China really needs to overcome its own hangups about its sense of victimization by the British. Get the fuck over it. Lose that fascist notion of superiority over the world and learn to cooperate with it.
The Chinese emperors of yesterday and the communist party of today prioritize state power over all else. It is a country that will always lag in the world because it is too busy choking itself to death.
China is going full fascist, it's total control of people's lives, man. The thing is, usually fascist states fall only after losing a war, and China's got the biggest army in the world. They've also got a huge industrial sector with limited resources. A great setup for World War 3, I just hope my country's not going to participate.
Poor standard of living, no freedom, constantly being lied to - and being aware of it and having finally the courage to do something about. Because other people had the courage first. Thats how it came down.
Chinas populations is increasing their standard of living. So you think the outside world has to cripple their economy so the chinese people turn against their rulers? How would you feel about that, if you would live in china just trying to pass by - and have your income halfed because of foreign powers? Would you believe the foreign powers words that they did so because of human rights?
Hmmm, how about we try to stay together so China will not be broken apart by the West like the former Soviet Union? Yes, maybe the average citizens don't necessarily think this way and they are brainwashed by the government. But it's not like we don't understand the government has bad deeds. We think to ourselves, what more can we do to make better if we were to reign China instead of the communist party? Yes they are the ones that are corrupted, and they are also the one that did the Tiananmen massacre, no need to flat out deny that. But it's ok, they are the one that also made China stronger. Don't argue saying that but all those things we are ok with are wrong on principle, when US was becoming stronger or any other country for that matter, did they do nothing wrong? Don't get me wrong though, from individual levels, I do not agree with the government's doing. However, from a national and cultural level, the party's interest is to see China grow stronger so they have more power, while we don't necessarily want to see them having more power, but we are on the same line of thinking that we want to see China stronger. Even though they may do things that harm individuality in process, I'll refrain from speaking for all of Chinese population, but at least I buy it.
China is an insecure authoritarian nation that desperately wants to be accepted, and seen as a legitimate, first world superpower. However their actions have made it such that for generations, rational individuals will always second-guess everything they do.
“...well yeah but, it’s China!”
It’s unfortunate but How often do we see comments like that? China has been such a brutal, oppressive nation that it’s really hard to overlook, and accept at face value anything that comes out of it.
What a load of crap. Ignoring the fantastic abuses that the US commits everyday against its minority and poor folks, disenfranchising and imprisoning them and basically kicking them out of regular society... China is a sovereign nation and has every right to Govern itself the way it wants to. They may not have the same system and freedom that the West is used to, but authoritarianism has been the norm in China for centuries. The one time they tried to be a Republic: Civil War happened (with a LOT of Western intervention, no less).
I think ethically you shouldn't be making judgements about another country when you clearly know so little about it.
Note that China has a seat in the United Nations Human Rights Council, along with Saudi Arabia and others like that. It is the ultimate irony. They just don't give a fuck and we western nations place our greed and capitalism over our morals. Nobody stands up to China because we need the cheap goods. What is described in this article is one of the purest forms of fascism. It makes me sick.
You're kind of ignoring the giant elephant in the room - China is a authoritarian regime, and Emperor Xi recently declared himself Emperor for Life. Criticize Emperor Xi and be sent to the gulag. Not to mention the new dystopian Chinese Social Credit System. Did we forget about the millions of deaths resulting from the Cultural Revolution? Is China a country you would choose to live in for the rest of you life? How about your children?
The Chinese nation is awesome. Amazing work ethic, rich history and a great people. The only problem is the government's tendency to drift into a totalitarian state where most people live okay lives but are not allowed to step outside of certain ideological standards. If they were able to get a better government I almost think the work could do okay having them as the number one super power.
The only positive side of this stupid policy is that everyone knows how Xi’s CCP operates now, and it’s not popular.
Which of China’s many bordering nations isn’t supremely suspicious of their antics?
Does Xi really not know how stupid their political ideology is? Most every other Asian state is developing rapidly without constantly imprisoning political prisoners.
Here's one suggestion from a Chinese perspective: Can you guys fix your democracy first? If you can't set a good example on how good democracy can be, then there's no incentives for any other countries to follow.
You realize that US influence can never achieve anything without the citizens of China agree with it right? Like now majority of Chinese think your political system is a joke. And you know what? The majority of Chinese like those policies that's violating certain human rights. If US can only be ever weaker as time goes by then the values you hold dear can only be more insignificant in other part of the world.
As a foreigner this feels a bit like a US' reaction about their loss of leadership. There has to be something wrong about China's rise. Imagining that it will surpass their own economic power through good management by a central government is something they just refuse to accept. It has to be some authoritarian cheat mode.
I mean if you really dont know, China is an incredibly oppressive totalitarian regime that maintains their power through violence and censorship. Political opponents are routinely disappeared and murdered
I think a lot of people are missing the point. China is not an open and free society. It has hundreds of thousands of ethnic in concentration camps and is known to kidnap dissidents and silence opposition. It has implemented a social credit system purely for establishing party loyalty.
It's hard to imagine a country so against and anathema to Western ideals.
Let's put it in historical context, should we have allowed Franco, Mussolini or Hitler to have significant sway over US media and opinions at the time? How different might the world be now, had we allowed unchecked totalitarianism to spread its ideas before WW2?
We are approaching similar stakes now, where a country that is vehemently against everything we stand for is trying to influence us. We need to appreciate the severity of Chinese investment and not pretend like they are just another investor.
A few years back, I visited China for a couple of weeks and I was pretty surprised by the people's opinion about the government and government actions that we in the west perceive as abhorrent. Short version: For most of the 20th century, China was in deep shit and bullied by almost anyone who felt like it. In the eyes of many Chinese people, the economic success and regained self-esteem justify almost any measure the government deems necessary. Even if that leads people to be ok with things that we might find horrible, I kind of see where they are coming from. Bottom line: as westerners we have no idea what the world looks like from the Chinese perspective. For many or most Chinese people, the current system doesn't stand for oppression but for the liberation from oppression. I'm sure my story is grossly oversimplified; Chinese readers, please correct me.
The Chinese emperors of yesterday and the communist party of today prioritize state power over all else. It is a country that will always lag in the world because it is too busy choking itself to death.
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