Let's say China. China, China, China, China, China, I have to have my China.

I've been saying China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China, China. People from

China, they love me. China! China!

China!

It's Friday, May 23rd, 2025, and welcome back to Goodfellows, a Hoover Institution broadcast,

examining social, economic, political, and geopolitical concerns.

I'm Bill Whalen. I'm a Hoover Distinguished Policy Fellow. I'll be your moderator today,

and I'm honored to be joined by our full fleet of Goodfellows that includes the historian

Sir Neil Ferguson, the cropy economist John Cochran, and former presidential national security

advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, Neil John and H.R. are all Hoover senior fellows.

Gentlemen, we're going to go across the Pacific to the other side of the rim and talk about

China today and joining us making his Goodfellor's debut, an individual who spent considerable time

in that corner of the world, Frank Decoder. Mr. Decoder is a Hoover Institution senior fellow

and chair professor of humanities at the University of Hong Kong. He's the author of a dozen

books that have changed the way the world looks at the history of China, books we've mentioned on past shows. And that's why he's here

today to agree, maybe disagree, with how our three Goodfellows view the People's Republic of China.

Frank, welcome to Goodfellos, and I have to ask, as you recently made the move across the ocean to

California, what do you miss and what don't you miss about everyday life in Hong Kong?

I miss so much about Hong Kong. I was spoiled for 20 years. But I can tell you to get straight to it. Let's not waste any time. The one thing I missed most is the ability to decide whether I wish

to buy made in China or not, from the cucumber, you know, to my hiking

cap down to the washing machine. In Hong Kong, you can make that choice here in America.

You never know. Well, Frank, welcome to the USA. Let me begin the conversation, Frank, in this regard.

...