VANGUARD - Expressing the viewpoint of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
For National Independence and Socialism • www.cpaml.org
Once upon a time, there was a socialist country called China. It proudly proclaimed in the song “The East is Red”, that China had “brought forth a Mao Zedong.”
Today, as a capitalist country, the East must be red with embarrassment, for China has brought forth a Justin Sun (Sun Yuchen).
Last week, Sun ate a banana, cunningly disguised as a work of art, that he had bought at auction for 45 million yuan, or $A9.5 million.
Marie Antionette, whaddya reckon?
Sun was born in July 1990. At his age, many Chinese have only experienced hardship and exploitation under the restored relations of capitalist production.
Conditions are bad enough in China’s sweatshop factories, but even “brain-power proletarians” in white collar jobs are subjected to 9-9-6 conditions: working from 9am to 9pm six days a week with unpaid overtime an extra burden.
But Sun managed to get into the prestigious “Beida” (Beijing University) from which he graduated with a history degree. This opened doors to study at the University of Pennsylvania, and from there, a job in 2013 with Silicon Valley’s Ripple Labs, returning to China as its sales rep.
On 2017, Sun began his own blockchain-based operating platform TRON and launched the TRX as its cryptocurrency.
Shortly afterwards, Sun left China following its decision to ban cryptocurrencies.
In 2018, Sub bought out BitTorrent, Inc for $US140 million.
Sun has continued to amass great wealth. And like most of China’s new rich, he is given to ostentatious and extravagant displays of that wealth.
In June 2019, Sun placed the winning $US4.6 million bid to have a private meal with Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett.
In December 2021, Sun announced that he had previously bid $28 million to be the first paying passenger on Blue Origin's first crewed mission into space on the New Shepard. Blue Origin is owned by Amazon founder and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. Although he had won the auction, he was unable to attend the July 2021 flight due to a scheduling conflict.
On November21, Sun won the banana art auction. He then ate the million dollars banana at a Press conference.
On November 26, Sun announced “We are delighted to have invested $30 million in World Liberty Financial @worldlibertyfi by investing $30 million, making it its largest investor. The US is becoming a blockchain hub thanks to support for Bitcoin by @realDonaldTrump .”
World Liberty Financial, was launched by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in September as his family's cryptocurrency venture.
Sun said in the post that his platform, TRON, is "committed to making America great again and leading innovation." Following his investment in Trump's venture, he became an advisor of World Liberty Financial.
But it is not as though Sun has broken his ties with his homeland and its capitalist-engendering social system because of its cryptocurrency ban.
According to Baidu’s online dictionary, Sun is a member of the 14th Guangzhou Panyu District CPPCC (Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), Vice President of Guangzhou Youth Internet Development Association, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Davos Forum Global Distinguished Youth Beijing Community, all of which ensure that he has political capital as well as personal capital.
So, this is where Deng Xiaoping’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics” has led.
Instead of a Mao Zedong, we have a Sun Yuchen.
And yet there are still people saying they support this phoney “socialism”.
Perhaps they are, poltically, as bent as a banana!