I think a major and common misunderstanding is that people and governments will say something is bad about China when they’re actually talking about the CCP. China and it’s people are delightful. The CCP is irredeemable.
The u.s. (the state) has committed so many atrocities and is currently facilitating a genocide. Also irredeemable (the state.)
I totally agree with you. I think you hit the nail on the head here.
The sudden sharing of culture is definitely the best part of TikTok going down. Let more Americans learn about how the supposed boogie man lives from the Little Red Book
So many people are saying we intend to stay on Xiaohongshu even though Tik Tok is back up.
I hope it lasts, but even if it doesn’t, I will never forget this. I’ve cried so many times from the emotional and heartfelt videos everyone have posted. When I’m in public, I have to stick to the cute animal posts so I don’t lose my composure lol
As a non-american I am kinda curious on what lies they learned about china? I know the no grocieries one, but what else? 🤔
Ok so full disclosure: In my job, I know a lot of people from China, so not all of these misconceptions are mine personally:
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Social credit system: False. I honestly can’t fathom that anyone believes this. I blame reddit.
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Sweatshops: They exist, but the majority are run by western corporations. They’re also not the norm.
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Food scarcity: Food is more accessible and affordable there than here.
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Healthcare: Chinese people have easy and affordable access to healthcare. In fact, after hearing about the unconscionable US system, doctors have been making posts inviting USAmericans to travel to China for healthcare. The cost of the plane tickets would present the greatest barrier.
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LGBTQIA acceptance: It’s about on par with the USA, unfortunately. However, we often hear it’s worse, which is not necessarily true. I’ve seen and interacted with a number of openly queer people on XHS, including trans people. My best friend there is a lesbian. “Older people might not be comfortable with it” – sound familiar?
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You will be imprisoned for criticizing the government: False. People have openly criticized Xi Jinping with impunity.
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Poor and houseless people: Lower rates than USA
I’m NOT saying China is some utopia, but it’s also at the very least no worse than the USA, and likely better in many ways. There’s no such thing as a good nation state in my opinion, but I don’t think a genocidal settler colonial state like the US that commits myriad atrocities that I don’t have space to list here is in a position to criticize China.
No nations, no borders, one family, humankind
I think how they treat Uyghurs makes China instantly worse then almost all other nations.
I wish we lived in a world where that did make them worse than most countries.
I think the way USA treats Palestinians, Native Americans, Latinx immigrants, and political prisoners puts us in no position to cast such judgment. The USA is objectively worse than China in this aspect, without a doubt.
Talk to me after we give the landback. Oh, but then this genocidal slave state of “USA” wouldn’t exist at all, now would it?
Omg, shit I am/was? (Guess I gotta look into stuff) On only points 1 and 6.
The rest is quite an impressive amount of misinformation! Thanks Link 🥰
Oh and yea, ofc no state will be good, especially as long as the means of upholding their “law” is violence 🤷
Edit: wikipedia has a good page on social credit system!
You’re welcome! Don’t feel bad. Many of these are things I just recently learned myself because it’s not like I ask my clients to explain everything.
If you have any more questions about China, please let me know. I’d be happy to ask the community at XHS.
It’s interesting because we always learned that the reason we didn’t interact much with Chinese people was because of the “great firewall” on their end, but I’ve seen clips of the state news media from China, and XHS is welcoming international users. Towards the end, there were a rash of Tik Tok videos trying to dissuade people from moving to XHS, spreading fear that the state might segregate the servers, thus cutting off the Chinese diaspora from connecting with friends and family. I actually refrained from posting for a while for this reason, but it turned out not to be true.
There were also a lot of videos about Chinese people not accepting and/or immediately banning Black people, LGBTQIA people, disabled people, or even fat people from using the platform. One of my favorite creators from Tik Tok who’s a disabled Black woman migrated there, and she’s had nothing but love.
I/you/we are not immune from propaganda, I suppose!
I’m so glad I joined XHS. It’s been so illuminating. That’s why I made this post. I know it’s a hot take for a lot of people, but to them I say: Go there. Just take a look around. It’s not run by the state. It’s just people posting the same types of things that we post here, but there are a lot of Q&A posts right now just because of the influx of foreign users.
And everyone I know who’s gone there has found chatmates. It’s only been less than a week, but I still look forward to talking to certain users.
I’ve never felt so much hope for the future of humankind, and I can tell you this: It’s not because of any nation.
It’s so nice getting past the propaganda and seeing fellow humans
It really is, and it’s making me reflect on how I communicate with others. The conversations I’m having are so nice.
And it’s not like I haven’t known people from China. I’ve been around people all my life. But this is somehow different. It’s almost easier to communicate certain things online than in person. I think because it’s awkward to just physically look at a person and go, “So what’s your healthcare like?” XD
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