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> The text translated here, written in 2008, has nothing to do with Zhang’s academic work, but instead reflects changing attitudes among younger Chinese intelle

> The text translated here, written in 2008, has nothing to do with Zhang’s academic work, but instead reflects changing attitudes among younger Chinese intellectuals concerning the value of Western ideas and the experience of studying abroad. > Zhang is surely right that doing an advanced degree in a foreign language is a challenge involving at times a loss of autonomy and a loss of status. More interesting is the overall tone of the text, which comes close to saying that the experience is a waste of time. This is not only because study abroad involves rote learning of someone else’s knowledge, but because China is the place to be. As Zhang puts it: > “If you live abroad for a long time, you will miss many theoretically interesting things happening in China. Society in the West has been settled for hundreds of years, and not that much that is really new occurs. But China is entering a new era, full of potential.” ... Valid points, for sure, but not everyone is reaping that new era full of potential. China is a great place to be if you've got the right connections, but no so great if you're gay, muslim, tibetan, or like to have opinions. Plus the great explosion of growth of China is now slowing down. Still many developments to come, for sure, but those may not play out in ways we expect. Also think it's hilarious that he's bashing the U of C's "rote learning" when that's a huge part of China's entrance exams, or how foreign Uni's will limit your thought -- cuz the CCP tells Tsinghua "teach what you want", right?

akfanta 6y ago
> China is a great place to be if you've got the right connections This might be true for the majority of China, but for big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, no, connections mean far less even comparing to western world. > but no so great if you're gay, muslim, tibetan, or like to have opinions. Do you get this from reading western media or did you actually go there and talk to those actual human beings? I can't speak for everywhere, but being an ethnic minority comes with tons of perks in China. For ethnic minorities, one child policy never applied to them, the kids get extra points during high school/university entrance exams, my Mongolian roommate even got extra financial support due to his ethnicity. People would fabricate document to gain minority status because that gives their kids an edge in almost everywhere. Growing up, as a Han Chinese, I always feel this is unfair and absurd. As for religions, again I can't speak for Xinjiang itself, but from my experience in east coast, no one cares what religion you believe in. It's only an issue when you try to challenge the government with it. You can find mosque and churches in most cities. And gay? Believe or not, I know it sounds absurd, but being gay is sort of a hip thing among the youngsters. The will obviously face repulsions from older generations, but this rings true all around the world. Bottom line is, the general public does not actively persecute the LGBT group, nor do they care. The only thing that would bring you trouble is having an opinion against the government. I am not saying this is not a big issue, but stop pretending that the country is constantly oppressing everyone.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- munificent 6y ago
  > I can't speak for everywhere, but being an ethnic minority comes with tons of perks in China. Like genocide? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide_of_Uyghurs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide_of_Uyghurs
  - ehmish 6y ago
    _cultural_ genocide which is a very different thing from genocide
    - britr 6y ago
      It might be different but it's hardly a perk
- ehmish 6y ago
  Yep, from my understanding what you're saying is completely correct, and the treatment of those groups is something the CCP ought to be commended on. The differences are more things like the legal status of things like drugs and prostitution and pornography. Of course whether or not those things _should_ be legal is a matter of opinion, but they certainly are harder to defend.
  - ehmish 6y ago
    Disclaimer: I'm someone in favour of all the things I mentioned being legal, but I imagine if you asked the average person on the street I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them disagreed with me.
- stone-monkey 6y ago
  I'm not saying you're wrong,but what was the deal with the lesbian author who was arrested for her books? There was this webcomic I read called 他们的故事 which is about a lesbian high school couple which has gone nowhere plot wise, and someone told me the reason why they stopped focusing on the romance part of the story is it was the author's reaction to the news about the erotic novel author getting arrested.

akfanta 6y ago

> China is a great place to be if you've got the right connections This might be true for the majority of China, but for big cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen, no, connections mean far less even comparing to western world. > but no so great if you're gay, muslim, tibetan, or like to have opinions. Do you get this from reading western media or did you actually go there and talk to those actual human beings? I can't speak for everywhere, but being an ethnic minority comes with tons of perks in China. For ethnic minorities, one child policy never applied to them, the kids get extra points during high school/university entrance exams, my Mongolian roommate even got extra financial support due to his ethnicity. People would fabricate document to gain minority status because that gives their kids an edge in almost everywhere. Growing up, as a Han Chinese, I always feel this is unfair and absurd. As for religions, again I can't speak for Xinjiang itself, but from my experience in east coast, no one cares what religion you believe in. It's only an issue when you try to challenge the government with it. You can find mosque and churches in most cities. And gay? Believe or not, I know it sounds absurd, but being gay is sort of a hip thing among the youngsters. The will obviously face repulsions from older generations, but this rings true all around the world. Bottom line is, the general public does not actively persecute the LGBT group, nor do they care. The only thing that would bring you trouble is having an opinion against the government. I am not saying this is not a big issue, but stop pretending that the country is constantly oppressing everyone.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
munificent 6y ago
> I can't speak for everywhere, but being an ethnic minority comes with tons of perks in China. Like genocide? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide_of_Uyghurs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide_of_Uyghurs
- ehmish 6y ago
  _cultural_ genocide which is a very different thing from genocide
  - britr 6y ago
    It might be different but it's hardly a perk
ehmish 6y ago
Yep, from my understanding what you're saying is completely correct, and the treatment of those groups is something the CCP ought to be commended on. The differences are more things like the legal status of things like drugs and prostitution and pornography. Of course whether or not those things _should_ be legal is a matter of opinion, but they certainly are harder to defend.
- ehmish 6y ago
  Disclaimer: I'm someone in favour of all the things I mentioned being legal, but I imagine if you asked the average person on the street I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of them disagreed with me.
stone-monkey 6y ago
I'm not saying you're wrong,but what was the deal with the lesbian author who was arrested for her books? There was this webcomic I read called 他们的故事 which is about a lesbian high school couple which has gone nowhere plot wise, and someone told me the reason why they stopped focusing on the romance part of the story is it was the author's reaction to the news about the erotic novel author getting arrested.