Uncovering the real China

Since I moved to China I started following different media reporting on what happens here. I noticed how incredibly negative and simplistic the comments often are, for instance here. China is a bully, Chinese people are rude. Or the exact opposite: It is a paradise, don’t say a bad word about this amazing country! This kind of propaganda you find in state-approved Chinese news outlets. As per usual the experience of actually being on the ground somewhere is very different from sensationalist media portrayals.

I will attempt to show a face of modern China that is maybe less spectacular, less easy to pigeonhole and hopefully more rounded. Multifaceted and nuanced. Because how can you possibly have a one-sided view of such a gigantic and culturally diverse country? There is no one China, there are many. It can only be seen through a kaleidoscope, and never fully understood. But even without fully understanding we can love this country. I certainly do.

I love China, but it is definitely not a blind love, so I will write critically about my new home. Again, nuance is everything, in order to understand the Middle Kingdom.

Since I live and work here and since I will be writing critically about China I can not give too much information about myself. This is after all a one party state that is fiercely protective of national unity. Dissent is not allowed and there is an ever stronger crackdown on online and offline rogue views.

Thank you for reading my fumbling approximations of truth.

This way please

 

One thought on “Uncovering the real China”

  1. agree, those written sometimes are too critical, sometimes too naive. I have read Peter Hessler’s books few years ago which I found very interesting, can be one of my favorite books written by westerns on contemporary China. highly recommend.

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