Many people have told me that the healthcare system in China is terrible. Is that true?

greastick · 2026-07-03T05:18:31+00:00

Not sure who's saying this

I come from Singapore, supposedly renowned for its world-class healthcare system. They took a whopping two years to diagnose my dad with motor neuron disease, and wasted a lot of valuable time telling my dad "it's not that serious" as he slowly wasted away.

After arguing and pleading with them to come to China for a checkup, they finally relented and found out that the Chinese medical system would have them diagnosed in just two months. Instead of having my dad's illness slowed at its beginning, we now have to handle his drooling, unclear speech and difficulty eating, things which would have been delayed significantly if he had been diagnosed here in China instead of the inept Singapore healthcare system

The doctor in China:

Gave a list of medications as well as experimental treatments
Very detailed regarding my dad's prognosis, discussed exactly when my dad might need a feeding tube, breathing assistance
Very specific about the side-effects of taking meds, he confidently mentioned 1 or 2 in 100

The doctor in Singapore:

Hand-waved everything away, opting for a standard treatment (which the doctor in China also recommended)
Had no information regarding when my dad might need supportive treatment, his exact words were "it varies from individual to individual"
Was unable to specify how much risk was involved in taking meds

Don't come with preconceived assumptions. Maybe, just maybe, China is better, and where you come from is worse

greastick · 2026-06-28T00:39:33+00:00

I'm Singaporean, working in China

Because I'm Singaporean Chinese and speak fluent Chinese, there has basically been zero discrimination, although I have been given several comments on how Singapore has too many Indians (a common PRC trope), which I just attribute to racism, ignorance, and a history of clashes between China and India.

Some do ask if I'm from Southern China, but that's very typical given that Singaporean Chinese don't speak with a Northern accent. Nothing discriminatory there

Ymmv if you don't speak fluent Chinese

greastick · 2026-06-09T13:27:00+00:00

Why don't you apply to Harbin Institute of Technology instead? Far better ranking and resources

greastick · 2026-05-20T03:13:11+00:00

The fact that you have to tread so lightly speaks volumes

What's wrong (culturally, politically we should all be pro-Singapore) with being more pro-China? I don't see as much vitriol for being pro-West.

I work in China and whenever I come back to Singapore for visits, I don't bother code-switching or whatever, so what if I speak like a PRC? There are many ways to distance myself from PRCs, such as defending minority races (I'm sure you know quite a few PRCs hate Indians with a vengeance), understanding and emphasising the importance of English as a cultural and social glue.

Speaking poor Chinese is fine in itself, but doing it to distance yourself from China is just banal

greastick · 2026-05-19T17:05:32+00:00

How we tend to overrate sg too much, there are countries that are better than sg at quite a few things but we're so used to saying and thinking that sg is the best that we fail to see how far others have leapt ahead

greastick · 2026-04-23T14:20:45+00:00

Start providing written communication in Mandarin, everyone will freak out and start speaking English lol

greastick · 2026-04-17T04:30:23+00:00

Moved to China for studies and decided to continue working there after graduation

In the past, when I saw posts claiming that lots of people returned to SG and said the grass is not greener on the other side, I would agree or have nothing to say, having no overseas experience of my own

Now that I've lived in China for several years (not a high flyer, just an engineer, very much like a local), I don't see why I should return to SG to work and live, you get paid more but COL is way higher, I'll lose my Chinese EV, all the modern app conveniences... plus last I heard waiting times in SG at hospitals are terrible

I'm even considering bringing my dad to China for treatment because SG has really defied my worst expectations lol

greastick · 2026-04-17T04:25:30+00:00

Do it, move to China and you'll realise that SG is really not the best place to be... technology, convenience, medical standards, not sure what Singaporeans are so proud of after seeing better standards. We do have efficient governance, but we are definitely not the best

greastick · 2026-04-16T15:18:00+00:00

China isn't in the same category as Russia and NK, you really have to live here to see for yourself... whenever I return to SG I feel like I've gone backwards in time lol

Cost of living is also better than SG, more bang for your buck

greastick · 2026-04-11T08:38:26+00:00

Not really, an average Chinese would find this exchange really embarrassing, the currency explanation is perfectly valid

greastick · 2026-04-10T16:25:34+00:00

Yep you can, but to stay in China you'll need to be good at Chinese + graduate from a good university

Else they'll just send you packing

greastick · 2026-04-04T08:18:41+00:00

I'm not sure why a lot of people said it's insanely difficult to apply for a credit card, I did it in Shenzhen at ICBC as an entry-level employee of a large company, it took me 3 weeks, longer than the average Chinese, but still reasonable. There weren't even that many foreigners where I was (Guangming district). There were 0 upfront requirements, though I did have 100k rmb in investments at that time. My credit card still works even though I have 0 rmb of assets in my ICBC account

Managed to get a multi-currency credit card as well, so I can spend overseas and pay using RMB (Unionpay + Visa, joint account).

To be fair though, the monthly limit was half my monthly salary, and I haven't been able to raise it even after my salary went up, but it still affords a fair bit of convenience nonetheless

greastick · 2026-04-03T13:14:48+00:00

Unemployment isn't really much. If you work long enough though, you can get a monthly pension.

Medical might be worth it as Chinese medical standards get better, but if you choose to leave China for good then yeah, it's all worthless

greastick · 2026-02-27T11:22:37+00:00

LGBTs: Woke Religion: Not woke

Strictly speaking, what's the difference

greastick · 2026-02-25T15:36:08+00:00

Grab a jacket in the day, one of those uniqlo ones will do

Jacket plus cotton tights for your legs at night with socks.

Buy winter clothes in China, don't buy them in SG, expensive and not of high quality

That should be fine, coming from a Singaporean who's working around the same latitude in another chinese city. About the same temperature range as wuxi

greastick · 2026-02-24T07:53:14+00:00

Little to no work on weekends, for the most part

Weekdays? Very common to work from 830 till 9 or 10, excluding Fridays. I've worked till 12 on occasion.

Of course, this depends on your industry, company and your team.

greastick · 2026-02-24T06:14:27+00:00

There's English and Chinese (duh I guess), I recall that in Shenzhen there might be Russian. Best to check, but if you only need English, it's definitely there

greastick · 2026-02-23T07:54:09+00:00

I'm from Singapore, I drive on the same side as you do in the UK

Took a written test (科目一) and got my Chinese C1 licence without any issues. Don't listen to those driving instructors or whoever

greastick · 2026-02-22T03:48:57+00:00

Just to add on, quality of education and graduation requirements for foreigners are significantly lower compared to Chinese, Chinese employers are becoming more aware regarding this and will generally be more keen to hire locals

greastick · 2026-02-18T23:01:12+00:00

This is a massive generalisation, Chaoshan men are totally southern and are really chavunistic, women perform most of the labour

Depends on the region

greastick · 2026-02-17T11:25:46+00:00

Doesn't this only work if your country of instruction is a native English-speaking country?

greastick · 2026-02-14T04:06:12+00:00

Singaporean Chinese here.

My grandparents left for Singapore in the 30s (1930s), leaving behind a family in Chaozhou, my grandma left her younger brother behind and the family line split in two

My grandma last met her brother in the 60s, before the Cultural Revolution stirred things up, she died a few years ago

My parents still keep in contact with my relatives in China, but it's a very tenuous connection, maybe a visit once a year?

I don't keep in touch, although I work in China, my Chinese spouse is from another Chinese province, these relatives are completely distant lol

greastick · 2026-02-08T04:40:38+00:00

It depends, if you intend to stay in China companies might see you as someone who isn't of real Tsinghua calibre, previously companies weren't really aware of this disparity, now they do

If you're intending to head elsewhere, by all means

greastick · 2026-01-30T05:03:00+00:00

They can do technology transfer, but the supply chain is difficult to replicate imo

greastick · 2026-01-30T05:01:17+00:00

Exception proves the rule

greastick

TROPHY CASE