It's not that the stories are western propaganda, it is that China is a really big place, and there is no uniform system of oppression, nor of censorship. Real

It's not that the stories are western propaganda, it is that China is a really big place, and there is no uniform system of oppression, nor of censorship. Really, this is not much different from the USA, where laws can vary widely between states: I carry a pocket knife around in the state where I live, but I was nearly imprisoned for carrying that same knife in New York City when I visited family there. Likewise with China; in some regions, the citizens are more oppressed than in others.