[News] China protests over Zero-Covid policy

[Swansman]

Bit in the shadow of... everything else, but nonetheless interesting. You have to mess pretty hard with the Chinese for them to go out and protest and destroy testing booths and scream for freedom and shit.

Wonder what it could mean for Chinese political stability? Will be interesting to follow, pretty big thingie after all that could have consequences for all of us.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Xi, Putin, Kim and Khomeini the world would be a better place without them. All rule through fear and oppression.

 

[Swansman]

Xi, Putin, Kim and Khomeini the world would be a better place without them. All rule through fear and oppression.

Well, that is a Western view you can have of course.

I'm not a fan of any of them but if they're really worse, more disliked or more incompetent than our equivalents... dubious.

Some kind of revolution in China, which is still probably far off, would not necessarily make the world a better place... it might make it a different place, however. Today we are pretty reliant on Chinese stability to have stability in our own societes.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Bit in the shadow of... everything else, but nonetheless interesting. You have to mess pretty hard with the Chinese for them to go out and protest and destroy testing booths and scream for freedom and shit.

Wonder what it could mean for Chinese political stability? Will be interesting to follow, pretty big thingie after all that could have consequences for all of us.

Yes, I think that the coke- and steroid-addicted clowns running the show have seriously ballsed it up this time. I have a Chinese colleague based in Beijing, working for an American company, who routinely astonishes me with her readiness to criticize the country's rulers. Quite different from 30+ years ago, when a Chinese colleague based in London was ashamed of the Tiananmen Square protesters. Anecdotes only, I realize....

 

[Weststander]

Xi and his cabal will see that the protesters, especially anyone organising it, simply disappear. Females taken will be systematically raped in camps in the NW. Given the same treatment as Muslims and HK folk speaking out.

6,000 miles away … the genocide etc that’s easily forgotten.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Well, that is a Western view you can have of course.

I'm not a fan of any of them but if they're really worse, more disliked or more incompetent than our equivalents... dubious.

Some kind of revolution in China, which is still probably far off, would not necessarily make the world a better place... it might make it a different place, however. Today we are pretty reliant on Chinese stability to have stability in our own societes.

Indeed.

And, in general, all peoples, and most of the time, get the governments they deserve.

 

[sparkie]

I saw that there was a block of flats which burnt down and because it was Covid locked down the fire escapes had been welded shut and access for fire vehicles blocked and impossible.

Obviously it's not headline news on China state TV.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Fall out with Xi and you disappear and get your organs harvested, fall out with Putin and you’re poisoned and pushed out of a window, fall out with Kim and you’re shot with an anti aircraft gun and eaten by dogs, fall out with Khomeini and you’re shot in the streets and hung from a mobile crane. What’s not to like? People will and can only take so much and it’s beginning to become apparent in Iran, Russia and now China.

 

[GT49er]

Fall out with Xi and you disappear and get your organs harvested, fall out with Putin and you’re poisoned and pushed out of a window, fall out with Kim and you’re shot with an anti aircraft gun and eaten by dogs, fall out with Khomeini and your shot in the streets and hung from a mobile crane. What’s not to like? People will and can only take so much and it’s beginning to become apparent in Iran, Russia and now China.

Yes, but you must remember, that is just a biased western view - you have been told!

 

[Swansman]

Fall out with Xi and you disappear and get your organs harvested, fall out with Putin and you’re poisoned and pushed out of a window, fall out with Kim and you’re shot with an anti aircraft gun and eaten by dogs, fall out with Khomeini and your shot in the streets and hung from a mobile crane. What’s not to like? People will and can only take so much and it’s beginning to become apparent in Iran, Russia and now China.

Well in the case of Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao before him and Jiang Zemin before him, we're talking about half a billion people who have seen their life standards during their rulerships, which is not something you can say about... pretty much anywhere else in the world. To believe that they all think that a different direction and democracy and other western values would work better than what they've already accomplished is simply a western fantasy. They don't want our system with our stagnating societies.

But of course, the zero-covid policy threatens some of what they've got in the last 30 years so now they're encountering a unusual problem.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Well in the case of Xi Jinping, Hu Jintao before him and Jiang Zemin before him, we're talking about half a billion people who have seen their life standards during their rulerships, which is not something you can say about... pretty much anywhere else in the world. To believe that they all think that a different direction and democracy and other western values would work better than what they've already accomplished is simply a western fantasy. They don't want our system with our stagnating societies.

But of course, the zero-covid policy threatens some of what they've got in the last 30 years so now they're encountering an unusual problem.

I don’t believe that the system in Hong Kong created a stagnating society, but it certainly wasn’t embraced or wanted by Xi.

 

[Swansman]

I don’t believe that the system in Hong Kong created a stagnating society, but it certainly wasn’t embraced or wanted by Xi.

No reason for the vast majority of people in China to want to have a system like Hong Kong rather than Hong Kong getting the same system as in China. Obviously its immoral from China not too fulfill the agreement but its not like the 500 million+ Chinese who in the last 30 years climbed out of poverty and food concerns will give much of a shit if they can vote or not over in Hong Kong.

 

[Motogull]

No offence China but you are 3 years late to have a zero f***ing covid policy.

 

[Swansman]

No offence China but you are 3 years late to have a zero f***ing covid policy.

It is indeed pretty difficult to see what they're trying to achieve with it. Unless they know something we don't, it has pretty much (at this point) the same consequences on a society as a bad flu and pretty much the same chances of getting rid of it... not really worth causing massive discontent and economical problems just to try and solve a problem which can't be solved by measures that will cause more pain than what they're trying to hide from.

Guessing its just a question of pride... they want to show the world that they can deal with this and any issue. Obviously they're going to have to back off and just let it flow sooner or later.

 

[BN41Albion]

I'm not a fan of any of them but if they're really worse, more disliked or more incompetent than our equivalents... dubious.

Jesus what are you on!?! I mean there's shit/ incompetent etc (our government), and then there's a whole other level...

 

[BLOCK F]

Fall out with Xi and you disappear and get your organs harvested, fall out with Putin and you’re poisoned and pushed out of a window, fall out with Kim and you’re shot with an anti aircraft gun and eaten by dogs, fall out with Khomeini and you’re shot in the streets and hung from a mobile crane. What’s not to like? People will and can only take so much and it’s beginning to become apparent in Iran, Russia and now China.

Yup, I think I’ll stick with Rishi or Keir

 

[Swansman]

Jesus what are you on!?! I mean there's shit/ incompetent etc (our government), and then there's a whole other level...

As always I try to see things from another perspective rather than from a western lens since I don't think we're half as morally/intellectually/structurally superior as we think we are.

 

[BN41Albion]

As always I try to see things from another perspective rather than from a western lens since I don't think we're half as morally/intellectually/structurally superior as we think we are.

I totally get trying to see things from different world perspectives, but western governments on a par with oppressive, persecuting tyrannies? Come on

 

[Swansman]

I totally get trying to see things from different world perspectives, but western governments on a par with oppressive, persecuting tyrannies? Come on

Most westerners think our governments are less oppressive etc than governments elsewhere, most Chinese think their government is less oppressive etc than elsewhere, most Russians probably still think the same way about theirs... pretty clear that it all depends on the narrative you've grown up with and the "information"/"education" we're/they're fed with.

 

[BN41Albion]

Most westerners think our governments are less oppressive etc than governments elsewhere, most Chinese think their government is less oppressive etc than elsewhere, most Russians probably still think the same way about theirs... pretty clear that it all depends on the narrative you've grown up with and the "information"/"education" we're/they're fed with.

OK, well Im very open to non western viewpoints and read news from different sources, but we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I mean, you started this thread with opening a discussion about the disgraceful Chinese government's zero covid approach for a start...