Originally Posted by JohnnyB
I would say it is just much more complex than is presented in Western media. China certainly is not a place where people generally feel oppressed by the government. In fact, I would say it is the total opposite. People generally feel that the government is taking care of them and support the government. The government is generally highly trusted. Also, Chinese cities are generally very safe, standards of living have improved dramatically across the country and China has many dynamic, creative and inspiring things going on. It's an exciting and dynamic place that offers a good standard of living with some world class cities and many good cities.
On the other hand, many negative stories that are shared in Western media are also true, such as what is going on with the Uighurs. This type of thing simply doesn't affect the vast majority of Chinese, and the sharing of info about this type of situation is highly restricted and distorted in China, so Chinese people typically don't concern themselves with it and just trust the government. Unless someone has actually been personally affected by situations such as this, they're not giving thought to it, and if they have been affected they likely don't feel free to share much about it. Also, because in China people do not have any political voice, there is no expectation that people should express their political views and there is not the sense of oppression that someone in the West would feel under the same circumstances.
The state apparatus of control has certainly become much more powerful in recent years however and there has been a simultaneous strengthening of nationalist sentiment that is largely based on a Han ethnic identity, which I believe is dangerous. DrZaius mentions coming to places like CP and getting news, but this is obviously not representative of what the typical Chinese person does. Additionally, while a relatively small percentage of people do access international sources of info that may be critical of China or share contentious info or points of view, the controls over the sharing of that info on Chinese social media are now very powerful. AI is applied in screening messages that people share through apps like wechat, blocking images, text and even voice messages that contain contentious content from ever reaching the intended recipient. There are also laws to prevent the discussion of political situations, government policy or any sensitive info in wechat groups. The individual who first started the chat is legally responsible if anyone in the group shares content that violates the censorship policies. It effectively gets people to censor themselves and their own networks. When there are big events that fo take place in localized contexts, such as riots or demonstrations in a mainland cities, the government is also known to shut down internet access and mobile networks completely while order is restored, preventing news and video getting out to the public.
It is a complex situation. In many ways, Chinese are willing to trade away personal freedoms and political engagement of any kind in order to experience more commercial and economic freedom, so if you visit China as a tourist you will see many thriving and dynamic places with people who are generally happy and feel good about their government, but you will not see the persecuted minorities, hear the voices of those who oppose government actions or be exposed to the darker sides of society. This works well for the majority of Chinese, but there is also danger in it. The control is increasingly absolute, which should concern anyone who doesn't fully trust those who hold that absolute control.
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