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US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

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Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#41

Post by jackewiehose »

ciguy wrote: post #2

I've been to China a few times, most recently in late 2018. I traveled overland by train from Beijing to Xian and then to Shanghai. Everything as a non-chinese citizen was just harder than it was when I visited in 2014. Buying train tickets was a massive hassle without a Chinese ID. Paying for anything was difficult because many places no longer take cash and you can't really get a proper WeChat account as a foreigne…

> The entire time I just couldn't shake the feeling that I was living in a dystopian future [...] they use facial recognition at crosswalks and then put up the name and picture of violators on a huge screen at the intersection

"feeling of a dystopian future"? That sounds straight like from an episode of Black Mirror.

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#42

Post by justwalt »

poiuytrewqa wrote: post #36
wendyshu wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good point, committing a crime there is an especially bad idea.

Why there's a country where doing a crime is a good idea? I can recall that also US still have capital punishment for example

I’d imagine it’s far easier to be sentenced to death there as opposed to the US.

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#43

Post by knolax »

rorykoehler wrote: post #7
ciguy wrote: post #2

I've been to China a few times, most recently in late 2018. I traveled overland by train from Beijing to Xian and then to Shanghai. Everything as a non-chinese citizen was just harder than it was when I visited in 2014. Buying train tickets was a massive hassle without a Chinese ID. Paying for anything was difficult because many places no longer take cash and you can't really get a proper WeChat account as a foreigne…

Posted 10 mins ago and already downvoted. Do HN not have algos to stop this astroturfing behaviour? It’s becoming very prevalent for anything that criticises the CCP.

[removed]

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#44

Post by oddlyamused »

trixie_ wrote: post #31

The current administration has been bullying China incessantly. I'm not going to say if the reasons were justified or not because it's complicated, but we shouldn't be surprised by China's response. It's not like we're actively trying to improve relations either.

The world needs to start bullying China. I am sickened by how weak the EU is with china. They care only about profits. We need to start treating China like we treat Russia. They are a serious threat to the rest of the world environmentally, politically, and militarily.

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#45

Post by throwaway1997 »

trixie_ wrote: post #31

The current administration has been bullying China incessantly. I'm not going to say if the reasons were justified or not because it's complicated, but we shouldn't be surprised by China's response. It's not like we're actively trying to improve relations either.

Ah yes, telling China not to abuse human rights is "bullying" now

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#46

Post by [deleted] »

asddubs wrote: post #37
trixie_ wrote: post #31

The current administration has been bullying China incessantly. I'm not going to say if the reasons were justified or not because it's complicated, but we shouldn't be surprised by China's response. It's not like we're actively trying to improve relations either.

if the US gets to arbitrarily arrest US citizens, it's only fair that china should get to do it too

[deleted]

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#47

Post by kolanos »

hungryhobo wrote: post #16
wendyshu wrote: post #8

Not just arrested but tortured, as we've seen with the two Canadian Michaels and the British Simon Cheng. Edit: British-employed not actually British

I would say only 1 Michael, The other one sold drugs in a country that specifically banned drugs

It appears the two Michaels were suspected of espionage? [0] The Canadians sentenced to death for drug smuggling were different people. [1]

[0]: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/asia/china-canada-kovrig-spav... [1]: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/asia/canada-china-death-sente...

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#48

Post by jarfil »

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #4
ciguy wrote: post #2

I've been to China a few times, most recently in late 2018. I traveled overland by train from Beijing to Xian and then to Shanghai. Everything as a non-chinese citizen was just harder than it was when I visited in 2014. Buying train tickets was a massive hassle without a Chinese ID. Paying for anything was difficult because many places no longer take cash and you can't really get a proper WeChat account as a foreigne…

Completely agree. I lived and worked in HK a number of years ago and find China and Chinese people to be some of the most beautiful and interesting cultural assets in the world. So it sucks that I likely will never visit again in my lifetime. China is already dying, the oppressionist leadership just is self-deluded and doesn’t understand it yet. The further you move away from liberal democracy with deliberately decen…

I'm not sure China is underestimating anything. They had an asset, in the form of millions of underqualified workers, and they've used it, to manufacture cheap stuff. But with increasing automation, that asset was never going to last; every passing year it's becoming easier for other countries to replace Chinese manufacturing with local developments, and I think they know it.

In order to stay relevant, China needs a better educated workforce, but in order to control those better educated people, they will need ever better control mechanisms. I doubt they'll be able to make it work in the long run, so they likely will need to change strategies, but right now it makes sense.

Re: US citizens warned they face arbitrary arrest in China

#50

Post by ciguy »

ketzu wrote: post #35
ciguy wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been to the Eiffel tower several times. The security there is not even in the same league as the security as Tiananmen Square.

My experience in tienanmen: Showing my passwort and a bag scanner, going through. Area was limited with small metal fences. My experience at the eiffel tower: Bag scanner, didn't go through (because I had a huge bag which was not allowed). Area was limited with huge glass panes. (Don't know if they want to see any ID) So it felt very much the same to me, but the security in Paris was probably not police (I didn't go…

You just ignored the armored vehicles and police station permanently setup at one end of the square? The facial recognition when you go through the scanners? The guards posted at vantage points with rifles?

You were either paying no attention at all, or you are intentionally misrepresenting the situation.

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