Hello! I would like to start off by apologizing because I know a thread like this gets posted every other day and it can border on (or actually be) concern-trolling, but I wanted to get a rough survey of opinions here on a topic.

Specifically, do you have any criticisms of China’s contemporary culture? Its government? What are they?

I’m of the opinion that there are a lot of low-hanging fruit in this regard, like the patriarchal social order that [whatever one might say about its status in other nations] is certainly an ongoing problem for the matter of women’s liberation. I also think it’s both socially backwards and bad for national security to not have gay marriage, because we’re all familiar with how the US loves infiltrating student movements.

I also rather regret how the CPC seems to be trending towards expanding the role of the profit motive rather than shrinking it. See these statements:

http://en.qstheory.cn/2023-05/04/c_882761.htm

http://en.qstheory.cn/2023-05/05/c_882998.htm

Do you agree with these points? Do you have your own criticisms? Am I totally off-base? Let me know!

(btw I’m also familiar with the idea of sharing criticism with comrades but finding public criticism to be counter-productive, but I don’t want to spend all day listing caveats)

  • TheCommunismButton@lemmygrad.ml
    9·
    11 months ago

    I don’t live in China, but I’ve been there many times, and I am of Chinese descent and I speak a bit of the language. Here are my observations:

    A lot of Chinese gen X-ers and older millennials have pretty low cultural self-confidence. They seem to think that Western and Japanese cultural exports, brands, and ideas are better. Even for Chinese music and such, they prefer Taiwanese and Hong Kong stuff over mainland. I’ve heard that this is reversing for younger millennials and gen Z-ers, so that’s pretty encouraging.

    A lot of people seem to lack consideration and awareness of others in public settings. There are stereotypes of Chinese people being aggressive and inconsiderate drivers, cutting in line, spitting, rushing to grab seats in the metro, etc. and a lot of it is based on reality. I believe a lot of it is a holdover from times of scarcity, where if you didn’t fight for yourself, you’d be left behind. Things are slowly but surely changing with public education and fines - public spitting is much rarer now, and drivers in some cities like Shanghai actually follow the rules sometimes. But there is still a long way to go.

    Chinese customer service isn’t the best. A lot of products don’t come with any sort of return policy or satisfaction guarantee. If there are issues that are difficult to solve, a lot of customer service people will just throw their hands up and say 没办法 (there’s no way). You really have to pester people to get issues taken care of.

    Work culture, like in much of Asia, can be pretty brutal and inefficient. There is generally a rigid hierarchy, and lower-ranking workers are strongly encouraged to be quiet and listen to the boss, even if the boss is wrong. A lot of companies prioritize ass-in-chair time over actual productivity. You’ve heard about 996 culture at big tech companies, and many employees are not being productive for a lot of that time, but they still need to be at the office for God knows whatever reason.

    There is a large amount of societal pressure for conspicuous consumption. Even people who are not rich will buy Gucci and BMWs to keep up with the Zhong-ses. European brands are preferred. People will drive to work even if it takes longer than taking the metro or biking because owning a car is a status symbol.

    Which brings me to my next point, Chinese people loooove cars. Owning a car is a sign you’ve made it in life. Having good public transit is taken for granted, and everyone wants a shiny European luxury car. It’s gotten to the point where local officials will even prioritize cars in infrastructure, such as by building pedestrian over/underpasses, moving the lines closer to the intersection, reducing pedestrian crossing time, etc. Wide roads and parking lots in cities are seen as symbols of modernity. Although good public transit is plentiful, there is not so much am emphasis on pedestrians and bikers in a lot of cities.

    There are a lot of positive parts of Chinese culture, but I’m just pointing out what I feel are the negatives since that’s what the question asked. I think a lot of these are directly a result of China’s status as a developing country (being almost destitute in living memory) and the drastic changes during the reform and opening up period.