To feel I've been lied to about China

[Sulettamercury]

I'm well aware the country is far from perfect but no where is and I've just come back for the summer after spending 2 years there working as a teacher I'm going back in a few weeks.

What I can't get over is the fact all my friends seem to be indoctrinated into thinking China is this 1984 style hell hole where you can't criticise the government or do anything without being in constant fear.

I have to say living there really opened my eyes and I was shocked when in my first months of teaching one of the Chinese workers (now a good friend) started openly moaning about government policy and I'll admit I was nervous at the time but soon realised nothing would happen and that despite what I was told no one came after her and she didn't disappear and that every one was moaning about government policy if it didn't suit them with no consequences.

The infrastructure is also wonderful and far from the cheap rubbish you're told it is and housing isn't all on the verge of collapse or at least no worse than some of the rubbish I've seen here in the UK

Again it's definitely not perfect but AIBU to say I I feel like we're lied to in the west about how bad China really is and that some of the things we accuse them of we either do ourselves or we blow out of proportion?

China are producing 30-40% of electricity from renewable sources contrast thst with U.S. where it’s under a quarter, in UK it’s just over half. Goal of carbon neutrality is 2060. I don’t think people realise how much progress has been made or how quickly.

I have multiple friends who grew up in China and now live in the west.

Both have shared details about the lack of religious freedom. One was secretly taught about God and prayer by her grandmother. That still shocks the hell out of me.

Look at primary energy. Electricity is not the only way coal is used in China

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_China

If you want to start your own thread about the US then go ahead. This is about China and it’s very interesting and well informed.

It’s hilarious and depressing at the same time. Saying China and the UK are similar in terms of freedoms is just laughable. But I wonder how many are actually posting in good faith. I do think that MN is plagued with a lot of bots.

I agree. The bots seem to be increasing. Not to mention the number of AI-generated posts that are (evidently) posted by legitimate users.

I like China and feel we could learn a lot from them in terms of how to run a country properly as a collective instead of worrying so much about individual "human rights".

They may have coal reserves, but those reserves are not high quality (the ash content is too high and the carbon content low). China sources a good deal of thermal and metallurgical coal from other countries for steelmaking and power generation.

There are always exceptions. At my dc’s international school we could access google, facebook etc through the school wifi. All approved by the local govt with the prime objective of students having unrestricted access to the internet for research, school projects etc. However, Facebook etc was monitored and school director was advised that if anti China postings appeared on Facebook then this privilege would be withdrawn. Most people I knew used a vpn and, of course, the govt knows we are doing that and generally it’s all fine. I used mumsnet when I lived in China - no vpn required.
I would never have posted any anti China comments on wechat (Chinese WhatsApp) as it would be disrespectful. I chose to live there, my dh had a senior job and I would never do anything to offend or upset his colleagues and friends.

Actually teaching English apparently. Are punctuation, grammar, spelling no longer fundamental aspects of written English?

Sorry, but all aspects of the ops posts are in doubt.

Any country that can turn a blind eye to a barbaric massacre of dogs, cats and goodness knows what else, in the name of a "festival", has no place in a civilised world. Yes, we have a long way to go in the UK, but China is hell for any animal. Never mind people; they're not treated that much better. In my view it's a shithole, I'll wait a long time for anyone to convince me otherwise.

I don’t understand you’re meaning. You think their poor at SPAG?

I’m sure China is perfectly fine, unless you’re a Uyghur, Tibetan, a Hong Kong bookseller, or any type of political activist or dissident.

YABU and sound like you’ve drunk the kool aid. They don’t have elections or democracy, there’s ongoing operations by their agents to spy and intimidate Hong Kong dissidents, including here. They commit huge cyber attacks.

I’ve visited China and loved it. No, it’s not North Korea, but it is not a free country and is very muscular in its approach to Taiwan. And not to mention the poor uyghurs.

I’ve never been but some of their traditions and laws are outdated. For example rape within marriage is not a crime . Sex is just expected within marriage. I found at a few weeks back children of convicts are often shunned by their families. They aren’t entitled to the states help so often end up in a charity home.

Speakeasier · Today 12:32
It’s hilarious and depressing at the same time. Saying China and the UK are similar in terms of freedoms is just laughable. But I wonder how many are actually posting in good faith

I’ve seen China get an easy ride on mn sometimes. One poster made much of the incredible improvements in education under Chairman Mao.
I’m sure that was great consolation to the millions who he murdered.

Yet another post that follows the Party line. 🤔

And anyone who uses scare quotes when referring to human rights probably has no idea about the actual human rights abuses in China (or anywhere else for that matter).

I can assure you that I have no connections or ties to the Chinese government!

I just admire China as a country and a people and feel we could learn a lot from them.

Here's something potential visitors may not be aware of. Jan'26 i was flying from Baiyun airport in GZ(white British).My 25 year old main email account was hacked before boarding by someone in China,it has never opened again despite hundreds of attempts to recover it.Not sure what they attempted to do with it.I was told by a friend that it was hacked by immigration from your arrival and customs information in response to Donald Trump's social media checks at U.S immigration.I dont email people about my take on China but if i did.......

Could you link the ECHR thread?

Who is this “we” you speak of?

Oh, ignore this poster. She pops up on loads of threads and she's just a contrarian troll gagging for attention.

I like china. It is not perfect and has its own myriad of issues but personally, I have found it a safe and interesting place to live in.

Fuck me I thought China had a much more sophisticated bot system than this...btw four legs good, two legs better