People these days know that capitalism sucks. Communism and socialism aren’t the dirty words they used to be. It no longer works to try to convince people that socialism isn’t good. The new propaganda strategy is to convince people that any viable form of socialism “isn’t real socialism.” Hence the belief in “state-capitalism.” For the same reason, people now call communists “tankies” instead of commies.
I don’t live in China, but I’ve been there many times, and I am of Chinese descent and I speak a bit of the language. Here are my observations:
A lot of Chinese gen X-ers and older millennials have pretty low cultural self-confidence. They seem to think that Western and Japanese cultural exports, brands, and ideas are better. Even for Chinese music and such, they prefer Taiwanese and Hong Kong stuff over mainland. I’ve heard that this is reversing for younger millennials and gen Z-ers, so that’s pretty encouraging.
A lot of people seem to lack consideration and awareness of others in public settings. There are stereotypes of Chinese people being aggressive and inconsiderate drivers, cutting in line, spitting, rushing to grab seats in the metro, etc. and a lot of it is based on reality. I believe a lot of it is a holdover from times of scarcity, where if you didn’t fight for yourself, you’d be left behind. Things are slowly but surely changing with public education and fines - public spitting is much rarer now, and drivers in some cities like Shanghai actually follow the rules sometimes. But there is still a long way to go.
Chinese customer service isn’t the best. A lot of products don’t come with any sort of return policy or satisfaction guarantee. If there are issues that are difficult to solve, a lot of customer service people will just throw their hands up and say 没办法 (there’s no way). You really have to pester people to get issues taken care of.
Work culture, like in much of Asia, can be pretty brutal and inefficient. There is generally a rigid hierarchy, and lower-ranking workers are strongly encouraged to be quiet and listen to the boss, even if the boss is wrong. A lot of companies prioritize ass-in-chair time over actual productivity. You’ve heard about 996 culture at big tech companies, and many employees are not being productive for a lot of that time, but they still need to be at the office for God knows whatever reason.
There is a large amount of societal pressure for conspicuous consumption. Even people who are not rich will buy Gucci and BMWs to keep up with the Zhong-ses. European brands are preferred. People will drive to work even if it takes longer than taking the metro or biking because owning a car is a status symbol.
Which brings me to my next point, Chinese people loooove cars. Owning a car is a sign you’ve made it in life. Having good public transit is taken for granted, and everyone wants a shiny European luxury car. It’s gotten to the point where local officials will even prioritize cars in infrastructure, such as by building pedestrian over/underpasses, moving the lines closer to the intersection, reducing pedestrian crossing time, etc. Wide roads and parking lots in cities are seen as symbols of modernity. Although good public transit is plentiful, there is not so much am emphasis on pedestrians and bikers in a lot of cities.
There are a lot of positive parts of Chinese culture, but I’m just pointing out what I feel are the negatives since that’s what the question asked. I think a lot of these are directly a result of China’s status as a developing country (being almost destitute in living memory) and the drastic changes during the reform and opening up period.
The war is a proxy war between NATO and Russia that started in 2014 after the Maidan coup. When NATO threatened to allow Ukraine to join, it was a major escalation that demanded a response from Russia. In that sense, their SMO is an act of self-defense. I unequivocally support Russia on this, not because I agree with the Russian government’s domestic policy or long term vision for the world, but because NATO is the greater evil, and if they successfully contain Russia, then China is next, and we may never see a free world in our lifetimes.
Also HK is a city while mainland encompasses poorer rural areas