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I live and run a business here in Beijing. The majority of my customers are young adult mainlanders (white collar, 18-35 years old) and my employees are mainlan

by garply 17y ago

I live and run a business here in Beijing. The majority of my customers are young adult mainlanders (white collar, 18-35 years old) and my employees are mainlanders as well. Also my girlfriend of 6+ years. I don't find any of what you say to be true. Especially the part about religious and dogmatic belief in the party line - most of the Chinese I deal with find the gov't obnoxious and untrustworthy. Of course, that could vary with socioeconomic class, but even my relatively young workers, who are of a different social group than my customers, seem to feel that way as well (poison milk, bribery scandals, etc). In my experience, the people who are supportive of the party are usually older (40-50+). Odd that our experiences are so different, and I'm not sure where we'll be able to find objective data to resolve the differences in information.

potatolicious 17y ago
I think the different experiences comes down to socioeconomic status - my impression comes from Chinese expats, in particular international students. This demographic is best summed up in a single word: "over-privileged" These are the direct beneficiaries of the current regime, and I even personally knew a couple whose parents were unabashedly in the bribery business. They all tow the party line something fierce... scary, especially since they're "destined" to be the Chinese leaders of tomorrow :S I'm glad to hear that "normal" Chinese aren't nearly as bad as the ones I've met. This gives me hope. About the poison milk/bribery stuff though: even the people I know don't agree with these things, and are more than willing to admit the government's failure in preventing these things. However, if you dare bring up Western-style agricultural/industrial policies as a means to mitigate this sort of thing, you are in for some major hostility. This may be unique to the demographic I talk to, but basically only they are allowed to criticize the Chinese government - if you represent some kind of western ideology you're frowned upon.
- garply 17y ago
  But I don't think it's an issue of socioeconomic status. My point in mentioning my business was that I need to understand my demographic very thoroughly (I work 7 days a week catering to their needs). Many of my customers have studied abroad and most of them work in the Central Business District here for large multinational corporations. My demographic also includes students at elite Chinese universities like Beida and Qinghua. And I have yet to encounter what you are describing among them. Maybe the closest is one guy who wanted to climb the CCP ranks to change all the problems he saw with the current system.
- sliverstorm 17y ago
  > They all toe the party line something fierce... scary, especially since they're "destined" to be the Chinese leaders of tomorrow :S You are surprised by this? I'd be surprised if it wasn't like this. It's the party that will be getting them into leadership roles; of course they will support it with everything they have.
- analyst74 17y ago
  Maybe the way you criticize triggered their defensive reaction? I was an international student myself and have no problem criticizing the government with my friends (Chinese or otherwise). But if someone comes in with harsh tone, I will in all arms defending my country. And I find this common among citizens of most countries.

by garply 17y ago

potatolicious 17y ago

I think the different experiences comes down to socioeconomic status - my impression comes from Chinese expats, in particular international students. This demographic is best summed up in a single word: "over-privileged" These are the direct beneficiaries of the current regime, and I even personally knew a couple whose parents were unabashedly in the bribery business. They all tow the party line something fierce... scary, especially since they're "destined" to be the Chinese leaders of tomorrow :S I'm glad to hear that "normal" Chinese aren't nearly as bad as the ones I've met. This gives me hope. About the poison milk/bribery stuff though: even the people I know don't agree with these things, and are more than willing to admit the government's failure in preventing these things. However, if you dare bring up Western-style agricultural/industrial policies as a means to mitigate this sort of thing, you are in for some major hostility. This may be unique to the demographic I talk to, but basically only they are allowed to criticize the Chinese government - if you represent some kind of western ideology you're frowned upon.

garply 17y ago
But I don't think it's an issue of socioeconomic status. My point in mentioning my business was that I need to understand my demographic very thoroughly (I work 7 days a week catering to their needs). Many of my customers have studied abroad and most of them work in the Central Business District here for large multinational corporations. My demographic also includes students at elite Chinese universities like Beida and Qinghua. And I have yet to encounter what you are describing among them. Maybe the closest is one guy who wanted to climb the CCP ranks to change all the problems he saw with the current system.
sliverstorm 17y ago
> They all toe the party line something fierce... scary, especially since they're "destined" to be the Chinese leaders of tomorrow :S You are surprised by this? I'd be surprised if it wasn't like this. It's the party that will be getting them into leadership roles; of course they will support it with everything they have.
analyst74 17y ago
Maybe the way you criticize triggered their defensive reaction? I was an international student myself and have no problem criticizing the government with my friends (Chinese or otherwise). But if someone comes in with harsh tone, I will in all arms defending my country. And I find this common among citizens of most countries.