China using families as 'hostages' to quash Uyghur dissent abroad
www.bbc.co.uk
Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidation tactics are tearing apart Uyghur communities overseas.
  • queermunist she/her
    3735·
    1 year ago

    Yes, the reason diaspora isn’t speaking out against China is because there’s a conspiracy to silence them.~

    There can’t possibly be any other explanation.~

    • 001100 010010@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      4015·
      1 year ago

      Well I, as a former citizen of China, do “speak out” against CCP as in family discussions, in online forums, and sometimes with classmates in school, but I don’t “speak out” as in actually participate in protests. Demonstrations just isn’t my thing. Protesting against CCP gets you labeled a “race traitor”. I mean honestly, with all the racial problems in the US, and having to deal with my abusive family, I really don’t have to energy care about CCP anymore. It’s dead to me. I view China just like how an anti-fascist German view Nazi Germany. There’s no point of protests. It’s beyond anything a protest can fix. Like… why do I even care, it isn’t even my country anymore.

      Edit: Also, it isn’t a conspiracy that ethnic Chinese (I’m gonna use the term “ethnic Chinese” because this applies regardless of citizenship status) people don’t “speak out”. People just value “Social Harmony” more than being correct. Like if you live abroad, why care about what happens back in China? Most ethnic Chinese people who lives abroad don’t really feel welcome in their new country, so why be against your former country if you aren’t even sure if you are actually safe in your new one? You don’t end up in a situation where you have no safe harbor in the world. Ethnic Chinese people living abroad believe China will accept them again in-case their living situation abroad goes south, so they don’t want to get on the bad side of the Chinese government. Like what happened with the Chinese Exclusion act in the US more than 100 years ago, and also the Japanese Internment Camps. Maybe you disagree with the thought process, but that is what most ethnic Chinese people think.

      • queermunist she/her
        3127·
        1 year ago

        No, clearly the Chinese government has your family hostage and that’s why you aren’t out protesting.~ Didn’t you read the article? 😏

        • 001100 010010@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          2411·
          1 year ago

          If your comment (the top-level one) was supposed to be sarcasm, you need a /s tag because there are people actually being serious saying that “it’s a conspiracy, couldn’t be any other possible explanation” stuff.

          But also, the “hostage” thing is not entirely false, just very exaggerated. They only take your family “hostage” if you are like a leader of a protest or something. But I doubt they care if you are just some forum user that has no followers and “protesting” online. They got too many dissidents within their jurisdiction to care about those abroad.

          • queermunist she/her
            1216·
            1 year ago

            I prefer the snark mark actually, but sure, I’ll be sure to ruin the joke by using Reddit sarcasm syntax next time.~

            EDIT Actually that’s not fair, I’m just mad lol

    • socsa
      1310·
      1 year ago

      As someone who legitimately has family in China and who visits them and speaks to them in Mandarin, there is 100% a chilling effect caused by CCP autocracy.

      But I am eager to hear how a bunch of people who have never been and don’t speak the language know more about this because they read a pamphlet.

      • abraxasEnglish
        97·
        1 year ago

        Yeah, as someone who merely visited I got enough eyefulls and earfulls to know you don’t want the Chinese government to know you exist for any reason.