[PIF]

Many videos and reports from mainland Chinese who are there - are you spouting the CCP party line?

[GingisK]

are you spouting the CCP party line?

No, just trying to inform people that there is a different reality. We all like to be patriotic; but, we shouldn't let that blind us.

[GingisK]

Ideology and living conditions are not tightly bound. When I went to Shanghai in 1991 to work on the software of their airport's flight information display system, Shanghai was largely a very depressing city. It also smelled bad. There was a lot of construction going on at the time, old building being demolished, new ones under construction. I stayed in a beautiful new hotel. When I returned in 1998 I was stunned at how beautiful the city looked. There were new buildings everywhere, large green spaces, and people were wearing new and fashionable cloths. The people were very happy.

Since then a new and gorgeous subway system has been installed, and this is a doozy. I have been told by people I still communicate with that the city has been enhanced even more since 1998, and most cities have been reworked as well. It seems that they are putting the money we put into buying their goods to use.

There is a catch. China is a 100% surveillance state, including TV cameras everywhere. If a person commits a minor crime the fine is taken out of his bank account before that person goes home for the evening. Commit a worse crime, and the person vanishes.

Crime is way down, earnings are up, housing looks nice, and people are happy. Most Chinese people are happy with the way things are done over there. You and I, we'd disappear. So, there are pretty hard limits to the praise I'd heap on that country.

[UCANSEE2]

PIF, do you always insult someone trying to give you a broader perspective of the world ?

I don’t know what the CCP (CCCP) party line is but I do know that they don’t let you take a crap on the sidewalks like they do here in the US.

The US party line seems to be “Rules are made to be broken”.
The Chinese party line seems to be “Rules are made to be followed”.

Which rule would you rather see in place ? Which one would provide a better society ?