- From an objective standpoint, our national strength will continue to grow — not only because of our comprehensive industrial supply chain advantages and decades of steady development, but also because the Eagle (a colloquial term for the United States) is dismantling itself from within.
Throughout history, very few world superpowers have been toppled by outside forces. Most are undone by their own internal pressures.
Personally, I don’t consider the Eagle’s other political problems particularly severe. What I pay attention to is the current unchecked spread of drug culture and the runaway influence of what is often called “white left” progressivism.
This is precisely why — even with Trump’s return — there is simply no way to fully reverse, in just four years, the collapse of a structure already rotting from within, eaten away by addiction and a culture of weakness.
It echoes the fall of Rome: the barbarian invasions were merely the final chapter. The real seeds of destruction had long been planted in the decadent lifestyles of the ruling class.
- I have no taste for idle speculation or the arrogance of self-delusion. But every time I have traveled through the Eagle’s cities over these past two years, I’ve felt a growing sense of what I can only describe as “brokenness.”
Whether in Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco, the streets of every major downtown are crowded with open-air drug users — and police who stand by, clearly overwhelmed and visibly on edge, unable to do anything.
Twenty-something years ago, this was a thriving, orderly, pragmatic country — one held together by a deeply cohesive American spirit that ran through the entire nation.
That spirit has now been replaced by division, suspicion, hostility, and the endless pursuit of trivial, competing values.
- To be honest, what I feel about all of this is sadness and resignation.
There is even a quiet sense that as we surpass them, they may not even summon the courage to confront us head-on.
The South China Sea standoffs are the clearest proof: an Eagle that has slipped from its golden age no longer has the resolve to pay in blood to defend its number one position.
- But this does not mean our path will be easy. Though tensions have eased somewhat across several areas, the overall picture remains: as long as there is no direct military confrontation, every other domain is now an open, intensifying competition.
Put plainly — as long as no blood is shed, we are sprinting to catch up or pull ahead in every other field.
- I have no desire to pass judgment on how anyone chooses to live — many of you are based in North America and have built impressive lives there, and I have nothing but respect for that.
Just as in the year before last and last year, whenever I visited the Eagle’s territory or Canada, I would meet with local readers.
After those meetings — well, everyone had their own unspeakable struggles. Things difficult to put into words.
That is just the reality. The world’s two giants have both reached the end of a phase of incremental growth, which means that for anyone with ambition, the pressure is real — just expressed differently depending on where you stand.
- Let me turn back to ourselves and offer some concrete, practical thoughts.
Every article I write must be grounded in substance. I have no interest in empty talk.
First: it will not be long before the stratification of cities becomes fully explicit. Cities that fail to enter the core development tier will see their populations and capital migrate toward cities with stronger growth potential.
The strong will get stronger. That is inevitable.
And I will revisit something I have said before: a home is a share in the city you buy it in.
Note — a “share” here is different from a stock. Even if shares suffer serious drawdowns, they will ultimately recover and appreciate as the broader environment stabilizes.
- Looking at the bigger picture, our influence across Asia is only going to deepen.
Most people who followed the Wang Xing incident — where a Chinese citizen was lured and held captive in a lawless Southeast Asian border region — felt outrage and fear. I understand that completely. I also do not recommend anyone casually venture into unstable areas, and I strongly urge everyone to sharpen their personal security awareness when traveling abroad.
At the same time, once you are outside the country, you must rely primarily on your own vigilance to keep yourself safe.
That said, looking at the Wang Xing case — from incident to handling to safe return home — what we witnessed was genuine progress.
Many things require process, and the process reveals the trend. The trend right now is that our voice carries more weight with every passing year. There are still significant objective obstacles, but compared to countries that are completely powerless in such situations, this represents a meaningful effort.
The reason these incidents are so tangled and difficult to eradicate is that Southeast Asian regional power structures are extraordinarily complex. In many areas, even local governments lack control — real authority belongs to warlords and local strongmen.
- From another angle: since the beginning of this year, waves of Korean tourists have been coming to China — spending freely and consistently reporting exceptional experiences.
This is a very clear trend. We simply do not notice it ourselves because we are used to life here — the safety and convenience of daily life in China has already surpassed that of many other countries, and most of us take it for granted.
Especially in terms of routine, everyday safety under normal circumstances — it is genuinely reassuring.
- If you pay close attention to daily life around you, many of the major shifts are already quietly underway.
Barring any extraordinary disruptions, these three things will become widespread realities within the next ten years: full-scale autonomous vehicle deployment, robots taking on a meaningful share of physical labor, and AI replacing vast numbers of entry-level positions.
Read those three things a few more times. You will begin to feel it — another enormous wave of change is coming, and many of the livelihoods you assumed were yours for life may only last another four or five years.
What to do? Adapt with the times. There is no other choice.
- If you were my family, this is what I would tell you: we have no choice — like every generation before us, ours is destined to face its own storms.
Flip through the history books and you will see: at least our generation has enjoyed an unprecedented era of peace and stability. In that sense, we are the lucky ones.
But the decade ahead will grow progressively harder.
Certain things are very likely to happen — including but not limited to:
Some jobs that once seemed ironclad will lose that security. Some assets must be liquidated — and quickly converted into real estate in core cities. Some side ventures — like building a personal brand — need to be started now. Some skills — like spoken English and internationally recognized certifications — are worth pursuing aggressively.
These are not casual observations. Every single one of these points, if you truly take it to heart, could change the trajectory of your life — or your entire family’s future.