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  • An out of control Chinese rocket

  • Crashes to Earth

  • And China blames the US

  • Welcome to China Uncensored, I'm Chris Chappell.

  • Good news! We're all still  alive! Because this week,  

  • debris from an out-of-control Chinese  rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean.

  • The Long March 5B rocket blasted off April  29, carrying components of China's planned  

  • space station Harmony of the Heavens. But the  Chinese space agency lost control of the rocket  

  • as it continued its 17,000 mile  an hour orbit around the earth  

  • edging closer and closer with each  pass. Sky watchers caught glimpses  

  • of it as it tracked as far north as New  York and as far south as New Zealand.

  • This was a big embarrassment  for the Chinese Communist Party.  

  • Back in April, Chinese state-run media had proudly  touted the successful launch of the rocket.

  • China started out late to the space race. China  launchedits first satellite only in 1970,  

  • 13 years after the Soviet Union and  12 years after the United States.”

  • But dominating space has becomepriority for the Chinese Communist Party.  

  • In 2019, China became the first country to land an  unmanned spacecraft on the dark side of the moon.

  • But the timing of this latest  rocket crash is particularly bad.  

  • Later this month, China's first unmanned  Mars rover is expected to land. But people  

  • aren't talking about how great that isInstead, people are now talking about this.

  • Criticism is now crashing down on China  after rocket fragments rained down near  

  • the tropical islands of the Maldives. "It's an  alarming thing for them to be doing.'' Harvard  

  • Smithsonian astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell  says China's rocket has a design problem.

  • Well, you don't need to be an astrophysicist  to know that! But please continue.

  • (We normally make sure they  don't go into orbit at all,  

  • or if they do, they have a restartable engine  which can bring them down in a controlled way.  

  • Let's be clear here, it's not that China can't,  right? It's that they don't. That's exactly right.  

  • Was it price? Was it laziness? I  would think it was a lack of concern.

  • It's not surprising there's  a lack of concern. You see,  

  • China's space program is actually run  by the Communist Party's military.

  • In fact, because of the military link of China's  space program, “Since 1999, the US has imposed  

  • export controls on satellite technology to ChinaAnd in 2011, Congress passed a law that imposed  

  • restrictions on NASA engagement with China.” Even though NASA hasn't been great about that.

  • But China is actually banned from  the International Space Station.  

  • So China is building its own. If only the rockets  carrying parts for it could make it to space

  • After China lost control of the rocket, they  were pretty quiet about the whole thing.

  • NASA has been critical.

  • In a statement Nasa saysit  is clear that China is failing  

  • to meet responsible standards  regarding their space debris.”

  • But now that the Chinese rocket has safely  crash landed in the middle of the Ocean,  

  • China is taking responsibilityBy blaming the US for hyping fear!

  • It was 20 tons of flaming space debris  

  • hurtling down on our heads! That's  a reasonable thing to be afraid of!

  • But my favorite state-run media, the Global  Times, says US fussiness is a low ploy.

  • These people are jealous of China's  rapid progress in space technology.”

  • Some of these people even try to use the  noises they made to obstruct and interfere  

  • with China's future intensive launches for  the construction of its space station.”

  • The Global Times says, “There is  also no evidence proving that the  

  • landing points of US rocket debris are more  controllable compared with those of China's.”

  • You know, evidence. With Chinese characteristics.

  • Now it's true that uncontrolled space  debris is not a problem unique to China.  

  • Back in 1979, the US Skylab space station broke up  

  • over the Indian Ocean and scattered  debris across Western Australia.

  • Last month, SpaceX debris  landed on a farm in Washington

  • But the criticisms of the Chinese military's  space program aren't about accidental debris.  

  • They're about careless rocket design and whether  China is cutting corners to win the space race.

  • And the Chinese Communist Party  is deflecting those criticisms  

  • by blaming the US for...criticizing them.

  • Failure will happen as humanity  tries to reach for the stars.  

  • But failure is not something the Chinese  Communist Party has ever been willing to face.  

  • Which is why it's so much easier to blame America.

  • And now it's time to answer a question frommember of the China Uncensored 50 Cent Army,  

  • fans who support us and our efforts to expose  the truth about the Chinese Communist Party  

  • on the crowd funding website Patreon.

  • Kenneth Crips asks, “Japan has always made it  clear they will not tolerate the Chinese mainland  

  • invading Taiwan. I don't know what China is  thinking. They are surrounded by enemies.” 

  • That's a very good question. It's true, China  is surrounded by countries that are not happy  

  • with its aggressive expansion or  desire for global hegemony. But,  

  • as top-ranking Communist Party official Yang  Jiechi once said, “China is a big country and  

  • you are small countries, and that is a fact.”  He was talking to Southeast Asian countries.

  • There is a limit to what any of the countries  surrounding China can do because of how much  

  • power the Chinese Communist Party has. Sureall of China's neighboring countries could unite  

  • and form alliances against the Communist  Partyand to an extent they're trying,  

  • but it's harder for a bunch of  countries to all work together,  

  • than it is for the CCP to put enough pressure  on the weakest country to break that alliance.

  • Now, if an equally big country stood  behind them, like the United States,  

  • that could present a real problem for the  CCP. But as Jim Fanell , the Former Director  

  • of Intelligence and Information Operations for  the U.S. Pacific Fleet has told us on the show,  

  • we've entered what he calls the decade of concern.

  • The idea is that in 2049, the CCP will celebrate  the 100 year anniversary of the founding of the  

  • People's Republic of China. The CCP has to take  Taiwan before then. It also knows if an invasion  

  • of Taiwan happens too close to 2049, China will  be an international pariah. No one would be  

  • celebrating the anniversary with China. Not good  for a country that wants to be a global hegemon.

  • But the CCP also knows that  it takes about 20 years  

  • for the rest of the world to  forget something. For example,  

  • in 1989, the Tiananmen Square Massacre  made China an international pariah.

  • 20 years later, leaders from around the world  celebrated in Beijing the 2008 Olympics.

  • That's why now is the decade of concern. The  CCP believes that if it takes Taiwan now,  

  • the rest of the world will have  forgotten by the 2049 anniversary.  

  • So what the Chinese Communist Party is thinking  is that it can't afford not to take Taiwan now.

  • Thanks for your question Kenneth and your support.

  • And a big thank you to everyone who supports China  Uncensored on Patreon. We could not do this show  

  • without you. So thank you for joining us in the  fight to expose the Chinese Communist Party to  

  • the world. If you're interested in joining, head  over to Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored. You'll get  

  • a bunch of cool perks, including the chance  to have me answer your question on the show!

  • Once again I'm Chris Chappell, see you next time.

An out of control Chinese rocket

Subtitles and vocabulary

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B1 US china chinese rocket communist party communist space

Out-of-Control Chinese Rocket Crashes to Earth

  • 2 0
    zijun su posted on 2021/05/15
Video vocabulary

Keywords

bunch

US /bʌntʃ/

UK /bʌntʃ/

  • noun
  • A group of things of the same kind
  • A group of people.
  • A group of people regarded as a unit; a company.
  • verb
  • To group people or things closely together
  • (Cloth) to gather/be gathered together in folds
  • other
  • (of a fabric) gather or cause to gather into folds or wrinkles.
  • other
  • Collect or gather together.
evidence

US /ˈɛvɪdəns/

UK /'evɪdəns/

  • noun
  • Factual proof that helps to establish the truth
  • Facts, objects, or signs that show that something exists or is true.
  • other
  • Facts, objects, or signs that make you believe that something exists or is true.
  • Information presented in court to prove or disprove alleged facts.
  • other
  • To indicate clearly; to be evidence of.
  • To show clearly; prove.
  • other
  • Facts, objects, or signs that make you believe that something is true.
  • Information used in a court of law to prove something.
priority

US /praɪˈɔrɪti, -ˈɑr-/

UK /praɪ'ɒrətɪ/

  • noun
  • Thing that is more important/urgent than others
  • Something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things.
  • The condition of being regarded or treated as more important than another.
  • A level of importance assigned to a task or process in a computer system.
  • The right to go before other traffic.
  • other
  • The fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important than others
  • The right to precede others or take precedence
  • The right of one vehicle or vessel to proceed ahead of others
  • other
  • A thing that is regarded as more important than others
  • A parameter relating to a process that determines the order in which it is executed
  • adjective
  • Denoting something that constitutes a priority.
track

US /træk/

UK /træk/

  • verb
  • To use marks to follow a wild animal
  • To move a certain way/follow a particular course
  • To record and examine the progress of something
  • To follow the trail or movements of someone or something.
  • To monitor or record the progress or development of something.
  • noun
  • A circular course for running
  • Course or way someone takes, e.g. in education
  • Path in a field or a forest made by walkers
  • Often circular course laid out for car racing
  • One of multiple musical recordings on an album
  • Band surrounding the wheels of a tank
  • Metal lines that trains ride on
  • A mark or impression left by a moving object.
  • A recording of a song or piece of music.
  • A prepared course for racing, especially for athletes.
  • One of the rails making up a railway line.
  • A circular path on a magnetic disk or tape on which data can be recorded.
  • A rough path or minor road.
  • The rails on which a train runs.
  • A prepared course for racing.
  • A recording of a song or piece of music.
  • The rails on which a train runs.
  • other
  • To follow the trail or movements of someone or something.
failure

US /'feɪljər/

UK /ˈfeɪljə(r)/

  • noun
  • When things go wrong; lack of function
  • Act or result of not achieving your goals
  • Lack of success.
  • other
  • Lack of success; the inability to meet an objective or desired outcome.
  • An omission or neglect of an expected or required action.
  • A breakdown or collapse, especially of a structure or mechanism.
  • The inability of an organ to function properly.
  • The act of failing to reach the required standard in an exam or test.
  • The state or condition of not functioning or operating.
  • other
  • An instance of failing or not functioning correctly.
  • A person who has not succeeded; someone who has failed.
blame

US /blem/

UK /bleɪm/

  • verb
  • To say someone is responsible for something bad
  • noun
  • Act of saying someone did something bad
  • other
  • To assign responsibility for a fault or wrong.
  • To hold someone responsible; find fault with.
  • other
  • Responsibility for a fault or wrong.
decade

US /ˈdɛkˌed, dɛˈked/

UK /ˈdekeɪd/

  • noun
  • Period of 10 years
lack

US /læk/

UK /læk/

  • verb
  • To not have, or not have enough, of something
  • noun
  • The state of not having or not having enough of
statement

US / ˈstetmənt/

UK /ˈsteɪtmənt/

  • noun
  • Record of activity in a bank account over time
  • Act or process of saying something formally
military

US /ˈmɪlɪˌtɛri/

UK /'mɪlətrɪ/

  • noun
  • Army or armed forces
  • The armed forces of a nation.
  • adjective
  • Concerning the army or navy
  • Relating to or characteristic of soldiers or armed forces.