this post was submitted on 21 Aug 2023
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Public Chinese LOL

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Love is better than hate. 爱胜于恨
Real is better than fake 真实胜过虚假
Beautiful is better than ugly. 美丽胜于丑陋
Friendly is better than aggressive. 友善胜于好斗
Sound is better than reticence. 发声胜于缄默
Equality is better than disparity. 平等胜于差异
Unease is better than comfort. 忧患胜于安乐
Pursue is better than abide. 追求胜于遵守
Respect is better than understand. 尊重胜于理解
Understand is better than ignorance. 理解胜于无知
Ignorance is better than prejudice. 无知胜于偏见
Every voice counts. 每个声音都很重要
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules. 特例也不可违背这些规则
Injustices should never pass silently. 不公正绝不能无声无息地过去
Unless, no unless. 没有例外
---- From 【The Zen of WKFG 无可奉告之禅】```

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Hi everyone and hope you're all well. I'm Chinese and I've spent the past 30 years of my life in China. During this time, I've witnessed incredible changes that have taken place in the country. Having also traveled to many other countries, I've noticed that there can be a disconnect between the international media's portrayal of China and the actual experiences of people living here.

In this post, I invite all of you to ask anything about China—whether it's about daily life, culture, societal changes, challenges, or the negitive/positive transformations I've seen. I'm just an ordinary citizen, but I'm here to share my observations and experiences in the most honest and unbiased way possible.

Feel free to leave your questions in the comments, and I'll do my best to provide insights into the real China as I've come to know it.

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[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What is the opinion of the Chinese public with regards to India?

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

homemade panipuris during the Shanghai lock down last year

[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Haha very nice. Have you tried any chaats? Samosa chaat is my favourite North Indian snack.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

is that the fried triangle? I'm loving it!!! so many spice in it. ( if it's not, then sorry, for it's a hard time for me to map the food with their names. LOL.

[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Wow, even I don't recognise some of those. It mostly looks like North Indian Cuisine (I am from the south)

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know Bangalore for north, the city of high-tech in india

[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Bangalore is actually in the south.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago
[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 1 points 1 year ago

niceee, good to know. there are a lot of Indian restaurants in China, and we have no way to distinguish what kind of Indian cuisine they are.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago

In big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, I believe that around 80% of the younger generation might be familiar with panipuris, if you show the pics of it, they'll say "oh i know it". CN ppl call it "the Indian Crispy Ball". It has gained significant popularity in China, following TikTok and live streaming shows. around 30% of them might have even tasted it. (I work in an international company and the number shall be even higher)

As for chaats, the familiarity might be about half of that for panipuris.

lemme find you a chinese Indian restaurant manu later. lol.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

This is a really insightful question, and I've discussed it with one of my Indian friends before. It's a bit complex, so I'll elaborate a bit more.

Around 3 years ago, people in China were really friendly and held a highly positive opinion of India. This was mainly because they perceived India as another Asian country with which China shared numerous cultural similarities, like Buddhism. We introduced a lot of Bollywood movies (the former Chairman Jiang was a big fan of arts/movies/music, and I believe China had a strong fanbase for Aamir Khan). Additionally, Indian food restaurants were all over places like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, and they're still around today.

Things took a little turn when China and India had a conflict at the border I think. I still recall that during that period, a lot of social media in China were promoting narratives that described China as the victim and propagated the idea that we wouldn't take action until a certain point. Over the span of around 2-3 months, about 30% of the people (mostly ordinary citizens) became more aggressive towards India. Another 30% remained skeptical of the Chinese media's narratives, and 40% remained relatively indifferent. Also I think economic interactions between China and India also decreased significantly after the Modi government.

At present, I sense a restoration of normalcy. However, due to a more constrained atmosphere in China (I'm sure you understand what I'm referring to, the political climate has influenced various aspects—like the reduced import of foreign films), India has gradually receded from the public's attention. This might also be attributed to the decline in trade with India (my assumption).

In general, most CN people view India as the same large country with a population similar to China and Indians are perceived as skilled in programming, with many holding high positions in the Bay Area. Politically, many CN ppl don;t like the Modi government (many CN ppl dont like the current CN governmet as well).

In personal, I like Indian ppl. Given our shared cultural elements, during our time in the US, while others would split bills, we'd like more to take turns covering expenses. We can have rice every meal and share dishes that many Americans wouldn;t even want to try.

I think I have typed quite a bit and hope it covers things you're interested. One thing I need to mention is that CN ppl are more knowledgeable to India than you might imagine, let me find my photo of making panipuris and I'll upload it here sooner.

[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you for the detailed answer. I have some more questions which I will ask after work 😄.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago

np np, feel free to ask anything.

[–] roze_sha@programming.dev 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Here in India too it is the same. People used to have good opinion on China until the border conflict. Modi is not very popular either outside of the biggest states in the North. Before the Indian startup scene got the attention of North American and et al VC's we had Chinese investors. Some Big names like Paytm were initially Chinese funded iirc. Now it is hard for Chinese investors as well as Chinese companies to invest in India. The only one that has found moderate success seem to be the Mobile Phone companies like Xiaomi. The Automobile companies especially seem to be having a hard time.

[–] TomMonkeyMan@chinese.lol 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

sad to know it. Those governors&medias did not do good things. Also I admit that the current CN government does have some issues.... a lot ppl may not like it. Many of us think it may be the US and CN problem that affects the relationship for CN and India as well. We really don;t know why nowadays a lot public medias just let ppl hate each others. ;(