Full thread (archived): https://archive.ph/TA3k4
ROFL this thread is hillarious. OP sure picked the wrong instance to ask their question.
(For fuck sakes: Please do not ask questions (expecially questions that may involve politics) in TankieLiteEdition.ml, aka: lemmy.ml)
I mean on the second paragraph, they’re not entirely wrong. Chinese citizens do generally seem satisfied with the country and the quality of life there could be far worse. China isn’t democratic on a national level, it does have local elections with approved candidates.
It just depends how much you care about your freedom of speech, which is a common western value.
Personally, I think the status quo on China isn’t too bad.
Its much harder to find income in China, which is why my parents decide to immigrate to the US. (And before anyone says “socialized healthcare” nope, AFIAK, you don’t get free healthcare, at least not when my parents and I left)
Yeah, definitely not free. When I was working there I had to have an employer-provided health insurance plan to be eligible for routine care. No different from the US.
There is a state Medicaid/Medicare type of social insurance plan in China, but it really sucks and barely covers anything. Almost like Medicaid/Medicare.
The other crappy part about trying to get healthcare in China is that you never know when someone is about to try to sell you some TCM woo when you’re just looking for antibiotics.
I have some very serious health considerations. These require multiple specialists be seen on the regular, and lots of expensive imaging, tests, corrective measures, therapy, etc. When I was on medicaid it was a better experience than when I had a “cadillac” coverage plan, when I worked a pretty well paid job with government.
Oddly enough, 凉茶 sort of works?
Maybe a placebo idk 🤷♂️
But yea my grandmother want to boil some weird herbs/animal organ… like… no thanks.
I have no idea if those stuff they sell at the TCM shops with those weird herbs actually do anything, but it taste bad and I have yet to hear from scientists talking about it, so nah, its just very bitter (or otherwise weird tasting) “soup” for unknown effects.
(I say “herb” but actually I have no idea what those plants things are, just search “traditional chinese medicine shop” and you’ll see what I mean. There are like tons of those in New York City lol.)
These TCM stuff is kinda fucking with my depression, because my parents are very skeptical of “western” medicine, especially antidepressants which affects the brain, so they do not want me to take medication for depression. And I’m still a dependent on their insurance, and I have to rely on them to pay for medical bills. They think its some evil spirit or something… 🤦♂️
So yea idk what to do, depression sucks, especially with the ongoing US wave of xenophobic policies by the current administration.
I love a good tea when I have a sore throat, because it helps alleviate the scratchy/coughy sensations.
But I’d also like some goddamn amoxicillin when I have strep, please.
I have a Chinese friend currently living there and is unemployed. They have said there are no benefits.
They still don’t have free healthcare. Although from what I hear, it’s substantially better. Someone I know spent a week in hospital in China, and was charged £500. Insurance paid for it all. Granted, they are paid less on average, but U.S. healthcare costs are ludicrous. I do believe China is struggling with an employment problem, though.
Is it also something like “you get free healthcare if you bribe the doctors?”
Idk what exactly do you mean by “bribe the doctors”.
Everything is out of pocket, you have to pre-pay for everything.
Its a common TV trope in Chinese drama shows that someone can’t pay for for an expensive emergency procedure, and then they somehow find a long lost relative (or a friend or something like that) and ask them to pay for it. Like… lmao, its got the Squid Game feel to it
Ah, okay, because that’s what I hear happened in my country. Literally, you had to bribe your way in to expect decent health care conditions and fair treatment - either with money or with products that were hard to find on the market. Bribes continued after 1989 as well, but not so much, and the newer generations reject being bribed altogether.
Because if a Chinese citizen complains, they disappear.
Not necessarily. If you post about it online, you might get the post removed, banned, and at worst, a visit from the police. You can personally complain to officials though in private with no recourse. They just don’t want you stirring up a protest
except for those under the threat of imperialism
Who?
Those victims of the Belt and Road Initiative, Mongolia, Tibet, Hong Kong, Uyghurs, and probably Taiwan later
and that’s just modern imperialism
Victims of the belt and road initiative? Mongolia also was granted independence ages ago.
The other ones you listed are regions that are part of China.
Suppression of some local cultures, sure, but that’s not really “imperialism”
it’s nice that you’re so selective about the suppression of local culture and foreign governments.
I assume that means you also don’t think the US is imperialist?
US can be more imperialist than China as it has a lot of military bases across the world and actively tries to influence the culture of foreign nations. China is largely self interested.
Although I don’t know to what extent is imperialism bad. I would prefer full on European imperialism than half-hearted selfish imperialism. Like building infrastructure in and supporting your colonies that cannot support themselves.
Is building infrastructure and supporting your colonies not imperialism?
Yeah. I don’t see much wrong with that aspect. Treating them cruelly is the issue.
Imperialism isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just how you go about it.
Some of the issues with the British empire is that they left some places too early.
If PRC was given a military as powerful as the US, they’d be doing the same thing. Its not “X country is evil”, its ANY country being given that power WILL become evil.
The only way to avoid it is to NOT have ANY county becoming superpowers.
I think in comparison to the USA and per capita or spending or whatever, the PRC spends a lot less on the PLA.