I believe that in the United States, the relationship between the military and politicians is more of a balancing act rather than absolute subordination. For instance, during the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations, representatives of the U.S. military independently assured China that they would not launch nuclear weapons against China and would inform China of Trump’s military decisions. Such actions would be considered inconceivable in China, as it essentially means the military is operating outside the president’s control (Trump was still president at the time).

In ancient China, there was an event known as “Huang Pao Jia Shen” (Yellow Robe Incident), which highlighted the consequences of the military’s actual controller and the nominal controller being different individuals. Similar to the helicopters used for government investigations of military audits that always seem to “crash accidentally,” only to result in no conclusive outcomes, I think the U.S. military can be seen as akin to the “Fanzhen” or “Jiedushi” (regional military governors) of the Tang Dynasty in China. If politicians were to order the U.S. military to fight an unwinnable war, we might witness the military disobeying orders and the politicians “accidentally” meeting their demise.

China plans to complete the construction of a cross-sea bridge to Taiwan by 2035, and I believe the reunification of China could happen in the next few years. Due to the “de-Sinicization education” in Taiwan, the younger generation no longer sees themselves as Chinese. On Chinese domestic social media, the viewpoint of “retaining the island without retaining the people” has significant traction (mostly said in moments of anger). I believe the CPC (Communist Party of China) will not make Taiwan the main battleground. Instead, they might encircle but not attack.If the U.S. intervenes, they could attack U.S. assets in the first island chain, forcing the U.S. out of the Asia-Pacific region. If the U.S. does not intervene, it would essentially signal the collapse of the myth of U.S. military guarantees. This would shatter Taiwan’s illusions about the U.S., leading Taiwan to undergo a self-revolution and eventually join China.

On the contrary, I believe that burgerlanders are well aware of the disparity. The United States will not engage China in direct military conflict. Within Chinese circles, there is a broader perception that the U.S. military understands China best when it comes to handling issues related to China. I feel the U.S. military is somewhat cautious on matters concerning China, often appearing to perform for public opinion, fulfilling a duty. China itself is inclined not to engage in military confrontation with the United States (while always prepared to defend against U.S. military attacks), and military exchanges will continue to exist. China hopes either to force U.S. military intervention directly in the Middle East or Ukraine or to expose the U.S. through repeated instances of providing security, directly confronting the United States and revealing that the security it provides is mere empty promises, as seen with the Philippines. Through such actions, China aims to dismantle the myth of U.S. “security guarantees” solidified by the military-backed U.S. dollar hegemony, dealing it a severe blow.

So it’s really a “messy situation.” Israel was artificially established after World War II, which is like a gang giving away your living room to someone else. You would definitely feel that this person is infringing on your home, but you can’t fight them. Now they are occupying your bedroom, and soon your own bed will belong to them. The two-state solution only limits others from taking over your bedroom, but they still occupy your living room, and you have to pass through the living room to leave the house. For the resident, it’s originally their own house; for the person living in the living room, they fought and bled for it, and now they are being asked to give back the hallway and bathroom. Doesn’t that mean they bled in vain?

So it’s really a messy situation. Sometimes, it can only be suppressed by a powerful intermediary who has no core interest in this house. This is not a complete solution but a temporary truce. If enough time passes, we might see a full reconciliation, just like in ancient China where various ethnic groups had wars and blood feuds, but from the perspective of modern China, they are just words recorded in books.

May the deceased rest in peace, R.I.P.

In the West and Japan, there might be a belief that when China becomes strong, it will seek revenge against them. This is actually quite different from the Chinese perspective. There is an ancient Chinese saying: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” If you don’t want to be treated a certain way, you shouldn’t treat others that way. If, after becoming strong, we seek revenge for past persecutions, we would be becoming the very thing we detest. So, I always believe that at most, China might engage in punitive wars, but attempting to invade the West or Japan? Impossible.

Due to the atrocities committed by Japanese fascism in China, such as massacres and human experiments, there are indeed extreme opinions about “wiping out the Japanese.” However, when seriously discussing potential conflict between China and Japan, the general sentiment is that ordinary Japanese people are not at fault. The focus should be on capturing officials and far-right extremists who still promote Japanese fascism, and dismantling the Yasukuni Shrine artifacts related to war criminals. Chinese hostility towards Japan largely stems from Japan’s unrepentant stance on WWII issues—saying one thing publicly but doing another privately.

“Strong men are angry and draw their swords against stronger foes; weak men are angry and draw their swords against those weaker than themselves.”

Indeed, I don’t know how to stop it either. If saving the Palestinians leads to another massacre of Jews, then as a proverb says, “An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.” “冤冤相报何时了。”It will only result in more bloodshed and cries of anguish. The Chinese government has consistently supported the 1967 two-state solution; I have seen this mentioned many times in official news. Perhaps what we need is an “Israeli-Palestinian Mandela.” 😢

It seems that the saying “the moon is brighter abroad” applies to many countries. China’s situation might be a bit more unique, so let me explain in more detail. Since you are American, some of the descriptions below might sound offensive to you. I apologize for that and will try to stick to factual statements, which might help explain why many Chinese people illegally immigrate to the United States.

From the 1990s until the US-China trade war (which most people consider starting with the US sanctions on ZTE in 2018), foreign countries (especially developed countries like those in Europe and the US) were seen as paradises on Earth. Online, phrases like “Reincarnate as an American in the next life” were blessings (perhaps similar to saying “God bless you and may you go to heaven”), while “Eternally being Chinese” was considered a curse (similar to saying “I curse you to be eternally tormented in hell by Satan”). Due to online propaganda, such as “You can buy a big piece of fried chicken for one dollar in the US,” “You can easily live in a 500-square-meter mansion in the US,” or “Washing dishes in the US can earn you $3000 a month,” many Chinese people were very attracted to these ideas and believed them to be true. Even from my perspective now, I couldn’t buy 3000 pieces of chicken with a month’s salary.

When the US-China trade war started, the idea of “surrendering to the US for leniency” gained traction in China. How could a developing country possibly compete with the world’s leading superpower? Many supporters of China online can only believed that, in terms of military power, the US couldn’t completely destroy China. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Initially, the Chinese government’s poor performance further fueled this mindset. However, as the pandemic became global, several things changed the online narrative:

1. China managed to control the pandemic fairly well.
2. The performance of Western developed countries in controlling the pandemic was poor in comparison.
3. Some people began sharing their lives abroad without filters, showing both the good and bad aspects of foreign countries (of course, some people only highlighted the bad parts for attention).
4. At that time, some American politicians called for a coalition to make China pay for the pandemic, and there was talk of a new G8, which directly triggered online anger at the prospect of a “new Eight-Nation Alliance.” Simultaneously, the Hong Kong riots intensified this idea: Western powers led by the US were again attempting to carve up China.

You could see this as a struggle between “pro-American” and “self-reliant” factions in China. The pro-American faction had been cultivating their views for years, while the self-reliant faction garnered more support from ordinary people. The two sides fought fiercely online. However, as I mentioned, the pro-American faction’s exaggerated claims about foreign countries often needed only a photo to be debunked, leading them to frequently resort to personal attacks, further diminishing their influence.

By 2022, with the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese public opinion split between supporting Russia and Ukraine. Due to differences in transliterations of the Russian president’s name between Taiwan (“Puding”) and mainland China (“Putin”), people suspected that Taiwan was engaging in cognitive warfare against the mainland, leading to broader suspicions that developed countries were also waging cognitive wars against China, especially Japan. The phrase “700 million yen from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs” is often used sarcastically to mock supporters of Japan.

Currently, on the Chinese internet, those who advocate for Ukraine and Israel are generally assumed to be bots or paid shills, as they can’t explain their support logically. Support for Ukraine and Palestine is based on opposition to invasion, while support for Russia and Palestine aligns with China’s interests. Supporting Russia and Israel suggests a belief in the power of might, but supporting both Ukraine and Israel? Chinese people wouldn’t think like that.

This is why 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese people have illegally crossed from Mexico into the US. They come with suitcases, bringing their families, and often carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash. When asked by journalists why they came to the US, they repeatedly say, “For freedom and democracy.” I am not at all surprised that Trump thinks these people are spies. If foreigners illegally crossed into China just to “build communism,” most people would think they were crazy and wonder why they didn’t just submit a migration application. The truth is that, in their eyes, the US is a “land flowing with milk and honey,” similar to how Marco Polo described “China being paved with gold” (history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes🤣 ).They are actually coming to the US for a better life. Most of these people are of no use to the US and can only compete for low-threshold basic jobs, which is why they can’t immigrate legally and resort to illegal entry.

In recent years, Global South countries have started to become wealthier through development. Although they can’t yet compare to developed countries, a person who is well-fed is always more confident than someone who is hungry. 😆

Thank you for liking it! 😆

This is a difference between China and foreign countries. Let me explain:

I was born in 2001. When I started school, it was around 2008 in elementary school until 2019 when I finished high school. Many students didn’t have mobile phones, and the internet was often seen by parents as something that affected our studies. The limited computer time we had was almost entirely used for playing video games. Apart from learning about pre-2000 foreign history in school, my main sources of external information were from newsstands outside the school and magazines bought by my parents. In these magazines, the images of foreigners were constructed: I believed Americans were innovative, Germans were rigorous, British were gentlemanly, French were romantic, Russians were bold, and Jews were wise. Due to the actions of parents and schools, education in China before high school was quite closed off. It wasn’t until 2015, when I had to memorize Xi Jinping’s new thoughts on green development in politics class, that I realized the current leader of China was no longer Hu Jintao. For those of us who had only study on our minds before entering college, there is a specific term in China: “small-town exam-takers.”

When I got to college and had my own mobile phone, being able to browse the internet without a very purposeful mindset, it coincided with a “major upheaval.” The rhetoric in those magazines that deliberately praised foreigners was heavily criticized in 2019. It was seen as deliberately arguing for the inferiority of Chinese people. Let me give you a few examples so you can understand what I saw as a child:

The sewage system in the former German-leased area of Qingdao had been operating efficiently for over a century. When some parts needed replacement, the original company no longer existed. A German company sent an email saying that, according to their construction standards, there should be a small storage room within three meters of the worn-out parts where spare parts could be found. The urban construction company found the small storage room in the sewer, and inside, the spare parts were still shiny and new, wrapped in oilcloth.

During a summer camp between Japanese and Chinese children, each child had to carry a 20kg backpack for a 50km hike. The Chinese children soon gave up, but the Japanese children persevered. The Chinese children couldn’t endure the hardship and were not as tough as the Japanese children (my teacher even told us to learn from the Japanese children).

Once in America, a sparrow got tangled in an exposed high-voltage wire by the roadside. Its distressing cries caught the attention of passersby, who immediately called for help. After multiple levels of authorization, the rescue workers eventually got approval from the President within half an hour to send a special plane to cut the national power line in Washington, causing a temporary blackout across the U.S. to save the sparrow.

I learned all three of these from books. Of course, you might say, what kind of nonsense is this, it’s completely fabricated. This rhetoric wasn’t meant for foreigners; it was actually used as internal propaganda within China. Afterward, it was tied together with the “toxic textbooks” incident (where illustrations in elementary school textbooks deliberately depicted Chinese children as ugly and foreigners as attractive), which was believed to be a deliberate attempt by some foreign enemies and domestic traitors to prove that Chinese people couldn’t achieve the same accomplishments as foreigners, thereby belittling Chinese people. This is why I mentioned that Jews indeed have a “promotional image” in China.

In 2019, the Chinese internet was like a chaotic battlefield with all sorts of ideas, from the most peaceful to the most extreme, from the far left to the far right. I once received very hurtful insults for expressing left-wing views on a Chinese platform called Zhihu (similar to Quora). Mutual personal attacks are not uncommon.Now the Chinese internet is still influenced by this, which is why I find Lemmy to be a great environment. At least here, we are having discussions instead of cursing each other with voodoo dolls. 😆

Indeed, I did not intend to equate Israel with all Jewish people or make it representative of Judaism as a whole. If it came across that way, I apologize. Labeling all peace-loving individuals with the actions of those who engage in war due to their ethnicity is similar to the wrongdoings of Germany in the past. Such thinking is almost nonexistent in China. As Mao once said, “Make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible.” 😆

I apologize if I caused you any discomfort. About a month ago, I learned about Lemmy, and I was quietly observing, like a crab blowing bubbles in the water. Then, a few days ago, I saw a post asking, “Is Lemmy banned in China?” That sparked a thought in me: “Hey, why not register and communicate with everyone to share some real information about China?” So, I submitted an application to the admins and joined the Lemmy community. It’s like a little crab suddenly swimming up from the riverbed to the surface, announcing its presence to every passing fish. This might indeed annoy the fish. As time goes by, I might become like one of the small fish, blowing bubbles together with you all in a friendly way on some issues. Or perhaps, I will return to the riverbed, continuing to be a quiet crab blowing bubbles. 😂

As a Chinese person, when I was very young, I learned from books that “the Jewish people are a wise people; they put honey on books to let children know that knowledge is sweet.” Before I went to university at 18, I believed that Jews were very smart, like Einstein. All my knowledge came from books. After I started university, I got my first mobile phone, and then I started accessing the internet. This led to a collapse of my worldview, as some things I had firmly believed in began to be questioned by myself. My perception of Jews was just one of many aspects that changed.

Chinese people do not discriminate against Jews. As I experienced, due to widespread propaganda, Jews have a generally positive and subtle reputation in China. The situation is more like a backlash caused by a mismatch between the promotional image and the actual product. Previously, Jews were portrayed as very wise and polite, but when the reality turned out to be different, people felt deceived, which led to what the article calls “anti-Semitism.” However, in fact, on the Chinese internet, people are just bringing up the wrongdoings that some Jews have done.

Among Jews, there are both good and bad people. I support Jewish Voice for Peace and believe that a wandering people should not be discriminated against anywhere. However, Zionists want to hijack all Jews, using the concentration camps from World War II as an emotional card to coerce everyone onto their bandwagon. When the actions of Israel in Gaza reach China, almost all Chinese people are reminded of the atrocities committed by Japanese fascists in China, treating Chinese people like livestock for slaughter. The suffering of the Palestinians makes us empathize deeply. When their homes are destroyed and their relatives killed, it is reminiscent of our past. I saw a group of Israelis holding hands and dancing in front of UN emergency relief supplies to block the aid. It tore my heart apart. I don’t know what to say, I can only say that the Palestinians are incredibly enduring. If it were me and most Chinese people, we simply couldn’t endure it.

China has never oppressed or persecuted Jews. China even sheltered Jews in Shanghai, and the current Prime Minister of Israel has praised this. But ironically, it seems that now China still does not compare to Germany in the eyes of Israel.

In China, there is an old saying used by the elderly to criticize the young: “I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice.” Nowadays, young people respond to stubborn elders with, “Old thing, you should have blown up your gold coins by now.”“老东西，早该爆金币了” .It’s like defeating a boss and getting loot.Some older people are still reasonable, and there is a consensus in China that young people are considered “energetic,” “the future of China,” and “the sun at eight or nine in the morning.”

In modern Chinese history, young people were the main force in revolutions. During the New Culture Movement, young Chinese fought against the rigid and dogmatic elders who adhered to “ancient teachings” and “ancestral laws.” In the May Fourth Movement, students mobilized workers and the petty bourgeoisie to prevent further colonial infringement on China’s sovereignty (such as the transfer of Shandong from Germany to Japan, even though China was considered a victor in World War I).《少年中国说》 “The Young China” essay from the New Culture Movement is something every Chinese middle school student learns. Publicly belittling young people can only happen in small circles; on the internet and in real life, such behavior will be ridiculed.

If we look at it from a family perspective, unfortunately, most Chinese people believe that children should listen to their parents. Of course, extreme control over children is also criticized in China. How important a child’s personal thoughts are depends on the parents.

If you are referring to expressing political views, people may criticize each other based on differing political opinions, but they won’t discriminate against you just because you are young, and there are no special privileges either.

In terms of politics, in China, one must start from the grassroots level to enter politics. Even if you have connections, it can only speed up your promotion slightly (if too fast, unless you are very capable, you will be reported to the discipline inspection commission as there is no shortage of competitors in officialdom). Therefore, many Chinese politicians are already middle-aged or elderly because people generally believe they have more experience and stability.

You might want to look at 《风波》“The Gale” from Lu Xun’s 《呐喊》“Call to Arms” during the New Culture Movement, which might be similar to what you mentioned.

I’m sorry that I didn’t realize the difference between CPC and CCP at first. Now I understand that CPC is the official term used by China, while CCP is more commonly used in Western countries. Since my English proficiency is limited to reading, I used ChatGPT to help with the translation, which caused some errors. In China, the CPC has a more down-to-earth nickname among the people: “土共” (Tugong), which translates to “Dirt Communists” or “Local Communists.” This nickname is widely used because of the CPC’s extensive and profound grassroots foundation, and its pragmatic, farmer-like image.

Thank you for answering my question. Many Chinese people judge Western gender diversity issues based on reproductive organs, which leads to widespread misunderstandings. Additionally, when we watch international news, we often see cases where some individuals exploit gender diversity to evade legal consequences, exacerbating the negative perception of gender diversity. Because news needs to attract viewers, those who lawfully live within gender diversity are often overlooked, resulting in the stigmatization of gender diversity.

In my opinion, the issue of gender diversity is an attempt to answer “Who am I?” This indeed falls within the realm of personal spirit. But as you know, people have subjective initiative. When someone identifies as a gender-diverse individual and takes action, their behavior can be observed and is material. Just like with God, no one has seen or touched God; God seems to exist only as a concept passed down orally and retained in people’s minds. However, God’s believers are real people in life, and they deeply influence the world. Historically, there were events like the Crusades, and in modern times, there are large-scale pilgrimages to holy cities and global anti-terrorism wars resulting from extreme religious beliefs. These events affect us on a material level. While God may hold no value to materialists, God holds great value to believers. Therefore, listening to believers’ needs and guiding their productivity towards promoting social development is meaningful to materialists.

In my view, your comparison of gender diversity with God is correct, as both attempt to answer the ultimate questions of “Who am I?” and “Where am I going?” This is also why strong suppression of gender diversity is bound to be harmful, as such suppression essentially denies an individual’s independent personality.

Due to 1) the ancient Chinese concept of people’s livelihood, 2) the influence of the October Revolution on modern China, and 3) the deep-rooted image of the Communist Party of China in China, most Chinese people have a different perspective on leftism. They believe leftists are more inclined to be: 1) willing to eliminate poverty in a practical way (not by making empty promises), 2) honest and upright, and 3) willing to fight against social injustice, similar to Lenin’s concept of the “vanguard of the proletariat.” More radical individuals believe that communists and leftists abroad fighting social injustice through protests and demonstrations are somewhat “playing house.” They think people should arm themselves and directly overthrow the government (which I find impractical and contrary to Lenin’s “three elements of revolution”). Leftism in China is generally viewed positively, but it can be said that there are various factions, just as the Russian Revolution was divided into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.

As a Chinese person, I can share my own observations from both online and real life:

LGBTQ+ There is almost no public promotion of LGBTQ+ issues in China. LGBTQ+ individuals are not considered a mainstream group, and most people are indifferent to them. Online, many references to LGBTQ+ are just jokes or memes meant to entertain, not necessarily to mock the community. For instance, phrases like “Bro, you smell so good” are popular online jokes. In real life, if you are part of the LGBTQ+ community, it doesn’t really matter to most people; everyone has their own life. However, if LGBTQ+ individuals try to date heterosexuals, it usually leads to discomfort. If a child wants to identify as LGBTQ+, it depends on their parents, and most parents do not approve. Also, since LGBTQ+ concepts are seen as coming from Western countries, some LGBTQ+ individuals who are perceived as overly admiring Western culture can face backlash. Chinese public opinion generally acknowledges heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, but concepts like “72 genders” and “gender fluidity” are seen as incomprehensible. Phrases like “My gender is an attack helicopter, and I want to screw a tank” are commonly used to mock the plethora of gender identities in the West.

Women’s Rights As a socialist country, women’s rights are well-protected in China. Prostitution is illegal (to combat human trafficking). In stable government jobs, women make up a large proportion. However, there are some peculiarities: women have maternity leave, and some declare pregnancy right after being hired to receive paid maternity leave and then resign afterward. In government jobs, some women may claim they cannot handle the workload and pass their responsibilities to male colleagues or other female colleagues, leading to a form of hidden hiring discrimination in some companies and government units.

Anti-Racism Chinese people generally focus on a person’s actions rather than their race. Discrimination tends to be based on an individual’s behavior, regardless of skin color or ethnicity. Ethnic minorities in China receive preferential treatment, with special funds to promote their traditional cultures and extra points on college entrance exams. However, as the economic conditions of some minorities have become comparable to the Han majority, places like Shandong are considering abolishing these extra points. Ethnic minorities like Tibetans and Mongolians also have the option to take their college entrance exams in their native languages. During my university years, Mongolian students often joked that they didn’t ride horses to school.

Respect for Youth and the Elderly I don’t quite understand the concept of “respecting the youth.” Is it similar to bowing to someone in Japan? In China, as the birthplace of Confucianism, respecting the elderly and caring for the young are considered traditional virtues and are commonly practiced in daily life. However, due to the “Peng Yu case,” where a judge asked, “If you didn’t knock the old person down, why did you help them up?” many people are now wary of helping fallen elderly individuals for fear of being extorted (which has happened multiple times). Such extortionists are referred to as “taking advantage of their old age.”

I have never seen a “social credit score” system. People are more concerned about the household registration (hukou) system. What you refer to as the “social credit card” is actually the social security card. In China, there is a credit rating system called Zhima Credit (Sesame Credit). If you owe a lot of money to the bank, your credit rating will be blacklisted, restricting your ability to make high-end purchases. It seems like you are very good at propaganda. Are there bad things in China? Yes, but Western media often focus their reports on what they consider taboo topics, creating a stereotypical image of China that makes Chinese people look strange. I believe Western media can’t come up with other accusations, so they project their own wrongdoings onto China. Take the example of Xinjiang cotton: Chinese people can’t even conceive of forced labor because we believe that human labor is more expensive than machines, which are faster and more efficient. However, the US had cotton slave plantations in the past, so you hype up this issue.

Oh my, sweet and soft virgin Trump, I can’t even imagine. 🤣
Is China socialist? In China, we usually don’t say it that way. We say “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” which is a system more “suitable for China’s conditions.” We believe China is in the primary stage of socialism, where the key focus is on liberating and developing productive forces. You might think China isn’t socialist because it has wealth gaps, labor-capital conflicts, and materialistic marriages (currently, the “Fat Cat Incident” is a hot topic in China). However, China is also working on poverty alleviation (not just distributing food like relief, but arranging jobs and creating positions for poor households) and promoting “common prosperity” (when the government wants companies to help advance “common prosperity,” if they refuse, the government makes things difficult for them).When a country has nothing, how can it redistribute wealth? The current situation in China can be summarized by a statement from the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: “The principal contradiction in Chinese society is that between the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.” This contradiction exists between the eastern and western regions, urban and rural areas, and high-end high-salary and low-end low-salary jobs, among other aspects.

If I could get paid every time I said something good about the CCP, I would be rich by now. However, on the Chinese internet, there are people who offer 3 RMB per post to delete comments that praise the CCP. 🤣

This doesn’t mean the government forces ordinary Chinese consumers to not use Windows; it mostly happens in departments directly funded by the government. When purchasing new computers, the government may require domestically produced components and operating systems as much as possible. Although the performance may not be top-notch, they are still sufficient for basic office work.