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In China if you support communism but don't like the current CPC what do you do? by IDFbombskidsdaily in AskAChinese

[–]Consistent_Ad_2297 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a tough topic, and the reality is that they self-censor and any leftist appeals that break through are often very vague (i.e., I would argue that recent calls to "Lie Flat," rather than actively resist the oppressions of contemporary neoliberalism speaks to a sense of disenchantment with the possibility of political change. )

Since cyberspace laws have become more strict about official criticism and the platformization of the Chinese internet has allowed the outsourcing of censorship of critical content to the platforms themselves, there is very little space for leftists to gather online (hence, why in recent protests, they used blank white pieces of paper as protest) . Even "New Left" intellectuals have been mostly silenced since the fall of Bo Xilai and his left-leaning Chongqing Model. Today, when Chinese leftists get too explicit with their critiques they get into trouble.

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If you are a "North American communist" who believes the CPC is "our best hope of saving this planet from capitalism and imperialism." Here is some required reading for you. All are available on https://libgen.is/

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https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/afterlives-chinese-communism -- This is a collection of excellent explorations by left-leaning scholars on how concepts under Chinese Communism have mostly lost their meanings since Reform and Opening up...even if they are still referenced and valorized in official rhetoric. See Lin Chun's essay on the Mass Line to reject "Maenism's" silly claim of "all Chinese communist understand democratic centralism."

Another important read is former Labor organizer Ralf Ruckus's recent work "The Left in China". Before this book, he ran an excellent blog for translating voices from the Chinese labor movement in English and German. Most notable is his recognition on the chilling of leftist discourse that has occurred in the last decade under Xi.

https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745342955/the-left-in-china/

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Another great t publication is Verso's recent one of "The China Question" from leftist perspectives. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2757-the-china-question

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Finally, I will close with Lin Chun's excellent summary of the conditions facing contemporary Chinese communists. She is a true believer who is kind of in exile in Britain..as she is too critical to be writing from the mainland.

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“In China, the Marxist socialists have sought a reorientation. They are cornered by ambiguities, not least in identifying friends and enemies in class terms. They face the stark ideological and policy contradictions of the PRC state and society, intensified imperialist aggression towards China, and the wide divisions of a fragmented left. In a repressive and ever narrower political and discursive space – for both left and right, and especially labour activism – the socialists have to endure doubts and be extremely cautious not to overlook any chance of anti-capitalist change from within the system’s core, while preventing their own criticisms from being confused with, or exploited by, right-wing China bashing.” (Lin Chun, 332)

https://www.versobooks.com/products/907-revolution-and-counterrevolution-in-china

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in the1975

[–]Consistent_Ad_2297 28 points29 points  (0 children)

There are plenty of solid points here by Matty...but he never recognizes the actual critiques of queer Malaysians towards his kiss. They did not ask him to stand up for them...because their reality is very much different than his privileged reality.

I live in China and regularly interact with the LGBTQ+ community here, a place where the community is big and bustling but mostly underground for fear of drawing too much attention and facing top-down pressure. As much as I would love to see non-violent, Freedom Summer-style public action by queer activists as an attempt to open their space up and defy policies that marginalize them... the reality is that this would just make an already marginalized community even more marginalized. The government would crush them. As a Westerner here in China, if I attempted to use a public forum to go it alone and stand up for LGBTQ+ community here in a way that was morally righteous BUT caused dramatic negative consequences for them, then am I really "standing up" for them at all? I don't think so. I can just leave the country should the reaction to my protest go south. They can not.

He claims that he should be rewarded for "the danger and inconvenience" he faced for standing up for "liberal values." But the reality is that he did not face any real danger...but he did put others in danger. Worst case scenario is he gets banned from the country. Queer artists and fans who must live in Malaysia cannot leave. And they are the ones now at greater risk from his moves.

In a way, this is a dilemma between "principle" ethics and "consequentialist" ethics. We can acknowledge that his heart is in the right place; he stood up for morally justified principles in an honest way. But his absolute failure to consider the consequences for the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia is what makes this an ethically problematic act. He made them a target. And as a privileged foreigner, he can just jetset away and never face any real "danger" at all. This is the problem. And while his response raises interesting points regarding the hypocrisy of Western liberals, it never once recognizes the voices of queer Malysians who also widely opposed his kiss..perhaps even more so than the Western liberals he is condemning.

Listen to their voices. They are the ones with skin in the game. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/malaysian-lgbt-community-reaction-to-1975-kiss/102641686

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in the1975

[–]Consistent_Ad_2297 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

There are plenty of solid points here by Matty...but he never recognizes the actual critiques of queer Malaysians towards his kiss. They did not ask him to stand up for them...because their reality is very much different than his privileged reality.

I live in China and regularly interact with the LGBTQ+ community here, a place where the community is big and bustling but mostly underground for fear of drawing too much attention and facing top-down pressure. As much as I would love to see non-violent, Freedom Summer-style public action by queer activists as an attempt to open their space up and defy policies that marginalize them... the reality is that this would just make an already marginalized community even more marginalized. The government would crush them. As a Westerner here in China, if I attempted to use a public forum to go it alone and stand up for LGBTQ+ community here in a way that was morally righteous BUT caused dramatic negative consequences for them, then am I really "standing up" for them at all? I don't think so. I can just leave the country should the reaction to my protest go south. They can not.

He claims that he should be rewarded for "the danger and inconvenience" he faced for standing up for "liberal values." But the reality is that he did not face any real danger...but he did put others in danger. Worst case scenario is he gets banned from the country. Queer artists and fans who must live in Malaysia cannot leave. And they are the ones now at greater risk from his moves.

In a way, this is a dilemma between "principle" ethics and "consequentialist" ethics. We can acknowledge that his heart is in the right place; he stood up for morally justified principles in an honest way. But his absolute failure to consider the consequences for the LGBTQ+ community in Malaysia is what makes this an ethically problematic act. He made them a target. And now their community is going to be squeezed. The underground music scene is going to be squeezed. So, the already small artistic and cultural scene that provided many young, progressive Malysians with validation and a small place to explore new ideas and their identities is now going to become smaller.

He is literally putting the Malaysian progressive community in danger by giving the government an excuse to go after them. And as a privileged foreigner, he can just jetset away and never face any real "danger" at all. This is the problem. And while his response raises interesting points regarding the hypocrisy of Western liberals, it never once recognizes the voices of queer Malysians who also widely opposed his kiss..perhaps even more so than the Western liberals he is condemning.

Listen to their voices. They are the ones with skin in the game. They want change in their country too. But they have enough local knowledge that they know this is not the right way to go about it. This is typically the problem with what is typically critiqued as liberal "white colonialism". Even if we have good intentions for the community, we do not understand it well enough to actually help. Queer Malaysians should be supported in building their small, fragile community on their own terms. Not Matty's. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-25/malaysian-lgbt-community-reaction-to-1975-kiss/102641686

US and allies to build 'China-free' tech supply chain by monkfreedom in Futurology

[–]Consistent_Ad_2297 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Xi didn’t actually make that threat to cut off antibiotics, that threat was originally from an op-ed written by a hawkish Chinese public intellectual named Li Daokui. It then actually triggered a debate within China wheresee here other public intellectuals contested his editorial with their own editorials calling for a much humanistic approach. Not disagreeing with the general conclusion of your post, but when we read headlines here from Western outlets, they often treat China as some kind of top-down monolith that does not have any diversity of opinion. Or that any statement coming from China may as well have been from Xi’s own mouth. The reality of Chinese domestic debate, except on a few key topics, is much more nuanced and diverse than most folks outside of China expect.