#736: A Strategic Deep Dive on TikTok, The Boiling Moat of Taiwan, and China’s Next-Gen Statecraft — Matt Pottinger, Former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor

Matt Pottinger is a distinguished visiting
fellow at the Hoover Institution and chairman of the China
Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Matt served
as U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021.
Before his White House service, Matt spent the late 1990s and
early 2000s in China as a reporter for Reuters and The Wall
Street Journal. He then fought in Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S.
Marine during three combat deployments between 2007 and 2010.
Matt’s new book is The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to
Defend Taiwan.


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Timestamps:


[00:00] Start


[05:55] Bao Tong’s calligraphy.


[08:20] Matt’s decision to study East Asian languages.


[10:13] Studying with Perry Link and the challenges of learning
Chinese.


[12:19] Tips for learning Chinese and other languages.


[17:17] How TikTok has been weaponized by the Chinese Communist
Party.


[20:58] The origins of TikTok and its obfuscatory ownership
structure.


[26:30] How sowing chaos in the West serves the CCP’s aims.


[31:37] “Politics stops at the water’s edge.”


[33:11] How should the US rein in TikTok’s influence over its
population?


[40:23] The significance of Taiwan geographically, ideologically,
and economically.


[49:59] The semiconductor industry in Taiwan and its global
importance.


[52:07] Deterring China from attacking or coercing Taiwan.


[58:51] Cultivating social depth in Taiwan.


[1:01:09] Guessing at Xi Jinping’s timeline.


[1:05:33] Demonstrating the will to match the capacity of
following through.


[1:07:47] Matt’s top priorities for stemming Chinese ambitions.


[1:10:15] Architects of chaos.


[1:14:21] Staying alert against informational warfare and united
front activity.


[1:21:00] Countering China’s influence on its Western-based
citizens.


[1:25:05] Checkers vs. Go.


[1:26:56] How can the US reassert its position as a beacon of
democracy?


[1:33:05] What prompted Matt to join the Marine Corps at age 32?


[1:38:50] Getting in shape for the occasion.


[1:40:45] Leadership lessons learned.


[1:46:59] The Boiling Moat, the importance of public service, and
parting thoughts.


*


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