One of the great things about China "discourse" is how you'll have people declaring, in complete shock and disbelief, that they've "discovered" something which the party has openly been stating for years.
Westerners truly have had their brains rotten to the point where they can't even grasp the concept of a government actually not lying about literally everything (although a portion of it also likely comes from the fact that most of the China "watchers" don't actually read or know anything, I remember there was a great :reddit-logo: AMA where some totally-not-CIA NGO person got tricked into admitting they hadn't actually been in China in like decades, and I think didn't even speak Mandarin)
got tricked into admitting they hadn’t actually been in China in like decades, and I think didn’t even speak Mandarin
lmao, incredible
found it (I had some comments from that thread saved on reddit fortunately)
it was the "China Director at Human Rights Watch"
Someone asks her
When was the last time you came to China? Can you communicate with local people in Chinese? Are there any threats or surveillance during the communication?
and she responds
I first visited China--Kunming!--for a semester in 1989. I had already fallen madly in love with the language (which is not say my Chinese is great these days...), and then fell just as hard for the country, the culture, the history. And I've had many opportunities to study and work in other cities, including Nanjing and Beijing. But for HRW, working there has always been difficult for security reasons, and under Xi Jinping's tenure, Orwellian state surveillance is now the norm. So we have to be careful and creative.
people pressed her further, since she didn't actually answer the "last time you came" question, but I think there were no further responses (although a bunch of the stuff in the thread has been deleted, so I'm not sure if those were among them)
it was apparently a pretty disastrous AMA altogether, the top-rated comment in the thread is "Has OP been added to Victims of Communism's official tally for getting bodied so hard ITT?" :data-laughing:
Now I'm picturing Lenin selling tomatoes at the farmer's market downtown.
there is a variety of tomato named after Paul Robeson, get it before it gets banned because it's Russian
This famous tomato has almost a cult following among seed collectors and tomato connoisseurs, who simply cannot get enough of this variety’s amazing flavor that is so distinctive, sweet, and smoky. 7 to 10-oz fruit is a red-brick color. Named in honor of the famous black opera singer, star of King Solomon’s Mines, 1937. Paul Robeson, an American, was also a Russian Equal Rights Advocate for Blacks. This Russian variety was lovingly named in his honor. We are proud to offer such a wonderful variety.
https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/purple/paul-robeson-tomato
A Russian heirloom that continues to be a favorite in taste test competitions. Brick red, 8 to 12 ounce fruits have dark green shoulders and red flesh. Flavor is exceptional with a nice balance of sweetness and acidity. Named in honor of Paul Robeson, the famous opera singer and civil rights activist.
https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T00540/85
Um, Xi, sweetie, you're acting like a communist right now.
Someone else in another thread said we need this Xi as an emote and I agree.
