Well you're ignoring the fact that the Chinese government is very open to criticisms and actually regularly change policies based on criticism, despite the counter-intuitive act of simultaneously censoring some critics.
I have reflected and I disagree with you. Explaining how China works and presenting alternative views is not "defending [an evil] regime", thank you very much.
I am not ignoring that such a thing might happen. The regime must be able to doublespeak. Allowing a small amount of safe criticism and changing policies allows those in power to deflect and convince people who aren't paying attention.
Any criticism that is a legitimate threat is met with blanket censorship - as in the case of Peng Shuai - or deadly violence as in the case of Tiananmen.
You are free to disagree and I am free to disagree with you. But I am sure glad that 98% of Chinese people are happy and feel that the country is heading in the right direction, and I am glad that the world has a diverse set of governance systems.
How do you know 98% Chinese people are happy if there is no credible, independent study? Surely any study saying Chinese are unhappy would be censored.
This one actually made me belly laugh, thanks for that.
It's not independent, a study, or by York University, it was a ccp sponsored poll performed in China, by party members, with data collated and compiled by party members.
It's rare to see propaganda crumble to so delicate an interrogation, that's some primo stuff.
Looking at your posts on HN (this topic and others) you clearly and plainly defend CCP (chinese gov) on many of it's policies (even if being atrocities), while trying to evade questions and whitewash topics. You did try defend CCP Taiwan stance.
You either lie, either are (in my opinion) delusional, because your writing here 'CCP is open to criticism', on this very thread about Peng. This is nuts. Literally 30 minutes after publication of her _personal_ post, remind you she is a China citizen, the post is removed (no trial! pure force gov action) and discussion is actively blocked in China. It is a very simple cognitive task in reasoning and critical thinking, to conclude what does it mean for CCP and China in general, if there are _personal_ things not allowed to be aired there.
If you can't grasp it, do a simple exercise: on your next trip to China (or ask your china based family) do a post about Peng, asking for answers, reposting her post etc -> you will be healed quickly and promptly by the very CCP.
p.s. I'm just a guy, my opinion is mine, I may be wrong. Yet I observed your karma on this thread, literally hundreds of people dont agree with you on HN. I would start thinking about me if that many HN people tell me I'm wrong.
You are making very big assumptions. Re Taiwan (or any other matter), I am anti-war and pro-peace. Let's make a wager: I dare you to dig up a message in which I support military invasion of Taiwan. If you can do so within 3 days I will pay you $1000 USD. Otherwise you pay me $1000 USD. Do you dare to take this challenge?
Saying "you clearly and plainly defend CCP" is unnuanced at best, a complete misrepresentation at worst. Explaining how the Chinese government works and explaining that many Chinese people view things differently, is not at all the same as "defending the CCP", and even further from "defending the CCP blindly" as you seem to be implying. One can say "this is how it works, and the population there don't see it as much of a problem as here" without personally agreeing with everything.
You are also being very reductive about this matter. It's perfectly possible to have complex thoughts and complex stances. My stance is "the CCP has many problems but it is unfair to ignore the good aspects, and one should recognize that some issues depend very much on one's perspective, and the Chinese perspective differs from western perspective". That is not at all the same as "the CCP great".
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You are confusing censorship with kidnapping. Unlike what people think, they are not related: censorship is a kind of super-moderation.[1] You and I dislike censorship on an ideological level, but that is besides the point I'm making. People getting censored is not an indication of people getting kidnapped. In fact, it happens regularly that people are censored for their criticism, and that the government responds to that criticism.
This, along with "CCP is open to criticism", isn't "delusional", it's fact supported by research papers[2][3][4], Asian media[5], independent accounts by foreigners who have lived in China[6] and street interviews[7]. None of these facts are well-known by popular western understanding of China, and indeed they seem so ludicrous that your first impression is that I am delusional, but they remain facts nevertheless. Please, go read my hard evidence before you declare me as delusional (or even lying).
My point isn't "censorship is fine and I defend it", it's "censorship is misunderstood, censorship works differently and its role is different than what westerners typically imagine, plus the Chinese themselves have complex and nuanced opinions about censorship, viewing them as both good and bad". That's not "defending the CCP", that's showing complex, nuanced reality and alternative perspectives.
If you say that I am delusional, then what about my Chinese family? Are we all delusional then? My father in law told me this: that "censoring Peng Shuai is not necessarily bad, because it protects her privacy and protects her from angry mobs that will socially ostracize her for admitting to having been a mistress". This is a very typical example of nuanced Chinese thought on censorship. They're way less ideologically rigid. Disagree as we two may on censorship, who are we to tell a Chinese citizen what he should think about it?
He also said "Why would they arrest her? She didn't do anything illegal. Her social media will be restored once the controversy cools down". I'm pretty sure that, having lived in China for decades, he knows China better than you do.
Regarding your simple exercise: that exercise has already been done by others, so I will show you directly. The French embassy posted a message on Weibo on which they voice concern about Peng Shuai's safety. This message is not censored, you can read it here: https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4706377967338593
What's more, it attracted hordes of angry comments from Chinese people. Nobody believes that Peng Shuai has ever been in danger — because that's not the kind of place China is. People tell the French embassy to go mind their own business.
What may even be more incredible is that there are even messages in that thread criticizing the fact that Peng Shuai is censored. Here is an account by Dutch Sinologist Manya Koetse: https://twitter.com/manyapan/status/1463074733042380802
These criticisms have not been censored. What's notable about these criticisms is that they're not criticizing censorship wholesale: they're criticizing censorship for having added fuel to the fire. Even these criticizers don't believe that criticizing means that Peng Shuai has been kidnapped!
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You say many people disagree with me. Yes no doubt. But do you know why I hold these opinions regardless? Because we are at the dawn of a new Cold War which could erupt into a hot war at any time. China is the flashpoint, and anti-China sentiment is being abused by the US military industrial complex to manufacture a consent for war. To you, it's just "criticizing the CCP for atrocities". To me, it's contributing to an environment in which anti-Asian crimes become socially acceptable, and contributing to an atmosphere in which a war with China would be a good idea. The maddening thing about this phenomenon is that half of these "anti-CCP" criticisms are based on facts for which one can verify that they've been misrepresented, if only people dig deeper than biased mainstream media reports.
I am taking a risk here to voice these unpopular opinions because I don't want nuclear warheads to fly all over the world. And for that to happen, people need to get rid of their unnuanced, reductionist ideas of China being an evil place.
I can turn the argument around: people see a Chinese person — who has obviously done a lot of research, seeing the number of sources I post — holding a controversial opinion, one that would even seem to harm that person's interests ("why would you support an oppressive government that murders your own people?"). Why do these people hold on to the notion that they are right, instead of wondering why I hold the opinions I do? Could it be that their assumptions are wrong? Why do so many people lack self-reflection?
Now it's my turn to give you an exercise. Go to a local university, find 20 mainland Chinese students and tell them they're being oppressed by the government and that you support their overthrow of the CCP. Watch their reactions. See whether you can still claim that I am being delusional.
While I agree with your (general) point, I'm not so sure about the last paragraph.
I mean, I would answer "yes" to your "being oppressed by the government" part. And, to some extent, everyone who lives in mainland China and reads HN should feel so, as HN is censored by GFW.
Overthrowing CCP idk, I am not seeing how this could be practically done without making my life significantly worse. So that's the trade-off I made.
That is fair. I too have met Chinese that are anti-govt/anti-CCP (though nowadays they seem to be a minority). And yes I also recognize that there are still many problems that need solving.
I have reflected and I disagree with you. Explaining how China works and presenting alternative views is not "defending [an evil] regime", thank you very much.