this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023
256 points (82.3% liked)

World News

32263 readers
604 users here now

News from around the world!

Rules:

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (26 children)

Can't you guys just stop using Adrian Zens? Is no one else able to make up unhinged nonsense about China? Literally all it takes is for him to adopt a pseudonym and the credibility of the propaganda increases entirely for free.

load more comments (26 replies)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (31 children)

What is with the China apologists in this thread? Wtf??

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (60 children)

I found this to be a decent enough primer: https://medium.com/@bobbyarlan/a-case-study-in-racist-anti-chinese-sentiment-fuelled-by-american-bots-and-western-propaganda-f0a69978d568

A decent TLDR: The article argues that anti-Chinese propaganda spread by the U.S. and Western media is fueling racist sentiment. Claims of mass detention of Uyghurs are based on flawed studies and sources like Adrian Zenz, a far-right Christian fundamentalist. Atrocity propaganda is a common tactic used by the U.S. to justify wars. The U.S. is threatened by China's economic rise and technological progress, so it is trying to portray China negatively and prepare public opinion for a potential conflict. However, most of the world sees China positively and as an economic opportunity, making a new Cold War against China unlikely to succeed

In short, a lot of information about China that has come out of Western news media has been proven to be based on known biased sources, known anit-China rhetoric, and/or outright lies. It's difficult to prove/disprove of any information specifically, that takes time and reporting, but a lot of people see the anti-China pattern in BBC reporting, and tend to dismiss it because of known history.

load more comments (60 replies)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This, my friend, is the absense of neocon/neolib censorship and propaganda that you were so used to on corporate social media.

Isn't it great?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Strange, I never had any trouble on Reddit talking about socialism.

load more comments (11 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (10 children)

I'd take the study a lot more seriously if the people financing it weren't literally tied to the US/UK governments...

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (4 children)

What's with all the conspiracy nutcases here? The fucking Uighur genocide... smh, are the space lizards making China do this or is it Sasquatch man?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

What’s with all the conspiracy nutcases here? The fucking Uighur genocide…

... is mostly sourced from a far right German nationalist who's been proven to mistranslate Chinese documents over and over again, and claims that God gave him a mission to destroy China.

... has been debunked by many Muslim countries visiting China to investigate

... is a media narrative connected to the US funding radical Islamic groups to destabilize east turkestan and failing miserably as the Chinese response was mostly improving economic conditions and funding uyghur cultural programs which actually is effective at deradicalization, which is what the US could have done in Iraq in Afghanistan if they were over there for altruistic or mutually beneficial reasons and not just to extract oil and opium while making some defense contractors very rich.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'd appreciate sources on these points, please. I don't trust western media blindly, but I also recognize that China has its own propaganda machine (as does every state). I'd like to learn more, but would need links for topics about which I'm unfamiliar else I'll only be able to read the western media I mentioned above.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

A well cited and factual pro-china article on Zenz that covers several mistranslations.http://english.scio.gov.cn/m/xinjiangfocus/2020-09/14/content_77200391.htm

You can look up a bunch of articles on uyghurs and follow the links for claims. They almost always at some point come back to "Zenz says" with a sprinkle of radio free asia, which is a front for the state department charitably, and a front for the CIA uncharitably. This tactic of circuitous citation was also used when the US wanted to make people believe that Iraq had WMDs.

Here is a right wing anti-china article that talks about 14 different Muslim countries investigating, claiming without any proof that it is all staged. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2023/01/20/2003792883

On poverty alleviation: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-01858-w

I dont have a source on reducing poverty decreasing radicalization but Im guessing you'd agree people with a secure economic future are less likely to throw their lives away. If you disagree I can go find some sources.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Zenz is a born-again Christian who lectures at the European School of Culture and Theology. This anodyne-sounding campus is actually the German base of Columbia International University, a US-based evangelical Christian seminary which considers the “Bible to be the ultimate foundation and the final truth in every aspect of our lives,” and whose mission is to “educate people from a biblical worldview to impact the nations with the message of Christ.”

Zenz’s work on China is inspired by this biblical worldview, as he recently explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “I feel very clearly led by God to do this,” he said. “I can put it that way. I’m not afraid to say that. With Xinjiang, things really changed. It became like a mission, or a ministry.”.

Along with his “mission” against China, heavenly guidance has apparently prompted Zenz to denounce homosexuality, gender equality, and the banning of physical punishment against children as threats to Christianity.

Zenz outlined these views in a book he co-authored in 2012, titled Worthy to Escape: Why All Believers Will Not Be Raptured Before the Tribulation. In the tome, Zenz discussed the return of Jesus Christ, the coming wrath of God, and the rise of the Antichrist.

The fact that this nutcase is being paraded as a credible researcher on the subject is absolutely surreal, and it's clear that the methodology of his "research" doesn't pass any kind of muster when examined closely.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I see it all over Lemmy unfortunately. I think it is because Lemmy is still relatively fringe and it is where lots of pro communism communities emerged. Normally, I find it actually pretty refreshing to see more left wing stuff but the pro China (or at least the kneejerk reactions to anything anti China) to be exhausting.

To be fair, I used to see a lot of it on Reddit as well. I think they are just a bigger proportion percentage wise on Lemmy so you see much more of it.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago (2 children)

It's a bit of a mixed bag. There are a lot of pro-China comments that are just... Well they either drank the kool-aid or are dishing it out. Especially when it comes to social policies.

On the other hand, China has been making significant technological accomplishments that you just don't hear about in Western media. They've made a lot of advancements in spaceflight and manufacturing processes that humanity as a whole could benefit from if we were more cooperative. And that's not even mentioning Nuclear Power.

China is WAY ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to new nuclear power. They're the only ones with Gen 4 reactors, the only ones working on Thorium reactors, and are on track to build over 100 new nuclear plants over the next few years. China is to nuclear power as the US is to weapons; sure other countries might be tinkering with some stuff, but there's really no comparison when they're doing more than the rest of the world combined.

I wish there were more unbiased sources. Unfortunately, there's usually only one of two sides. Either you get news from China which usually boils down to "We're amazing and nothing we do is ever bad or wrong. Anyone saying otherwise is just lying because they're jealous/afraid of our wild success!" Or you get news from the US/West that's basically "China is a totalitarian poo-country that's on the verge of collapse. They contribute nothing to global advancement and the only thing they're good for is making cheap, poor quality, crap."

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (26 replies)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Sample size: 58 people

18 in the U.K., 28 in Turkey, and 12 in Thailand.

The authors wish to extend their gratitude to the individuals and organisations who supported this research by providing concrete feedback for revisions on the report, offering suggestions and advice at the planning stages, and offering ongoing collaborative and moral support while conducting this research: Elise Anderson, Campaign for Uyghurs, Freedom House, Tim Grose, Ondřej Klimeš, Julie Millsap, David O’Brien, the Rights Practice, Radio Free Asia, Isabella Rodriguez, David Stroup, Hannah Theaker, Emily Upson, the Uyghur Human Rights Project, the Uyghur Transitional Justice Database, the World Uyghur Congress, the Xinjiang Documentation Project, the Xinjiang Victims’ Database, and Adrian Zenz.

Author

Yes, very trustable! /s

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy the tankies from lemmygrad denying or trying to justify this one as well. 🍿

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago (34 children)

Imagine believing the BBC about China. Are you not embarrassed?

load more comments (34 replies)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (5 children)

*Tankies from lemmygrad and lemmy.ml.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (46 children)

Its a very weakly sourced state sponsored media article reporting on their state enemy. You have to be willfully credulous to believe their claims without further proof.

load more comments (46 replies)
[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How would that work if they have a toxic family and decided to kill 2 birds with one stone?

I mean if the CCP threatened my family while I'm abroad, I'd just go: "Lol go ahead, idgaf. They're toxic anyways. Thanks for getting rid of them for me." 😎

But too bad my toxic family is already here and I had to endure their abuse. 😥

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

That does assume that person's with a toxic FOO have been able to emotionally distance themselves from them.

That's a tall order.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

A UN Resolution of global south nations:https://undocs.org/pdf?symbol=en/A/HRC/41/G/17

We express our firm opposition to relevant countries’ practice of politicizing human rights issues, by naming and shaming, and publicly exerting pressures on other countries. We commend China’s remarkable achievements in the field of human rights by adhering to the people-centered development philosophy and protecting and promoting human rights through development. We also appreciate China’s contributions to the international human rights cause.

World Bank Investigation of Xinjiang:https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/statement/2019/11/11/world-bank-statement-on-review-of-project-in-xinjiang-china

When allegations are made, the World Bank takes them seriously and reviews them thoroughly. In line with standard practice, immediately after receiving a series of serious allegations in August 2019 in connection with the Xinjiang Technical and Vocational Education and Training Project, the Bank launched a fact-finding review, and World Bank senior managers traveled to Xinjiang to gather information directly...The team conducted a thorough review of project documents, engaged in discussions with project staff, and visited schools directly financed by the project, as well as their partner schools that were the subject of allegations. The review did not substantiate the allegations.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation praises Chinese handling of Xinjiang:https://www.oic-oci.org/docdown/?docID=4447&refID=1250

Welcomes the outcomes of the visit conducted by the General Secretariat's delegation upon invitation from the People's Republic of China; commends the efforts of the People's Republic of China in providing care to its Muslim citizens; and looks forward to further cooperation between the OIC and the People's Republic of China.

http://www.inp.net.pk/china-lauds-oics-resolution-on-xinjiang/

Egyptian media delegates visit Xinjiang: https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/430738-egyptian-media-delegates-provide-a-detailed-insight-of-the-situation-in-xinjiang

The recently published report also brings forth some interesting facts related to the religious freedom as opposed to the western propaganda. The report provides a strong testimonial by the visiting delegates who clearly state, “the in houses of worship such as the Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, modern facilities abound, providing water, electricity and air conditioning. Local clerics told the visitors that their religious activities had been very well protected”. "The conditions here are very good," said Abdelhalim Elwerdany, of Egypt's Al-Gomhuria newspaper. "I could feel that local Muslims fully enjoy religious freedom."

Also Adrian Zenz is a complete moron:

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (3 children)

This is pretty crazy if true. I wonder if it has any connections to the alleged "ghost" CCP police stations that were reported around in Canada. I believe it was being claimed the stations were being used to bully Chinese people that were in Canada.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago (7 children)
load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (2 children)

ah, the north korean playbook

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (4 children)

There's literally memes about the bullshit about North Korea. Stop believing the news about America's targets, they'll make a fool of you.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago

Source: Trust me bro.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (6 children)

lmao we have chinese apologists jesus thats so sad

load more comments (6 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›