I've had more and more students come back with negative comments about their time in the US. I've been out of the US for a few years and I have trouble understanding the Cold War tone of some of the comments I've heard.
What's the point?
I'd like to understand what current thinking about China is like in the US and Europe, so that I can answer their questions better.
- Forums
- Cross Site
- The Asylum
- China?
China?Follow
I sometimes wish I entertained more so I'd need a decent set of china.
Dont really know what you're seeking here, how do U.S. thoughts affect Chinese perceptions ?
Are you a teacher ? History ?
I'd say with the generally poor historical education here, China is viewed as a vast, highly populated, primarily 3rd world country who could be dangerous.
I'd say the lack of forming good, strong, ties Post WWII was one of the greatest missed opportunities of the 20th century.
Do Chinese folks generally know about the Flying Tigers, Hump airlifts, Stilwell etc ?
Are the students comments holistic & broad based idealogical perceptions ?
or cultural in nature ?
Are you a teacher ? History ?
I'd say with the generally poor historical education here, China is viewed as a vast, highly populated, primarily 3rd world country who could be dangerous.
I'd say the lack of forming good, strong, ties Post WWII was one of the greatest missed opportunities of the 20th century.
Do Chinese folks generally know about the Flying Tigers, Hump airlifts, Stilwell etc ?
Are the students comments holistic & broad based idealogical perceptions ?
or cultural in nature ?
Nadenu wrote:
I sometimes wish I entertained more so I'd need a decent set of china.
To the OP your question is too vague. More specifics - some examples perhaps?
Alma wrote:
I lost my post
Terrifyingspeed wrote:
Dont really know what you're seeking here, how do U.S. thoughts affect Chinese perceptions ? Are you a teacher ? History ?
I teach. My main area is law; I also do English and sometimes history. For now, I'm taking a break and teaching history.
What I'd like to understand is what people in the US and Europe think about China. Sadly, I've had too many students come back from the US in particular and wonder why they met such a hostile reception. Their feeling is that they are just students, in many cases students with a particular interest in US culture, and they don't set national policy.
Terrifyingspeed wrote:
Do Chinese folks generally know about the Flying Tigers, Hump airlifts, Stilwell etc ?
I see quite a bit of old news reel footage on TV that covers such things and it seems to be quite favorable to the US. Unfortunately, history is an undervalued subject because it is seen as something that doesn't lead directly to a job or the accumulation of wealth. It doesn't help that schools are still using the famous names, dates and places approach.
Elinda wrote:
To the OP your question is too vague. More specifics - some examples perhaps?
I'm leaving things as open as possible so that I don't focus responses into a particular area. I figure I can count on the folks here to come up with interesting points.
Edited, Aug 2nd 2009 10:40am by Rhodekylle
Here's my view of China:
A deeply troubled country, beset by many of the same troubles as the UK - poverty, disparity between rich and poor, sexism, an aging population, corruption, pollution - but on a much larger scale. There are plenty of other problems, such as political instability and routine human rights abuse, too. China's military ambitions are somewhat uncertain, with rapid and often hidden expansion of her armed forces, but are quite unlikely to be directly hostile to western powers. A decent place to go on holiday, but only so long as you can avoid driving. On the country-o-meter, I'd rate China as a solid five out of ten.
A deeply troubled country, beset by many of the same troubles as the UK - poverty, disparity between rich and poor, sexism, an aging population, corruption, pollution - but on a much larger scale. There are plenty of other problems, such as political instability and routine human rights abuse, too. China's military ambitions are somewhat uncertain, with rapid and often hidden expansion of her armed forces, but are quite unlikely to be directly hostile to western powers. A decent place to go on holiday, but only so long as you can avoid driving. On the country-o-meter, I'd rate China as a solid five out of ten.
Cold War mentality is a pretty good way to sum it up. We're in the early stages right now. It is commonly thought that China and the US are duking it out behind the scenes. Especially in cyber warfare, it is thought that China is constantly sending hackers to test the US military defenses... and they are quite successful. In economic terms, lower class America lives with a very hypocritical view of China. They see the country as a scapegoat for fleeing American jobs, and regularly complain about it while they shop exclusively in Walmart, which has more than 80% of its products made in and shipped from China.
Meanwhile our media portrays terrible abuses in the Chinese systems.
-Politically they are still considered communist, which alienates right away most every Right-winger (as communist and socialist are used as politic smears in US politics).
-Legally they are blamed for having no respect for copyrights or trademarks... which, near as I can tell, is true. I remember learning some facts back in college about how the counterfeit market in China makes up 33% of their economy, and that 95% of motorcycles in the country are counterfeits. One results of the huge counterfeiting culture is a perception of lower standards in their products. Only a few years ago tons of kids' toys made in China were recalled because they were found to contain lead paint. Also a few years ago there were stories about Chinese baby formula that contained poison in it (however, as the formula was sold only in China, it was more of a human rights story than a product inferiority story).
-Human rights is another thing. I have yet to meet any American who is NOT of Chinese descent or nationality who does not support freedom for Tibet and Taiwan. On the other hand, I have never met a Chinese person or a person of Chinese ancestry who supports either. I remember a story from several years ago that China actually passed a law saying that only THEY could decide who the next Dalai Lama was. We've also seen the crack-downs on Buddhist monks in the area. No one forgets Tienanmen Square in the US, though we hear often enough about all that the Chinese government does to try and keep it from the sight of their own people. And then the abuses in the working systems are atrocious (though some might argue working in a sweatshop beats the rural farm life).
-Environmentally China is a mess. We hear that they have sacrificed their environment for the sake of rapid growth. They have become a huge polluter, care little for international regulations on such activity, and while we in America are trying to push to a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, China is undoing any potential good we might accomplish.
No, the views of China are quite bad as presented here in the US. The GOOD things we hear about China is their amazing economic growth and the opportunities that exist there. However, it is very overshadowed by the negative portrayals.
Meanwhile our media portrays terrible abuses in the Chinese systems.
-Politically they are still considered communist, which alienates right away most every Right-winger (as communist and socialist are used as politic smears in US politics).
-Legally they are blamed for having no respect for copyrights or trademarks... which, near as I can tell, is true. I remember learning some facts back in college about how the counterfeit market in China makes up 33% of their economy, and that 95% of motorcycles in the country are counterfeits. One results of the huge counterfeiting culture is a perception of lower standards in their products. Only a few years ago tons of kids' toys made in China were recalled because they were found to contain lead paint. Also a few years ago there were stories about Chinese baby formula that contained poison in it (however, as the formula was sold only in China, it was more of a human rights story than a product inferiority story).
-Human rights is another thing. I have yet to meet any American who is NOT of Chinese descent or nationality who does not support freedom for Tibet and Taiwan. On the other hand, I have never met a Chinese person or a person of Chinese ancestry who supports either. I remember a story from several years ago that China actually passed a law saying that only THEY could decide who the next Dalai Lama was. We've also seen the crack-downs on Buddhist monks in the area. No one forgets Tienanmen Square in the US, though we hear often enough about all that the Chinese government does to try and keep it from the sight of their own people. And then the abuses in the working systems are atrocious (though some might argue working in a sweatshop beats the rural farm life).
-Environmentally China is a mess. We hear that they have sacrificed their environment for the sake of rapid growth. They have become a huge polluter, care little for international regulations on such activity, and while we in America are trying to push to a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle, China is undoing any potential good we might accomplish.
No, the views of China are quite bad as presented here in the US. The GOOD things we hear about China is their amazing economic growth and the opportunities that exist there. However, it is very overshadowed by the negative portrayals.
Locke gives a good assessment I believe.
The biggest stories I recall lately are :
"Death Vans" where death sentence is carried out (possibly to make it easier to harvest organs for transplant)
And Adding poisons to foodstuffs (Melamine iirc) to give higher,false, protein content.
These are VERY negatively viewed by folks I know. I think there is a high level of compassion for the citizenry but the society as a whole is viewed with suspicion & maybe a fair amount of fear.
(Posting on a game site, so not gonna belabor the RMT issues lol)
The biggest stories I recall lately are :
"Death Vans" where death sentence is carried out (possibly to make it easier to harvest organs for transplant)
And Adding poisons to foodstuffs (Melamine iirc) to give higher,false, protein content.
These are VERY negatively viewed by folks I know. I think there is a high level of compassion for the citizenry but the society as a whole is viewed with suspicion & maybe a fair amount of fear.
(Posting on a game site, so not gonna belabor the RMT issues lol)
China is a world power and a major economic player. Their government is oppressive, though there are certainly far worse governments. I'm ignorant as to how the general Chinese populace feel about their government.
One of my better friends is Chinese, though he lived there only up until the age of 9. From him I learned the strength of the animosity held against the Japnese for atrocities committed around WW2.I think it would be best to let this animosity go.
Also they have a strong industry in virtual mineral agriculture.
One of my better friends is Chinese, though he lived there only up until the age of 9. From him I learned the strength of the animosity held against the Japnese for atrocities committed around WW2.I think it would be best to let this animosity go.
Also they have a strong industry in virtual mineral agriculture.
Great responses so far. I suppose that to be fair I should offer to attempt to answer questions as well -- with the caveat that what one person has seen of 1.4 billion or more is apt to be a highly subjective sample.
I think it's a mixed bag and has a lot to do with where you are from in the US. I'm from a more liberal part of the country. I think there are people who really have a major issue with China's human rights records--I especially see people think that the treatment of Tibet and the Falun Gong is problematic. Some of us, like me, aren't sure if all the protests about a free Tibet will go anywhere since China is too powerful. And I think people know that the Falun Gong has their own issues.
I think there are ways that people are fascinated by China. The cuisine is expansive and celebrated by chefs as one of the most complex in the world. Certainly Chinese cinema has a following the west. People recognize it as this superpower and one of those few countries that really doesn't have to give a sh*t about what the US thinks about them.
I think they challenge people too b/c we've always associated a free market with free speech and the rise of a wealthy class of people and other liberalization of the economy in China has certainly been a challenge to that perception.
PS. Ha, ha, my sig. Fuck pandas.
Edited, Aug 2nd 2009 2:53pm by Annabella
I think there are ways that people are fascinated by China. The cuisine is expansive and celebrated by chefs as one of the most complex in the world. Certainly Chinese cinema has a following the west. People recognize it as this superpower and one of those few countries that really doesn't have to give a sh*t about what the US thinks about them.
I think they challenge people too b/c we've always associated a free market with free speech and the rise of a wealthy class of people and other liberalization of the economy in China has certainly been a challenge to that perception.
PS. Ha, ha, my sig. Fuck pandas.
Edited, Aug 2nd 2009 2:53pm by Annabella
Turin wrote:
Seriously, what the f*ck nature?
My impressions are that the Chinese are very hard working people who are proud of their country and history. They do think socially. Some topics do embarrass the Chinese I have known (Tiananmen square and others). Its one thing to travel to another country and find out about things which are not told in your home country.
Personally, I think China is on a brink of change which could be positive or negative. It has solid international pride, it staged a successful Olympics and is seen as a true superpower now in the space race. It has been seen as backward in the past (both technologically and socially). From my perspective that is changing. Technologically it is investing but needs to learn to manage its pollution. Socially, I worry about the lack of freedom and what that says about the life of people living there. Freedoms are growing as the old guard die but what will come? This partly depends on how the rest of the world deals with China. Engagement and diplomacy appear to work.
As for cold war, right now China is gaining international friends as quickly as the US and UK lost them due to certain wars ....
Hollywood seems to dictate who the bad guys are. I think we should have an Australian super baddie
"I will bomb the world, unless you pay me 6 million fosters ..."
Personally, I think China is on a brink of change which could be positive or negative. It has solid international pride, it staged a successful Olympics and is seen as a true superpower now in the space race. It has been seen as backward in the past (both technologically and socially). From my perspective that is changing. Technologically it is investing but needs to learn to manage its pollution. Socially, I worry about the lack of freedom and what that says about the life of people living there. Freedoms are growing as the old guard die but what will come? This partly depends on how the rest of the world deals with China. Engagement and diplomacy appear to work.
As for cold war, right now China is gaining international friends as quickly as the US and UK lost them due to certain wars ....
Hollywood seems to dictate who the bad guys are. I think we should have an Australian super baddie
"I will bomb the world, unless you pay me 6 million fosters ..."I went to China in 2000, and I had a great time. It was an absolutely gorgeous country, the people were really friendly, the food delicious... It was a bit like being in another world, but in a good way. I'd certainly love to go back, I'm sure it's changed a lot, especially places like Shangai.
Locke described quite well the way it's portrayed. I think people are slightly afraid of it, or afraid of what it could become. In the US, there might be a fear that they're being replaced by another super-power, which at best could lead to wounded pride and at worst to a confrontation. In Europe, we're wondering if, after all, we were't quite content with American hegemony, cos at least we knew how things were. Better the devil you know, and all that.
But yeah, abusing Chinese students is retarded. I think we'd all rather they go home saying the West is a cool place, rather than a bastion of intolerance.
Locke described quite well the way it's portrayed. I think people are slightly afraid of it, or afraid of what it could become. In the US, there might be a fear that they're being replaced by another super-power, which at best could lead to wounded pride and at worst to a confrontation. In Europe, we're wondering if, after all, we were't quite content with American hegemony, cos at least we knew how things were. Better the devil you know, and all that.
But yeah, abusing Chinese students is retarded. I think we'd all rather they go home saying the West is a cool place, rather than a bastion of intolerance.
I guess I can give a student's opinion, as I am a product of american public education, nor have I studied history in any great detail. Locke provided a good suary of the psychology I think, but maybe this could show why it's that way.
Things I have been taught about (modern) China
There are lots of people there
Peasant communism
Mao was a doofus, because he was communist
They are a rapidly growing industrial and economic power
They make our stuff
They slaughtered most of Tibet's buddhist population
They were allies in world war 2
Civil War between communists and nationalists
Opium wars in the early modern period
I think that's about it. Most history classes from middle school to university (except for specialized classes of course) teach more or less the same stuff. Unfortunately, the only identity that China ever seemed to have in the classroom (for me, your mileage may vary) was either as a power in world war 2, or as evil commies in the cold war. It was all very belittling towards the chinese, and even as an ally in The War, they had to be bailed out by american forces. Occasionally someone will go the opposite direction, and talk about how China was an awesome and super advanced power in 1500, possibly from an equally embarrassing orientalist perspective.
I don't trust much of it to be true. Considering how communism is portrayed in the classroom, to the point where my economics teacher in highschool wouldn't even mention the word or teach its principles, I'm certainly not going to trust a history teacher to give me an accurate portrayal of a communist nation, and honestly even when the dude starts talking about communism in the first place he's charged the discussion with prejudice about words instead of principles so whatever. I know a lot more about china from 700-0 BCE than in the modern age really.
Things I have been taught about (modern) China
There are lots of people there
Peasant communism
Mao was a doofus, because he was communist
They are a rapidly growing industrial and economic power
They make our stuff
They slaughtered most of Tibet's buddhist population
They were allies in world war 2
Civil War between communists and nationalists
Opium wars in the early modern period
I think that's about it. Most history classes from middle school to university (except for specialized classes of course) teach more or less the same stuff. Unfortunately, the only identity that China ever seemed to have in the classroom (for me, your mileage may vary) was either as a power in world war 2, or as evil commies in the cold war. It was all very belittling towards the chinese, and even as an ally in The War, they had to be bailed out by american forces. Occasionally someone will go the opposite direction, and talk about how China was an awesome and super advanced power in 1500, possibly from an equally embarrassing orientalist perspective.
I don't trust much of it to be true. Considering how communism is portrayed in the classroom, to the point where my economics teacher in highschool wouldn't even mention the word or teach its principles, I'm certainly not going to trust a history teacher to give me an accurate portrayal of a communist nation, and honestly even when the dude starts talking about communism in the first place he's charged the discussion with prejudice about words instead of principles so whatever. I know a lot more about china from 700-0 BCE than in the modern age really.
I'm curious as to what types of words or actions the students interpreted as negative. Wen communicating in a foreign language it is quite easy to misinterpret or mistranslate something - ie. "Hit the road jack" - "Jack, paga el camino".
There is also regional influences - indirect vs direct
Because clearly you are not going to be getting a good enough sampling in regards to your question just by posting it here alone. In fact even if you don't explain what exactly you are asking, you are still dooming your question because your current "target audience" isn't full of residents from the United States but from other countries as well and this audience is full of current and former gamers.
There is also regional influences - indirect vs direct
Because clearly you are not going to be getting a good enough sampling in regards to your question just by posting it here alone. In fact even if you don't explain what exactly you are asking, you are still dooming your question because your current "target audience" isn't full of residents from the United States but from other countries as well and this audience is full of current and former gamers.
Any country that executes all the dogs in a city above and beyond one per household, just to make the city cleaner and more presentable for foreign journalists pretty much sucks in every other way as well as far as I'm concerned.
Love the egg rolls though.
Love the egg rolls though.
Quote:
I went to China in 2000, and I had a great time. It was an absolutely gorgeous country, the people were really friendly, the food delicious... It was a bit like being in another world, but in a good way. I'd certainly love to go back, I'm sure it's changed a lot, especially places like Shangai.
I want to go to China.
I've seen alot of Chinese films and documentaries about the country (one of my favorites is Wild China--about the natural world). Maybe I need to think of a research grant I can get. Hm. It reminds me of when I used to play FFXI. For a while, one of my closest friends on the game was Chinese-American (and had gone to school in China) and I remember he'd communicate with all the Chinese gilfarmers. He said they were so lonely and bored. I think a few times they'd help us out. They were so eager to talk to someone besides each other.
Edited, Aug 2nd 2009 6:50pm by Annabella
Turin wrote:
Seriously, what the f*ck nature?
Annabella, Goblin in Disguise wrote:
Quote:
I went to China in 2000, and I had a great time. It was an absolutely gorgeous country, the people were really friendly, the food delicious... It was a bit like being in another world, but in a good way. I'd certainly love to go back, I'm sure it's changed a lot, especially places like Shangai.
I want to go to China.
I've seen alot of Chinese films and documentaries about the country (one of my favorites is Wild China--about the natural world). Maybe I need to think of a research grant I can get. Hm. It reminds me of when I used to play FFXI. For a while, one of my closest friends on the game was Chinese-American (and had gone to school in China) and I remember he'd communicate with all the Chinese gilfarmers. He said they were so lonely and bored. I think a few times they'd help us out. They were so eager to talk to someone besides each other.
Edited, Aug 2nd 2009 6:50pm by Annabella
the gilfarmers were actually really nice if you made an attempt to be nice to them. A few of my linkshell members were Chinese so I went out to buy a basic translation book just to try to say some nice phrases like "how are you". It used to annoy me (and them) that people would assume that just because someone was Chinese, that they were a gilfarmer.
I would love to visit there but I think I would need several months. There is so much history there, I don't think a week would be enough time to even see a small portion of it all.
I have a friend who teaches English in China and is a member of a bicycle team there. she has often written on facebook and while back in the states of what it's like living there.
From all she said, I've learn a lot about how friendly her co-workers and neighbors are. Makes me wish I could get a chance to spend time living there for a few months, as she often mentions how much the hair stylist and other service workers care about the jobs they do. Plus the food sounds so much better then what we get at restaurants here.
From all she said, I've learn a lot about how friendly her co-workers and neighbors are. Makes me wish I could get a chance to spend time living there for a few months, as she often mentions how much the hair stylist and other service workers care about the jobs they do. Plus the food sounds so much better then what we get at restaurants here.
In the place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair! -ElneClare
This Post is written in Elnese, If it was an actual Post, it would make sense.
This Post is written in Elnese, If it was an actual Post, it would make sense.
Added: After rereading my post, I realized that I'm way too into this. I want to add before everyone reads that I'm a dual Japanese/Chinese language major. I don't hate China. I simply think it has issues, like any country. I would change my post, but I feel like the seething anger behind the words is best left the way it is, for future reference.
I lived in æ¦æ±‰ (Wuhan) for 2 months recently to spend time with my GF. Before going, I was so sure that everyone was just freaking out about China being so awful. Surely, I thought, it can't be as bad as everyone says.
I go... I live... I come back to Japan and thank Altana that I have hot water again.
Ok, seriously, after living in China (like real China, not some expensive hotel in Beijing), how can any US or EU citizen have a positive image of it? I had no culture shock going from the US to Japan, but I locked myself in my room for two days when I first went to China.
1. I almost passed out the first night from the pollution. Yes, I couldn't breathe. People aren't joking. You can't see the sky. The local people judged whether or not it was a bad pollution day based on whether or not you could stand on one bridge on the river and see another bridge. I only saw it once. The pollution is visible when looking at nearby buildings.
2. Poverty. Yes, lots of poor people in China. There are poor people everywhere in the world... but I would even classify a lot of the "middle class" people in China as poor. Like I said before, I didn't live in a fancy hotel in Beijing. I lived in a Chinese-style hotel with no heating/air conditioning and a small room for a bathroom. The bathroom consisted of a sink which ran water onto the floor to drip down the hole in the middle that functioned as the toilet. The shower, right above the sink, was a large metal container that heated about 4 minutes worth of water. This water also drains right down the toilet. Building something like that should be illegal. (On a side note, it would greatly improve China's reputation if you could drink the tap water. It freaks out foreigners that we can't.)
3. Political crap. China is seriously crazy when it comes to various "illegal" things. **** is illegal. You can't use Youtube. Recently, they banned Facebook. I would not be surprised if China eventually outlaws civilian use of the global internet and instead favors a Chinese-only web service. I'm not surprised that Taiwan is the preferred study abroad for students from my home university. Going to China essentially cuts you off from your friend groups in other countries in a lot of ways.
4. There are large groups of people (including college students) who are trying to, get this, DISCOURAGE the learning of English. I learn multiple languages (practiced my Chinese in China). I believe that English shouldn't be the only language everyone learns... but there are serious problems if people like that are not discouraged. True, most Chinese people never get a chance to use it. I would suggest creating opportunities to use English rather than take away an opportunity to learn it.
5. Complete and utter lack of sexual education. I realize that sex is taboo in China. Oh well. I don't care. Children still need to be taught how to have sex safely (STD rates among young people in China are rising at a frightening rate). I lived near ä¸å—è´¢ç»æ”¿æ³•å¤§å¦. Even at a college level, boys and girls must live in separate dorms. The opposite gender are not allowed to enter for any reason. At night, after a curfew, they LOCK the girls inside their dorms. The door can only be opened the next morning by a janitor or someone with the key. My GF said that they're reconsidering this ridiculous idea after a girl's dorm in Shanghai caught on fire and girls jumped out of the higher windows (the ones that don't have metal bars on the outside). Seriously, overdoing it much? What's sad is that Chinese students, even the ones here in Japan, are amazed at how open Japanese dorm systems are. They'd freak out in the USA, undoubtedly. Japan and the US aren't that open. China is conservative- to the extreme.
6. This goes without saying, but any non-Asian person who goes to China becomes a walking freak show. I'm mixed Asian/Caucasian, but it's rather annoying to be yelled at in Chinese by small children, 美国人ï¼(American!), older people guessing that I'm 德国人 (German), or just the staring in general. Is it only in Britain/USA that it's extremely offensive to do stuff like that? Why must we deal with people offering us spoons instead of chopsticks? I know they're trying to be nice, but there are some serious problems with stereotyping against foreigners (same as in Japan) and the general ignorance of foreign things in China.
Edit: Kavekk knows his stuff. There really is no such thing as a civilized line in China. I thought I was the only person who noticed this... Chinese exchange students here talk about the differences between Japanese culture and their own. "People don't fight one another to get on a bus!" Uh... yeah. Pretty normal actually to not fight others to get on a bus >.>
There are many other things I could talk about, but I find that I very easily get carried away on subjects like this. I'll sum it up by saying that China has a bad image in the USA for all the same reasons that a China doesn't qualify for the Visa Waiver program. Lots of Chinese who travel to the USA never go back to China. Even my GF, who has tons of reasons not to immigrate to the USA, was denied a visa because she "is a high risk of illegal immigration." It really is that bad.
Edited, Aug 3rd 2009 5:43pm by Vancar
I lived in æ¦æ±‰ (Wuhan) for 2 months recently to spend time with my GF. Before going, I was so sure that everyone was just freaking out about China being so awful. Surely, I thought, it can't be as bad as everyone says.
I go... I live... I come back to Japan and thank Altana that I have hot water again.
Ok, seriously, after living in China (like real China, not some expensive hotel in Beijing), how can any US or EU citizen have a positive image of it? I had no culture shock going from the US to Japan, but I locked myself in my room for two days when I first went to China.
1. I almost passed out the first night from the pollution. Yes, I couldn't breathe. People aren't joking. You can't see the sky. The local people judged whether or not it was a bad pollution day based on whether or not you could stand on one bridge on the river and see another bridge. I only saw it once. The pollution is visible when looking at nearby buildings.
2. Poverty. Yes, lots of poor people in China. There are poor people everywhere in the world... but I would even classify a lot of the "middle class" people in China as poor. Like I said before, I didn't live in a fancy hotel in Beijing. I lived in a Chinese-style hotel with no heating/air conditioning and a small room for a bathroom. The bathroom consisted of a sink which ran water onto the floor to drip down the hole in the middle that functioned as the toilet. The shower, right above the sink, was a large metal container that heated about 4 minutes worth of water. This water also drains right down the toilet. Building something like that should be illegal. (On a side note, it would greatly improve China's reputation if you could drink the tap water. It freaks out foreigners that we can't.)
3. Political crap. China is seriously crazy when it comes to various "illegal" things. **** is illegal. You can't use Youtube. Recently, they banned Facebook. I would not be surprised if China eventually outlaws civilian use of the global internet and instead favors a Chinese-only web service. I'm not surprised that Taiwan is the preferred study abroad for students from my home university. Going to China essentially cuts you off from your friend groups in other countries in a lot of ways.
4. There are large groups of people (including college students) who are trying to, get this, DISCOURAGE the learning of English. I learn multiple languages (practiced my Chinese in China). I believe that English shouldn't be the only language everyone learns... but there are serious problems if people like that are not discouraged. True, most Chinese people never get a chance to use it. I would suggest creating opportunities to use English rather than take away an opportunity to learn it.
5. Complete and utter lack of sexual education. I realize that sex is taboo in China. Oh well. I don't care. Children still need to be taught how to have sex safely (STD rates among young people in China are rising at a frightening rate). I lived near ä¸å—è´¢ç»æ”¿æ³•å¤§å¦. Even at a college level, boys and girls must live in separate dorms. The opposite gender are not allowed to enter for any reason. At night, after a curfew, they LOCK the girls inside their dorms. The door can only be opened the next morning by a janitor or someone with the key. My GF said that they're reconsidering this ridiculous idea after a girl's dorm in Shanghai caught on fire and girls jumped out of the higher windows (the ones that don't have metal bars on the outside). Seriously, overdoing it much? What's sad is that Chinese students, even the ones here in Japan, are amazed at how open Japanese dorm systems are. They'd freak out in the USA, undoubtedly. Japan and the US aren't that open. China is conservative- to the extreme.
6. This goes without saying, but any non-Asian person who goes to China becomes a walking freak show. I'm mixed Asian/Caucasian, but it's rather annoying to be yelled at in Chinese by small children, 美国人ï¼(American!), older people guessing that I'm 德国人 (German), or just the staring in general. Is it only in Britain/USA that it's extremely offensive to do stuff like that? Why must we deal with people offering us spoons instead of chopsticks? I know they're trying to be nice, but there are some serious problems with stereotyping against foreigners (same as in Japan) and the general ignorance of foreign things in China.
Edit: Kavekk knows his stuff. There really is no such thing as a civilized line in China. I thought I was the only person who noticed this... Chinese exchange students here talk about the differences between Japanese culture and their own. "People don't fight one another to get on a bus!" Uh... yeah. Pretty normal actually to not fight others to get on a bus >.>
There are many other things I could talk about, but I find that I very easily get carried away on subjects like this. I'll sum it up by saying that China has a bad image in the USA for all the same reasons that a China doesn't qualify for the Visa Waiver program. Lots of Chinese who travel to the USA never go back to China. Even my GF, who has tons of reasons not to immigrate to the USA, was denied a visa because she "is a high risk of illegal immigration." It really is that bad.
Edited, Aug 3rd 2009 5:43pm by Vancar
Most importantly of all, however, there is no such thing as an orderly queue in China.
The Olympics did a lot for the image of China, but the way they dealt with the Tienanmen anniversary undid a lot of that good work.
Kavekk wrote:
Most importantly of all, however, there is no such thing as an orderly queue in China.
Quote:
Humphrey: Now two boys have been found rubbing linseed oil into the school cormorant. Now some of you may feel that the cormorant does not play an important part in the life of the school, but I would remind you that it was presented to us by the corporation of the Town of Sudbury to commemorate Empire Day, when we try to remember the names of all those from the Sudbury area who so gallantly gave their lives to keep China British. So from now on, the cormorant is strictly OUT OF BOUNDS. Oh and Jenkins? Apparently your mother died this morning. Chaplain?
Turin wrote:
Seriously, what the f*ck nature?
China is currently engaged in a military buildup to try and match or exceed some of the US capabilities in terms of aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, ICBM's and aircraft design. You only build aircraft carriers if you wish to project power long range, and you only attempt to match the nimitz class or the new ford class if you think you might go toe to toe with them. Conventional wisdom amongst our intel offices is that china wishes to hold dominion over asia, including India, tiawan, and possibly japan.
Complicating matters further is that china owns a huge portion of the US debt, and has the potential to hurt us economically with that, and has hinted that they would be willing to use it as a weapon. We did it to ourselves, but the issue is there.
finally, all the polution from china hits the western edge of the united states due to wind patterns. that really annoys us.
I think the perception is really that the chinese people are a decent and upstanding group that are repressed by their governmnent. The chinese government is a hostile quasi-communist state, with capitolist leanings. I don't think the average chinese person has any issue with me or my country. I do think that the chinese government is hostile to us, just by virtue of their desireing to be the dominant power on the planet. Confrontation is not inevitable at this point, but i suspect tensions will increase before they decrease.
Complicating matters further is that china owns a huge portion of the US debt, and has the potential to hurt us economically with that, and has hinted that they would be willing to use it as a weapon. We did it to ourselves, but the issue is there.
finally, all the polution from china hits the western edge of the united states due to wind patterns. that really annoys us.
I think the perception is really that the chinese people are a decent and upstanding group that are repressed by their governmnent. The chinese government is a hostile quasi-communist state, with capitolist leanings. I don't think the average chinese person has any issue with me or my country. I do think that the chinese government is hostile to us, just by virtue of their desireing to be the dominant power on the planet. Confrontation is not inevitable at this point, but i suspect tensions will increase before they decrease.
Arch Duke Kaolian Drachensborn, lvl 95 Ranger, Unrest Server
Tech support forum | FAQ (Support) | Mobile Zam: http://m.zam.com (Premium only)
Forum Rules
Tech support forum | FAQ (Support) | Mobile Zam: http://m.zam.com (Premium only)
Forum Rules
I think the major points were hit on. I'd say one of the biggest opinion based beliefs that the vast majority of Americans hold concerning China - is a mistrust in the government - both in governing it's own people, and as a global player.
Also, Chinese are intelligent but lack a sense of humor.
They head-up the underground MMO Mafia that is farming our games for RMT. 
...AND we wanted to believe in fortune cookies, we really did, but they let us down. 
Also, Chinese are intelligent but lack a sense of humor.
They head-up the underground MMO Mafia that is farming our games for RMT. 
...AND we wanted to believe in fortune cookies, we really did, but they let us down. 
Alma wrote:
I lost my post
Elinda, Guardian of the Glade wrote:
Also, Chinese are intelligent but lack a sense of humor.
Unfortunately, I don't think I can say I've encountered any nationality of people where I haven't been amazed by the ignorance of the general populace. Chinese included v.v
Recent Visitors: 614
All times are in CST
Anonymous Guests (614)
- Forums
- Cross Site
- The Asylum
- China?
© 2024 Fanbyte LLC