I’ve seen no shortage of posts in the Reddit these days about how the CCP is brainwashing their citizens and was wondering if saying that would be racist. On the one hand, it does dehumanize those people, as it is basically telling them that their opinion is not only wrong but that they shouldn’t even have that opinion in the first place since it is an opinion that they did not gain of their own free will, on the other hand, the claims of brainwashing are only directed at Chinese who are Pro-China, not Chinese who are Anti-China, so it does have a lot to do with opinion.
Edit: I think that the same should apply to Pro-China people calling westerners brainwashed by the western media, although that does occur less often.
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I’m not pro-China in a nationalistic sense (being non-Chinese). Though I’m getting tired of white knighting hypocrites and the bias coverage of the Hong Kong RIOTS is such an obvious sticking point. How can you criticize the action of the police there, when such actions wouldn’t be tolerated by western law enforcement? Also these white pro-democracy shills don’t say s**t when there are protest in Okinawa against US military occupation which has resulted in rapes and murders or native Hawaiians protesting against desecration of their sacred lands.
The actions of white people’s so-called god mandated manifest destiny has resulted in slavery, police brutality, overthrowing democratically elected governments, the genocide of the natives, invasions of other countries resulting in the death toll in the millions, use of chemical and nuclear weapons, etc. are literally crimes against humanity in every sense.
Yes, and the thing is that westerners don’t understand how Chinese socio-politics even work, let alone us Chinese or those of Chinese descent.
China is, has been, and will always be a socio-political enigma, and I prefer that way because a) China isn’t the West, b) China has a billion people with a several-millennia long history of golden ages and civil wars. Throughout the ages, China has been and always will be authoritarian, whether we’re talking about moderate pragmatic authoritarianism (as in the case of post-Mao CCP) or absolute totalitarianism (as in the case for Mao-era CCP). Even in dynastic times, China was always authoritarian, and even during Chiang Kai-Shek’s rule until the 80s, the KMT was simply authoritarian as well. In the end, China is authoritarian because China is a massive country with a massive population and high levels of regionalism. It doesn’t matter if the CCP or KMT was in power in the Mainland, China will always be authoritarian for the better, because let’s be honest when you have a billion people and several spaces of land to govern, not to mention the occasional regionalism, sometimes you gotta enforce law & order to maintain a stable foundation needed to build a modern, prosperous China; A modern China Sun Yat-Sen had always dreamed of.
Honestly, don’t let westerners’ opinions ruin your faith on the Zhonghua Minzu. Political sides don’t matter, regardless if you’re Taiwanese, Hong Konger, or Mainlander. Don’t put other Chinese people down just because they live in another China with another government. It’s better if all Chinese people put aside their differences and instead follow Sun Yat-Sen’s idea of a strong, cohesive China. It’s why I respect the CCP, KMT, and pro-Beijing Hong Kongers; despite different political ideologies they still believe in Sun’s idea of a strong modern China. Westerners’ don’t care who’s in power in the Mainland, all they care is seeing Asians fighting against each other. It’s why western conservatives unironically support the protesters in 1989 when in reality those protesters we’re actually democratic-socialist communists from China’s new-left against the hardline faction of the CCP, but sadly westerners prefer looking at things in a simple basic binary rather than using any cognitive thinking to understand the vastly-different politics of another nation.
I think they try to disguise it too, often, when they talk in depth in brainwashing, they talk like they feel sorry for the “brainwashed” person, and how it is all the CCP’s fault that they don’t have critical thinking skills and all of that. I just would like to say, as a person who’s parents came from China, that I believe, that if the majority of the people in a country benefit from a ruling party, which is a fact in China, then that party does not deserve to be overthrown, it could definitely be improved through reforms, but not abolished. That is the sort of argument I present when I try to believe some of the allegations thrown at China from the west
It pisses me off, but it’s not racist. What is does demonstrate is a close-mindedness and belief in being absolutely correct, even without knowing everything and only basing their own opinion off of the opinions of others. Ironically, it is they who have been brainwashed – brainwashed into believing that China is bad without question, brainwashed into believing that Chinese people are all brainwashed, and yes, brainwashed into believing that Chinese people cannot think for themselves. That last part IS racist. f**k anyone who thinks we didn’t arrive at this conclusion ourselves. f**k anyone who thinks they know better than the Chinese what to do with China, and f**k anyone who stands in our way.
No, it’s not racism. We are fed all sorts of information from all sides including Western, anti-CCP Asian, and pro-CCP Asian media. Our opinion is only limited to the type of information we get or choose to receive. One can say anti-CCP media is brainwashing people as much as pro-CCP media is brainwashing people. Manipulating public opinion has been commonplace practice ever since the beginning of organized society.
What we all need is a good hard look at fundamental human rights, and make an opinion based on critical thinking. I personally believe that promoting proactive critical thinking is arguably better for humanity than government-sanctioned indoctrination. This applies to both sides of the coin.
Unlike China, Britain’s industrial revolution and overseas expansion was driven by a military policy. According to Hobson, during the period from 1688-1815 Great Britain was engaged in wars 52% of the time[3]. Whereas the Chinese relied on their open markets and their superior production and sophisticated commercial and banking skills, the British relied on tariff protection, military conquest, the systematic destruction of competitive overseas enterprises as well as the appropriation and plunder of local resources. China’s global predominance was based on ‘reciprocal benefits’ with its trading partners, while Britain relied on mercenary armies of occupation, savage repression and a ‘divide and conquer’ policy to foment local rivalries. In the face of native resistance, the British (as well as other Western imperial powers) did not hesitate to exterminate entire communities[4]. Unable to take over the Chinese market through greater economic competitiveness, Britain relied on brute military power. It mobilized, armed and led mercenaries, drawn from its colonies in India and elsewhere to force its exports on China and impose unequal treaties to lower tariffs. As a result China was flooded with British opium produced on its plantations in India – despite Chinese laws forbidding or regulating the importation and sale of the narcotic. China’s rulers, long accustomed to its trade and manufacturing superiority, were unprepared for the ‘new imperial rules’ for global power. The West’s willingness to use military power to win colonies, pillage resources and recruit huge mercenary armies commanded by European officers spelt the end for China as a world power. China had based its economic predominance on ‘non-interference in the internal affairs of its trading partners’. In contrast, British imperialists intervened violently in Asia, reorganizing local economies to suit the needs of the empire (eliminating economic competitors including more efficient Indian cotton manufacturers) and seized control of local political, economic and administrative apparatus to establish the colonial state.
I’m not that worried about China the country facing Sinophobia because these losers can’t do anything to China, in fact, Sinophobia can be much worse to the West, when there are huge anti-China protests in the West, this is generally what happens on both sides:
1.Opinion about their government
West: f**k our government for being so weak in front of evil China, we will protest till our government sanction China, it’s literally our government that made China so rich through free trade to begin with
China: f**k those racist whites who always discriminate Chinese people, the West is much more evil than China, we will support our government even more to p**s these losers off
2.State of local economy
West: Protesters go on strike, congesting and vandalizing public spaces which take long time to recover and repair, tourists concerned about the protests stop visiting the place and hit tourism hard
China: Manufacturers busy making made in China banners, flags, masks etc which are generally used in protests, more people getting employed and domestic tourism rises because Chinese tourists avoid places with protests
3.Government spending tax revenue
West: Government spending more tax money funding organizations like NED and FBI to trigger more anti-China protests but all fail to do anything in Mainland China, more money needed for security in protests
China: Government spending tax money on infrastructure, R&D, healthcare etc as usual but propaganda about nationalism and patriotism needs less funding now because anti-China protests are doing the job
4.People’s opinion about protests
West: Not attending school or work because of protests feels great, vandalizing stuff is so much fun, we will seek to protest for pettier things in the future, cursing at or beating up people in protests is okay because it’s freedom
China: Protests look scary and devastating, economy and stability first before anything, protests may achieve 80% of what they demand but the destruction is 100%, protests should be the last option
5.National identity among citizens
West: Chinese and other Asians, people who agree some of CCP’s policies are instantly labelled as spies and shills, get attacked or receive death threat from anti-China groups, people become more divided and feel less patriotic
China: Chinese becoming more woke about their national identity, realizing that Chinese should never seek ‘acceptance’ from the West which they can never get, Chinese nation gets more united than ever
Now of course I said ‘generally’, so it’s not the whole picture, there are always Chans and Lus.
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