this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2023
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[–] maporita@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Citizens of authoritarian countries often trust their governments more than those in liberal democracies. This apparent paradox is easily explained by the tight control these governments maintain over what people can see and hear. Since Tiananmen the Chinese government has ramped up it's campaign to eradicate any opinions that are contrary to the government line, and now a whole generation has grown up in this new, hermetically sealed environment.

[–] pancake@lemmy.ml 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It's impossible to systematically lie to an entire country's population about the country itself. It's never happened anywhere on Earth and will never do so with current technology. It is however trivial to lie about other countries, which I like to always keep in mind. Think for a moment what reason a Chinese person would even have to dislike their government, when they are clearly doing a good job and actually solving their problems. Even the victims of Tiananmen weren't those often talked-about "pro-Democracy" students, most were anti-liberalization communist worker protestors.

[–] toomanyjoints69@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Imagine if Joe Biden got on a stand tomorrow and told us all that there are no homeless people in America

[–] iridaniotter@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 1 year ago

Actually they're just really satisfied with the good job their government has done satisfying their needs.

[–] Awoo@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Citizens of authoritarian countries often trust their governments more than those in liberal democracies. This apparent paradox is easily explained by the tight control these governments maintain over what people can see and hear

Your argument was falsified by Harvard a 30 year long study they did on Chinese approval of their government. They found that 95% of the country approved of the government and they specifically say in that study that it is NOT to do with this magical orientalist brainwashing that you claim it is caused by but instead it is caused by the fact that the Chinese population sees constantly improving conditions in their lives. The study also states that their opinions of the government change negatively when conditions decline, just that it doesn't happen often.

Article on the study: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/long-term-survey-reveals-chinese-government-satisfaction/

The study: https://ash.harvard.edu/files/ash/files/final_policy_brief_7.6.2020.pdf

Quotes:

the attitudes of Chinese citizens appear to respond (both positively and negatively) to real changes in their material well-being,

Although state censorship and propaganda are widespread, our survey reveals that citizen perceptions of governmental performance respond most to real, measurable changes in individuals’ material well-being

You need to readjust your thinking. The fact of the matter is that the popularity of the government in China has nothing to do with the racist claim of brainwashing and control as you claim. And your own research institutions say that themselves. Nobody here can call Harvard biased in favour of the CPC. Nor can they fault a 30 year long completely independent study, literally the longest study of its kind.

Science completely contradicts the racist claims that you are simply regurgitating from reddit comment sections.

The reality of the popularity of the CPC among the Chinese people is that it has improved the lives of the people by incredible amounts, and continues to do so.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Buddy, entire books have been written on how western oligarch owned media works with western regimes to manipulate public opinion. Here are a couple you should read:

Thing is that no amount of propaganda can counter the actual lived experience of the people in a country. This is why there is growing social unrest despite the west having the most sophisticated and best funded propaganda in the world. People can see that their lives are constantly getting worse and they've lost trust in the system and the media.

If people's material conditions in China were declining the same way they are in the west, then people in China would lose faith in their system too. Yet, the opposite is happening because people are seeing their live improve drastically with each an every decade.