A bit ironic when woke, liberal China correspondents and think tankers who have been parroting and legitimizing U.S. propaganda suddenly realize that Washington can do real harm to ordinary people. If you are a truth-seeking journalist, of course, you're absolutely innocuous.

I've probably said this before, but the worst part of Western reporting in Asia is that journalists are convinced that their jobs are sacred. Many *do* bring truth to power, but more often than not that's simply not the case, while self-righteousness makes you overconfident.

There are Western journalists who provide 'reliable, transparent info' in China, and that's important work. Yet some people think they're on a *mission* here to somehow liberate Chinese people from the oppressive regime, often without even understanding the language.