"The top domestic research institutions are exposed, maybe they are not 'research institutions'?"
"What exactly is Spark? An article will help you decipher it."
"The Chinese version of the National Military Industry Bureau? It's more than that!"
"Official release: The National Development Bureau is affiliated to the Spark Group, and projects including chips and large machinery are all related to Spark."
With the exposure of the Spark Team, this organization that has posed endless threats to the United States has finally taken off its mystery.
A series of previous doubts were finally answered, and the so-called "fund flow" issue seemed to turn into a joke in an instant.
After all, in the past few years, China has made great progress in the military industry for all to see. When the H-20 flies over, who cares whether they have paid a few more dollars in tax?
I'm afraid some people have to rush to buy two packs of cigarettes to celebrate. After all, the money spent is really worth it.
On the increasingly developed Internet, discussions on Spark have reached unprecedented heights.
If every piece of new equipment before could only arouse discussion in a certain field or group at most, then now, after the exposure of Spark, the whole of China can be said to have entered a national craze.
"So what kind of organization is Spark? Is it similar to the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the National Development and Reform Commission?"
"No. I feel that it is more like a combination of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. On the one hand, it provides financial resources and on the other hand, it provides technical support. The news said it is the Chinese version of the State Military Industry Bureau. It is really that kind of thing. Similar."
"High organization, high authority, high output. However, it seems that Spark's negative impact on the economy is much smaller than that of the State Military Industry Bureau. At least before it was exposed, we almost didn't feel its existence. "
"Yes, this is quite strange. In theory, after such a huge output and a huge investment of resources, the national economy will be seriously affected, but the fact is exactly the opposite. Not only has our economic environment not been affected, but it has Optimizing?"
"What? Physics no longer exists? The conservation of energy is broken?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone who was still discussing was in a panic.
Indeed, as this comment says, although it is different from absolute conservation in physics, in economics, there is also a certain threshold for the total economic volume in a certain period of time.
During this period, the number of resources consumed can only be limited to this threshold. If you want to spend more on one aspect, you have to spend less on the other.
But obviously, the Spark Organization broke this rule.
Although I don’t know its specific project list, from the beginning of the first major breakthrough J-22 project to the end of the 096 project not long ago, in just seven years, how many major projects of astonishing magnitude have been born in China? , advanced equipment?
Where does the money come from?
The manufacturing cost is only a small part of the cost, the real expense is the research and development cost.
"Maybe it should be explained as a snowball effect?"
New comments were refreshed, and someone immediately commented:
“The snowballing theory is well founded and actually pretty obvious.”
"You see, starting with the J-22, every subsequent breakthrough in the military industry has brought us new benefits."
"Whether it's islands, international markets, or arms sales, we've made a lot of money in recent years."
"Isn't there a large-scale construction of oil drilling platforms in the southern seas? After the Nandao incident, economic exchanges began to become rapidly intensive."
"The most important thing is that the mountain-moving project absorbed the impact of the economic crisis, which directly allowed us to take a big step forward."
"The point to note upstairs is that it is not the mountain-moving project that will absorb the economic crisis, but the subsequent large-scale infrastructure construction."
"It's all the same."
As the discussion deepened, such people seemed to gradually begin to reach a consensus on how Spark operated.
Among them, the deliberate guidance of the public opinion department represented by Li Xiang was naturally indispensable. Everyone's attention slowly shifted from "the source of technology" to "the source of funds and resources."
In fact, this explanation is largely a falsehood.
Can you invest resources in exchange for technology?
The development of science and technology is not like a vending machine, so how can we get such stable returns?
Not to mention those regrettable cases in the history of science and technology, even China, before the birth of Spark and the emergence of Chen Nian, had gone through many detours and spent a lot of wrongful money.
However, this explanation is indeed the only reasonable and most easily accepted argument.
Not only because of its logical self-consistency in the development process, but more importantly, its exemplary nature.
Although in international politics one cannot judge a country’s will based on individualized thinking, it is undeniable that the leadership of all countries that are striving to move forward will have the same mindset:
If others can do it, why can’t we?
And the existence of Xinghuo was like giving them a shot in the arm.
——
Although from the perspective of insiders in China, it is more like a "hallucinogen"
In any case, after several days of discussion, public opinion on Spark gradually began to unify, and its contribution was also recognized.
But at the same time, under the continued exaggeration of the unrelenting cyber army, new undercurrents began to gradually emerge.
"So the official message is that over the past few years, almost all of our economic increment has been invested in the Spark project?"
"Isn't this really a joke? To be honest, when I saw this report, I couldn't feel the joy of development at all. All I could think of was one word - militarism."
"Yes, I don't know what exactly these people are excited about? Are they excited that there is another dictatorial organization in this land? Are they excited that the new master is sitting on top of your head?"
"Okay, that's how ordinary people think. Even though they can't afford the five-yuan instant noodles, they are still obsessed with the dream created by the government using grand narratives."
"They may really think that their future is the stars and the sea. It's a bit ridiculous. The stars and the sea belong to the gentlemen. Your future only has smelly ditches, low-rent housing and fried rice for a few yuan a portion."
"The one upstairs is a bit extreme, but I also think it's quite exaggerated."
"If you think about it carefully, only the military industry has been the most prominent in development in the past few years. What about medical care? What about education? We talk about peaceful development every day, but the most investment is in war weapons. This country is hypocritical, maybe like us People who are powerless have no right to pursue happiness."
Faced with such remarks, the public opinion department was unable to respond immediately.
After all, some people have already been watching their actions with eager eyes. Once there are any signs of public opinion control, those who have been prepared will immediately jump out and start accusing China of "not being able to criticize freely, so praising nothing." meaning”
At the same time, in a small southern county, a Western face that was completely different from the local environment suddenly appeared on the street.
He took a deep breath, and countless emotions arose in his heart.
This is the third month since he arrived in China - or in other words, this is the third month since he arrived in China again.
Many years ago, as the BBC's most famous investigative reporter in China, he once made huge waves on his own.
Although the final result was unsatisfactory, and although he did not escape the fate of being deported, after several years of fighting, he finally regained the recognition of his superiors and took back what belonged to him.
——
To some extent, this is also thanks to China for disclosing information about the Spark Organization.
If it hadn't been for this, the "mistakes" he had made would probably never be forgiven for the rest of his life.
But now, everyone understands one thing:
The reason why Wilson failed at that time was not because of his own "mistake", but because his opponent was too strong.
Under the absolutely crushing strength, all the petty quarrels in the public opinion field have turned into jokes.
Therefore, the superiors re-evaluated Wilson's ability and decided to give him another chance after confirming that he had not given up on his major.
And the target of this opportunity is still China.
Objectively speaking, this is not easy.
After all, Wilson, who was deported, had already left a record in China's system, and the BBC even used special diplomatic channels to finally send him over.
He is still not allowed to engage in journalism, but this does not affect the BBC's overall arrangements.
This time, they do not intend to be as radical and directly provoking China's pain points as last time.
What they have to do is to slowly lurk, establish their influence through a series of small events, and subtly lay the foundation for their own base.
No one knows how effective such an action will be - but in fact, the BBC doesn't care that much.
Political battles are only side benefits. In an era when China is becoming increasingly powerful, discovering their "weaknesses" is originally a traffic code among the people.
It's good if you can make money, at least you won't lose money.
Thinking of this, Wilson let out the suffocation in his heart and let go of the pressure that had been building up for a long time.
He turned to the assistant beside him and asked:
"Are all the materials I asked you to prepare now ready?"
The assistant is a young-looking girl, but her makeup is quite Westernized - dark eye shadow, deliberately thick lips, and a high nose bridge. If you just glance at her, you can hardly detect her Eastern features.
"Everything is ready. I collected all the files I obtained in the early stage and selected 20 suitable interview subjects."
"According to your request, these twenty targets are basically at the bottom of society and have serious difficulties in life."
"It should be said that their dissatisfaction is the most serious - what's more interesting is that according to my previous observations, they generally don't pay much attention to the news and don't know the existence of Spark."
"So, their... um, plasticity, is more."
After hearing the assistant's reply, Wilson nodded with satisfaction.
This is exactly what he wants.
It seems that although my assistant cannot completely satisfy me in some aspects, at least there is no need to question her working ability.
After thinking for a moment, he continued to ask:
"Is the script ready? I told you before, this is not a regular interview."
"So, every step we take must be reasonable."
"At least, we can't let the interviewee see the problem. You have to delete all those lines that are obviously instructive."
"It's done--do you want to see it again?"
"unnecessary."
Wilson shook his head.
In fact, he was already familiar with the basic script framework, and things like "lines" were only written for the assistant to read.
He believed in his own ability, and it was just such a simple thing, and he couldn't make any mistakes.
Randomly adapting to circumstances can sometimes be more realistic and impactful than careful preparation.
When everything was ready, Wilson gave his assistant a look, and the two of them started working immediately.
They were like two tourist lovers from a foreign country walking on the streets of a small county town, casually photographing the scenery and people along the way, and making unique exclamations for every so-called "new thing".
Everyone passing by looked at them sideways, but they didn't pay attention at all and just focused on what was recorded on the small DV.
"Hi everyone, I have arrived in China. This is a small county in southern China. I think this place is very different from what we imagined."
"Unlike the big cities we are familiar with, the pace of life here is surprisingly slow."
"To be honest, coming here from Shanghai, I even feel that these are two completely different worlds."
"Look, there is a specialty restaurant here."
"Well I can read Chinese characters, but I can't read what's on the menu."
"Maybe it's their traditional meals, traditional specialties."
"Maybe we should try it, but not today."
"Yes, we have just settled in the hotel, and we still need some time to get familiar with the environment here."
Wilson's performance can be called almost perfect - he did not appear on camera from beginning to end, and only his assistant went out on his behalf.
At the same time, his voiceover perfectly fits the captured scenes, bringing a unique sense of immersion.
At this time, he did not realize that he was using a shooting technique called "Vlog" that later became popular.
This method relies on the appearance of so-called "authenticity" to often achieve persuasiveness that other methods cannot match.
——
But is it necessarily true?
At least not here in Wilson.
After walking along the main road of the county, Wilson and his assistant walked into the alley that had been well-trodden for a long time.
And in this alley, they were about to see their first target.
A family selling coal.
According to the information, the average monthly income of this family is less than 1,000 yuan, and there are two sisters in the family who are in high school.
Needless to say, their lives must have been extremely difficult.
And this is Wilson's opportunity
(End of chapter)
