FOW050 – Nationalism, Censorship and Media in China (with Kiki Zhao) [EN]

very smart and differentated podcast. thanks for this podcast th and the show notes i have not discovered yet.

I agree to the ideas and arguments discussed in this podcast very much and i would like to add some new.

To the question why chinese even when they are abroad with access to western „free“ midea still gather under the chinese flag, i like to add following which i personally see as legid agruments of my chinese friends which are more or less also my opinon.

1. WEAKNESS of DEMOCRACIES
make the chinese system „look not that bad“: e.g. for the big three topics (acc. noam chomsky) a) environmental pollution of big democracies per head over decades although scientiests had been very clear how katastrophic that would be for everyone b) Decreasing wolrd safty due to wars, coups, blackmailing due to sanctions or stopping financial help, increasing military budget, breaking international law or not singning or breaking peace keeping international contracts of united states or other strong democracies (e.g.helping pinochet or the iranian king to take over power for the US benefit and local population had to suffer awully, illegal vietnam and 2nd iraq war with war crimes and hudred thousands of civillian victems, helping recent ukrainian coup)… etc., c) causing social instability with increasing gap between poor and rich people and between western coutries and african coutries (e.g. acc. jason hickel, London School of Economics)

2. MEDIA FAIRNESS PROBLEM
„free“ western media as stated by professors like Michael Meyen LMU, Ulrich Teusch, Gabriele Krohne-Schmalz, … problems double standards, missing arguments, perspective, facts and background knowledge, using specific misleading framing,… etc.

3. HISTORIC ARGUMENT
military weak, ununited china led to catastrophic situation in the past (death, starvation, rape, national trauma although the western counties had been guided by values of democracy and or the enlightment and in comparison china has been rather peaceful.

4. CHINA STRENGTH
hundred thousand chinese has been lifted out of poverty which is the only positive figure by country in order to fulfill UN goal of eleminating poverty and starvation although or maybe becauce of democrcies have „helped“ african countries more than china (e.g.acc. phd jason hickel).

5. IRRATIONAL PATRIOTISM
i could experience that in every country the people put their own interests at least a little above others. additionally when i criticize as chinese the germans or as german the chinese its harder to accept for them in comparison to when when i critizize them as one among them.