A Short Manual of Double-standard Language

NB: What light is to sight, language is to meaning-making. Nothing we see/know makes sense without it. For every same/similar scenario there're two sets of linguistic signs, positive and negative, to differentiate Self from Other.

WE pushback, send a strong message or clear signal, stand up to them, take a stand against them, keep them in line, moderate their behaviour, draw a line in the sand vs THEY bully, coerce, intimidate, provoke, upset, threaten, menace...

OUR commitment, alliance obligations, presence, engagement, foreward defence, out-of-area defence, power projection, deterrence, dissuasion vs THEIR aggression, expansion, overreach, military adventurism, territorial irredentism, muscle-flexing, sabre-rattling...

WE're here to stay (in their region), shape the region to our liking vs THEY occupy, throw their weight around, habour expansionist desire (in their own region).

WE discovered (America) or liberated (Iraq) vs THEY invaded (Tibet), captured and occupied (Xinjiang).

WE conduct safe, professional routine freedom of navigation operations vs THEY confront, engage in reckless behaviour & dangerous manoeuvring.

WE shot down a satellite - 'nice shot'; when THEY did it, it's 'disturbing threat', 'weaponising space'.

WE promote stability and a balance of power that favours our interests by strengthening our partnerships and military presence vs THEY unsettle regional stability or unilaterally challenge the status quo through militarisation, provocation, gray-zone coercion, salami slicing...

WE invest in capabilities, build robust force posture, maintain a position from strength, or upgrade defence vs THEY militarise, weaponise, engage in wolf-warrior diplomacy, are bent on outsized military build-up, flex military muscle...

OUR rules-based liberal order, global leadership, leading role, force for good vs THEIR hegemony, imperial ambition, brutal rule, (neo)colonial exploitation, revisionist agenda, Sinocentric world order, tribute system.

OUR government, institutions, rules, norms, vision and values vs THEIR regime, political agenda, strategic narrative, strategy, and propaganda.

WE withdraw from outdated treaties or multilateral talk-shops against negative globalism, not to let them have a veto over our sovereignty or take advantage of us vs THEY, a pariah state, defy international community, break promises, and violate international obligations & rules.

OUR economic measures are necessary to defend our national security or ensure a level playing field vs THEIR economic policy is predatory, protectionist, manipulative, and distorting free market principles.

OUR regional engagement, development aid, and humanitarian assistance vs THEIR filling regional power vacuum, debt trap diplomacy, and neocolonial shackles.

WE boost employment opportunities in indigenous communities vs THEY use (Uighur) labor in a contentious labor program.

OUR sanctions, maximum pressure vs THEIR economic (gray-zone) coercion & blackmail.

WE gather information, conduct reconnaissance missions vs THEY spy, steal, mount cyberattacks.

OUR soft power, normative power, attraction vs THEIR sharp power, infiltration, united front work.

OUR quiet, behind-the-scene diplomacy vs THEIR secretive, covert, opaque, creepy, insidious influence operations.

OUR force-multiplier, like-minded friends and allies in solidarity vs THEIR axis of autocracies, THEY court, coddle or collude with dictators and tinpot despots.

OUR students and companies overseas are ambassadors vs THEIR students and companies are spies and commercial arms of the state.

OUR universal values (liberty, democracy, human rights) vs THEIR virulent (or bankrupt) ideology (hatred & control), local exotic culture & customs.

OUR honest and robust discussion exercising academic freedom vs THEIR bombastic slur, blistering editorials, toeing the party-line or parroting CCP talking points.

WE call out, shine a light vs THEY dredge up, attack, target

OUR democracy, free press, freedom of speech (with some colourful language), WE make no apology for standing up for our values vs THEIR state-run mouthpiece, rhetoric, tabloid bluster, assertiveness, tantrum diplomacy, propaganda, gaslighting, misinformation & disinformation.

WE rememer, never forget vs THEY have long memories, victim complex, make a fetish of, can't get over it.

WE fact-check, moderate, fight disinformation vs THEY censor, suppress, silence, engage in disinformation campaign and extraterrestrial intimidation.

OUR patriotism vs THEIR nationalism

OUR law & order, death in custody issues vs THEIR police brutality, police violence, purge, repression, crackdown

OUR social welfare, historical issues vs THEIR human rights abuses

OUR (genuine/justified)... vs THEIR so-called...

WE send in law enforcement officers vs THEIR police swarm, descend, round up

WE use enhanced interrogation techniques vs THEY torture and harrass.

OUR correction and youth justice facilities, deradicalise programs vs THEIR prisons, Gulags, concentration camps.

Terrorists, rioters and looters in OUR city vs pro-democracy activists and freedom fighters in THEIR city

WE take proactive (or less wholesome) measures (extraordinary times require extraordinary measures) vs THEY impose draconian measures with untold human cost.

WE: Mistakes were made vs THEY lied, covered up, failed

OUR excesses, errors, mistakes, missteps, folly, collateral damage vs THEIR crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, massacre.

WE're given the benefit of the doubt before confirmation of wrongdoing (so it's 'premature' to condemn) vs THEY're assumed guilty before proven innocent (e.g., along the line of 'maybe it was guilty, maybe it wasn't, but certainly it is possible it was' or 'distrust and verify').

OUR problems are always specific problems of individuals, a company executive, a few 'bad apples', a specific place etc. vs THEIR problems always reflect the whole country, the whole political system, and the entire history & culture.

WE go through a rough patch vs THEY are always in crisis and on the verge of collapse.

OUR leadership will survive coronavirus vs THEY are the real sick man of Asia