Live data from Hacker News

WeChat and the Surveillance State

bbc.com

91–100 of 275 posts

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

really? source please?

The FISA court system, Patriot Act & Freedom Act punch enough holes in the 4th amendment to make it useless. Pretty clear that less liberty is the outcome for all.

Thanks! My reply is to your comment's parent though :)

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#92
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe there's a third option aside from continue the state quo or convert fully into a democracy? Maybe the party can evolve into something that's more and more benevolent to the people it governs? As a Chinese who emigrated because of the many social problems of China, I'm not sure switching to democracy right now will be beneficial for regular Chinese. You've all heard stories about how bad mannered Chinese tourist…

I hear you and understand you, but your argument is essentially nullified by the existence of Taiwan. We have proof positive that the Chinese culture is not only compatible with democracy, it flourishes beneath it.

I think its a bit premature, but do you really think China under a democratic system would be better for the world?

What would Chinese populism look like when it eventually emerges given more democratic features?

Are you sure we are ready for a Chinese Trump? and for the silent majority of China to dictate foreign policy?

I'm from the school of "be careful what you wish for".

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#93
post #85
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think China take will the path to democracy most other democratic nations have taken including my own: As the middle class eventually grows big enough it will demand and get political influence ultimately creating democratic institutions (formal freedom of speech, parliaments, elections, referendums) as we have it in the west. It is easy to focus on a single news story and forgetting that China is a much freer soci…

Having said that is there any way to combine democracy and a single party fully embedded to the Government?

Yeah see Singapore more or less.

>The PAP has been returned to power in every general election and has thus formed the Cabinet since 1959

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Singapore

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#94
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook's board of directors doesn't include goverment agents (even if retired)?

(even if retired) being the key point. The PRC has active bureaucrats working in nearly every info company in the country. They are the Party's Cultural Representative and their word is law. There is no equivalent in the USA, not even close.

Seems like a difference without distinction if the outcomes desired by the government are achieved through retired agents and a variety of pressure points.

The illusion of "average citizen control" is more common in USA population than China it seems, whether this control is real is debatable.

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#95
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kind of like the US government using Facebook data/communications to arrest people? Sounds very equal.

Interesting, I hadn't heard that the United States government was wholesale surveilling its population, with no oversight, with an open tap in Facebook data, and using that information to imprison people for thought crimes such as having a religion. False equivalence doesn't pass for me. The USA has surveillance issues, but it isn't the prc.

In many ways its worse, PRC doesn't arrest or extrajudicially murder people that have never visited China from what I understand.

Julian Assange would be surfing in Australia with his family right now if he exposed Chinese war crimes.

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#96
post #14

basically Chinese government doesn't want its citizens to talk anything cultural, political, spiritual, religious, etc. If you wanna talk fashion, food, travel, music, and the likes, that's absolutely fine. and it seems Chinese people are perfectly content with it. I heard that wechat is transparent to Chinese authority. Last year, a dozens of college students who are Marxist activists and advocate for workers' right…

Don't make blanket statements about billions of people like "they are content with it". Some might be, some might appear to be, some might not have thought about it, some might very much not be.

that's why I said it seems...because I'm not aware of any academia discourse or civil societal movement from china focusing on this kind of thought policing in its extreme. based on what I experienced, It SEEMS to me Chinese people are quite content and obsessed with their economic well-being.

Historically it's the middle class people who demand a share of power and who initiate all sorts of social reform and progression to protect their wealth and social status. Chinese middle class is very large now(in both absolute and relative terms) and arguably more wealthy than their western counterpart, however, the expected calling for more freedom, democracy, and human rights simply does not exist.

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#97
post #38

I used to hold a kind of naive hope that the ham fisted Party would eventually be replaced with democracy. I remember back in 2011 my friends that were placed in moderately distinguished positions were sending their kids to Canada to collect foreign dual citizenship, fully expecting the collapse of the PRC in their lifetime. But now I think the Party is too good at maintaining itself. It's augmented by technology lik…

It'll be fine as long as people in bulk are reasonably happy, which equates to the economy doing well which allows china's economy to look and feel good. "look and feel" because there seem to be many proper economists (I'm not) that see china's economy as a facade hiding junk.

When we get the big bubble pop which seems to be hastening in, their people may start to feel a lot less comfortable. We'll see then what happens but I don't think it will be remotely nice as their government will start to blame anyone but themselves (well naturally!) and political tensions will rise.

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#98
post #38

I used to hold a kind of naive hope that the ham fisted Party would eventually be replaced with democracy. I remember back in 2011 my friends that were placed in moderately distinguished positions were sending their kids to Canada to collect foreign dual citizenship, fully expecting the collapse of the PRC in their lifetime. But now I think the Party is too good at maintaining itself. It's augmented by technology lik…

Maybe there's a third option aside from continue the state quo or convert fully into a democracy? Maybe the party can evolve into something that's more and more benevolent to the people it governs? As a Chinese who emigrated because of the many social problems of China, I'm not sure switching to democracy right now will be beneficial for regular Chinese. You've all heard stories about how bad mannered Chinese tourist…

Different question, when we talk about China ( which is mostly incompatible with Western as superpower, because of the differences between society and disruption through state capitalism).

I am always a little bit concerned about how it comes across for a Chinese person, because I do not want to offend them. And most of my points are about Xi's rule ( and actually somewhat cautious about it going globally).

Can you enlight me on "what is happening now", if you are offended in a personal way or is it obvious that there is a difference?

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#99
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear you and understand you, but your argument is essentially nullified by the existence of Taiwan. We have proof positive that the Chinese culture is not only compatible with democracy, it flourishes beneath it.

I think its a bit premature, but do you really think China under a democratic system would be better for the world? What would Chinese populism look like when it eventually emerges given more democratic features? Are you sure we are ready for a Chinese Trump? and for the silent majority of China to dictate foreign policy? I'm from the school of "be careful what you wish for".

We have a competent Chinese Trump today in the form of xi jinping - the difference being instead of being limited to merely separating children the children of Other from their Parents and throwing them in jail, Jinping is directing the wholesale imprisonment and "reeducation" of entire religions, and occasionally just taking their organs from them.

I'll take a democratically elected trump that is gone in at most 8 years over the now irremovable xi jinping.

So yes, democracy is unilaterally the better option for China.

Re: WeChat and the Surveillance State

#100
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear you and understand you, but your argument is essentially nullified by the existence of Taiwan. We have proof positive that the Chinese culture is not only compatible with democracy, it flourishes beneath it.

I think its a bit premature, but do you really think China under a democratic system would be better for the world? What would Chinese populism look like when it eventually emerges given more democratic features? Are you sure we are ready for a Chinese Trump? and for the silent majority of China to dictate foreign policy? I'm from the school of "be careful what you wish for".

Under democracy, people will work against the Chinese Trump.

I don't think the trade conflict with China is without concession of the Democrats though. The Mexican conflict is.

And Trump will be gone soon, so there's that

Post reply on HN