u/nottomat - originally from r/GenZhou
“What about in Hong Kong where they made it so that the leaders are no longer publicly elected? What about Tiannenmen Square were hundreds of people were killed for protesting the Dengist regime? What about how China’s internet is blocked by a firewall meaning you cannot search for various things the government doesn’t want you to search for? What about how journalists punish foreign journalists by removing their press credentials when they say something critical of the government’s policies? What about when in 2019 the All China Journalists Association updated its code of ethics saying that they have to take an exam proving that they are guided by Xi Jinping thought”
How would you counter these statements?
u/rivainirogue - originally from r/GenZhouIn America you have the “freedom” to vote for politicians who gerrymander the bajesus out of states until they’re only in power on a technicality.
In America you have the “freedom” to protest and get snatched up by stormtroopers, to loose your eyes to rubber bullets, and to get maimed by police dogs.
In America you have the “freedom” to rot your mind with QAnon conspiracies until you’re foaming at the mouth and jumping at shadows.
In America you have the “freedom” of press until you uncover CIA scandals and die under mysterious circumstances like Gary S Webb.
To say that China is less free than America is to delude yourself. The “bad” things about China have been filtered through so many propaganda outlets that no one in the west has a real understanding of the country.
EDIT: But to really help someone deprogram from all the western propaganda, they have to seriously be willing to listen to the other side. That’s a hard first step. Maybe this reading on Tiananmen: The Massacre that Wasn’t will help.