The Man from China
The man from China struts around D.C.
And silences the chatter about tariffs.
He says, “You’ll like this deal, just wait and see,
Call off your trade-war words and snooping sheriffs.”
His pocket’s full of cash and oily deals;
Just do not talk of how the Falun Gong—
Beneath his Party’s merchant scalpel—feels
And don’t go see that show that they put on—
Shen Yun—as then he will not shake your hand.
He wants you cowed like Hollywood execs
And universities across the land
Who with the Whore of Beijing’s yuan have sex.
…Or you can show the agent to the door;
Tell him the Kingdom of Heaven’s for the poor.
Evan Mantyk teaches literature and history in New York and is Editor of the Society of Classical Poets. His most recent books of poetry are Heroes of the East and West, and a translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
Wonderful leverage of the Shakespearean sonnet to shed light on the modern tragedy of Xi’s treatment of Falun Gong. I hold Xi and his party minions responsible and culpable. Showing them the door is totally appropriate, particularly if that is a door to a confined cell in which they can no longer harm others.
Thank you, Zumwalt. Just to clarify, Xi is planning to visit DC in late September around the time of the UN General Assembly… which inspired this sonnet.
I like this: tariffs meet sheriffs and Hollywood execs have sex – the rhyming all makes sense! Alas, the Kingdom of Heaven is for the poor (in Luke) but, fortunately, for the poor in spirit (in Matthew), so the scope for us all reaching heaven is widened. Sterling work – the concluding couplet packs a punch.
Right, poor perhaps in the short term, but ultimately richer I think without the CCP. The CCP makes sweet deals, then breaks them, waiting for the next administration, which wants good economic news.
This is a greatly needed direct hit on both Washington and Hollywood. Xi and his minions require pressure and decisions requiring planning and execution such as tariffs.
Thank you, Roy. It is interesting to reflect on the fact that Hollywood has not made a movie critical of the CCP since 1997. The CCP recently threatened to ban Top Gun 2 since Tom Cruise has a Taiwan badge on his jacket. Top Gun didn’t cave to the pressure, but it gives a good idea of what we are facing and craven cowardliness of Hollywood. How about an entire movie about Taiwanese people on how they are living normal lives that are menaced by the totalitarian CCP?
This message as needed, is strongly worded: the Falun Gong feeling the merchant scalpel, indeed. And Hollywood execs and academics surely are cowed.
Thank you, Cynthia. It’s a weird irony that these professors are probably going after the Founding Fathers for owning slaves and meanwhile are being paid by international students from China whose country uses slave labor camps and organ harvesting, among other inhumane practices, to generate that money.
One politician was cowed enough to withdraw from this year’s race for California governor–even though it was about ten years ago that Swalwell got into trouble over relations with a Chinese operative. Xi has more than yuan in hand, and the woman concerned had apparently specialized in California state politics, favoring candidates whose careers promised success. The Man from China’s long reach certainly says that attention like yours, Evan, remains important–above all, with sympathetic support for Falun Gong.
Thank you, Margaret. It’s only 14 lines, which cannot cover all the tactics. An earlier draft included honey traps, where CCP agents use men’s attraction to infiltrate the U.S. There are a lot of holes that the CCP is exploiting. I recently learned about a new one, an American billionaire living in Shanghai, working with the CCP, and funding Left wing causes in America:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Roy_Singham
The Trump Administration is working to shut him down, I think.
A timely poem Evan, putting four main anti American culprits in the same bed, (DC, Hollywood, universities and ChiComs) while highlighting the Falun Gong. The meter carries just enough outrage without sounding shrill. Masterful effort.
We need more of this forthright criticism of these mass murderers, especially when so creatively expressed.
Thank you, Gerard. Add to that the recent revelations about the CCP collecting American voter data.
I hope you don’t get debanked for this — or worse. But I think we’re still in the “First, they ignore you” stage. You write bold words. May they resonate.
Luckily I don’t use TD Bank, which recently was debanking Shen Yun-related accounts:
https://x.com/zhangtianliang/status/1898575130319581423
But yeah, it’s a real concern.
It’s always heartening to see chinks in the armor.
The armor is “Made in China” so it is going to fall apart sooner rather than later.