4 ms·

Neither do you get one from China itself. Its hard to tell what is really going on when everyone has an agenda to warp reality.

whimsicalism 5y ago
Totally. I found actually visiting China to be informative.
- chii 5y ago
  There's a saying in chinese, which roughly translates to "seeing is understanding", and it is so true. You can only see the truth for yourself, and you need to see it with your own eyes.
smilekzs 5y ago
FWIW, the quoted article is from Japan.
- thereddaikon 5y ago
  Oh yeah, I wasn't commenting on that article directly. Just adding that any discussion about matters on the ground in China will always get warped because every information broker has a strong incentive to push their agenda. CCP will always want to make things seem rosy and perfect. Western Media wants to make it seem bad because drama sells.
  - toyg 5y ago
    It's not (just) that "drama sells", but that the US constantly need a Great Satan to justify massive military spending and force projection. The USSR is gone and its replacement is only dangerous to its immediate neighbours, so it doesn't really work for that role. China, on the other hand, has (not that) quiet ambitions of global dominance, so it works well. It doesn't help that the Chinese are fond of making clearly-illiberal moves every other day.
dragonelite 5y ago
It doesn't help that those so called "experts" can't even read of understand the language. And a anti china bias is a sure way to get promoted. The system makes sure the story write themselves and then westerners are surprised it didn't went the way they expected it would. That is pretty much my conclusion from watching think tank china watchers for over 8 years, I got so annoyed I decided to learn the language myself this year, should be a interesting journey the next 5 years or so.

4 ms·

Neither do you get one from China itself. Its hard to tell what is really going on when everyone has an agenda to warp reality.

by thereddaikon 5y ago

whimsicalism 5y ago
Totally. I found actually visiting China to be informative.
- chii 5y ago
  There's a saying in chinese, which roughly translates to "seeing is understanding", and it is so true. You can only see the truth for yourself, and you need to see it with your own eyes.
smilekzs 5y ago
FWIW, the quoted article is from Japan.
- thereddaikon 5y ago
  Oh yeah, I wasn't commenting on that article directly. Just adding that any discussion about matters on the ground in China will always get warped because every information broker has a strong incentive to push their agenda. CCP will always want to make things seem rosy and perfect. Western Media wants to make it seem bad because drama sells.
  - toyg 5y ago
    It's not (just) that "drama sells", but that the US constantly need a Great Satan to justify massive military spending and force projection. The USSR is gone and its replacement is only dangerous to its immediate neighbours, so it doesn't really work for that role. China, on the other hand, has (not that) quiet ambitions of global dominance, so it works well. It doesn't help that the Chinese are fond of making clearly-illiberal moves every other day.
dragonelite 5y ago
It doesn't help that those so called "experts" can't even read of understand the language. And a anti china bias is a sure way to get promoted. The system makes sure the story write themselves and then westerners are surprised it didn't went the way they expected it would. That is pretty much my conclusion from watching think tank china watchers for over 8 years, I got so annoyed I decided to learn the language myself this year, should be a interesting journey the next 5 years or so.