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Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

latimes.com

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Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#31

Post by 1propionyl »

appleiigs wrote: post #27

I had a similar experience chatting to my former coworker (who moved recently from China) regarding Taiwan. I said Taiwan is pretty much an independent country given it has it's own currency, military and democratic government. She looked at me like I was telling her the earth was flat. She was smart and good natured, and didn't have any opposing reasons, but she insisted Taiwan was simply another province of China.…

I had a similar experience meeting a friend of a coworker at a social function. Someone brought up the Dalai Lama and Tibet, and she seemed completely unable or unwilling to accept that Tibet had even ever _not_ fully and totally willingly been an administrative division of China, or that China had acted in any way inappropriately.

As far as she was concerned, Tibetans were Chinese, not a distinct group.

It was eye opening.

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#32

Post by bgee »

Joakal wrote: post #23
9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #13

Serious question: I've got a couple of mainland Chinese acquaintances on my social networks, who are real people but also busily spouting Chinese government propaganda. As the article says, I don't expect them to change their views overnight, but I would like to plant some seeds of doubt. Any suggestions for links to suitable content? (Ideally accessible from behind the GFW, although most can VPN outside it.) For exa…

Ask them to read many sources. Point out that it costs too much to manipulate many media. Careful with asking this as you are risking their life and their family/friends: Ask them when they started hearing about the HongKong protests (China initially censored HongKong protests)? Are they aware that HongKong had been seeking democracy and/or independence for a long time even under UK rule? Have they read about Wukan D…

> independence for a long time even under UK rule?

From my understanding, most protesters do not seek independence from China. Do you have evidence to back your sentence up?

It's a common misunderstanding in mainland and rest of the world outside of Hong Kong to assume that the (majority of) people of Hong Kong wants independence when they are protecting about a very specific extradition bill.

Disclaimer: I'm mainland Chinese.

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#33

Post by ijiiijji1 »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #9
socrates1998 wrote: post #6

Chinese students should be allowed to think however they want, but their behavior is unacceptable in a western democracy. I am not sure that these international Chinese students are good for our universities. I feel like the universities sold out to them because they pay full price tuition. This is latest example of them not understanding even basic behavior in western country.

Wanting their rules to apply in a host country... yeah, that's not a good look. In contrast, we in the West never expect other countries to do it our way when we visit them... /s

There are different cultures with slightly different modalities, but decency is universal. Murder for cannibalism is unacceptable always. Kafkaesque totalitarianism is unacceptable. Shouting-down opponent speakers is unacceptable. Child rape isn't acceptable because it's "their culture."

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#34

Post by seanmcdirmid »

seppin wrote: post #24
deepVoid wrote: post #2

> When Chinese students step outside of China to study, they are struggling to adapt to a new education system, and are frequently confronted — in class, in daily life, and online — with assumptions that they have been “brainwashed by the Chinese government.” It makes some feel attacked and reaffirms what they were taught in China: The West is biased and hostile. Many Chinese people in the West still read the same pr…

> It makes some feel attacked and reaffirms what they were taught in China: The West is biased and hostile. It's easier when you want to believe something, to believe it. No matter what the source is.

This. Much of the media consumed is shaped more by the biases of their viewers, less the other way around.

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#35

Post by 100100010001 »

markus_zhang wrote: post #20
AnimalMuppet wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wanting their rules to apply in a host country... yeah, that's not a good look. In contrast, we in the West never expect other countries to do it our way when we visit them... /s

I saw plenty of examples that westerners who do the same...it's just not reported in western medias.

The OC was being sarcastic. The USA is the most entitled country! USA citizens even call the country America or ‘Merica’ as if they aren’t part of one of two continents called America (if you’re in the USA then the two continents are North and South). Which means every person trying to cross the USA border is AMERICAN!!!

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#36

Post by justicezyx »

appleiigs wrote: post #27

I had a similar experience chatting to my former coworker (who moved recently from China) regarding Taiwan. I said Taiwan is pretty much an independent country given it has it's own currency, military and democratic government. She looked at me like I was telling her the earth was flat. She was smart and good natured, and didn't have any opposing reasons, but she insisted Taiwan was simply another province of China.…

Isn't it simply the propaganda and talking about different concept?

You are referring to effective situation.

The Chinese student is talking about his perceived mental recognition.

You need first get straight to the point that your notion of independent nation is such and such.

The Chinese student needs to say regardless the Taiwan situation, we believe it's part of China.

That's why I believe Taiwan likely will never be part of China formally: I.e. the separation is so long and so deep that remedy it would be economical and politically too costly.

On the other hand, when China finally become the an order of magnitude more powerful nation than, presumably the second in rank. I predict Taiwan will be effectively part of China's paper sphere, but never formally to integrate.

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#37

Post by [deleted] »

iLoch wrote: post #26
9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #13

Serious question: I've got a couple of mainland Chinese acquaintances on my social networks, who are real people but also busily spouting Chinese government propaganda. As the article says, I don't expect them to change their views overnight, but I would like to plant some seeds of doubt. Any suggestions for links to suitable content? (Ideally accessible from behind the GFW, although most can VPN outside it.) For exa…

Actually I was trying to find a simple question, and I came across an example of the same sort of spouting of Chinese government propaganda. Check this out: https://www.quora.com/Are-children-in-China-taught-about-the... I think it's interesting to ask people who are educated in China what they think about the Tiananmen Square Massacre. For instance, what do they think about this photo? https://i.imgur.com/0zAQqAO.pn…

[deleted]

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#38

Post by [deleted] »

ccccppppp wrote: post #25

Or how many Russians don't understand why Ukraine for example is upset. Is as if propaganda works. Who would have thought. Once I was discussing with a Chinese colleague and the Tiananmen subject came up (it was in the news, I didn't bring it up), and he told me that the students were not that innocent either, that they killed 150 soldiers the night before. I asked him, how could some students with rocks kill 150 sol…

[deleted]

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#39

Post by [deleted] »

pmikesell wrote: post #12
iamshs wrote: post #4

First time I got an accurate map of India was when I stepped out of it. Whole of Kashmir is shown as Indian territory in all books and newspapers, even the area that is under administration of China and Pakistan. It was quite something. Other aspects opened up too, but the map thing was quite outrageous example. With international media availability, graphics have become better now thankfully.

Can you explain this a little bit? Isn't there a big issue right now between India and Kasmir? You're saying it's actually under the administration of China? I'm sorry if this sounds naive - I guess I have no idea what's going on in the world.

[deleted]

Re: Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests

#40

Post by avs733 »

msie wrote: post #18

We have the same problem with the extreme left and right in the US although I am more annoyed with the MAGA supporters out there.

False dichotomy is functionally the same as what is being described here.

The larger problem is generations of people who have been socialized and brought up to accept lies told by people with power and positional authority. At that level it is country/culturally independent and manifests in what the content and scale of the lies are.

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