Submitted by Pachamama.

In cricket, a googly has a deceptive bounce. Whereas the chinaman is delivered by a left-arm bowler to a right-arm batsman, spinning from the offside to the legside. The Chinese may only be playing cricket in Hong Kong and we are uncertain as to its mass appeal on continental China. However, soccer and cinema are areas of social activity that are being targeted by Chinese oligarchs for assertions of global dominance.

This comes with the economic and strategic support of the titularly communist government in Beijing. They are showing that corporations are still at the leading end for global conquest. And the Chinese are demanding the world’s attention.

They want to control our opinions, our doubts and fears, our emotions. They have determined that the West needs a rich, thousand-year culture, to guide it. And cultural dominance helps them to leverage internal population control through the distractions that are sports, movies, games, etc.

So while the WICB is in no immediate danger of having to confront such a vicious strain of Chinese capitalism in the arts and sports, the six leading Hollywood production studios and Europe’s most established soccer leagues are under severe pressures. Pressures exerted by deep-pocketed Chinese sporting companies intent on a growth strategy of mergers and acquisitions.

Only this week, Diego Costa of Chelsea was offered 30 million pounds a year or 570,000 pounds a week, without taxes, by two leading Chinese soccer teams. Costa is unlikely to play no more than one match per week – 90 minutes.

Admittedly, he may also train or practice an additional 4 or 5 days a weeks.

Currently, he earns 150,000 pounds per week, before taxes, to lead the line (striker) and is the top goal scorer in the Barclays Premiere League, so far this year.

That intervention has caused rifts between his manager and his club. This, along with a recurrent behavioral issue, sees him missing the game at Leicester on Saturday, as the league leaders (Chelsea) meet last year’s champions in what is billed as an epic.

The Russian billionaire owner/oligarch (Abramovich) of Chelsea is insisting that Costa is ‘not for sale at any price’ but the player’s head has obviously been turned by the astronomical pay day from the Chinese. It’s equivalent to 6 years ‘wages’ at Chelsea, for one year with the Chinese.

We are yet to determine whether the British like the Russian oligarchs owning they most sacred soccer teams than the new Chinese intervention into the most Holy of Holies.

It reminds us of the cricketers’ dilemma in going to Apartheid South Africa. We are sure the Chinese have reminded Costa that his prime responsibility is to feed his family. Not to care about the fans who sing his name, his worshipful praises, at Sandford Bridge. Gods of soccer come and they go!

Costa has seen players come and go as well. Players dispensed with by ruthless owners. Players, if injured, can only expect the contracted payments, nothing more. Why would we expect him to be any less ruthless than his ‘owner’? Any less ruthless than they expect of him when in front the goal.

Without Diego Costa, Chelsea are unlikely to win the BPL even with a narrow 5-point lead after 20 games.

Only a few weeks ago, in this transfer window, Oscar, another Chelsea, Brazilian midfielder, also left for China. With difficulty getting into the starting eleven the Chinese offered his owners 60 million pounds for him. He left wages of 120,000 pounds a week for about 400,000 pound a week with the Chinese.
Oscar was sold for 60 million pound though his buy-out clause could have been between 20 and 25 million. The market in the trading of top ‘human cargo’ has been made crazy by the Chinese quest for dominance in soccer and the movies/television. There is an unnerving chaos is the markets.

On November 3rd, 2016, the Chinese government announced plans to take over all six major Hollywood studios. Of course, there were many alliances or partnerships with Chinese firms on a large number of film projects, over many years. However, this announcement shocked the US entertainment and financial markets.

The ‘big six’ – Fox, Disney, Paramount, Universal, Columbia and Warner would give the Chinese an extremely powerful position over global entertainment, everything we hear and see. They will control the largest sets of catalogues in the world. Virtually nothing could be seen or listened to unless royalties payment head to Beijing.

Even before this recent binge. Hollywood studios were already angling for the Chinese markets. American movies were more and more introducing Chinese themes, starred Chinese looking actors, were filmed in Asia and were presented in Mandarin, at least.

The economic slowdown in China. The predictions that its quest for global dominance has been derailed. Hopes that a world war could have been avoided, in spite of Trump. Are not as potent as might have appeared. The googly, may be the ball which gives us a massive New Silk Road Project finally catspraddling the stumps of the West after 500 years.