Steam has been banned in China • Hacker News Board

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#211

Post by chunghuaming » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:18 PM UTC

meibo wrote: post #2

Note: this refers to the global Steam service/community - Valve still offers Steam China with a very limited/censored selection of mostly-Valve games, adhering to local child protection laws. Most Chinese Steam users have historically been using the global service instead, as this Chinese version of Steam has only been available since February 2021.

As an average Chinese citizen right now:

- You cannot travel abroad (no passport issued for average citizens, except for those that study/work abroad)

- You cannot go beyond China's intranet legally (VPN is technically illegal in China). VPN services keep getting slowed/banned.

- You cannot transfer much money out of country legally (50k limit a year, but you end up going to bank 10+ times just to be able to transfer 10k)

- You cannot watch Spiderman, BTS, squid game, porn and many many more things legally

- You have very little rights as LGBT

- You have to work 9-9-6. Which is why many citizens are lying flat (not working/pursuing marriage)

- You are constantly watched, monitored, "invited" to police station for tea, banned for posts that contain any words that are on the growing banned list

- You should not get rich (1/3 of billionaires have died or disappeared). The state discourages showing off wealth

- You have little recourse as a woman who is abused by men in power

- You are constantly subjugated to random mass covid testing, standing hours outside in the cold

- Oh and there's the yearly flood + shoddy buildings + crashing economy + crashing real estate + aging workforce + factory jobs leaving + dictatorship

终究怀揣的不安，是愈来愈近的丧钟声

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#212

Post by alisonatwork » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:20 PM UTC

carlmr wrote: post #193

alisonatwork wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both. I have been refused access to a place because the landlord was openly racist and didn't want to rent to me after she found out I was a foreigner. There is pretty much no recourse for foreigners who are victims of racism in China, it's an extremely racist country. When you're a foreigner you just kinda have to accept that there are people who will cross the street or shield their kids when they see you, loudly c…

I've had smaller hotels tell me they can't host foreigners due to some law that you need to have a star rating which they didn't. The only time I had problems booking a hotel was in Shanghai and Beijing though, in other cities there was never an issue. Also I was always greeted with utter friendliness, so I don't get the everybody's xenophobic aspect. I do speak some (very basic) Mandarin though so maybe that helps w…

Not speaking Chinese is probably a benefit, because what you don't know can't hurt you. I speak fairly fluent Mandarin, and have overheard a lot of very open racist and xenophobic sentiments expressed in conversations around me when the people presumably assumed i couldn't understand what they were saying.

It is true that people in China tend to be fairly polite, although when it blows up it tends to go straight to 11. (I saw a lot of this happening between police and residents during the coronavirus lockdowns.) But just because people are polite, don't assume that means they're not bigots. In some parts of the country, particularly amongst more affluent people, there is a sort of attitude that foreigners should be treated with kid gloves, which is thoroughly degrading.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#213

Post by the_af » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:21 PM UTC

Lendal wrote: post #201

the_af wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you provide some examples of this alleged "flood of pro CCP activists" in this comments section? I'm reading some minor disagreements. Is this activism in your worldview?

Quoted post unavailable.

Please provide one example in this comments section. Ideally many, since an alleged "flood" cannot be composed of a single drop, but a single example would also suffice. Please don't refer obliquely to some "situation", be specific.

The example must convince me that the person you're quoting is indeed engaging in "activism" for the CCP and not merely expressing their opinion.

Otherwise, if you can't provide these examples, may I kindly suggest what you're encountering is the normal range of opinions in the internet, only this time it's about a subject you feel strongly about?

PS: is obliquely accusing people on HN of being shills something allowed by the guidelines? Think about this.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#214

Post by chunghuaming » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:21 PM UTC

beebeepka wrote: post #207

axiosgunnar wrote: post #50

> The move comes as a surprise How dense and gullible do you have to be? Do people keep forgetting they’re dealing with an authoritarian dictatorship? ANYTHING is on the table, nothing should come as a surprise. Divest from China and diversify manufacturing sources, otherwise we will wake up one day imprisoned, and „the move will come as a surprise“

Quoted post unavailable.

You call it jingoism. I call it rise against dictatorships destroying democracy's way of life.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#215

Post by snomad » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:23 PM UTC

beebeepka wrote: post #195

learc83 wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where did you get this from? US hotels most definitely do not “register (resident or non-resident) guests with the local government”. A few states require hotel guests to present an ID at checkin.

How can you tell if a hotel registers you with the local government? I am not saying they are (never bothered to cross the Atlantic) but you have no way of knowing what they do. My assumption is they all do, directly or not. I mean, 2013 did happen. Guess not everyone was paying attention

remind me, what happened in 2013?

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#216

Post by 7sidedmarble » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:25 PM UTC

ErikVandeWater wrote: post #162

beebmam wrote: post #152

What will happen to Chinese games on Steam? I will be profoundly sad if they disappear. For example: Dyson Sphere Program is one of my favorite games of all time. If that's gone, I'm going to have a hard time not making the CCP my mortal enemy

> If that's gone, I'm going to have a hard time not making the CCP my mortal enemy Wouldn't be a bad choice, regardless of what happens with Steam.

> > If that's gone, I'm going to have a hard time not making the CCP my mortal enemy

> Wouldn't be a bad choice, regardless of what happens with Steam.

I can't tell if this is an ideological thing or not. There's a lot of states out there to vehemently dislike. But it's always this creepy strain of cold war torch-bearing that is so many people's pet cause. For the record, I think almost all states are on the exact same level of hateable, as a concept.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#217

Post by ubercow13 » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:26 PM UTC

imbnwa wrote: post #168

legofr wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm personally opposed to the idea of visiting certain countries, such as China and North Korea, to 'see for yourself', especially when you don't know the language, when you're not willing to risk your life to understand and uncover the parts the government doesn't want you to see, like VICE did in Xinjiang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYyUqrMuQ That being said, if you go then please try to walk into a random h…

On a lower frequency, this similar to why I'm not interested in tourism as "self-discovery", "new experience", or some shit, like the rest of the world is just stage and props for my existential theatre. I'm not gonna change as a human unless I actually move there to live permanently. Even worse, the middle-class trend to make the number of distinct places you've visited some form of social currency ("how many stamps…

Do you really think you can't learn anything as a tourist?

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#218

Post by martin_a » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:28 PM UTC

rajin444 wrote: post #190

imbnwa wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a lower frequency, this similar to why I'm not interested in tourism as "self-discovery", "new experience", or some shit, like the rest of the world is just stage and props for my existential theatre. I'm not gonna change as a human unless I actually move there to live permanently. Even worse, the middle-class trend to make the number of distinct places you've visited some form of social currency ("how many stamps…

Are you saying Africans and (black, which I assume you mean but I’m trying to be charitable) people in your city are basically the same? I imagine the lives and cultures in Africa are vastly different than whatever city you’re in.

I think OP is talking about some kind of "charity tourism" that's happening. I think Europe has some effects like this, too, where people prefer to go to Africa to "help some children" while they could be "doing good" by getting active in local organisations. No need to travel some thousand kilometres for that.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#219

Post by yawaworht1978 » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:28 PM UTC

mlindner wrote: post #163

whimsicalism wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

What? The US doesn't require anyone to register with the local government when traveling, foreigner or US citizen. Where are you getting this kind of misinformation?

I don't know about the us, but in some places in Europe , the police or a security agency passes by daily to pick up a form that's filled out when checking in.

Source, friend worked in a hotel and I have seen it with my own eyes.

Re: Steam has been banned in China

#220

Post by netcan » Sat, Dec 25, 2021, 2:28 PM UTC

axiosgunnar wrote: post #50

> The move comes as a surprise How dense and gullible do you have to be? Do people keep forgetting they’re dealing with an authoritarian dictatorship? ANYTHING is on the table, nothing should come as a surprise. Divest from China and diversify manufacturing sources, otherwise we will wake up one day imprisoned, and „the move will come as a surprise“

>> Divest from China and diversify manufacturing sources

Who is this aimed at?

Major brands (apple, tesla, disney, etc.) are not going to divest from China. China is a big part of their future market, they hope. They're going to invest wherever their market is. Obviously they know that this comes with strings and risks attached. They will get sideswiped with rules, punitive or otherwise.

Authoritarian government action is just a risk, like any other risk. Apple might also lose their popularity. Disney might get There could be an economic downturn. These are all risks, and companies take risks. The reward is worth the risk, evidently.

On the manufacturing side... there probably aren't as many surprises in the cards. Whatever qualms are to be had were had decades ago.

On a side note, China is proof that 99% of chamber of commerce-ish "warnings" are nonsense. Investment goes wherever the market is, whatever the rules. The ccp could decree that all iphones must be red and starred as of next week. Apple would make red starred iphones, and Cook would make a public statement praising the wisdom of this regulation.