I felt you misrepresented it, and that you have done again here. It makes a simple policy argument that there should be sterner consequences for lying to the public, contrasting the US with some other countries. You have rewritten it to say something quite different.
What do you think 'In China, prosecutors would chalk it up to general charges of "corruption" or "public dishonesty" or whatever.' means?
And have you not noticed how people sometimes get longer prison terms for small crimes than large ones? As of 2021, the US incarcerates ~5x more people than China (per capita), but penalties for untoward business activity are generally light.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/incarcera...
I can glean no other message from the comment. What you’re describing would require quite a bit of mental gymnastics on my part.
I think you’re ignoring what the comment says in clear plain English and interpreting it in a way you think is less controversial.