I agree with you, we have much more in common than the current online zeitgeist would lead you to believe. Many of my Chinese friends are genuinely lovely peopl

I agree with you, we have much more in common than the current online zeitgeist would lead you to believe. Many of my Chinese friends are genuinely lovely people just trying to do what's best for them and their families. Just like the rest of the world. Unfortunately a lot of this attitude comes from the Chinese themselves when we see the knee-jerk reaction to any criticism of China with "you just don't understand China". Maybe so, but this attitude is not helpful. Though I definitely understand that reaction when I think about how I would feel if some foreigners started criticising my country. I think there are 2 important things I'd like people to take away. 1) You are not your government, especially when they are not elected. Criticism of a country's government != criticism of that country's people. 2) The people doing the criticising should take more care to specify the target of the criticism, and to understand the collateral damage it may have.