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Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

bbc.co.uk

121–130 of 158 posts

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That they're technically optional doesn't prevent peers for bullying over it. Source: I was an Australian citizen while in US schools from 2nd through 12th grade. It can be highly uncomfortable to stand silently (and politely) during the Pledge.

When I was in school, almost no one actually said the pledge. By the time I was in high school almost every just sat and continued doing what they were doing. This was in a conservative suburban school in the south.

It's not surprising to me that it's variable. The school administration, culture, and individual teachers matter a lot.

For example, a Colorado teacher physically assaulted a student for not saying it: https://kdvr.com/2018/08/31/teacher-accused-of-assaulting-st...

Another teacher just tried the guilt trip approach: https://fox2now.com/2018/11/16/teacher-banned-after-students...

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#122
post #17

Haven't these pro-Beijing students ever tried to access uncensored information online that was denied to them until they arrived in their host countries? Why are they content to continue believe in the propaganda? You'd think that even a casual search for a subject like Tiananmen Square would be a wake-up call.

That’s not how propaganda works, I assume the vast majority of these students haven’t left the country until close to adulthood. I completed elementary school in China and the teaching begins in grade 1 for students to believe in communism and patriotism. When you have been raised in that belief for your entire life, changing your belief system is not as simple as “look what other people with a different view say!”.…

>a large portion of Americans still believe in guns.

It would be the exact same situation if American students in Australia or England were trying to shut down a rally against gun ownership.

I personally believe in the right to own a gun in written into the constitution of the united states...as is the right to burn a flag..I don't own a gun and would not burn a flag...and if I was in Australia, I would definitely not try to stop people from burning an American flag..

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#123

This infuriates me. Intimidation and hostile attitude towards people protesting in a different country is an act of barbarianism and should be condemned internationally. In fact, the way to combat this is to further enrage, fearlessly protest the PRC patriotic machine and "poke" the hornet's nest so to speak. I've taken the pledge to never visit China and avoid Chinese goods because of shit like this. The PRC has a s…

not buying chinese made products is the only thing that will work. look at it as voting.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#124
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Random q: where were you based in China?

Beijing. I was working for MS China.

Interesting, I was curious. Personally, I feel like the nationalism has gotten a lot worse / uncomfortable in Guangdong in recent years. I don't feel like it used to be this way in anything-goes Southern China.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#125

I spend vacation time working at an academic summer camp for 11–year-olds. My hall typically includes some students from China. This year, one of my Chinese kids mentioned that he frequently used a VPN to get around China's firewall. This made another one of my Chinese kids quite upset: "You broke the law? How could you?" The argument got somewhat heated, but I didn't intervene because I legitimately wasn't sure what…

I think the best thing is directly do what you did. Then in a completely unrelated context work in the idea "it is your duty to break an unjust law". There are lots of ways to do that, but hard to pull off in context of a summer camp.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#126
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not how propaganda works, I assume the vast majority of these students haven’t left the country until close to adulthood. I completed elementary school in China and the teaching begins in grade 1 for students to believe in communism and patriotism. When you have been raised in that belief for your entire life, changing your belief system is not as simple as “look what other people with a different view say!”.…

>a large portion of Americans still believe in guns. It would be the exact same situation if American students in Australia or England were trying to shut down a rally against gun ownership. I personally believe in the right to own a gun in written into the constitution of the united states...as is the right to burn a flag..I don't own a gun and would not burn a flag...and if I was in Australia, I would definitely no…

The point I’m trying to get across and explain here is that there are ideas that seem obvious to one set of people, can be incredibly difficult to get across to another set of people due to what they have believed in since childhood. And the fact that I’m getting so many downvoted and people trying to debate and disapprove of my gun law comparison proves that exact point.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#127
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beijing. I was working for MS China.

Interesting, I was curious. Personally, I feel like the nationalism has gotten a lot worse / uncomfortable in Guangdong in recent years. I don't feel like it used to be this way in anything-goes Southern China.

I don’t think it was that bad in 1999, 2002 or 2008. Indoctrination was still a thing, but most Chinese kids didn’t take it seriously. It took some populism combined with nationalism from Xi to really turn things around.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do you think Americans are going to hate their country after reading about ... Yes, this commonly occurs in fact. Americans trash their own country aggressively, routinely all over social media, for its flaws and past mistakes. See: Twitter, Reddit or Imgur comments every day of the week. We pay sports athletes and celebrities tens of millions of dollars and they regularly trash the US for its flaws and past mistak…

A small minority of Americans do that and when talking about large populations, it goes without saying that we’re not talking about population distributions in an absolutist sense.

It isn't about how many people do that, it is about how many people can do that publicly without any repercussions towards them from the state. And I would say, in the US that proportion comes to around "pretty much all of them".

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#129
post #96

A 'peaceful' protest is allowed then a 'peaceful' protest to your protest should also be allowed. If anyone broke the law, there are polices. Do you guys not believe in Australia polices and judicial system? Then protest against them. I believe in australia you have this freedom, right? Speaking louder in public place is not breaking any LAW.

Can you show me where someone said that the counter-protesters broke the law by "speaking louder in public places"? This is entirely about the counter-protestors violently attacking the protestors.

If you have evidence, call Australia polices. I believe in Australia polices and the judicial system. If you do not have evidence, it is just your speculation. If you do not believe the fairness of Australia polices, protest against them.

Re: Hong Kong protests: 'I'm in Australia but I feel censored by Chinese students'

#130
post #18

Haven't these pro-Beijing students ever tried to access uncensored information online that was denied to them until they arrived in their host countries? Why are they content to continue believe in the propaganda? You'd think that even a casual search for a subject like Tiananmen Square would be a wake-up call.

Their sense of loyalty and identity is the reason. People are hesitant to absorb information that questions their identity and they're even more hesitant when they feel that that identity is being threatened. Their sense of identity in this case is not just something random but something instilled in them since a young age by the Chinese government. They feel a loyalty to the Chinese government and so are willing to…

Agree here. In terms of cognitive dissonance, it cuts both ways, think about the systematic elimination of native american tribal lands, slavery, Jim Crow, the internment of Japanese citizens during WWII, etc.

Everyone has their starting point, usually strongly associated with their cultural or familial identity. It takes a while for other info to filter through.

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