Drop 50’s post is correct. Its not about whether you are “free” to watch movies and eat McDonalds.
My understanding is that in China: the elephant in the room is its Maoist genocidal past. There is deep shame and suppressed guilt, and massive-massive coverup and denial of the collective hand society had in the Cultural Revolution — the dark effects of which linger and haunt China to this day.
The one child policy also has had traumatic effects especially for women who underwent enforced/forced abortions.
You are not even allowed to discuss tragedies and government crimes like Tianenmen Square massacre in the open.
And there is this intense pressure to keep up “modern” appearances even with all this historical, cultural baggage left unattended to.
I work with a lot of Chinese, including FOBs with little outside experience.
They have no idea of their own history. They are incredulous when I tell them basic facts about Chinese recent history.
The young ones don't know about Tienamen Square. The older ones are afraid, even here, to talk about it. It's like a survival mechanism, I think, but who knows, because ultimately they are inscrutable.