3 ms·

To be fair, his blog was never exactly positive on China, and (as he states in the article) he was very wary of crossing the fine line between moderate criticis

by lainga 8y ago

To be fair, his blog was never exactly positive on China, and (as he states in the article) he was very wary of crossing the fine line between moderate criticism and falling afoul of the CCP. Between the fact that he was forced out of his position, and that he says he's "grateful" not to have been detained, I imagine he feels safe enough to get a shot off as he leaves. I don't think the government would get rid of him with an ostensibly administrative dismissal, and then turn around and detain him on the back of this post, as he was about to leave the country for good; it would look heavy-handed. Or, as you say, he could already be gone... I don't know.

hangonhn 8y ago
I give him credit for even trying China. China is the opposite of libertarianism both culturally and politically. Even without the party, personal liberty and worth doesn't factor in much in China or anywhere where Confucianism took root. It's always in relations to others that you derive your worth. That aspect of my heritage has always sit poorly with me (then again I was raised in the US). I'm not saying one way is better than the other but for a libertarian to give it a try took some courage.
- lgvln 8y ago
  I would agree that China is probably the opposite of libertarian politically. Culturally, I would find it hard to agree. Most people don’t give a crap about others (in a liberating and selfish manner) unless it concerns them directly.
  - hangonhn 8y ago
    Oh that's a very interesting perspective. I didn't even think about that. Yes there is a sense of "mind your own business" in China and that may be a more recent development. What I was referring to is more along the lines of how you've valued and viewed by people you know -- one does not have inherent value simply because he is a human and therefore the idea of human rights and individual liberty/freedom are somewhat foreign concepts to China and perhaps East Asia.

by lainga 8y ago

hangonhn 8y ago

I give him credit for even trying China. China is the opposite of libertarianism both culturally and politically. Even without the party, personal liberty and worth doesn't factor in much in China or anywhere where Confucianism took root. It's always in relations to others that you derive your worth. That aspect of my heritage has always sit poorly with me (then again I was raised in the US). I'm not saying one way is better than the other but for a libertarian to give it a try took some courage.

lgvln 8y ago
I would agree that China is probably the opposite of libertarian politically. Culturally, I would find it hard to agree. Most people don’t give a crap about others (in a liberating and selfish manner) unless it concerns them directly.
- hangonhn 8y ago
  Oh that's a very interesting perspective. I didn't even think about that. Yes there is a sense of "mind your own business" in China and that may be a more recent development. What I was referring to is more along the lines of how you've valued and viewed by people you know -- one does not have inherent value simply because he is a human and therefore the idea of human rights and individual liberty/freedom are somewhat foreign concepts to China and perhaps East Asia.