Ahahaha! China is not the Soviet Union. It's a capitalist society like almost anywhere else, and I'm positive that being rich in China rocks (apart from the air pollution).
Then you obviously have no idea what you are talking about. And the air pollution in China is something you can't imagine. The VW scandal is nothing compared to chinese air pollution.
And China is far worse than the former Soviet Union because they have more money and more control. Being lower class in China is far worse than in former states of the soviet union.
Being rich does not guarantee that you will have a good life anywhere. There are numerous other things you have to consider.
Yes a rich man can buy a big land for himself and build a wall to keep the beggars outside. He can even move to the countryside and never go out or use a private jets / helicopters.
The thing is that China is a home for a lot of people and is too polluted and crowded because of wealth distribution. If people do not care about the environment, intellectual property and a countless of other things then being rich and filthy rich are too different things.
A wealthy man can walk the streets of european/american cities without worrying too much about its health or not having a space for himself without guards. Do not forget that european / us cities are dwarves compared to Asia in general.
The movie Elysium is a good picture (maybe too exaggerated but hey) of people being wealthy in China.
Yes you can have a good life in a golden cage but it's still a cage.
First of all you know nothing about me and that's fine.
Second just because you live in Hong Kong or Shenzhen it does not mean you know anything about China. Especially these 2 do not reflect anything at all about China. And that is fine that might be the reason why have you chosen them and not the other places in China.
Third. You do not seem to speak the Chinese language.
Fourth. Just because you have a positive prejudice towards China does not mean you are right.
Fifth. If you would know something about authoritarian regimes and especially China or NK you would know that hiding and punishing beggars is a common practice to save face.
Sixth. Please educate me how country of 1.3bn has a lot less beggars and violent crimes than US a country of 320m.
Seventh. If you have never lived in a communist country you surely can't be aware of propaganda and hiding of crimes. Ask some chinese friends of yours how hiding crimes, especially the violent ones goes in China. How it was in every communist state. You will be surprised.
Eighth. I understand you like China/Chinese more than Americans but do not close your eyes before the crimes of these regimes I am begging you. For all of those that died and suffered in gulags
Ninth. I recommend you to visit countryside and especially the northern region if you have the balls.
If you love American life just stay here and no one is asking you to move to China.
There are tons of people (not necessarily rich) prefer living in China than in America. They just care about different things.
As a Chinese citizen living in San Francisco right now, I would say the overall living quality in America is no where near as good as in China. If not for the prosperous software industry here, there is no reason to stay in America at all.
China has its problems but America has its own too. The same goes both for the society and the government. I do feel a lot safer walking down the streets in China, and air pollution has never been a big issue. What you see on news headlines are not what you see everyday.
The very basic thing is : gun is not allowed anywhere in china except military and special forces. This comes down to one thing , it is hard to start violation here. And chinese here is controlling 1.5 billion people. Do not talk about the things that you dont know shit about it. You tell me i like more of china than america but here is the truth i havent seen any gun violence in china thus i havent seen gangs or mafia here. Dont believe in the tales of triad or other stuff. They stayed in past and china is one of the safest countries in the world. I suggest you to watch less fox and cnn. In china you can freely walk around drunk around 4 or 5 am without worry.