This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Monday, May 16, 2022.

I'm Caleb Brown.

The United States ought to see an opportunity in the huge number of wealthy, educated young

Chinese people trying to escape COVID lockdowns in their home country.

Cato's Alex Narasta argues that if you want to drain brain power out of China and

boost American economic performance at the same time. Rolling out the welcome

mat for people escaping Chinese tyranny would be a great first step.

There's a lot more interest in China and immigrating now than there was just a few years ago,

partly because of the stringency of the COVID lockdowns in China, how extreme they are.

Also just partly because people are realizing,

Chinese people are realizing what a totalitarian system

that they live in.

I mean, since the late 70s, China has liberalized substantially is still much more

liberal than it was under Mao's regime but the insanity of the COVID

restrictions they're still doing massive lockdowns in Shanghai a city of 25

million people has convinced a lot of young professionals, young educated elites, a lot of people

who are very highly skilled in entrepreneurial, that now is a time to leave.

And that they are googling and using other Chinese search engines to find ways of leaving.

And the Chinese authorities trying to stop them from doing that.

Of course, in seeming cahoots, the US authorities

are also making it more difficult for Chinese people to leave,

hold over from China Trump's policies,

...