4 ms·

How many of the people commenting here read the Chinese-language press? (I mean, publications in the Chinese language from either inside or outside the region w

How many of the people commenting here read the Chinese-language press? (I mean, publications in the Chinese language from either inside or outside the region where the Communist Party of China exercises prior restraint on publication.) The one thing I've learned from studying the language, history, and culture of China since 1975 is that almost everyone who doesn't know the language is full of crazy ideas about China, even if they live there.

chao- 13y ago
Could you point out or give examples of some of these crazy ideas? For the sake of us who assume we know nothing, and wouldn't know how to tell a crazy idea from an unconventional-yet-reasonable one. No sarcasm intended and I'm sure an exhaustive list is a bit much to ask, but I would be interested to read even a few examples and/or explanations.
- zhte415 13y ago
  Best resource I know, neither pro nor foe, is the Sinocism newsletter, a daily email of Chinese and English sources, that distills analysis from sources with multitudes of viewpoints.
seanmcdirmid 13y ago
Chinadaily often runs editorials directly translated from Chinese. They are quite bizarre and often just diatribes. My wife is a Chinese but has no respect for the press, so doesn't even bother reading those articles anymore (most young Chinese are the same). I've been in China for 6+ years now, I have expat friends who have been here for 10+ (which is an old hand these days). We aren't incredibly divergent in our thinking. Chinese have different viewpoints, but this is primarily cultural rather than linguistic. But if you truly want an unbiased view of China, read a Taiwanese newspaper :)
- ksec 13y ago
  But honestly, i dont even see that as problem with China alone. Heck today it is hard to find ANY decent newspaper that are unbiased. ( In the Context of Chinese and English only ). I dont think they are crazy ideas. Any country, be it US, UK, Japan or China have their own set of problems. Although I do generally agree that the Western World dont generally always understand the language and culture difference.
  - seanmcdirmid 13y ago
    Diatribes authored by public officials is quite unique in the category of those countries that haven't failed. It has nothing to do with cultural differences and everything to do with the party, which still thinks in a very authoritarian way even if that power is slipping away. There is no real public debate, only harmony; there is no seeing or even just explaining both sides, only a forceful statement that their side is right. I suggest reading ChinaDaily often...it gives you a good perspective into what the government is thinking at least, and if you read it as a contrarian, it is good to get a heads up on what is coming when they deny something specifically (e.g. Beijing will not restrict license plates 2 months before they did).
LiweiZ 13y ago
Native Chinese here. I guess the best way is to apply those better tools for thinking to the Chinese context. To be honest, I don't think there is much information in Chinese politics and economy worth reading. The tools we use are outdated. The information(meta data) we can get is actually very limited and very distorted. The knowledge and how people perceive the world are far behind those in developed countries. When cheap labour becomes less and less competitive, things will go south. Domestic consumer market growth does have a chance to save us, that was what I thought the best way out when I was younger. But that would never happen, when you have some understanding how the nation's stakeholders operate. This is a topic that is too big to discuss here. I do believe, sadly, there is a long dark road ahead for most of people in my country. I wish not but from where I can see I'm quite pessimistic on this. Just my 2 cents.
- ekianjo 13y ago
  > Domestic consumer market growth does have a chance to save us, that was what I thought the best way out when I was younger. But that would never happen, when you have some understanding how the nation's stakeholders operate. This is a topic that is too big to discuss here. I understand you do not want to discuss it here, but can you briefly explain why this would never happen ? This is a very interesting point.
  - LiweiZ 13y ago
    One dimension you can look into is the percentage the county's administrators get from average people's income and their consumption. I don't know if there is anything public in English. But I can tell you it's very very high. And the social safe net is not reliable in the long run. That's why people need savings in the bank. Another key dimension is to have some knowledge about the party that rules China. As an organization, it is quite efficient in some straightforward tasks. However, sometimes there are tasks that require more advanced way to organize people. Any organization has its limitation. And most organizations have very limited capability to adapt/evolve. The way to form the organization is the biggest obstacle. Once this is understood, everything becomes clear. Sorry that I have not given a clear answer but some clues. The tools I recommend are some basic understanding of concepts in organization behavior, complex system(such as complexity theory), Austrian school economics and, of course, some history of the party, how it operated economically from its early days. No need to get deep in the tools I listed, just have some ideas of how they perceive the world. These tools are not perfect. But with them, we may have a better view of the thing we want to know. Hope this helps.

chao- 13y ago

Could you point out or give examples of some of these crazy ideas? For the sake of us who assume we know nothing, and wouldn't know how to tell a crazy idea from an unconventional-yet-reasonable one. No sarcasm intended and I'm sure an exhaustive list is a bit much to ask, but I would be interested to read even a few examples and/or explanations.

zhte415 13y ago
Best resource I know, neither pro nor foe, is the Sinocism newsletter, a daily email of Chinese and English sources, that distills analysis from sources with multitudes of viewpoints.

seanmcdirmid 13y ago

Chinadaily often runs editorials directly translated from Chinese. They are quite bizarre and often just diatribes. My wife is a Chinese but has no respect for the press, so doesn't even bother reading those articles anymore (most young Chinese are the same). I've been in China for 6+ years now, I have expat friends who have been here for 10+ (which is an old hand these days). We aren't incredibly divergent in our thinking. Chinese have different viewpoints, but this is primarily cultural rather than linguistic. But if you truly want an unbiased view of China, read a Taiwanese newspaper :)

ksec 13y ago
But honestly, i dont even see that as problem with China alone. Heck today it is hard to find ANY decent newspaper that are unbiased. ( In the Context of Chinese and English only ). I dont think they are crazy ideas. Any country, be it US, UK, Japan or China have their own set of problems. Although I do generally agree that the Western World dont generally always understand the language and culture difference.
- seanmcdirmid 13y ago
  Diatribes authored by public officials is quite unique in the category of those countries that haven't failed. It has nothing to do with cultural differences and everything to do with the party, which still thinks in a very authoritarian way even if that power is slipping away. There is no real public debate, only harmony; there is no seeing or even just explaining both sides, only a forceful statement that their side is right. I suggest reading ChinaDaily often...it gives you a good perspective into what the government is thinking at least, and if you read it as a contrarian, it is good to get a heads up on what is coming when they deny something specifically (e.g. Beijing will not restrict license plates 2 months before they did).

LiweiZ 13y ago

Native Chinese here. I guess the best way is to apply those better tools for thinking to the Chinese context. To be honest, I don't think there is much information in Chinese politics and economy worth reading. The tools we use are outdated. The information(meta data) we can get is actually very limited and very distorted. The knowledge and how people perceive the world are far behind those in developed countries. When cheap labour becomes less and less competitive, things will go south. Domestic consumer market growth does have a chance to save us, that was what I thought the best way out when I was younger. But that would never happen, when you have some understanding how the nation's stakeholders operate. This is a topic that is too big to discuss here. I do believe, sadly, there is a long dark road ahead for most of people in my country. I wish not but from where I can see I'm quite pessimistic on this. Just my 2 cents.

ekianjo 13y ago
> Domestic consumer market growth does have a chance to save us, that was what I thought the best way out when I was younger. But that would never happen, when you have some understanding how the nation's stakeholders operate. This is a topic that is too big to discuss here. I understand you do not want to discuss it here, but can you briefly explain why this would never happen ? This is a very interesting point.
- LiweiZ 13y ago
  One dimension you can look into is the percentage the county's administrators get from average people's income and their consumption. I don't know if there is anything public in English. But I can tell you it's very very high. And the social safe net is not reliable in the long run. That's why people need savings in the bank. Another key dimension is to have some knowledge about the party that rules China. As an organization, it is quite efficient in some straightforward tasks. However, sometimes there are tasks that require more advanced way to organize people. Any organization has its limitation. And most organizations have very limited capability to adapt/evolve. The way to form the organization is the biggest obstacle. Once this is understood, everything becomes clear. Sorry that I have not given a clear answer but some clues. The tools I recommend are some basic understanding of concepts in organization behavior, complex system(such as complexity theory), Austrian school economics and, of course, some history of the party, how it operated economically from its early days. No need to get deep in the tools I listed, just have some ideas of how they perceive the world. These tools are not perfect. But with them, we may have a better view of the thing we want to know. Hope this helps.