Can't go back to China right now because of Corona travel restrictions but I still keep in touch with family. Most of them live in tier 2/3 cities so life is pretty good and "normal". Some are still farmers though and they've seen the biggest improvements over the past 30 years where in the 90s they were in small dingy brick huts with 2 rooms and now they have a state provided apartment and a cheap utility van (Wuling is pretty much a meme at this point but hey it's cheap and it hauls produce).
I've seen an increase in disillusionment with the America worshipping where going abroad to study or work was the thing to do but now at least with the talks I've had with my own extended family that interest has died down a lot. The mass media in China has also become more patriotic and overtly communist (e.g. Korean war and Taiwan reunification focus, increasing coverage on CPC projects) which probably has something to do with it.
As for COVID, yeah it's business as usual. Affected regions get locked down and tested hard, not uncommon to have the entire population of a county tested 5 times in 2 weeks. But then once shit calms down people can go outside again and do normal people things, which is a luxury I haven't had in a while.
If foreigners are planning to visit (once restrictions are lifted) I'd still recommend staying in tier 1/2 cities and the touristy places because I think a lot of first world citizens get really shocked when they see a developing country doing development and it sort of breaks their brains that they have to squat to shit (srsly how are y'all such weak squatters it's really not that hard) or sometimes experience environments that aren't perfectly sterile and geared towards utility over comfort.
China: slowly and steadily improves its material conditions
:frothingfash: "NOOOOOO! THAT'S LITERALLY COMMUNISM!"
:xi-shining: "Yes."
It's my dream to use a squat toilet, so idk what you're on about.
When drunk just hope wherever you are has a western toilet in the handicap stall or hope there's a pipe or handhold you can hang on to lmao.
U can also make a glory hole shitting chair for western squatters and old ppl. Just cut a hole in it!
how well do chinese people know about the world? I met some chinese students while studying in america and they literally didnt know about my country even tho it directly borders china lol
Varies a lot among young people. It's not so different from young people everywhere else, where many are just there for the hedonism before they have to do adult stuff, but more and more are becoming more aware of world politics. But generally, affairs with central Asian and Southeast Asian countries tend to be overshadowed by anglo sabre rattling so that's where most of the focus goes. But China also borders a lot of countries so surely they would know basic stuff about relations with Russia or Vietnam for example, but I can see some of the less informed students not knowing about Bhutan or Kyrgyzstan etc. I'd say that Chinese people are far more informed about the world than what western news would tell you, but because of the sheer amount of things going on there's only enough time to cover the biggest most relevant events.
It’s not so different from young people everywhere else
Yeah, where I'm from in SEA, forget young people, even adults couldn't pinpoint to you where half of the ASEAN states are on a map.
I'll have you know my squat game is on point. Thanks for answering. o7
Hhhhmm. This doesn't seem true, but I dont know enough about either China or Vermont to argue.
Bernie murdered a bajillion landlords in order to summon the demon mao. That's why billboard advertisements are banned there.
Do average Chinese people believe western propaganda or are they aware that doing the "liberal democracy" thing the west wants them to would be an unmitigated disaster for them?
Also, how knowledgeable is the average Chinese person on political theory? Do schools teach some of the basic concepts of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism?
Supplemental question: In the west politically ignorant people have a lot of widely believed but incredibly bad takes such as "socialism is when the government does something" and "communism killed 100 trillion people". Do similar brainworms exist in China?
