Classic Form: To discipline or warn someone powerful without provoking a direct confrontation, you publicly criticize or punish a weaker, subordinate figure. The message is delivered indirectly, but its target is unmistakable. You "point at the mulberry tree" but are really "scolding the locust" that eats its leaves.
Modern Version: Punish a small, vulnerable critic—a single company, a minor country, or an individual academic—to send a chilling message and deter larger, more powerful entities from taking similar actions against the CCP's interests.
AI-Powered Execution: AI models can identify the optimal secondary, less-defended target (the "mulberry tree") whose public punishment will have the maximum psychological impact on the primary, more powerful target (the "locust"). The system can predict the ripple effect of the indirect attack, calculating how to generate the most fear and self-censorship among the broader community while minimizing the risk of a direct, costly retaliation from the primary target. This is analogous to deploying policy "linting" bots that automatically flag minor deviations from a standard to nudge behavior indirectly.
CCP Application: After Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy, the CCP launched a campaign of crushing economic coercion against the small Baltic nation, blocking all its exports to China. This was not just about punishing Lithuania ("the mulberry"); it was a clear and brutal warning to larger European countries like Germany and France ("the locusts") about the consequences of upgrading their relations with Taiwan. Similarly, the CCP will sanction minor U.S. officials after a congressional delegation visits Taiwan; the message is not for the individuals, but for the leadership in Washington.
Collaborators: Corporations and countries that, having witnessed the punishment of the "mulberry," proactively self-censor and alter their policies to avoid becoming the next target. Advocacy groups that label anti-CCP voices as "hate," effectively amplifying the CCP's indirect threat by isolating its critics.
Counter: Call the bluff. When a weaker ally is targeted, the stronger powers must immediately and publicly come to their defense, providing economic and diplomatic support. Refuse to be intimidated. If the "locust" holds firm and protects the "mulberry," the indirect threat loses its power.