I’m a ordinary Chinese person. AMA.

If it makes you feel any better, I believe most of the people posting this stuff do not hate the Chinese people or China in general. They are just against the CCP and what they stand for. I suppose this is an AMA though sooo... how was your day?

Thanks buddy. That means a lot to me.

My day is just as usual. Chinese New Year is just getting boring year after year. I feel even more exhausted than workdays after the vacation.

We often hear about the repression of the Chinese people in the media. Do you feel the portrayal of this is accurate?

I wouldn’t use the word repression. No one would be arrested out of no reason just like that. But certain people like those who sell VPNs, who accuse the government or leaders publicly, who spread western democratic ideas, would be in serious trouble.

What were you taught about the tiananmen square massacre at school?

Basically nothing on the textbooks. But my history teacher did reveal a little bit to the class. He and the older generations often refer to it as Eighty-Nine Student Wave.

In Chinese the word wave could mean a huge trend.

How do you feel about the current situation regarding Tibet?

We’ve been educated that Tibet has been part of China for the past couple hundreds of years and will remains so in the future. And the government has been bringing welfare, railways and other modern technologies there. Why would they riot against all these??

Personally I actually don’t care. I just want the terroism to stop. Many innocent people died due to the Han-Tibet/Muslim conflicts.

I guess propaganda and censorship really does work

After seeing all these comments, I feel like shit now. Turns out I didn’t live up to my expectations of myself.

Can you share more about the Tibetan 'terrorism'? We never hear about that in the US media.

Monks have set themselves on fire in protest, but I'm pretty sure OP is confusing Tibet with Xinjiang somehow

Yes I’m afraid I am. The propaganda and censorship is really working I guess. I feel like shit now.

With all the changes in China over the last couple decades, to what extent would you say you still live under an authoritarian regime? How much do you feel your freedoms/rights are restricted by the government?

Well our government did well. I’d give you that. Things like voting or democracy/authorization basically don’t exist in our daily life. People don’t care about them or interested in discussing them.

I myself am one of the few exceptions. Now I cannot even live a day without a VPN and the world beyond the wall. Been saving money to immigrate to europe with my wife. It would seem to take a lifetime to get that much money though.

Is there any legal penalty if you get caught using a VPN to bypass the firewall?

Currently no. But selling one is against the law and some people I know doing that business have already been arrested or “invited” by the police and sign a guarantee document or something.

Does not sound like a document I'd want to sign

It’s like one forcing you to promise that you won’t do anything against the “security of the nation” ever again.

How do you "buy" immigration to Europe? How much does it cost?

It’s like an investment immigration. Buy a property for 500,000 euros and you get the green card or something.

What is the public’s view of Xi Jinping? Are people concerned about perception of the country, or are happy as long as you remain prosperous?

I believe that he has a powerful team that manages his public image. In his first years he was portrayed as an open minded leader that would embrace human rights and maybe even democracy. But things started to change since he slowly seized all the power and edited the constitution...

Happy pig year!

What's a Chinese dish that you never see in western countries? What area of China has your favorite cuisine? Who is China's version of Gordon Ramsey?

edit: I went to China last year and my Chinese hosts asked "would you like to go for pizza or mcdonalds, you would be more accustomed to it", I was like "that's gracious and all but I'm going to stuff myself with Chinese food until they shove me back on the plane"

I think most of the so called Chinese food you can get in western countries are already partly adapted to the tastes of the westerners. So personally I recommend on getting a Chinese friend (maybe girlfriend) who knows how to cook.

What do you know / get tought about protecting the environment? I heard China massivly polluted the environmet until recently, but now try to scale back and employ cleaner technology.

Im from Germany, where we were in a similar situation in the late 80s. Before that massive pollution and disregard for the environment, and then suddenly it was all over the news, schoolbooks etc. etc.

We’re taught that nearly every developed country has gone through this process. Pollute first, get rich, and clean later.

What percentage of Chinese citizens are on VPN?

How do patriotism scores affect you? Are others worried about them?

What are the general Chinese attitudes towards Donald Trump?

1. Basically every major western online service has one or more copycats in China. So most people don’t really need the access to the “outer world”.

2. I didn’t know about that until now. I don’t really know what the government can do after all these things.

3. It may suprise you that many Chinese people like him. We tend to belive that he’s more genuine (or funny) than his predecessors. I believe that it’s just there is no such thing as political correctness in China.

What do you know about 5 mao party (50¢ party)?

My opinion is that most 5 mao party people are not really payed. They have just been brainwashed enough to truly support their country and the CCP from the bottom of their hearts.

And the government did well in mixing the concept of livening your country and loving the government. Here patriotism actually is the same as loving and supporting CCP.

Can you elaborate a bit on your "sophisticated and bittersweet" feelings about the recent posts? Most of what I've seen is anti-regime, not anti China or its people. But I'm curious about how you, as an ordinary citizen, feel about your government? Is it something that gets discussed much in your day to day life?

Idk, I’ve seen a post or two that said Fuck China, and then OP proceeded to engage in multiple very racist comments not limited to the government, arguing against posters who asked him to clarify if he really meant “fuck Chinese people” or “fuck Chinese government” that there’s no difference between the two: had 90+% upvotes last I saw

Basically this.

When I first found Reddit, it was like a goldmine to me. Never had I used a western forum like community with this large user base and most importantly, free of speech. You can almost discuss anything here with no limitations.

Therefore i used to praise Reddit like a savior. And it feels really odd to see these many people from the “Good” And “Free” nations in my mind turn on my country and even my people like this.

I love my country. But I don’t love my government or party even a single bit.

How has the credit score system affected your daily life?

Currently none. Actually I didn’t know anything about this until now.

If you can speak good English, have enough knowledge on how to use a VPN to access Reddit, western media and live in Beijing you're not an ordinary nor a average Chinese person from a western perspective. How would you compare your life to an average Chinese person?

Well sometimes I do feel a bit superior to those “innocent folks who don’t know anything about all these and love their country wholeheartedly”. And I do feel guilty thinking this way as well because I know I’m just a little nobody as well. And I’m not able to change anything nor dare to start a riot or protest or something.

What do you eat on a regular basis?

Usually just common Chinese food. Sometimes American fast food and Japanese food.

How much are you risking to post here?

At first I thought there is none. But as I see all the much sensitive questions, my brain is telling me I should remove this thread for good ASAP.

Yo, this just got removed???? Smells fishy.....

Is it Removed? Why am I still able to post replies here?

Removing the post doesn’t delete the comments or ability to reply. It just deletes the text of the post and prevents it from appearing on the sub or on r/all

Well it’s the mods who removed it then. Don’t know why. Haven’t received any mail notification either.

Do people know who Winnie the Pooh is?

Many young people do. Since the phrase has been censored, we often use the single word BEAR or the emoji to refer to him.