I spent 2 years in China, ask me anything!

[Blanquist]

I've been to many cities all over China and talked to many hundreds of people of all walks of life.

EDIT: brb, will answer all questions

[Ostrinski]

How's the food?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

How do they treat Queer (Gay,Lesbian,Bisexual,and Transgender) people?

[Positivist]

What is the quality of life of the people there? And I know they censor Mao pretty heavily so what about Marx? Are any of his works available?

[OHumanista]

Any places you particularly liked?
(also I second Brospierre's "how's the food?" :D )

[Comrade Samuel]

What do Chinese workers think of America and the west? What are their opinions on their own government?

[Blanquist]

How's the food?

Food quality and safety is a major problem in China.

They have this thing, basically when a restaurant dumps out their pots in the street it goes in the sewer, then some guys will open the lid and pick out the 'gutter oil' separate the oil and sell it back to the restaurants.

Everyone in China knows about this. I saw it myself in broad daylight next to one of China's busiest shopping streets.

fake eggs, fake milk, it goes on and on.

As for the cuisine, I learned to love it.

[Nox]

How were you treated differently? (assuming you're a western white man)

[Blanquist]

What is the quality of life of the people there? And I know they censor Mao pretty heavily so what about Marx? Are any of his works available?

Mao and Marx are not censored. Any work of Marx or Mao is freely available to anyone who is interested.

Will address quality of life in a minute.

[Catma]

Where did you stay? How much can you get by with just English? What is the level of consciousness, and the workers' opinions on capitalism/communism?

[Blanquist]

Where did you stay? How much can you get by with just English?

I lived in an apartment. When traveling I stayed in hotels.

How well you get by with just English is really up to you. I think it depends on your personality and temperament.

I speak Chinese so I might not be the right person to ask.

[Blanquist]

How were you treated differently? (assuming you're a western white man)

Tough to answer without going into a lot of detail.

Lots of good things, some bad. I'll think up a better response latter.

EDIT: it might be better if you ask something more specific. Like how were you treated in night-clubs or how were you treated by police etc.

[L.A.P.]

I'm aware that we have at least one Chinese dissident who freely posts on RevLeft and you say Mao and Marx are freely open to read in China, so I'm wondeing how much censorship and repression of speech actually occurs in China in everyday life?

[Blanquist]

I'm aware that we have at least one Chinese dissident who freely posts on RevLeft and you say Mao and Marx are freely open to read in China, so I'm wondeing how much censorship and repression of speech actually occurs in China in everyday life?

It would be extremely time consuming for me to list all the little details of what someone can get away with saying and under what circumstances.

So please, be more specific.

Are the works of Marx and Mao unavailable or censored in China? No, they are freely available in libraries and bookstores all over china. In Chinese (of course) and, in bigger cities foreign book stores and libraries, in English.

[Anarcho-Brocialist]

How is their media like? I'm aware of censorship, but what does the local and national media consist of?

Is it similar to US media?

[L.A.P.]

It would be extremely time consuming for me to list all the little details of what someone can get away with saying and under what circumstances.

So please, be more specific.

Are the works of Marx and Mao unavailable or censored in China? No, they are freely available in libraries and bookstores all over china. In Chinese (of course) and, in bigger cities foreign book stores and libraries, in English.

Are the number of books availible limited at all by censorship?

[Blanquist]

What do Chinese workers think of America and the west? What are their opinions on their own government?

There are many illusions about the west. For the most part America is looked at positively. Different people having different reasons for liking it.

Different people also have different views on their government. The thing they hate the most is corruption.

[Blanquist]

How is their media like? I'm aware of censorship, but what does the local and national media consist of?

Is it similar to US media?

I'm slightly exaggerating but Chinese news (on tv) is usually 25 minutes of how bad it is everywhere else (libya, possible Greek default, US unemployment etc) and 5 minutes of how great it is in China (economic data, new buildings, wage increases etc)

There are many business journals and newspapers, there are also extremely nationalistic rags, basically there's something for all appetites (excluding the obvious).

[Blanquist]

Are the number of books availible limited at all by censorship?

Which books? If Marx and Mao then no, although obviously few, if any, small book shops will store the complete works of Marx or Mao. You might have to go to a big library or big book store or order off the internet.

Is there a specific work you are interested in?

[L.A.P.]

Which books? If Marx and Mao then no, although obviously few, if any, small book shops will store the complete works of Marx or Mao. You might have to go to a big library or big book store or order off the internet.

Is there a specific work you are interested in?

Hmmmm.....how about 1984!?:D

[Drosophila]

Is there still a Mao personality cult?

[ridethejetski]

How widely reported is industrial unrest/strikes? (I understand they are quite common in China now?)

If so, how are they represented in the media?

[Ismail]

It is my understanding that one can buy and read Mao works, but that only certain ones. Basically the Chinese government's line on the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" was that Mao initiated it but only continued it because the Gang of Four basically tricked and manipulated him. They also portray Mao as a guy who, outside of this period, would be fine with Deng Xiaoping and the present CCP leadership. In other words they appropriate his legacy and turn him into an entirely inoffensive figure.

Anyway I feel this thing posted by me in the M-L group a few months ago is relevant:


When I actually talk to people who have been in China, whose wives are CCP members, who have debated with Chinese professors, etc. they take all this stuff about "left factions" and "China is still socialist" and such and literally laugh at it, if not have disbelief.

Here's an example of the glorious socialist health care system in modern-day China:

Person: Healthcare here is basically, you purchase a health insurance card
Person: And each month you pay a certain amount, and they put some of that money onto your health insurance card
Ismail: so it's like social security basically?
Person: Yeah, only it's optional
Person: And if you don't pay you just do everything out of pocket
Person: Which is what most people do
Person: If you have a good job, like a govt job, they just pay your health insurance card payment each month
Ismail: and if you're nothing you get basically no health care?
Person: Yeah, exactly
Ismail: glorious "socialism"
Person: Tons of people never go to the doctor, even though by my standards of America, health care here is ridiculously cheap
Person: Like it's less than $1 for a doctor's visit
Person: And medicine is way cheaper too
[...]
Person: Also there's still a huge reliance and trust in Chinese medicine
Person: Because it has "no side effects"
Ismail: glorious attempts to raise the socialist and scientific consciousness of the Chinese masses
Person: And the government promotes this because it's tied up with nationalism
Person: So you have Chinese medicine colleges spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year doing "research" where like 95% of the results prove that their medicine does exactly what they say it does, or else wasting it trying to prove like, the existence of Qi energy or Lay Lines in your body
Person: As opposed to real clinical medical trials where only like 2-3% of medicine tested has any useful effect
Person: There's even a huge, HUGE direct sales of Chinese medicine industry
Person: Where people prey on the elderly and the stupid
Person: My wife's grandma is a doctor and she wasted 1000 dollars buying a year's supply of some medicine we looked up and it's banned in Beijing for being useless

And on the glorious "left-wing bloc" that supposedly exists:
Person: Then you have people like Liu Xiabo, the "Communist" leader of Chongqing
Person: So he puts old patriotic "Red" songs on TV
Person: And makes people wear little red armbands
Person: And his 21 year old son drives a Ferrari
Person: This guy is credited as leading a socialist revival in his city
Person: It's ridiculous

and:
Person: Chinese workers are the most put upon, shit upon, people I've ever met
Person: And what amazes me is that they put up with it

and when talking to some students:
Person: I tell them about exploitation and common things that could be done to them
Person: Like withholding wages, free labor
Person: And I tell them it's bullshit and they shouldn't put up with it, and before they get a job, they should find someone who works there and ask them about it
Person: But Chinese society is so competitive
Person: People will take awful jobs just to get experienceAlso, from a guy I know:

Guy: i lived in china for 4 months in 2005. it is weird because like i met a lot of party members at the university but they weren't real socialists. one friend i made got angry at me because she was like well obviously we can't have health equity, china has too many people to help everyone. also a professor gave a speech about how china needs an ordered transition to democracy and so on.
Guy: once in class the sociology professor gave a long talk about how rural chinese workers were facing an alliance between the state and capital and i was like "well if you are a marxist and you think there is an alliance between the state and capital, what should the workers do?" and he laughed at me and was like "nice try"
Guy: one interesting thing i've read about like chinese revisionism is that some chinese thinkers who support market reforms said that because mao said that socialism was built in the main that this meant market reforms couldn't be reactionary because there is no way a mode of production could "revert" or something after it has advanced. like if a country developed advanced capitalism it couldn't spontaneously become feudal again on its own accord in the theory so tthey said socialism worked the same way. and that's basically china's position right now on things, that it isn't a retreat, it's an advance that incorporates the market. which is sorta dumb but it is complex enough that people that believe it, or sorta believe it, don't buy into the standard criticisms about it being a big retreat.

[Blanquist]

Hmmmm.....how about 1984!?:D

I saw the English version in many places, big bookstores. Never saw it in Chinese but I also never looked for it.

[Le Rouge]

I've been to many cities all over China and talked to many hundreds of people of all walks of life.

EDIT: brb, will answer all questions

How was communism?

lol jk

[Blanquist]

How widely reported is industrial unrest/strikes? (I understand they are quite common in China now?)

If so, how are they represented in the media?

They are reported on. It is common knowledge. It doesn't hurt that many protesters swear allegiance to the CCP and insist their struggle is a localized event. Someone is fired, someone jailed, the world moves on.

[Blanquist]

It is my understanding that one can buy and read Mao works, but that only certain ones. Basically the Chinese government's line on the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" was that Mao initiated it but only continued it because the Gang of Four basically tricked and manipulated him. They also portray Mao as a guy who, outside of this period, would be fine with Deng Xiaoping and the present CCP leadership. In other words they appropriate his legacy and turn him into an entirely inoffensive figure.

Anyway I feel this thing posted by me in the M-L group a few months ago is relevant:
Also, from a guy I know:

Healthcare isnt 'ridiculously cheap.' You have to bribe the doctor.

[scarletghoul]

how much did it cost to live in apartment and how much for hotels. also how much did books cost, including the complete marx or mao ?

[Bostana]

How bad are the living conditions there due to the reforms?
Are people living around these huge plants?

[Blanquist]

how much did it cost to live in apartment and how much for hotels. also how much did books cost, including the complete marx or mao ?

1. Rent depends on several factors; the city, the location, the conditions etc.

If you ask about a specific city I can give you a closer estimate.

2. Hotels depend on the city and location as well. There are Chinese hotels where you can stay for $15 or less but a lot of them don't take foreigners (cant process them or whatever) and they are pretty crappy. Its a safe bet that you can find a passable hotel in just about any city for around $30. Of course there is no limit of high priced luxury hotels in major, and not so major, cities.

On the extreme low-end you can stay in a hostel, in a bunk with several other people for just a few bucks, but I never tried this. I did meet an American who claims to have lived in one for over a year while studying Chinese at a local university. I can provide some info on this as well if anyone is interested.

3. Books can be bought by the pound on the low-end or western prices on the higher end.

I never buy books, I just download online and put them on my iPad. You can get the works of Marx or Mao online for free easily.

I did visit some of the main libraries because they have periodicals from all over the world in all languages, and many interesting academic books that interest me.

[Yuppie Grinder]

How widely available are consumer products?

How well educated are the common people of China?

[Blanquist]

How widely available are consumer products?

How well educated are the common people of China?

1. Most places (bigger cities) they are as available as any western country.

2. Depends, hard to say exactly what you mean? It is not uncommon to see grown people defecate in public in Shanghai, racism is open and widespread, you would be hard pressed to find someone without incredibly racist views here, spitting in public is constant, etc. If these are questions of education then many in China are very uneducated.

If you mean educated in certain skills then I can expand on that..

[Blanquist]

How bad are the living conditions there due to the reforms?
Are people living around these huge plants?

Yes people working in plants are usually migrant workers and they live somewhere near the job site.

Living standards are exceptionally higher since reform and opening.

This really can not be over stated. When bourgeois media claims hundreds of millions of people have been lifted from poverty, they are not lying.

It is a basic fact.

As for negatives then I can simply state the obvious, many problems of the past, pre-mao and during mao have grown; prostitution, corruption, nepotism, etc etc Any problems of modern day capitalism and it's there, sometimes a bit exaggerated.

People are insanely money-hungry. Anywhere and everywhere. Money is truly god. I thought America was a cut-throat, dog-eat-dog country but its nothing compared to China.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

Does the average person in China think they live in a communist system?

[Blanquist]

Does the average person in China think they live in a communist system?

No

[Ostrinski]

Did you fall in love with a bewitching Chinese dame

[Blanquist]

Did you fall in love with a bewitching Chinese dame

Many :D

[Public Domain]

Does anyone there really seem to care about communism or achieving communism? Does anyone think it's possible or has the same defeatism in the West taken hold in China?

Is capitalism welcomed?

[TheGodlessUtopian]

How are queer people treated there?

[OnlyCommunistYouKnow]

Anything huh? How was your third year?

[Blanquist]

How are queer people treated there?

I can not cite seeing or hearing about overt signs of discrimination. But I am also probably not the best person to ask about these things.

I have befriended gays and lesbians and have not heard about discrimination from them, but then again I never really sought to find out.

As for peoples attitudes towards homosexuality then it is much like any other place as in there are differing opinions. I can say I have never seen rapid anti-homosexuality, some people thinks it's weird or gross, it doesn't seem to concern most people but I never saw or heard anything like "we need to get rid of them"

As for seeing effeminate men or women who are very close then it doesn't turn any heads as this is very normal for heterosexual people to act this way.

Sorry not much comes to mind when thinking back to this issue.

Maybe I could be more help is you ask something more specific in something. But even then I'm not sure I can be of big help.

[Blanquist]

Also I would like add about the food besides the food quality issue.

Food is pretty expensive in China. Pork is their main meat staple and it is officially 82% more expensive then in America. Beef of course as well, and a western quality beef of beef is extremely expensive. Veggies are relatively inexpensive.

What I like about the food is they use and offer all parts of an animal; chicken feet, ox organs, pig kidney etc. And I was able to try very many different foods until I found my staples.

I spent much more on food than in the US.

[bricolage]

in general, how strong is anti-japanese sentiment?

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

Do you know anything about and why there are a lot new cities being build, that turn into ghost cities?

[Blanquist]

in general, how strong is anti-japanese sentiment?

Pretty strong, many people do not like Japan.

But Japanese culture certainly has a big influence in China. There are also many Japanese living and working in China.

[Blanquist]

Do you know anything about and why there are a lot new cities being build, that turn into ghost cities?

Investment. Somewhere for the rich to put their money.

[bricolage]

Pretty strong, many people do not like Japan.

But Japanese culture certainly has a big influence in China. There are also many Japanese living and working in China.
are they mostly in high end business?

is anime big?

[Neoprime]

Do they have alot of women with big booties.

[Blanquist]

are they mostly in high end business?

is anime big?

They are in all kinds of different professions.

I don't know anything about anime but yes some younger people enjoy comic books.

[Blanquist]

Do they have alot of women with big booties.

No

[CommiePhilosiphy]

How was the education system their?

[Nox]

Tough to answer without going into a lot of detail.

Lots of good things, some bad. I'll think up a better response latter.

EDIT: it might be better if you ask something more specific. Like how were you treated in night-clubs or how were you treated by police etc.

Ok

How were you treated differently by police?
How were you treated differently in night clubs?
How were you treated differently by ordinary people?
How were you treated differently by other groups that you'd like to share?

[Blanquist]

Ok

How were you treated differently by police?
How were you treated differently in night clubs?
How were you treated differently by ordinary people?
How were you treated differently by other groups that you'd like to share?

Police really leave you alone and you never have any problems

You can get into any night-club even if terribly dressed, lot of times free-drinks etc

I never liked the term 'ordinary people' don't know how to reply to that.

Other groups.. hmmm.. idk,, in the country-side and in small cities you get a lot of stares, people pointing at you and talking about you, some of it pretty bad, people taking pictures of you etc.

[ColonelCossack]

I think the only reason the CCP continues to call itself "communist" is because they want to smear communism.

[u.s.red]

what economic system do they have in china?

[RedTrackWorker]

Can you tell us anything about worker organizing? Late last year they had the first multi-city coordinated protest (against Pepsi?) for instance. Almost all struggles have been kept to a local level except that and the auto shutdowns that spread to a region. Any thoughts on how a nation-wide struggle might come about?

[Blanquist]

Can you tell us anything about worker organizing? Late last year they had the first multi-city coordinated protest (against Pepsi?) for instance. Almost all struggles have been kept to a local level except that and the auto shutdowns that spread to a region. Any thoughts on how a nation-wide struggle might come about?

It's very hard to imagine something nation-wide. A lot of the workers in factories are migrant workers, not locals. There is a wide divide between city and country-side. Being called a 'farmer' or similar is a heavy insult in China.

Uyghur are considered cheats and thieves by practically everyone in China.

Shanghai people think they are better than everyone else, 2nd tier cities think they are better than 3rd tier, and all down the line. Hong Kong people don't like the mainland, etc etc

There are very many things to consider. I am claim no authority on this.

Anyways, the questions are coming pretty slow so I'll just go all over the place;


Most people care much more about iPhones, workers included, then any kind of struggle. To give a little example, I know a girl who shares a flat (studio basically) with 3 other girls, they each pay $100 a month for rent, and don't make much money, they are all from the country-side. They all bought iPhones a while ago, $1,000 each.

You will hear people talking about iPhones on every corner, everywhere. Even in one of China's poorest provinces a girl asked me where my iPhone was. She says she will buy it when she saves up enough.

Some people will eat nothing but rice for months just so they can afford that one luxury item, like a hand-bag. Status symbols are HUGE in China. Showing-off is a big part of the culture.

For a guy to get married he must have a house, it's usually the boys parents job to buy the house for the boy so he can get married. A dowry is still expected in most cases. Although most parents prefer to give birth to boys, some are relieved that they don't have to worry about buying a house if its a girl.

There is little stigma with prostitutes, its pretty much accepted that most men will visit prostitutes; massage shops, barber shops, karaoke, etc, these establishments are EVERYWHERE.

Mistresses are common. They are called 'er-nai' = 'second wife' In most cases they are just a way for a man to show off how much money he has, hes not showing people that a young women is attracted to him, but that he has enough money to afford her. People have little problem with this and most men would have an er-nai if they could afford it.

Shanghai men are famous in China. The woman is really the boss, the man; cooks, cleans, works etc. But its also true in other parts of the country that the wife will manage the household money.

Shanghai women are also famous for being the biggest gold-diggers and the most fashionable and modern of Chinese women..

I list some other things if anyone is interested.

[Bostana]

How does there prison system work?

[Blanquist]

How does there prison system work?

I have very little knowledge in this area.

[Nox]

Were you ever the victim of racism while there?

[Brosa Luxemburg]

Is it as horrible as it is made to be in the west? Sorry if the question is vague, I'll clarify if you need me too.

[Blanquist]

Is it as horrible as it is made to be in the west? Sorry if the question is vague, I'll clarify if you need me too.

Yes, please clarify, do you mean personal freedoms?

[Nox]

Were you ever the victim of racism while there?

Could you answer this? I assume you missed it as it's at the bottom of the previous page :)

[Blanquist]

Were you ever the victim of racism while there?

I can't really say I was a 'victim' of racism. Nothing that can't be simply brushed off.

Most Chinese people are racist. They will openly tell you they don't like Black people and others.

As a more or less white man, I can't complain about racism.

[Teacher]

Did you talk to any older people who had a living memory of the Mao era? How did they view that time versus what China is going through now? Did rural people vs urban people have a difference of opinion about the Mao era?

[Small Geezer]

Sounds pretty bleak.

So you found nothing that suggests there is a social democratic faction in the CPC?

[Magón]

Sounds pretty bleak.

So you found nothing that suggests there is a social democratic faction in the CPC?

Are you as drug as me or id you really ask?:laugh:

[Small Geezer]

What are the drugs like over there?

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Sounds pretty shit.

'Hands off China!':rolleyes:

[Bostana]

Know Anything about the Education system?

[Blanquist]

Know Anything about the Education system?

Yes, what specifically?

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

What are peoples views of the politicians there? Do they view Wen and Hu with any respect or just as careerists like we do in the west?

[Ostrinski]

Is Mao popular?

[A Revolutionary Tool]

Why don't you just write a book about it?

[Blanquist]

What are peoples views of the politicians there? Do they view Wen and Hu with any respect or just as careerists like we do in the west?

Wen is, for the most part, well liked and respected. Most officials of all ranks are seen as corrupt though.

I was once in a taxi in a city that was in the news for its crack-down on the mafia. I asked the taxi-driver who ran the biggest mafia in the city and without skipping a beat he said "Hu Jintao"

Most people don't really concern themselves with politics. It's funny when some people have no idea who Kim Jong-il is even though he is a neighbor and is often in the news.


Is Mao popular?

Popular in what sense? Is is liked and respected? Or popular like a celebrity?


Why don't you just write a book about it?

I don't understand? Do you think a book would be a good idea or that this thread is worthless?

[Teacher]

Wouldn't it be easier to just answer the question that you think people are asking, or if you think there are two potential answers then respond to them both instead of answering every question with a question?

[Bostana]

Yes, what specifically?

How are the Students treated and how well do they learn? And are they required to wear uniforms?

[Ostrinski]

Popular in what sense? Is is liked and respected? Or popular like a celebrity?Respected i guess

[Blanquist]

Respected i guess

Since most people aren't concerned with politics they will respect him by default.

There are different opinions as with any such figure.

[MustCrushCapitalism]

Is there any Maoist faction left there, within or not within the CCP?

[Grenzer]

Is there any Maoist faction left there, within or not within the CCP?

Not really.

Have you checked the news recently? The leader of the "new left" faction of "neo-Maoists"(not really maoists or even communists for that matter, but they do praise Mao) was recently purged within the CPC.

It's worth mentioning that Mao is not really well known. Everyone knows OF Mao of course, but then don't know ABOUT Mao. Particularly the younger generation; they see Mao mostly as some nebulous founding figure, but know little to nothing about his political views and such.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Do they have alot of women with big booties.

Verbal warning for sexist language.

[Small Geezer]

Is it true that there are quite a lot of Chinese people over there?