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I think the root of the conflict between the West and China is the arrogance of the Westerners and the (slowly rising) confidence and impatience of the Chinese. The arrogance is not only the jokes or bamboo ceilings. The deepest arrogance is the unwilingness to understand the Chinese way, let alone respecting it. Why do the Chinese tolerate their government? Are they silly or are they all cowards? No. There are just trade-offs. And there is reality. So, do the homeless in US cities who live under bridges enjoy the democracy? Do they really have a way to change their way of living by having the right to vote? The Chinese people are practical and still in the low tiers of Maslow's hirearchy of needs, and the government provides them with the basic needs. Yeah, we have electricity, phone signals, roads and bridges for the smallest villeges scattered in mountains. Not sure if the US can promise the same. And there are so many myths about Chinese legal system or sensoring. Yeah we got problems in these fields, but such problems are not always pushed top down. The Chinese people also have a huge influence on the court system, and the justice popular in China may not be popular in the West. About the punishment to people refusing to pay the debts, or to people refusing to give up seats belonging to other passenger on the trains. The Westerners throw so much FUD at it, but it's actually quite well-accepted by the Chinese. So, what do you actually want the Chinese to have? What you think is good for them, or what they actually want? What makes you a better decision maker? And the arrest of people making outrageous remarks on the Internet are actually well accepted too. The police may actually act on request of other civilians seeing those remarks and get offended. And most such remarks are actually bordering or well into the territory of hate crime. Don't you talk about joking about presidents. More like humiliations, and not to officials, but to veterans, war heroes, moral code, and other people and things honored by the majority of the society. Do they deserve arrest? Perhaps and perhaps not. But the Chinese people are not complaining. So, do you Westerners really want diversity of cultures or not? If you really mean it, try to understand the Chinese and respect their way. Like you claim to have done to the Islamic way. If you don't, just shut up and let it be. |