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Why so many Chinese students can’t understand the Hong Kong protests
Los Angeles Times ^ | 08/21/2019 | By YAQIU WANG

Posted on 08/21/2019 9:30:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

It’s hard for Americans to understand why so many Chinese students attending school in Western countries have turned out in recent days to express support for the Chinese government in its current conflict with Hong Kong protesters. The Chinese students have tried to shout down demonstrators at pro-democracy rallies in the United States, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom.

I don’t agree with the students’ pro-Beijing sentiments on Hong Kong, but I think I understand them. They remind me of myself when I first came to the U.S. to study in 2009.

Soon after arriving, I saw protests in front of the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., organized by Tibetans in exile, but I couldn’t make sense of them. Weren’t Tibetans happy with the high-speed trains and nice buildings the Chinese had built? Weren’t Tibetans making more money doing business with the Chinese? These were among the questions I asked the Tibetans who reached out to me seeking friendship — people born in refugee camps in India to parents who fled Tibet while dodging bullets from Chinese guns.

I’m grateful that my Tibetan friends responded to my misguided questions with understanding instead of condescension. Even so, it took me several years to be able to understand on an emotional level the sufferings of many Tibetans in China. My thinking about Tibet had been fully shaped by Chinese propaganda, which held that China had freed Tibetans from serfdom and brought them prosperity and happiness. I had no access to contrary opinions because of government censorship, so I couldn’t fathom that Tibetans were self-immolating to protest severe suppression of their language, culture and identity.

Studies show that overseas Chinese students — totaling around 1.5 million, including more than 300,000 in the United States — still rely on information from China’s heavily censored internet

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; hongkong; protests

1 posted on 08/21/2019 9:30:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

Like many of our own college kids, the Chinese students are fully indoctrinated and have no concept of liberty.
I have seen more demonstrations of that knowledge from Hong Kongers than I have seen from American youth.


2 posted on 08/21/2019 9:33:16 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: SeekAndFind

This paragraph from the article gives us a glimpse inside the Chinese regimented educational system:

“When I was in school in China, facing incomprehensible concepts like “the scientific system of Mao Zedong thought,” and “socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” I told myself not to think about their meaning but just to memorize them and regurgitate them on the exams. When you live under “Communist Party rule, not thinking is self-preservation.


3 posted on 08/21/2019 9:33:57 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

This paragraph from the article gives us a glimpse inside the Chinese regimented educational system:

“When I was in school in China, facing incomprehensible concepts like “the scientific system of Mao Zedong thought,” and “socialist system with Chinese characteristics,” I told myself not to think about their meaning but just to memorize them and regurgitate them on the exams. When you live under “Communist Party rule, not thinking is self-preservation.


4 posted on 08/21/2019 9:34:28 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: SeekAndFind

Chinese students have family in China. When China wants something from them they have to give it. If China says demonstrate against the HKians they demonstrate against the HKians. That is why it is deleterious to US security to have Chinese immigrants or their children in sensitive jobs in Defense or in industry. Any info they touch is copied to china.com


5 posted on 08/21/2019 9:35:14 AM PDT by arthurus (cftikokugg)
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To: SeekAndFind

Funny how that mirrors our colleges today........


6 posted on 08/21/2019 9:40:21 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

No kidding!


7 posted on 08/21/2019 9:40:36 AM PDT by milagro (There is no peace in appeasement!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Because most of the kids who come here for college are either the children of party members or they are beholden to the regime.

Its not hard to figure out.

Do people think little middle class Chinese parents are working extra hard so their kid, Wong, can go to WPI or RPI?

Who is naive here?


8 posted on 08/21/2019 9:42:47 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: SeekAndFind

Ours are feminist studies and other such twaddle instead of the Chinese courses, but the indoctrination is very similar.
Independent thought is punished the same.


9 posted on 08/21/2019 9:44:10 AM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here Of Citizen Parents_Know Islam, No Peace-No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: SeekAndFind

Sounds like 1984.


10 posted on 08/21/2019 9:48:25 AM PDT by wastedyears (The left would kill every single one of us and our families if they knew they could get away with it)
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To: wastedyears

They have to show solidarity with the Party, otherwise it will go on their “permanent record”, literally.

So if the local Chinese gov. reps tell them to demonstrate (and roll will be taken), then they have to demonstrate.


11 posted on 08/21/2019 9:53:02 AM PDT by CondorFlight
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To: Lurkinanloomin

“Like many of our own college kids, the Chinese students are fully indoctrinated and have no concept of liberty.”

It’s hard to explain to immigrants or young Americans what America was like before the Welfare State took over.


12 posted on 08/21/2019 10:08:16 AM PDT by The Westerner (Protect the most vulnerable: get the government out of medicine, education and our forests.)
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To: SeekAndFind

If you see a chinese student at a prestigious university and he’s driving a lambo or G-wagon, they are the children of party officials. Of course they will support the party line.


13 posted on 08/21/2019 12:52:27 PM PDT by jimmygrace
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To: SeekAndFind

Are these counter protests credible? Or are threats made against their families? I was surprised to see a photo in Vancouver and there was almost as many counter- protesters as the pro-Hong Kong ones.


14 posted on 08/21/2019 1:27:35 PM PDT by Sam Gamgee
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To: SeekAndFind

In all fairness, since 1980, China has turned 800 MILLION Chinese who grew up in abject poverty, into middle class citizens - and the literacy rate in that county went from 65% to 99%. No other country on earth has been able to do that. ... so yeah, some people like China.


15 posted on 08/21/2019 6:38:11 PM PDT by 11th_VA
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To: arthurus

u bime to send them home en-masse, along with the Communist Chinese H1Bs and EB5 Investor Visa. But alas, Republocrats have pushed fir HR1044, in a bid to increase Communist Chinese here


16 posted on 08/21/2019 8:10:16 PM PDT by Starcitizen (American. No hypenation necessary.)
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