Have you ever spent time in China? If you had, I suspect you wouldn’t be writing this comment.
Most people criticizing China and the CCP in those forums haven't spent time in China either. I suspect many wouldn't even be able to place China on a map.
I've been to China.
The series of high resolution pictures of me throughout the streets, hotels, places I was during my time there - these all appeared on the screens used by the guards as I was being scanned to leave the country.
So yes, I have been to China, I can place China on a map, and it is the most terrifying reincarnation of Nazi Germany - being defended by people who will say "we didn't know any better" after the concentration camps are freed.
I must offer another data point. I'm British, and often find myself in these threads criticising criticism of China. Not because I'm being paid by the CCP, but because I believe that mainstream anti-Chinese sentiment tells us more about the West's psychological struggles to come to terms with its own historically unprecedented imperial past, than it does about China itself.
It's curious that you say 'historically unprecedented imperial past' - imperialism typically has to do with having a ruler, and exerting diplomatic or military force to influence other nations. Why do you say this is historically unprecedented? China has been imperialist since its beginning, and continues its imperialism with Hong Kong, South china sea, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Myanmar ... What 'historically unpreced…
> imperialism typically has to do with having a ruler
No, it doesn't, unless by “ruler” you mean the metropolitan state.
Is that so? Have you noticed which country is the source of this war against evil communist dictatorship? The US. Now, let's take a step back and consider some facts 1. China has not attacked any country in a long time. 2. The champions of free speech and democracy have destroyed millions just this last 20 years. Seems to me the villains are the ones screaming the loudest against their economic rival. You really thin…
China does do all of those things, it just denies their involvement. How many Uyghur's are in captivity right now?
>How many Uyghur's are in captivity right now?
How many people are being tortured at CIA/US military blacksites right now?
Nobody can answer either of these questions but both governments claim to be dealing with terrorism.
> Please return your 50 cents to the CCP. Bewildering to see this kind of ad hominem on HN.
It is not a personal attack. It is an attack on the argument. Anytime somebody says something negative about the CCP people always bring up the west. It is not relevant to the conversation and is a common tactic of anti west / pro CCP people to deflect.
I'm not sure it's always whataboutism, it's many times just comparison.
People in the west don't tend to have an objective view of who they are and how their bevaior is seen by other people on this planet. Some of the western criticism of emerging powers is hilarious/ironic/rife with hypocrisy when viewed through a non-western lens.
I’m ethnically Chinese. While I speak a little I am still mistaken for a foreigner since I often hire a translator and I traveled extensively through China throughout the last 2 decades to many places both remote and urban on a US passport. Never had a problem with hotels (though mostly booked online) nor staying at relatives/friends houses, nor anything blatantly authoritarian besides my internet bring blocked (whic…
The reason it took more than a year for me to realize this phenomenon is because when I first visited the country then I relied on travel agencies, international hotel booking apps, and had accommodation provided for me. It's certainly possible to live in China for even a decade without realizing the reality of the situation if you exclusively stay at 4-5 star hotels, or only book hotels through international hotel b…
Yup, only certain hotels are allowed to book foreigners. I tried to buy my way in once, along with some local friends' help, and we couldn't do it. I got the impression the government would shut them down if they accepted foreigners. The staff seemed friendly and understanding, and there was this "nothing I can do" attitude about it. After walking to multiple hotels in the area we gave up and slept on a friend's floor. I forget exactly where we were. It wasn't a well know city, yet it wasn't small either. I was quite surprised at the time that even with my passport in hand I wasn't allowed to stay anywhere there.
> 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“
This is also not a surprise because tech journalists as early as February already anticipated that Valve working on a Chinese version of Steam implied a later ban for the "international" version.
The level of propaganda (censorship and sponsorship) of the West (BBC, CNN, etc., if that could be called propaganda) is nowhere comparable to the level of propaganda in China (CGTN, CCTV, etc.), and this is the reason that generally the West has free press while China does not. See my other comment [1] for some pointers to the level of propaganda (censorship and sponsorship) in China (e.g., police tracking journalis…
"we've always been at war with eastasia" The major problem I see, is that every major power uses propaganda to their benefit, yet even highly intelligent people often don't see the propaganda of their native (or chosen) home. I see the propaganda of China, Russia as well as the one of the US and Europe. There are no white, selfless knights around. There never were. Does that mean that nothing matters, that (subjectiv…
> I see the propaganda of China, Russia as well as the one of the US and Europe. This is a huge false equivalence. You won't see Chinese citizens publicly in favor of US/Europe but you will damn well see it the other way around. E.g., some of my coworkers genuinely think it is ok for China to ban Western companies in the name of harmony but the US introducing the slightest of regulations is seen as fascism. A discuss…
This is weird. Definitely not my experience at all. I visited Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu in China in 2012 and I felt extremely welcome wherever I went. I might also add that in Chengdu, a city which sees considerably less foreigners than the other two, I felt like I was being treated like somewhat of a celebrity, with people smiling at me everywhere, and random passer-bys on the street trying to impress me with t…
Can you imagine saying “ni hao” and asking for selfies with random Asian people on the street in whatever western country? It would be racist and demeaning as hell. That’s what they subjected you to, and you felt “special.”
I experienced this a lot in India, some part of eastern Europe and Balkan. Most of them asked nicely. Told me that they come from a very small town there is not much chances to meet foreigner. And I usually ok with it. Don't find it is racist. It is just curiosity of other culture.