11/29/23 - So all the fans of China are reasonable, grounded, persuasive people.
A question, “How come when a foreigner says they love China, they’ll be praised, but when a Chinese person says they love any other country, they’re bullied for it?”
Comments say, “I hang out all the time on the western internet, so I’m pretty qualified to answer this question. You’ll understand as soon as you get the context.
On the western internet, the mainstream voice is very against China. It’s pretty hateful. It’s not that there aren’t fans of China. But the overall ratio is probably something like 40% haters, 40% don’t care, 20% fans.
Because they’re not mainstream, plus all the propaganda from the CIA/BBC/Taiwan/Falun Gong/etc, etc, and all the bullshit they make up, it creates a very extremist result, where the 20% who are fans survive in a very difficult environment. They feel like they’re under attack every day.
So, in order to stand up to the haters, they have to use a lot of statistics, graphs, studies, etc, to prove that China is right and reasonable and stuff—or at least, that China isn’t totally wrong.
And the results of their efforts look really good. At least, the shit that’s thrown at us over the Uyghurs or Hong Kong or Taiwan or Covid doesn’t really stand up to much scrutiny once you put numbers on the table.
So all the fans of China are reasonable, grounded, persuasive people.
Once other passers-by/celebrities/famous people read the works by these fans, or even if they look at reports by proper journalists or actual studies, then they’ll get to know the situation really quickly and believe that this is the truth. And then, whenever he talks about this topic, he’ll bring up the point of view that’s closer to the truth. Once this speech gets brought back to China, everyone likes it, because that just accurately describes our daily life, nothing wrong with it.
So of course they get praised.
As for nationalism or egotism or vanity, I mean, sure. That’s true for every citizen of every country. Even when you’re a tiny shithole like Belgium, if I bring up in casual conversation that, you know, Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels, they get really happy.
It’s the same all over the world.
Everyone likes to hear other people praise their own country.
Chinese citizens are actually warier than most. If they hear a foreigner randomly go, “I love China”, their first reaction is probably, “It’s a scammer.” And their section reaction is probably, “They’re after something.”
Look at Chinese Askreddit, anything that’s about foreign politicians praising China, with high-votes, are usually undercover spies.
Lol.
Everyone’s used to it by now.
This is what it’s like for a western fan of China.
And on the reverse side, if one of us becomes a fan of another country…
This is basically a case that the environment is too friendly and encouraging, to the point where the fans don’t even try. They wave a flag around, wear some military uniforms, put a Imperial Japanese flag decal on their car…they’re so low-effort with their enthusiasm, that you can’t tell if they’re just attention-whoring, or if they’re trying to push people’s bottom line.
And, usually, in order to be a fan of another country, they’ll start hating on their own too. They’ll even use hating on China as their primary strategy. “There’s no damage without comparison,” right? And they’re very scummy and low with their fandom.
To the point that it’s kind of gross.
[The answerer attaches screenshots of an interview with a Chinese student:]
“A lot of people ask me, why did you come to the University of Maryland? I always answer, its for the fresh air. Five years ago, when I stepped off the plane from China, I had prepared five masks. I was about to take out the first one to put on. But when I breathed in my first lungful of American air, I put my masks away. The air here is so fresh and sweet, that it seems strangely luxurious. I was completely shocked by it.”
I mean, what the fuck is this?
This Master’s Degree student can’t even figure out basic grammar, and just stinks like some sort of disgusting brainwashed cultist.
Isn’t she just begging to be bullied?
Forget China. It doesn’t matter what country she’s talking about, she’d get bullied by her own nation.
Just these last couple of days, I saw an askreddit post asking, “How come America’s manufacturing industry is basically dead, but their GDP is still super high?”
And a PhD doctorate in America answered by listing all the equipment in his lab and their manufacturers, which are all American or French, or German, and not a one was from China. So therefore, America’s manufacturing industry totally isn’t dead at all, blah blah blah.
That answer had over 2000 upvotes, and someone even gave it a “professional” tag.
Like, on the face of it, that’s interesting, sure. But as soon as you think about it, you’d realise that it doesn’t make sense at all. There’s no logic to that story.
This is a fan who’s not trying very hard at all.
First, you have no idea why he’d even bring up China at all when answering a question about American GDP. But you can tell he means to imply something negative.
Plus, he doesn’t care about all of the key markers in measuring manufacturing or GDP, like what percentage of world manufacturing America’s responsible for, how many American manufacturers are among the top 500 in the world, what percent of American GDP is manufacturing, etc, etc. He just looked for some “Made in America” tags on his lab equipment.
Oh my god. The question was about why American GDP is high despite having no manufacturing industry, and what is he talking about? A bunch of bottles and jars? When we’re talking about America, our standard of proof is this low?
We know that America has an advantage in high-end manufacturing, that Japan has an advantage in precision manufacturing, but can you be a bit more professional and dedicated about the way you fan?
If I was him, I would at least point out that 36% of weapons in the world are manufactured in America, and 49% of aerospace equipment is made in America. So American manufacturing only abandoned the middle to low-end, but it still holds a large proportion of high-end manufacturing, enough to still be a leader in the world.
How much more convincing is that?
I’ve completely bait and switch’d the question, but I’ve built a very persuasive line of logic, so nobody would even notice.
Lol.
He’s a fucking doctorate.
Does he just not know what he’s doing?
Of course not.
I’m sure he’s a lot better at analysing problems than I am. So how would I commend on his low-effort magnum opus?
Maybe, in his mind, you don’t need facts to back up why you fan America. You don’t need effort. You don’t need a chain of logic. You just need a beaker, a microscope, a line of English text. That’s enough.
And that’s a doctorate!
Somebody we look up to!
He could’ve elegantly shown off his talent and knowledge, and displayed for us the endless possibilities of his beautiful life, and put on his learned and refined nature as a academic.
Not just a bunch of bottle and jars!
He’s lost himself in his American dream and pride.
And arrogance makes you blind. And sure, so long as you’re just lying in your own head to make yourself happy, it’s no big deal.
But at soon as you put it on an open platform, of course you’ll get bullied.
Right?
My country isn’t nearly as advanced as some people think, but it isn’t nearly as pathetic as some people think either.
It’s not as strong as some people think, but it isn’t nearly as weak as some people think either.”
Comments say, “Because Chinese people love double standards. They’ve got double standards on the Russian invasion, and they’ve got double standards on the behaviour of other Chinese people too.”
“I love Belarus, Serbia, and Cuba, and nobody’s ever said anything about it.”
“It’s simple. Because when foreigners say they like China, it’s probably just because they like China. But when Chinese people say they like somewhere else, they probably just mean to say that they hate China.”
“What’s a great way to express yourself?
Half a year ago, a guy asked for my help checking out a girl, so the three of us arranged for a date at a Japanese restaurant.
The guy gave me this girl’s instagram and weibo account before hand, and I scrolled through it. Mostly, a bunch of travel journals to various countries. It seems like she really likes going to the hot springs in Japan.
While we were eating, I asked her to order something off of the menu, and in a really soft voice, she said, “I’ve never been to this restaurant, I don’t know what’s good. Maybe you can order something for everyone? I’m not picky.”
And I was like, “I’m paying for the meal, so you guys pick whatever you like. Get a variety of stuff and just try everything out—if you really like something, we can get seconds on it.”
She gave a shy glance at her boyfriend and said, “Maybe you should order instead. I like to eat everything you like to eat, and I don’t really know how to order at restaurants.”
Do you see why she’s so charismatic?”
Comments say, “She frequently goes to Japan, she must know quite a lot about Japanese food, but she never showed it, and instead gave the decision-making power to her boyfriend, and approved of whatever decision he would make beforehand.”
“She knows how to make herself appear weak, and give people emotional value, and make them feel comfortable.”
“Weak, obedient, lets the man be the leader, gives people the impression that she’s meek and easy to manipulate.”
An askreddit question, “Why did they cancel the system where you could get admitted to universities straight through Math Olympics Championships?”
The top-voted reply is, “Do you know why they stopped giving extra points for ethnic minorities?
It used to be that in every state, if ethnic minorities entered the college entrance exams, they’d get a couple of free points, usually 5.
Then, in 2009, Chongqing made big news when it was discovered that from the number 1 to number 23 graduate, 20 of them were ethnic minorities, and all had 5 points added to their score. The actual number one by raw marks only came in 24th (a couple of people also got points for their parents giving aid to Tibet and stuff), and didn’t get admitted to Beijing university (they made an exceptional for him later).
And the final result? They just cancelled the Beijing University acceptance letter for the couple of top-scoring students.
The top-scoring student that year was a very typical case. Before he turned 14, he was Han ethnicity. Then at 14, his parents pulled connections to get him registered as Tujia people. Looking into their background, his dad is a normal civil servant, and his mom is a deputy director. Like, it’s pretty low ranks as far as government workers go. How’s anyone else supposed to feel?
There was almost no consequences about the whole thing. No one got persecuted for cheating. They could just attend the exams again next year. And everyone who got into university in previous years on ethnic minority points were never investigated into. The reality is, even for several years after 2009, the students who made it into top universities from Chongqing were still over 50% ethnic minorities. Just statistically speaking, you can see the problem.
Later on, they cancelled all the extra points for winning competitions, or extra points for sports specialties. Why?
Because it lacked transparency. Not to mention fairness.
There used to be competitions in some states, like a aircraft modelling contest. So long as the parents were willing to blow money on equipment, there was no doubt about coming in first place. Who did that benefit in the end? And there were plenty people getting into university off of their athleticism, who’d pass out in military training, or not even be able to run a 100-metre dash. Who reaped those benefits?
We can’t do a lot of things in China, not because we don’t think it’s a good idea, but because the benefits they bring don’t outweigh the costs.
Years ago, to get into a postgrad program at a certain school, you could add points to your exam score for scientific papers you published during your bachelor’s degree. Like, theoretically, that shouldn’t have been a problem, because most of your postgrad career is going to be about the number and quality of the papers you publish anyways. People who have a solid foundation in writing papers as an undergrad is more appropriate for being admitted to a postgrad degree.
But they had to discontinue it. Why? Because in a certain year, a madman appeared who’d published a dozen papers in his undergrad years. And each paper was worth 1-2 points. He got 20 points added to his score. What does that mean? The person who comes first in a major and the person who barely graduates as the bottom of his class are usually only 25 points apart. And almost all of the dozen of papers he published were published in the latter half of his junior year and first half of his senior year.
From that point on, the school never offered extra points for papers again.
Finally, let’s talk about shadiness.
Shadiness can’t really be avoided. And history has proven, that the smaller your temple is, the more demons are hiding in it. The shallower the pond, the more turtles lurking. [turtle is another name for “bastard” in China.] And theoretically, the bigger the platform, the less shadiness is going on.
This is why the federal government has always been less shady than local governments. Big platforms have less shadiness than small platforms. Open competition is less shady than non-open competition. Standardised competition is less shady than non-standardised competition.
Why did we ban universities from proactively recruiting students on their own? There was too much shadiness. All you had to bribe was the headmaster. In order to bribe your way through the college entrance exam, you had to get through the state’s exam bureau, the university’s admissions committee, the headmaster, and the committee overseeing everything. That’s a lot harder.
True story, I’ve got a classmate with parents who are high-ranking politicians. And if he’s one or two points short on his college entrance exam, there’s nothing he can do about it. Compare that to all the people getting points through ethnic minorities, that was accomplishable with just a deputy director. College entrance exams are way fairer all around.”
Comments say, “The person who wrote this has probably never participated in the college entrance exams, because they don’t count your extra points when listing the rankings at all. And the extra points aren’t just added to your points. It’s just lowering the admissions standards.”
“You can get into Beijing University with just 5 extra points? Over 50% of top universities is ethnic minorities? Do you actually have statistics to back this up?”
“My friend is Tibetan, and he got an extra 50 points XD”
“First of all, getting admitted based off of Math Olympics Championships is absolutely still a thing.”