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As a Chinese grew up in China and have been living in US in recent years, I am already used to how US media reports about China. The bottom line: I have not see

As a Chinese grew up in China and have been living in US in recent years, I am already used to how US media reports about China. The bottom line: I have not seen _any_ US media reporting China truthfully. NPR is usually the worst, but others not much better. What happens is that, because of untruthful reporting in US media, people in US does not know or understand what's going on in China. It seems a miracle that such a big country grew like crazy in 30 years without democracy. But if you how much average Chinese invest in their education and how hard they work, you will not be surprised. The only real problem China is facing is its political system, not its economy. Compared to improving the political system, the economy is much, much easier.

_martamoreno_ 8y ago
Yeah right, and of course the political system has absolutely nothing to do with China's growth. And it's great if people work all day 16 hours every day of the week, are put to work and discipline since they were a child to absolutely remove any sense of creativity and freedom from their minds. Go China, Go! In truth it's actually the opposite. Chinese people living here in Canada have absolutely no clue whats wrong about their country, which is kindof expected if you grow up in such a system. Even though East-Germans seem to have done a better job of recognizing their stupid system. The difference might be that China prospers and east Germany did not.
ximeng 8y ago
Rather than generalising about all non-Chinese reporting about China you could comment specifically about what you think is misleading or untruthful about this specific article, that might be more enlightening.
ardy42 8y ago
> What happens is that, because of untruthful reporting in US media, people in US does not know or understand what's going on in China. So, in your view: 1. what's the real story about what's going on in China that's being missed in "untruthful" articles like this, and 2. who's reporting that story "truthfully"?
- yesforwhat 8y ago
  I also would like to hear answers to these questions, but I suspect OP is another ethno-nationalist that perceives grievance against them for any and all actions. The number one take away I have from interactions with all too many Chinese nationals, unfortunately.
  - ardy42 8y ago
    > but I suspect OP is another ethno-nationalist that perceives grievance against them for any and all actions. It might be more subtle than that. I know some Chinese nationals who report that their culture is to defend the in-group against criticisms in front of an out-group even if they themselves think the criticisms are true. To not do so is a kind of betrayal. This applies to groups as small as a family up to the whole country. For instance, that cultural attitude were at least part of the fuel for this controversy: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40013486 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40013486 It does make it difficult to have open conversations about many topics until you're pretty close.
dionian 8y ago
Democracy isnt required for prosperity, as China has shown. Prosperity doesn't give you freedom though.
- pzone 8y ago
  We've yet to see whether world-leading levels of per capita prosperity are achievable without freedom. At a minimum, freedom offers a strong competitive edge.
  - paraditedc 8y ago
    > We've yet to see whether world-leading levels of per capita prosperity are achievable without freedom. Look no further than The World Factbook by CIA: 2 QATAR 13 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 15 KUWAIT 22 SAUDI ARABIA https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...
- yesforwhat 8y ago
  Autocracies don't last as governments, not forever.
seanmcdirmid 8y ago
Americans and westerners who live or have lived in China are typically more critical about china than those that haven’t. We are the ones who notice the empty buildings and districts, and that mall in Beijing that is never going to attract any stores, or why the apartment buildings we live in is half empty but has a thriving ant tribe in the basement. If anything, reporting on China by western sources doesn’t get anywhere near the actual situation in China because westeners would never believe it was that crazy. News on China by China already leaves a pretty bad impression.
- wu-ikkyu 8y ago
  >the empty buildings and districts, and that mall in Beijing that is never going to attract any stores, or why the apartment buildings we live in is half empty but has a thriving ant tribe in the basement. >would never believe it was that crazy. That doesn't sound crazy at all, as I've seen plenty of all that in the US...
  - kristofferR 8y ago
    China builds useless buildings/cities because it raises the GDP and because it's often the only viable way to raise funds for local governments. The Chinese people invest in useless buildings because it is often the only viable way to invest your savings. Some of the useless buildings built for buildings sake will potentially be filled as people move from rural areas, but a lot won't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SE47Xjx2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SE47Xjx2Q
    - api 8y ago
      The American equivalent is useless military hardware, including sometimes hardware the Pentagon says it doesn't even need. Both approaches are wasteful but which is more so is debatable. Our military Keynesianism throws off R&D dividends that apply to civilian use cases, but people could live in those cities.
      - kristofferR 8y ago
tonyedgecombe 8y ago
You can't separate the political system from the economy, the two are deeply intwined in all countries.
pertymcpert 8y ago
Give details.
jacobmoe 8y ago
That's odd because I've read/heard a lot of reporting that describes China in broadly the same terms you just did, including on NPR. The New York Times just did a series on the rise of China and how it defied all expectations in the west. Can you point to examples of untruthful reporting on China from mainstream publications? Sounds to me that you came here with an expectation of how the US media reports on China and you've gone out of your way to have it confirmed, ignoring evidence to the contrary.
yesforwhat 8y ago
> The only real problem China is facing is its political system, not its economy. This how thread is about how that is changing. Also, most don't think politics and economics are separate. > I have not seen _any_ US media reporting China truthfully What are they getting wrong?

_martamoreno_ 8y ago

Yeah right, and of course the political system has absolutely nothing to do with China's growth. And it's great if people work all day 16 hours every day of the week, are put to work and discipline since they were a child to absolutely remove any sense of creativity and freedom from their minds. Go China, Go! In truth it's actually the opposite. Chinese people living here in Canada have absolutely no clue whats wrong about their country, which is kindof expected if you grow up in such a system. Even though East-Germans seem to have done a better job of recognizing their stupid system. The difference might be that China prospers and east Germany did not.

ximeng 8y ago

Rather than generalising about all non-Chinese reporting about China you could comment specifically about what you think is misleading or untruthful about this specific article, that might be more enlightening.

ardy42 8y ago

> What happens is that, because of untruthful reporting in US media, people in US does not know or understand what's going on in China. So, in your view: 1. what's the real story about what's going on in China that's being missed in "untruthful" articles like this, and 2. who's reporting that story "truthfully"?

yesforwhat 8y ago
I also would like to hear answers to these questions, but I suspect OP is another ethno-nationalist that perceives grievance against them for any and all actions. The number one take away I have from interactions with all too many Chinese nationals, unfortunately.
- ardy42 8y ago
  > but I suspect OP is another ethno-nationalist that perceives grievance against them for any and all actions. It might be more subtle than that. I know some Chinese nationals who report that their culture is to defend the in-group against criticisms in front of an out-group even if they themselves think the criticisms are true. To not do so is a kind of betrayal. This applies to groups as small as a family up to the whole country. For instance, that cultural attitude were at least part of the fuel for this controversy: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40013486 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-40013486 It does make it difficult to have open conversations about many topics until you're pretty close.

dionian 8y ago

Democracy isnt required for prosperity, as China has shown. Prosperity doesn't give you freedom though.

pzone 8y ago
We've yet to see whether world-leading levels of per capita prosperity are achievable without freedom. At a minimum, freedom offers a strong competitive edge.
- paraditedc 8y ago
  > We've yet to see whether world-leading levels of per capita prosperity are achievable without freedom. Look no further than The World Factbook by CIA: 2 QATAR 13 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 15 KUWAIT 22 SAUDI ARABIA https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2004rank.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/...
yesforwhat 8y ago
Autocracies don't last as governments, not forever.

seanmcdirmid 8y ago

Americans and westerners who live or have lived in China are typically more critical about china than those that haven’t. We are the ones who notice the empty buildings and districts, and that mall in Beijing that is never going to attract any stores, or why the apartment buildings we live in is half empty but has a thriving ant tribe in the basement. If anything, reporting on China by western sources doesn’t get anywhere near the actual situation in China because westeners would never believe it was that crazy. News on China by China already leaves a pretty bad impression.

wu-ikkyu 8y ago
>the empty buildings and districts, and that mall in Beijing that is never going to attract any stores, or why the apartment buildings we live in is half empty but has a thriving ant tribe in the basement. >would never believe it was that crazy. That doesn't sound crazy at all, as I've seen plenty of all that in the US...
- kristofferR 8y ago
  China builds useless buildings/cities because it raises the GDP and because it's often the only viable way to raise funds for local governments. The Chinese people invest in useless buildings because it is often the only viable way to invest your savings. Some of the useless buildings built for buildings sake will potentially be filled as people move from rural areas, but a lot won't. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SE47Xjx2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5SE47Xjx2Q
  - api 8y ago
    The American equivalent is useless military hardware, including sometimes hardware the Pentagon says it doesn't even need. Both approaches are wasteful but which is more so is debatable. Our military Keynesianism throws off R&D dividends that apply to civilian use cases, but people could live in those cities.
    - kristofferR 8y ago

tonyedgecombe 8y ago

You can't separate the political system from the economy, the two are deeply intwined in all countries.

pertymcpert 8y ago

Give details.

jacobmoe 8y ago

That's odd because I've read/heard a lot of reporting that describes China in broadly the same terms you just did, including on NPR. The New York Times just did a series on the rise of China and how it defied all expectations in the west. Can you point to examples of untruthful reporting on China from mainstream publications? Sounds to me that you came here with an expectation of how the US media reports on China and you've gone out of your way to have it confirmed, ignoring evidence to the contrary.

yesforwhat 8y ago

> The only real problem China is facing is its political system, not its economy. This how thread is about how that is changing. Also, most don't think politics and economics are separate. > I have not seen _any_ US media reporting China truthfully What are they getting wrong?