Thread by @LongShortTrader

All right I’m doing this for the sake of my buddy @ReganCoda and a few other friends. Counterpoints to the thread 👇:

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513292195057672

Let me translate “Myth 1”: the Chinese people went from starving poor 40 years ago, to poor but not starving, today. Depending on who you ask, this is thx to CCP or the Chinese ppl.

Starving ppl tend to worry more about making ends meet than the right to sh1tpost abt Beijing.

Also, when most of your people go from starving poor to poor (but not starving)…people tend to trust the system, give it benefit of doubt, and expect a better tomorrow vs today.

Confidence.

“The Chinese are oppressed and hate their government.”

This is neither fully true nor false. Is light a wave or particle? Can be both?

Also China is a far more heterogeneous society than both china hawks and the central govt would have you believe.

On Myth 2: nominally (it’s in the name! PRC!) China is communist. By way of heritage and ideological loyalty, it is. The governing bodies encourages atheism, for example, which is a central tenet of communism.

But by way of on the ground reality? China is far from communist.

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513306342522881

But here’s what the thread misses: on the question of ownership / private property, China was mostly a state ownership oriented system transitioning to a private ownership one over the last 40 years. This transitional element is one where the communistic spirit seems real.

On Myth 3: ha. I found this section misleading and cute. Regime change is the rule, not the exception of Chinese history. The only factual counter to this is “regimes can remain longer than you can stay alive” which is true. Also, change can occur even with CCP nominally intact.

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513309144248324

The part I think China critics miss however (and I see rarely discussed) is that the current system - even with its inherent vulnerabilities - is still superior to the prior dynastic, bloodline based monarchic system.

Myth 4: this is misleading. I actually saw the words “harmony, justice, democracy” in China. even within the last 70 years, there are examples of local leaders selected on a representational basis. No, it seems CCP is more about “we have democracy but w: Chinese characteristics”

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513318325653513

On myth 5: she is correct to point out the “Chinese economic collapse is imminent” as myth; however, it betrays two on the ground realities -

1) China is not rich, most Chinese are poor (just not starving)

2) rising standard of living has come with other costs - pollution

https://twitter.com/realnatashache/status/1413513323702743042

On myth 6: this section was 🤡 for me. course Tibet is oppressed HOWEVER, I’m surprised she left out an inconvenient truth. pre PRC Tibet wasn’t some idyllic Shangrila, land of milk/honey. It was a slavery based one.

If you’re going to sh1ttalk Tibet, at least say that!

https://twitter.com/realnatashache/status/1413513326923976708

Another inconvenient truth about Tibet under PRC: the PRC in fact until fairly recently, afforded ethnic + linguistic minorities far more freedom to operate in their native languages than USA has. You don’t see Spanish only or Native American language only public schools in USA.

She makes a good point that Tibet has historically been poor, undeveloped. her omissions are the tell: there have been on again, off again clampdown on religious practice, under the guise of “national security”, even against Tibetans with no political nor independence motives.

And the crackdown on Buddhists and Buddhist practice is particularly puzzling to me because unlike say, Christianity, Buddhism has a lengthy and relatively continuous influence on Chinese culture/history. And was a byproduct of peaceful cultural exchange , globalization (India).

Myth 7 is kind of a straw man argument. Some flowery rhetoric among some specific individuals aside, American policymakers have not seriously asserted “Taiwan independence”

many Americans may not know, but it’s been true for many decades. And a source of peace between 🇺🇸 🇨🇳

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513333353816064

On Myth 8: I’d say this is the most accurate section so far. I would add - both China and USA have managed to piss off several of these neighboring countries in recent years.

https://twitter.com/RealNatashaChe/status/1413513337535557636

Myth 9: this section too is on point. In fact, it’s not just centralization but also unity that are seen as necessary conditions, and there’s more than 200 years of history to bolster that belief and cultural+political prioritization.

https://twitter.com/realnatashache/status/1413513341746614274

Myth 10 is quasi straw man argument. Thoughtful critics don’t assert China “can’t innovate” due to X y z factors - rather that, they stifle/prevent from realizing full potential.

Also it’s just about free or not, but about open vs closed. And on this a cautionary tale:

https://twitter.com/realnatashache/status/1413513345961893895

One of the lessons of China’s lengthy history - at least for me - is that China tends to suffer long term when they close.

At risk of being guilty of fallacy of composition, this lesson seems applicable not just to China but other countries as well.

End of thread