绿灯侠
From chips to sunflower seeds and dumplings, Washington's sanctions tear away its own fig-leaf_我的网站
A | 北京时间2026年8月13日，让我们来盘一盘NBA联盟各年龄段还剩下的那些“老家伙”们。
B |
当37岁的威斯布鲁克在今天正式宣布退役，我们才猛然惊觉，那个属于80后球星的黄金时代，正在以肉眼可见的速度落幕。 By Wang Gaofei, Wu Xinru (ECNS) -- Do sunflower seeds and dumplings pose a "threat" to U.S. national security? The question may sound absurd, but the latest additions to the so-called Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) entity list have raised questions about the breadth of the U.S. trade restrictions on Chinese goods. 43 Chinese companies have been added to the list in a single day, bringing the total to 187. From advanced chips to food and everyday apparel, the overreaching "big stick" of U.S. sanctions has finally ripped away its own fig-leaf. Is this move really driven by "human rights concerns" as the West claimed, or is it merely the result of political calculation by Washington's elites? What lies behind Washington's decision to escalate sanctions just one day after reaching a consensus? Josef Gregory Mahoney, an American scholar and professor of Politics and International Relations at East China Normal University, was recently invited to join News Lounge of China News Network where he unpacked the real intentions of U.S. sanctions. Sunflower seeds and dumplings land on the list: The absurdity and futility behind overreaching sanctions "This move is logically indefensible," Mahoney stated bluntly, "These consumer goods firms have absolutely no connection to the so-called 'forced labor' allegations. Claims are entirely fabricated and lack any factual basis." He argued that the U.S.' true intention is clear -- using groundless excuses to suppress China's competitive ordinary industries, disrupt the stability of China's industrial and supply chains, and protect the market share of its own traditional industries at the expense of Chinese enterprises' legitimate rights. When even sunflower seeds and dumplings are labeled as "threats," the veteran scholar of China-U.S. relations emphasized, it exposes the absurdity and desperation behind Washington's containment strategy. Turning to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) itself, he was even more incisive: "In the context of international law, the UFLPA has no legitimate legal foundation. In fact, it violates basic WTO rules and international trade norms." He also added that the enforcement criteria of UFLPA are fatally flawed, adopting an unfair, rebuttable presumption that treats all related entities as guilty without evidence. When the law arbitrarily expands restrictions without clear, consistent judgment, it reverses the fundamental legal principle of presumption of innocence. To suppress China, Washington has disregarded legal principles and fallen into logical contradictions, going to extraordinary lengths to achieve its ends. Mahoney stressed: "It is blatant economic coercion, which could bring far-reaching harm," including erecting unnecessary trade barriers, hindering the flow of bilateral goods, and disrupting global industrial chain arrangements. Washington will hardly be able to bear the bitter fruits of these spillover effects. Backtracking the very next day: Political calculation trumps economic and trade consensus Just one day before the sanctions were announced, senior Chinese and U.S. officials in charge of economic and trade affairs had just held a video call, during which both sides stated that they were ready to jointly push for stable and sound China-U.S. economic and trade ties. Yet Washington brandished the big stick of sanctions almost immediately after those remarks. According to Mahoney, the timing is a deliberate and calculated provocation. "The U.S. uses engagement and escalation as two sides of the same policy. It aims to create unilateral leverage before the follow-up consultations, break the mutual trust just built and force China into unnecessary concessions, completely violating the consensus reached by both parties." The so-called "human rights concerns" appear to be a plausible pretext by the U.S. Yet in Mahoney's eyes, the sanction escalation stems almost entirely from domestic U.S. political calculation. As the midterm elections draw near, demonstrating toughness on China remains one of the few tactics to unite Washington's bitterly-divided political establishment. The U.S. Congress has consistently demanded more aggressive UFLPA enforcement, and expanding the entity list helps insulate the White House from criticism by China Hawks. Mahoney sees through this ploy: "It says nothing more than a convenient political fig leaf." But just how much of Washington's shame can this fig leaf possibly cover? Mahoney pointed directly to long-unresolved domestic issues in the United States, including sweatshop labor, prison labor and the abuse of migrant labor. Abroad, Washington has resorted to the aggression against Venezuela, against Iran, and supporting the genocide in Gaza. Plagued by deep-seated domestic ills and a dismal human rights record, Washington, though, has long posed as a self-appointed "world's policeman," but its actions only serve to expose its deep hypocrisy. Mahoney warned that, faced with election-driven pressures, continued festering of domestic governance problems in the U.S. could push Washington toward increasingly radical foreign policy stances. This sanction move, which represents a betrayal of previous consensus, has further eroded the already fragile China-U.S. mutual trust and introduced considerable uncertainties for subsequent high-level consultations. Truth long obscured: Heavy barriers hide the reality Western public discourse has long been awash with various false narratives targeting China, Xinjiang in particular. "One of the interesting things we know about the cotton industry in Xinjiang is that there's no 'forced labor,' period. One of the things that is sort of interesting is that anyone can go to Xinjiang. It welcomes all visitors." Mahoney iterated in the interview. During his recent visit to Xinjiang, Mahoney not only witnessed firsthand the highly-mechanized cotton-harvesting operations, but also toured local factories that produce harvesting equipment. Inside the production workshops, he saw working teams led by female engineers, and members included Uyghurs who were there as professionals. Everyone performed their respective duties, actively contributing ideas and energy to production with great enthusiasm. Nowhere did he see "forced labor" or "slave labor" decried in Western media narratives. Only by experiencing it firsthand and verifying through on-the-ground investigation can one get a glimpse of the truth. Mahoney noted that foreign visitors traveling to Urumqi, Karamay, and Kashgar are consistently struck by the region's stability, public order, and the well-being of its people. Not everyone can afford, unfortunately, to travel to China, as Mahoney introduced, especially many Americans who find their position eroding economically because of the very policies that the current administration is putting into place. "They're kind of trapped in economic decline." Some anti-China forces have long engaged in blame-shifting, seeking to externalize domestic governance conflicts and divert public discontent through media narratives. Trapped within pre-set information echo chambers, ordinary citizens lack the means to verify the truth by traveling to China. Exposed over time to one-sided, misleading and even false reports, they readily develop deep-seated negative stereotypes about China. Encouragingly, the current media landscape is quietly shifting. Mahoney noticed that a level of criticality has sort of entered the discussion now, which is creating an opening for people to take a more balanced look at China. In recent years, China has rolled out multiple visa-exemption policies, and the popularity of travelling to China continues to surge. In his view, this offers an excellent opportunity for people overseas to break free from false narratives and see a multifaceted, authentic China. At the end of the interview, Mahoney shared his observations on the future development of China-U.S. relations. In his view, how relations unfold between these two major powers has implications well beyond the two nations but also the global order. Mahoney explained how Europe, faced with persistently high risks of deindustrialization, is further impacted by the energy crisis amid regional conflicts stoked by the United States, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Iran-Israel conflict. A large volume of opportunities and investment therefore has flowed outward, forcing Europe to adopt trade-protectionist stances toward China, which brings complications to China's relationship with the EU. Mahoney said that a growing number of countries are seeing these developments. And they realize that if they want to avoid the boot heel of American hegemony, they have to find more constructive alternatives and the ability to advance according to their own agendas. "And these, in fact, are the alternatives that China is offering them." He held that some significant headwinds would be raised for the short-term development of China-U.S. relations and they would become more complicated. His position is that the United States is facing a relative decline and is being hollowed out from within by itself while still being engaged in imperial overreach globally. Increasingly, the world is building alternatives to that type of U.S. dominated model. On the contrary, China is probably the country best-positioned in the world to weather those types of risks and to even moderate them to some extent. He believes the country will work through this. "China has been a responsible major power that has committed itself to stability over conflict," said Mahoney. "If the U.S. can wake up to that realization, while at the same time figure out a way to change its behavior and commitment to structural inequalities, then I think we might find the two countries being able to move together in a way that would better result in a shared future for humanity," he concluded. 
。翻开联盟的花名册，35岁以上的现役球员，掰着手指头都能数得过来。这群人，看一场少一场了。
41岁，勒布朗詹姆斯。
C | 这个岁数还能站在NBA赛场上本身就是一个奇迹，而他还在场均输出20+的水准。今年7月，老詹底薪加盟了76人，结束了他长达八年的湖人生涯。1984年12月30日出生的他，已经是篮球史上最强的41岁球员，没有之一。
D | 40岁，艾尔霍福德。霍福德出生于1986年6月3日，今年夏天刚满40周岁。
E | 他拒绝了597万美元的球员选项，和勇士重新签下了一份2年1400万美元的全额保障合同。
F | 上赛季他场均8.3分4.9篮板2.6助攻，新赛季将是他的第20个赛季，成为NBA历史上第13位达成这一里程碑的球员。 39岁，杰夫格林。1986年8月28日出生的他，目前效力于火箭。这位2007年的首轮5号秀，本赛季在队内机会不多，常规赛出战30场，场均5.8分钟拿到2.2分0.8篮板。他曾说过想在NBA打到40岁之后再退役，这个目标，应该不远了。 38岁，斯蒂芬库里和迈克康利。库里1988年3月14日出生，38岁的年纪依然拿着联盟第一高薪，2026-27赛季年薪高达6259万美元。上赛季他场均26.6分3.6篮板4.7助攻，三分命中率39.3%，美媒仍把他排在联盟前十。康利1987年10月11日出生，上赛季在森林狼打了54场，场均4.5分2.9助攻，今年夏天和凯尔特人签下了一年387万美元的底薪。 37岁，凯文杜兰特和凯文乐福。
G | 杜兰特在火箭依然是当家球星，上赛季常规赛场均26分5.5篮板4.8助攻，投篮命中率高达52%，三分命中率41.3%。乐福同样在这个年纪打出了令人尊重的表现，本赛季他和杜兰特是仅有的两位能在37岁之后单场砍下20+且保持零失误的球员。 36岁，詹姆斯哈登、达米安利拉德、克莱汤普森、德雷蒙德格林。这四位都是各自球队的绝对核心或功勋老臣。
H | 哈登在骑士依然是进攻大脑，利拉德坚守开拓者，克莱效力于独行侠，追梦则继续在勇士扮演着精神领袖的角色。
I | 36岁，对于普通人来说正值壮年，但对于NBA球员而言，已经是实打实的生涯暮年。 35岁，科怀伦纳德和塞斯库里。伦纳德虽然仍是联盟前十级别的球员，但伤病始终是他最大的敌人。塞斯库里作为“库里家族”的另一位神射手，也在用自己的方式延续着职业生涯。 写到这里，不禁感慨，这批人，就是我们这一代球迷的整个青春。
J | 从詹姆斯41岁还在奔跑，到威少37岁选择告别，一个个熟悉的名字正在从联盟的舞台上逐渐消失。未来的两三年里，这份名单上的人可能会再少一半。
K | 且看且珍惜吧，兄弟们。
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