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I came to the conclusion that it is simply their culture. Chinese people, in general, don't have a strong sense of "mine" vs "someone else's". They seem to thin

I came to the conclusion that it is simply their culture. Chinese people, in general, don't have a strong sense of "mine" vs "someone else's". They seem to think that if it's there, then they can just as well take it and do whatever with it. I had a Chinese friend at University. Smart guy, and friendly, but he just couldn't understand why people in his dorm got mad at him every time he took their stuff from the fridge and ate or drank it. "it was there, I was thirsty! And if you insist, I will replace it..."

varjag 3y ago
I worked with Taiwanese people, haven't had a whiff of that. On the other hand petty theft was a very common occurrence in Soviet daily life, and the mainland owes to its legacy more than to Confucius. So sure, could be the culture but in a surprising way.
- retrac 3y ago
  Taiwan and modern mainland China have about a century of separation at this point, with very different historical paths. China: civil war -> WW II -> civil war -> communist rule -> several decades of int'l isolation. Taiwan: Japanese colony -> western aligned dictatorship -> liberalized democracy. Recent Taiwanese history has been less tumultuous in many ways, and many aspects of traditional (pre-20th century) Chinese culture are relatively more intact; particularly in areas like religion.
- kelnos 3y ago
  Taiwanese and Chinese people are culturally very different these days. They still have a lot of the same "historical" cultural underpinnings, but day to day life and attitudes among the people are sharply different.
ksec 3y ago
>don't have a strong sense of "mine" vs "someone else's". They do. But in a different way. Everything "someone else's" belongs to the people. So they take it. Everything "mine" belongs to the people too, so they allow others to take it. The problem is they have a different definition of people. And that definition changes depending on their interest and status. Imagine replacing people with Chinese and they are fine. But those who are Anti-CCP, not fine.
MrVandemar 3y ago
That's not Chinese culture, that's flat out entitled narcissism. I heard tell of a guy like that, who'd go and drink someone's drink from the fridge at a Rail company. The other guy got fed up with what is theft and bullying and added some of the Chromate water to it one day, and the other guy got really, seriously fucked up. Not advocating it, but you can't say he didn't deserve it.

varjag 3y ago

I worked with Taiwanese people, haven't had a whiff of that. On the other hand petty theft was a very common occurrence in Soviet daily life, and the mainland owes to its legacy more than to Confucius. So sure, could be the culture but in a surprising way.

retrac 3y ago
Taiwan and modern mainland China have about a century of separation at this point, with very different historical paths. China: civil war -> WW II -> civil war -> communist rule -> several decades of int'l isolation. Taiwan: Japanese colony -> western aligned dictatorship -> liberalized democracy. Recent Taiwanese history has been less tumultuous in many ways, and many aspects of traditional (pre-20th century) Chinese culture are relatively more intact; particularly in areas like religion.
kelnos 3y ago
Taiwanese and Chinese people are culturally very different these days. They still have a lot of the same "historical" cultural underpinnings, but day to day life and attitudes among the people are sharply different.

ksec 3y ago

>don't have a strong sense of "mine" vs "someone else's". They do. But in a different way. Everything "someone else's" belongs to the people. So they take it. Everything "mine" belongs to the people too, so they allow others to take it. The problem is they have a different definition of people. And that definition changes depending on their interest and status. Imagine replacing people with Chinese and they are fine. But those who are Anti-CCP, not fine.

MrVandemar 3y ago

That's not Chinese culture, that's flat out entitled narcissism. I heard tell of a guy like that, who'd go and drink someone's drink from the fridge at a Rail company. The other guy got fed up with what is theft and bullying and added some of the Chromate water to it one day, and the other guy got really, seriously fucked up. Not advocating it, but you can't say he didn't deserve it.