blackberry

"When granaries are full, people know etiquette; when they are well-fed and clothed, they understand honor and shame. " People on the brink of starvation do not ponder philosophy. UNRWA does not cultivate Hamas, but Israel's attacks on Palestinians, killing their relatives, and making them hungry and homeless, are the soil that breeds Hamas. I believe that Zionism will become even more frenzied. According to the 1967 two-state solution, Israel should withdraw from Jerusalem, and if the CPC commits to it, they will never go back on their word.

This is my mistake. The text in the image reads: 'Resolutely support the struggle of the Palestinian and Arab peoples against U.S. imperialism and Zionism. 坚决支持巴勒斯坦和阿拉伯人民，反对美帝国主义和犹太复国主义的斗争

China supported the normalization of Palestine and opposed Zionism in the last century. This is a photo from that time. The various Palestinian factions set aside their differences and united, similar to China's historical model of the "Anti-Japanese National United Front," which ultimately expelled Japanese imperialism from China. The CPC is not new to this kind of approach.

Media is controlled by people, so I’m not surprised that AI is used to create a 'voice of the people' online. There's a joke on Chinese internet to describe Zionists: After Germany was defeated, the United States got Germany's talent, the Soviet Union got Germany's land, and the Zionists came and took Nazi ideology.

I believe that in the United States, the relationship between the military and politicians is more of a balancing act rather than absolute subordination. For instance, during the transition between the Trump and Biden administrations, representatives of the U.S. military independently assured China that they would not launch nuclear weapons against China and would inform China of Trump's military decisions. Such actions would be considered inconceivable in China, as it essentially means the military is operating outside the president's control (Trump was still president at the time).

In ancient China, there was an event known as "Huang Pao Jia Shen" (Yellow Robe Incident), which highlighted the consequences of the military's actual controller and the nominal controller being different individuals. Similar to the helicopters used for government investigations of military audits that always seem to "crash accidentally," only to result in no conclusive outcomes, I think the U.S. military can be seen as akin to the "Fanzhen" or "Jiedushi" (regional military governors) of the Tang Dynasty in China. If politicians were to order the U.S. military to fight an unwinnable war, we might witness the military disobeying orders and the politicians "accidentally" meeting their demise.

China plans to complete the construction of a cross-sea bridge to Taiwan by 2035, and I believe the reunification of China could happen in the next few years. Due to the "de-Sinicization education" in Taiwan, the younger generation no longer sees themselves as Chinese. On Chinese domestic social media, the viewpoint of "retaining the island without retaining the people" has significant traction (mostly said in moments of anger). I believe the CPC (Communist Party of China) will not make Taiwan the main battleground. Instead, they might encircle but not attack.If the U.S. intervenes, they could attack U.S. assets in the first island chain, forcing the U.S. out of the Asia-Pacific region. If the U.S. does not intervene, it would essentially signal the collapse of the myth of U.S. military guarantees. This would shatter Taiwan's illusions about the U.S., leading Taiwan to undergo a self-revolution and eventually join China.

On the contrary, I believe that burgerlanders are well aware of the disparity. The United States will not engage China in direct military conflict. Within Chinese circles, there is a broader perception that the U.S. military understands China best when it comes to handling issues related to China. I feel the U.S. military is somewhat cautious on matters concerning China, often appearing to perform for public opinion, fulfilling a duty. China itself is inclined not to engage in military confrontation with the United States (while always prepared to defend against U.S. military attacks), and military exchanges will continue to exist. China hopes either to force U.S. military intervention directly in the Middle East or Ukraine or to expose the U.S. through repeated instances of providing security, directly confronting the United States and revealing that the security it provides is mere empty promises, as seen with the Philippines. Through such actions, China aims to dismantle the myth of U.S. "security guarantees" solidified by the military-backed U.S. dollar hegemony, dealing it a severe blow.

May the deceased rest in peace, R.I.P.

In the West and Japan, there might be a belief that when China becomes strong, it will seek revenge against them. This is actually quite different from the Chinese perspective. There is an ancient Chinese saying: “Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.” If you don't want to be treated a certain way, you shouldn't treat others that way. If, after becoming strong, we seek revenge for past persecutions, we would be becoming the very thing we detest. So, I always believe that at most, China might engage in punitive wars, but attempting to invade the West or Japan? Impossible.

Due to the atrocities committed by Japanese fascism in China, such as massacres and human experiments, there are indeed extreme opinions about "wiping out the Japanese." However, when seriously discussing potential conflict between China and Japan, the general sentiment is that ordinary Japanese people are not at fault. The focus should be on capturing officials and far-right extremists who still promote Japanese fascism, and dismantling the Yasukuni Shrine artifacts related to war criminals. Chinese hostility towards Japan largely stems from Japan's unrepentant stance on WWII issues—saying one thing publicly but doing another privately.

“Strong men are angry and draw their swords against stronger foes; weak men are angry and draw their swords against those weaker than themselves.”

Indeed, I don't know how to stop it either. If saving the Palestinians leads to another massacre of Jews, then as a proverb says, "An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind." “冤冤相报何时了。”It will only result in more bloodshed and cries of anguish. The Chinese government has consistently supported the 1967 two-state solution; I have seen this mentioned many times in official news. Perhaps what we need is an "Israeli-Palestinian Mandela." 😢

It seems that the saying "the moon is brighter abroad" applies to many countries. China's situation might be a bit more unique, so let me explain in more detail. Since you are American, some of the descriptions below might sound offensive to you. I apologize for that and will try to stick to factual statements, which might help explain why many Chinese people illegally immigrate to the United States.

From the 1990s until the US-China trade war (which most people consider starting with the US sanctions on ZTE in 2018), foreign countries (especially developed countries like those in Europe and the US) were seen as paradises on Earth. Online, phrases like "Reincarnate as an American in the next life" were blessings (perhaps similar to saying "God bless you and may you go to heaven"), while "Eternally being Chinese" was considered a curse (similar to saying "I curse you to be eternally tormented in hell by Satan"). Due to online propaganda, such as "You can buy a big piece of fried chicken for one dollar in the US," "You can easily live in a 500-square-meter mansion in the US," or "Washing dishes in the US can earn you $3000 a month," many Chinese people were very attracted to these ideas and believed them to be true. Even from my perspective now, I couldn't buy 3000 pieces of chicken with a month's salary.

When the US-China trade war started, the idea of "surrendering to the US for leniency" gained traction in China. How could a developing country possibly compete with the world's leading superpower? Many supporters of China online can only believed that, in terms of military power, the US couldn't completely destroy China. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Initially, the Chinese government's poor performance further fueled this mindset. However, as the pandemic became global, several things changed the online narrative:

1. China managed to control the pandemic fairly well.
2. The performance of Western developed countries in controlling the pandemic was poor in comparison.
3. Some people began sharing their lives abroad without filters, showing both the good and bad aspects of foreign countries (of course, some people only highlighted the bad parts for attention).
4. At that time, some American politicians called for a coalition to make China pay for the pandemic, and there was talk of a new G8, which directly triggered online anger at the prospect of a "new Eight-Nation Alliance." Simultaneously, the Hong Kong riots intensified this idea: Western powers led by the US were again attempting to carve up China.

You could see this as a struggle between "pro-American" and "self-reliant" factions in China. The pro-American faction had been cultivating their views for years, while the self-reliant faction garnered more support from ordinary people. The two sides fought fiercely online. However, as I mentioned, the pro-American faction's exaggerated claims about foreign countries often needed only a photo to be debunked, leading them to frequently resort to personal attacks, further diminishing their influence.

By 2022, with the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese public opinion split between supporting Russia and Ukraine. Due to differences in transliterations of the Russian president's name between Taiwan ("Puding") and mainland China ("Putin"), people suspected that Taiwan was engaging in cognitive warfare against the mainland, leading to broader suspicions that developed countries were also waging cognitive wars against China, especially Japan. The phrase "700 million yen from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs" is often used sarcastically to mock supporters of Japan.

Currently, on the Chinese internet, those who advocate for Ukraine and Israel are generally assumed to be bots or paid shills, as they can't explain their support logically. Support for Ukraine and Palestine is based on opposition to invasion, while support for Russia and Palestine aligns with China's interests. Supporting Russia and Israel suggests a belief in the power of might, but supporting both Ukraine and Israel? Chinese people wouldn't think like that.

This is why 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese people have illegally crossed from Mexico into the US. They come with suitcases, bringing their families, and often carrying tens of thousands of dollars in cash. When asked by journalists why they came to the US, they repeatedly say, "For freedom and democracy." I am not at all surprised that Trump thinks these people are spies. If foreigners illegally crossed into China just to "build communism," most people would think they were crazy and wonder why they didn't just submit a migration application. The truth is that, in their eyes, the US is a "land flowing with milk and honey," similar to how Marco Polo described "China being paved with gold" (history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes🤣 ).They are actually coming to the US for a better life. Most of these people are of no use to the US and can only compete for low-threshold basic jobs, which is why they can't immigrate legally and resort to illegal entry.

This is a difference between China and foreign countries. Let me explain:

I was born in 2001. When I started school, it was around 2008 in elementary school until 2019 when I finished high school. Many students didn't have mobile phones, and the internet was often seen by parents as something that affected our studies. The limited computer time we had was almost entirely used for playing video games. Apart from learning about pre-2000 foreign history in school, my main sources of external information were from newsstands outside the school and magazines bought by my parents. In these magazines, the images of foreigners were constructed: I believed Americans were innovative, Germans were rigorous, British were gentlemanly, French were romantic, Russians were bold, and Jews were wise. Due to the actions of parents and schools, education in China before high school was quite closed off. It wasn't until 2015, when I had to memorize Xi Jinping's new thoughts on green development in politics class, that I realized the current leader of China was no longer Hu Jintao. For those of us who had only study on our minds before entering college, there is a specific term in China: "small-town exam-takers."

When I got to college and had my own mobile phone, being able to browse the internet without a very purposeful mindset, it coincided with a "major upheaval." The rhetoric in those magazines that deliberately praised foreigners was heavily criticized in 2019. It was seen as deliberately arguing for the inferiority of Chinese people. Let me give you a few examples so you can understand what I saw as a child:

The sewage system in the former German-leased area of Qingdao had been operating efficiently for over a century. When some parts needed replacement, the original company no longer existed. A German company sent an email saying that, according to their construction standards, there should be a small storage room within three meters of the worn-out parts where spare parts could be found. The urban construction company found the small storage room in the sewer, and inside, the spare parts were still shiny and new, wrapped in oilcloth.

During a summer camp between Japanese and Chinese children, each child had to carry a 20kg backpack for a 50km hike. The Chinese children soon gave up, but the Japanese children persevered. The Chinese children couldn't endure the hardship and were not as tough as the Japanese children (my teacher even told us to learn from the Japanese children).

Once in America, a sparrow got tangled in an exposed high-voltage wire by the roadside. Its distressing cries caught the attention of passersby, who immediately called for help. After multiple levels of authorization, the rescue workers eventually got approval from the President within half an hour to send a special plane to cut the national power line in Washington, causing a temporary blackout across the U.S. to save the sparrow.

I learned all three of these from books. Of course, you might say, what kind of nonsense is this, it's completely fabricated. This rhetoric wasn't meant for foreigners; it was actually used as internal propaganda within China. Afterward, it was tied together with the "toxic textbooks" incident (where illustrations in elementary school textbooks deliberately depicted Chinese children as ugly and foreigners as attractive), which was believed to be a deliberate attempt by some foreign enemies and domestic traitors to prove that Chinese people couldn't achieve the same accomplishments as foreigners, thereby belittling Chinese people. This is why I mentioned that Jews indeed have a "promotional image" in China.

In 2019, the Chinese internet was like a chaotic battlefield with all sorts of ideas, from the most peaceful to the most extreme, from the far left to the far right. I once received very hurtful insults for expressing left-wing views on a Chinese platform called Zhihu (similar to Quora). Mutual personal attacks are not uncommon.Now the Chinese internet is still influenced by this, which is why I find Lemmy to be a great environment. At least here, we are having discussions instead of cursing each other with voodoo dolls. 😆

Indeed, I did not intend to equate Israel with all Jewish people or make it representative of Judaism as a whole. If it came across that way, I apologize. Labeling all peace-loving individuals with the actions of those who engage in war due to their ethnicity is similar to the wrongdoings of Germany in the past. Such thinking is almost nonexistent in China. As Mao once said, "Make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible." 😆