Inspired by the recent c/AskLemmy question about Myanmar.
As a PRC-born ethnic Han-Chinese person who currently is a US Citizen and reside in the US, I’m curious on what people think of my former country.
Useless plastic shit
Such an enormous country. Old people doing tai chi in a park. Little kids earning red stars at school. Government trying to control the population too tightly, yet somehow also lacking basic safety regulations. Good food.
I’m into Taoism, so I think of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu and Chinese philosophy. I love their sense of humor, and humility. I often daydream of a different life, being raised a monk in the Himalayas. A place I like to imagine when mediating
A country and its flag. They sort of come up simultaneously in my head.
My stance is kind of 50/50 with China.
For one, they’re going to flame out even faster than America did. As time moves forward great powers last less and less time. America only held the crown for 80 years. Chinas got its own issues, especially with the population issues.
Yes, China has a laundry list of human rights abuses. We know all of them, I shouldn’t have to list them here. China also is an aggressor country, harassing their neighbors and intimidating them for often no reason at all, and when there is a reason, it’s territorial expansion. They steal IP, they steal identities and secrets (yes I know, stealing secrets is an everybody issue, and I’ll get to that, but it’s usually done with more class) and they gave our kids toys with lead in them. You could seriously go on for days on the bad stuff about China. The belt and road? Fuck, that’s so, so bad… However
They’re also leading in science and especially the environment. They’ve spent big money on their science, and it’s paid off in spades for them and it’s commendable from an international standpoint. No country on earth is fighting climate change harder than China. From advances in solar panels bringing the cost of clean energy down, and giving the ability to electrify places of the world that have never experienced it? That’s pretty dope. Plus their electric car tech is blowing up so hard that it’s actually kind of reasonable to tariff it, because they’re so far ahead.
Now the gre(a)y, I’m an American. Half the shit that china does that’s bad, was shit that we have been doing for generations. So yeah, china sucks shit. But does it suck more shit than America right now? I say no, but not by much, and mostly because a lot of the problems people try to put on China (i.e. pollution mostly) is because we facilitated that. If not them, it’d be our polluted air and water. And now, he wants to bring that manufacturing back here while deregulating pollutants AND enforcement. He saw 1990s Beijing and said “I want that for us”. But basically, other than China’s climate and science goals, were the same country. So the nod (barely) goes to China for being a more honorable or good country.
- Interesting mythology and past.
- Technologically advancing.
- Many ethical issues against people by the Government.
- They are very into the illusion of being a paradise.
- If you are a person not from there, it can be a potentially traumatizing experience, depending on what parts of the country you go to.
If you are a person not from there, it can be a potentially traumatizing experience, depending on what parts of the country you go to.
Actually, foreigners (white foreigner to be precise) such as Youtubers Serpentza and Laowhy86 managed to go around China and make videos critical of the CCP and they didn’t end up in prison or anything. But if a Chinese person attempted the same thing, they’d probably get jailed. I feel like there a sort of “foreigner privilage” that basically the CCP doesn’t want to get involved in a diplomatic incident, but is otherwise happy to punish their own citizens (since there wouldn’t be any diplomatic incidents).
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Actually the “CPC” doesn’t exist because it’s called 中国共产党
做五毛前，先学点中文吧。
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I didn’t even mean trauma from the gov’t, which is a whole different level, but trauma from its own people. My wife traveled to China for work and it was not great for her.
Culture shock from going to an advanced society?
Not seeing mass homeless and junkies in the streets, working public transport, etc can be a bit much.You obviously know I meant the opposite. Not all of China is advanced. There were indeed homeless people and likely junkies. You can go into my post history if you want to see the longer story.
Congratulations, you’ve discovered sarcasm. (see what I did here?)
China has lifted 800mln out of poverty. 3,3% under the poverty line (for now). The US banana republic has11.1%.
China is the nr 1 in homeownership in theworld BTW at 96% And not even beginning about the junkie comparison.Your post history just shows your Sinophobia in another comment under this posts and then I have to scroll back to see your ‘expertise’ comes from…second hand stories from a 2 week trip your wife took once.
And that expleinss she’s butthurt bcs they don’t have a groteskly obese population like the US and they ridiculed her for it.
I guess it’s a more original reason for badmouthing them than the normal envy the US has for losing hard to them economically.
So LOL, copeThank you for teaching me sarcasm, I am in your debt. I’m also not an expert, and she’s not obese since she’s a personal trainer. You also forgot that she had a friend who also lived in the city she visited, for years might I add. It’s not just her experience. I also don’t think anyone was putting into question how fucked up the US is, because it most definitely is. The OP was asking a specific question and I answered it.
The first thing I think of is “propaganda” but you might not expect why. I grew up in the western world, hearing constantly that China was basically the epitome of evil. Their government is evil, their people are evil, the very land they walk on is evil, everything they’ve ever done has been evil. In history we only learned about their crises and the times they caused problems for the western world.
Unlike my peers, however, this made me curious. Why are you telling me so constantly that they must be evil? Can’t there be good people there doing their best just like we are? And then things started getting weird in the western world. Then they got worrying. Then they started really taking their masks off and I realized “ohhhh you were projecting the whole time weren’t you?”
I still don’t know much about China. I don’t know what your culture is really like, how the people actually treat each other. I don’t know basically anything about you. I’d love to learn though, if you’re willing to teach.
Their government is evil
I mean… its not entirely false. . I mean, the CCP through the one child policy did try to terminate me, since I was the second pregnancy that my mother had (she already gave birth to my older brother), so they did try to find my mother to force an abortion against her will. Then after I was born, I guess the since I already exist, its too difficult to justify killing someone who was already born, so they just let me live. My parents had to pay like somewhete like ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 (in Renminbi currency) in order for me to get legal documents, which was a lot of money at the time. So yea fuck the CCP.
But to put in in perspective, it isn’t nearly as bad as North Korea, where they totally ban people from leaving.
their people are evil
Yea this is total BS. There’s nothing in the DNA of ethnic Chinese that make us “evil”.
Unlike my peers, however, this made me curious. Why are you telling me so constantly that they must be evil?
Like, don’t think this is just a western thing.
Nationalism is a thing in every country.
In China, they teach people why Japan is evil and all Japanese people are monsters… and I’m like… “all of them?” 🤔
Then it got weirder when the US was also portrayed as evil… I mean, don’t get me wrong, the US has done a lot of evil things. But its was also the US that aided China aginst the japanese invasion of China. Although controvertial, it was the US who nuked japan and that immediately stopped the war and save a lot of Chinese people.
So yea I get it, every country want to portray others as evil. Its not unique to the west.
But remember one thing:
Governments =/= The people whom they rule over
You can dislike a government without hating the people too
I still don’t know much about China. I don’t know what your culture is really like
I mean, tbh, I immigrated to the US as a kid, so I don’t know much either.
I don’t know basically anything about you. I’d love to learn though, if you’re willing to teach.
I mean… do you have any specific questions to ask?
Having two child rule is evil? Why? Rules makes a society, its your mom that try to break the rules? You know why they try to have 1 child policy right?
Sure they can be evil, but 1 child rule isnt evil. Imagine if 1st world countries suddenly started getting 5-10 childs everyone, everyone taking sueside cus no jobs and heavy competition on school.
The government shouldn’t have control over this. This is no different from nazi eugenics.
Hmm, there are way to many people in China, how would you regulate it?
I think you’re quite a few decades out of date with that opinion. The Chinese government is very worried about population decline now.
Ye sure, but that was not my point
I worry that your point is even worse than I thought.
The nasty bit was telling a mother she has to have an abortion against her will.
China now has the opposite problem of a declining population, which causes problems because of the working age population is small compared to the older population, you end up running out of money so you either have to tax more heavily or abandon older folks to their fate without helping them.
The declining population problem is very common in wealthier countries.
And lower population means fewer jobs. The number of jobs that need doing in a country doesn’t depend on the area of the land, it depends on the population size. The problems come when governments don’t build infrastructure. If you don’t build schools and hospitals and suchlike, three are fewer jobs in construction and less money going into the local economy, and schools and hospitals get crowded and do a worse job.
It would be nasty if she was pregnant and suddenly the rule goes in action. If she got pregnant after the rule was set? Idk
You and I completely and utterly disagree.
Yep agree, i was in China in 2021, with my job, honestly i did see tons of jobs they dont need, like big security on each school, Cooks everywhere at school, and others
A ruthlessly effective technocracy that has achieved very impressive outcomes for their citizens¹ while also being a cultural / societal system I never want to live in. For some reason super obsessed with outside appearances.
1:
From 1995 to 2025:
- GDP/c: 603 to 13973
- Literacy rates: 77% to 96%
- University graduates per year: 900K to 10M
- Life expectancy: 33 to 77
- Railway km: 54616 to 160000 (50000 high speed)
- Urbanization rate: 29% to 67%
etc.
I like the idea that these were your first impressions of China, as in you stepped off a plane, had one look around and thought “Wow, this place seems like a ruthlessly effective technocracy that has achieved very impressive outcomes for its citizens but it’s certainly a cultural-slash-societal system I never want to live in.”
I’ve been reading some terrible books because I enjoy listening to 372 pages we’ll never get back.
That reads exactly like a line in a few of those books.
University graduates
You forgot the Gaokao that’s 10x harder than the US SAT/ACT 💀
Chinese food, which i love.
the food, cuisine. szechuan numbing peppercorn. shenzhen tech. hongkong dresses. wing chun. samo hung.
“do not pursue lu bu”
Massive cities with LED buildings, beautiful mountains with paved hiking trails all the way to the top and gondolas to get down, Long queues that are still orderly and move quickly, families eating large meals outside, friendly and very curious people.
I’ve spent a lot of time there. Compared to the west the cost of living is super cheap especially for all the options and amenities you get. Even in the hippest part of Chongqing I could rent an apartment 2x the size of my house for half the mortgage. If the US is headed towards a permanent authoritarian regime I would trade life here for over there. At least their dictator appreciates science and education.
I would trade life here for over there.
If you are white… maybe
Otherwise… it isn’t that pleasant…
I think of China as a country that pretends to be communist while making cheap products that vary in quality. I also think of the nice people that live there though.
Their authoritarian form of government which is definitely making me not want to ever visit China.
I am sure China is otherwise a wonderful country, I don’t have a negative opinion of Taiwan at all, but the PRC needs their Gorbachev to come to power and liberate them.
Gorbachev did not exactly liberate them, not the Russian SFSR part of it… gestures at putin
That was the fault of the people who were in power after Gorbachev…
Gorbachev chose Putin himself.
A decade out. Yeltsin chose him.
You’re correct.
Better than USA.
Not exactly.
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Hukou issues -essentially a caste system. I was from a rural Hukou, I’m essentially “foreign” to the place I was born in (Guangzhou).
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Job Competition -Too many people. It may or may not be a political issue, but its definitely a geographical one. 1.4 Billion people means its very difficult to get a job. That the reason why my parents, along with me and my older brother, immigrated to the US.
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Food safety was a huge issue. At least pre-2025, the US had a much better enforcement of food safety policies.
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A person of the majority racial group living in the US (non-hispanic white people), still have an easier life than a person of the majority racial group in PRC (Han-Chinese) living in China. Of course, the “benefit” of China is, most people are Han-Chinese so there is not much racial discrimination issues, but the Hukou is still a problem.
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Emergency room care have to be pre-paid. Unlike the US, where the law requires hospitals to treat you in an emergency, in China you have to pre-pay before you receive care, even if its an emergency.
Things could change tho. If the US continues its fascism spiral, it could end up worse than China in the future.
Exactly. We don’t know what the USA is right now so the devil you know is always better.
Oh trust me, I know the devil.
If I go back to China (which I no longer have citizenship in btw) I would immediately get arrested and jailed for anti-CCP speech while in the US.
So my choices is stay in the US (which I do have Citizenship in) and possibly get arrested sometime in the future.
Or attempt to claim jus sanguinis in PRC, which probably wouldn’t work. And I would guaranteed to just end up in prison.
The truth is, neither the USA nor PRC is some kind of safe haven. The EU is the only remaining safe area left in the world.
Im sorry, did you or did you not ask people to tell you what they thought of china? You don’t seem very accepting of what other people say if you don’t agree.
You’re happy in the USA? Good for you. Let’s see for how long. Good luck.
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Very rich culture, and the government.
