, the world saw a significant shift in America's posture when during the G7 summit in Hiroshima, in May 2023. Biden stated that the Sino: US ties would see a 'thaw very shortly.' Since then, reportedly, the lines of communication have been re: opened between the two countries. Eyes were now on the proposed meeting between the Presidents of China and the US at the APEC summit scheduled for Nov this year. That is next month. Thinktanks in Washington believed that the APEC meeting might provide both countries to look for 'useful deliverables.'

But then what happened?

Last week, China, terming the US an 'empire of lies' accused the latter of 'inventing the weaponising of the global information space.' This serious allegation was levelled against Washington in retaliation for a State Department report claiming that Beijing spends billions of dollars to spread disinformation globally. In its report prepared by the US Global Engagement Centre, China has been accused of not only financing propaganda and disinformation but also boosting positive news about the country and its communist leadership. It is argued that if unchecked, this could result in a 'slow, steady destruction of democratic values.'

Beijing has dubbed the report as 'disinformation itself', adding that 'it misrepresents facts and truth' before revealing that 'it is the US that invented the weaponising of the global information space through and through.' According to the Chinese foreign office, more and more people in the world have already seen through America's'ugly attempt to perpetuate its supremacy by weaving lies into the emperor's new clothes and smearing others.'

Objectivity demands that the claims made by China and the US about each other's credentials, should be analysed through...