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would you visit an authoritarian country if you had the chance to live there up to 4 weeks for free even if you believe multiparty democracy to be something non negotiable? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 week ago by ricesoup@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

15 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/35822445

my family are Taiwanese-Americans. I was born in the US, but I grew up in a Taiwanese/Chinese household. I write both Taiwanese and Chinese because my grandparents were Chinese nationalists (KMT) who fought and lost to the communists and left China with Chiang Kaishek when he retreated to Taiwan. We're from Guangdong.

Even though my grandparents spent most of their adult life in Taiwan and America, they still identify as Chinese. They still vote for the KMT and consider Taiwan a part of a democratic China, not the PRC but the ROC.

I don't identify with an authoritarian China that suppresses freedom of speech, press and religion, commits cultural genocide against the Uyghurs, dilutes Tibetan culture and wants to annex democratic Taiwan. I wouldn't like living in a country like that.

But that's exactly what an uncle proposed me: some months ago he bought a house in Guangdong, a house he offers to our whole family. If I want, he says, I can live with him for free, he's even offering me to let me live at his condo when he's not in China (travels to America and Taiwan a lot).

I don't see it: I'm politically active, actually support Taiwanese independence and I don't believe I could keep my mouth shut if a Chinese starts telling me that Taiwan is a part of China every time I tell them I an actually Taiwanese. The conversation could go south really fast if they start to repeat communist propaganda about helping Uyghurs escape poverty (just an example out of several). I could land in jail.

My uncle says I should forget about politics and enjoy the scenery and local food. I still don't see it.

Am I a moron? I'd only have to pay for the flight and food for as long as I live in China, a country cheaper than both Taiwan and the US

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[–] m532@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Your grandparents were on the side of the owning class. Now it depends. Are you working class or owning class? If you're owning class, don't go. If you're working class, go (and question what the owning class told you).

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The authoritarian uniparty is the new owning class, functionally you still don't have a say, just a different mouth telling you "they're making decision in your interest".

It's the biggest false dichotomy on this planet statist capitalist and statis communism and the same as religious schisms, a disagreement over which elite should be deciding everything and which is going to face the wall.

Do that hardcore enough and you'll get an elite which has decided to put all the other ones against the wall (pol pot).

[–] m532@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 6 days ago

They can't be the owning class because they are not members of the owning class. They aren't ceos or investors or landlords or royals or hedgefundlings.