Will you be able to access ChaCha through the great firewall? How will you live without daily idiotic struggle sessions
Chacha’s not blocked
Yet more proof that this website is run by the evil Chinabad!
I do not need one but use one for other sites. Everyone who want a VPN can get one with very little effort.
Hong Kong does not have it anyway.
Do yourself a favor and get heaps of local friends. Don't be the generic white person that lives in Asia for 30 years, only has white friends (and locals educated abroad), and can't even order food.
你会说汉语吗？要是你不会，在中国住不会是一件容易的事情。对我来说，有人搬到一个国家的话，他们先应该会说这个国家的语言。你不知道母语是英语的人有多么特权，有点儿恶心。
Can you speak Chinese? If you can't, live in China won't be an easy thing. In my opinion, if someone moves to another country, they should learn the language of said country first. You don't know how privileged native English speakers are, it's a bit disgusting.
but calling it ‘disgusting’ is unfair.
anglos are disgusting, there is no compromise on that unfortunately.
Frankly there’s no better place to learn the language than in China itself.
I agree, but living in China won't magically make you learn the language either. Chinese is a language that needs serious and constant dedication (I know this well).
Is very easy to live in China without knowing the language, and frankly in China is the best place to learn the language.
Sadly, it is. But I will also say that not knowing the language will limit you a lot. A big chuck of foreigners that live in China, do so in zones that specially cater to their needs, and are specially designed for them. They don't go to a lot of places your average Chinese goes. Just to give an example: last time I went to eat something with some Americans in Beijing, we ended up eating in a restaurant that charged us around 50 yuan for the most simple dishes. In Beijing people usually spend 7 to 12 yuan when they eat outside. Not knowing the language ends up making you not experiencing China, but an "amusement park" for foreigners.
English-speakers are definitely privileged by English being the global lingua franca, but calling it ‘disgusting’ is unfair.
I'm sorry, I just think it's something that is really unfair. For me it's a constant reminder of who owns my country, and who owns the world. I was forced to learn this language despite not being English. I had to bear English people making fun of my country, and showing off their privilege. Moreover, most crimes of English speaking countries are whitewashed, but ironically they get to judge the rest of the world.
gatekeeping against people who’re clearly acting in good faith.
I don't think I gatekeeped, I just adviced him to learn the language first - I think that's what should be done.
About good faith, maybe I'm a bit cynical. After seen so many white pedophiles in South East Asia, and so many disrespectful foreigners, I think I tend to think they hide something.
I agree, although passively learning Chinese is less effective than passively learning other languages, ex. English. This is because Chinese is a highly contextual language (there are many characters that share the same tones and syllables), and because Chinese characters can't be read unless you already know them.
Having Chinese friends and teachers is definitely super useful.
I just don’t really see the difference between ‘moving-then-learning’ and ‘learning-then-moving’.
I mainly have two reasons that make me think the latter is better than the former:
(1) I think is better to have certain familiarity with the language of the country you are moving to. It might also make your life easier, or give you a certain perspective on things. Basically, I think is better to know how water feels like, instead of jumping directly to the pool, and learning how to swim. This is my opinion, I can understand why someone would think learning directly is better.
(2) Moving to another country is something serious, I think before moving it's better to "get a taste" of the language of the country you are moving to. What if you move to the country and you find that you don't like the language? What if when you move to the country, you start learning the language, and you find it's too hard for you? I don't think people need to have a perfect Chinese, but at least know some basics to get a perspective. Then again, this is only just an opinion (an opinion that comes from experience, tho, I emigrated to China too,). Anyway, people should above all follow the methods that suit them best.
Learning a language and learning to read the language are different things tho.
Learning a language is general (every aspect), learning how to read is specific (reading). What's your point?
You can go a long way without ever learning to read the language above a very basic level.
In China – hardly – no if you intend to have a normal life (ex. chatting with friends on WeChat, buying things on Taobao, traveling in China, etc). You can live without knowing how to write, but reading is fundamental.
If you want to live there long term, yes, but if you have years to do that then learning how to read won't be a problem. Many people manage to live in many countries being almost completely illiterate beyond an extremely basic level. For the internet you still have translate for the short term. It's not the same with understanding the spoken language because that's almost always a far greater obstacle. I'm saying that because learning how to speak chinese is generally considered far easier than learning how to read and write chinese.
there are so many people in formerly colonized countries who literally hate their own culture, languages, customs etc. the more western they are, the more civilized. and then there are others who have utter contempt and disdain for anything foreign and glorify our history and whitewash our own atrocities. idk, it's a tough balance, and very easy to give in to the extremes.
I hear the housing situation in HK is pretty dire, got anything lined up or will your workplace help?
Good luck! I liked Hong Kong when I visited it. If you're US citizen, I'd check out how hard it is to get a visa for China once in HK. Depending on your timetable, you might want to try getting your China visa before leaving for HK.
China’s not offering tourist visa at all right now
Genuinely so envious of a country that knows how to manage a pandemic
HK’s kinda flailing tbh. Not enough to be bad by western standards (NZ and Aus aside) but it’s no mainland.
just remember to uphold Mao Zedong Thought, also Chinese Visas take like 7 years to get and are hard to get by the way
lol thought this would be all over this site, but guess it's relevant here
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/01/weibo-users-denounce-plan-to-stop-feminization-with-more-gym-class/
but I’ve got to agree with the wider goal of preventing school children from becoming “weak, self-effacing, and timid"
dude it's the exact same shit far right wing wackos do here in america, they complain about people being "feminized". it's got nothing to do with being weak or timid
The response came after a delegate of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a top political advisory body, had suggested that Chinese schoolboys are “weak, self-effacing, and timid,” and may be unduly influenced by so-called little fresh meats — handsome, well-groomed, delicate-featured celebrities in the vein of K-pop stars. The proposal also described the feminization of Chinese boys as “a threat to the development and survival of our nation.”
I had hoped this would be a mistranslation or something (I didn't know china was anti-lgbt), didn't expect people to support it....
but I’ve got to agree with the wider goal of preventing school children from becoming “weak, self-effacing, and timid"
Yes, weak, self effacing and timid, 3 qualities commonly associated with women, which is why you need more male gym teachers.
Dude if you wanna make the point that this wasn't the government and just some random official and not representative, at least don't go around instantly defending the sexist shit it says because it's China.
They’re only associated with women if you associate them with women.
Which is literally what this does, it's not even subtle about it. Like, what do you think "self effacing, weak and timid" means in this context? It's very blatant. This is just assholes getting mad at "effeminate" boys. This is what this is about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Fresh_Meat
take care of yourself brother and be careful, china is a country like any other and competition here is absolutely cutthroat. have a goal and do not under any circumstance lose sight of it.
How did you get to this point? I'm at a cross roads coming up on graduating with a STEM degree i honestly am not crazy about, I want to make a change in my life and this sounds very cool.
