Starlink Keeps the Communist Party Up at Night

---

Starlink, owned by Elon Musk and part of SpaceX, has nearly 5,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. Starlink has blanketed the entire world with satellites and has more satellites in orbit than all nations combined. This enables Starlink to provide high speed internet anywhere in the world, including China.

Because of this, the Chinese governments is very worried. At any time, Elon Musk could give all Chinese uncensored, high speed internet access. Chinese would have access to the internet that could not be controlled, censored, or monitored by the Chinese government.

Starlink continues to launch new satellites on an almost weekly basis and hopes to have 40,000 satellites in low Earth orbit within a few years. In addition, Starlink hopes to offer global phone service starting next year.

If Chinese have access to internet and phones that cannot be monitored, controlled, surveilled, or censored by the Chinese government, then democracy and free speech will flourish in China. 

Free speech and uncensored media would be the beginning of the end of the Communist Party. China is so concerned about this, high level government officials have been brining it up at international conferences.

Elon Musk is trying to balance his business interests in China and uncensored, global internet.  Let's hope that one day soon, he gives more weight to democracy and free speech in China than business. In the long run the interests are actually aligned because democracy instead of dictatorship would lead to more business opportunities, more transparency, enforcement of the rule of law, and less intellectual property theft.