Cowbee [he/they]

Yep, even the median people on Lemmy.world are slowly coming to correct analysis slowly.

They’ll still defend it, somehow.

Oh hey, it’s the same map, for seemingly everything. “Freedom” in this case largely coincides with the freedom of the wealthy to influence and buy the press and spread their messaging.

They’d need to progress to Socialism to actually beat fascism, so in the absence of Socialist Revolution, fascism becomes more a matter of time.

That’s generally been the strategy of the Resistance, make supporting the Settler-Colony of Israel more expensive than the soft pressure it fronts for US Imperial interests is worth. The US pulls out, Israel as a state collapses, and Palestine is free (along with the other states Israel terrorizes).

Of course, lol. Somehow nothing ever seems to count as Communism as nothing can ever measure up to what they want, anything short of perfection is impure and thus an imposter or deciever.

Free in what way?

Somehow it’s always there.

They have avoided responding to me despite starting to respond to others, so either they blocked me or gave up. Whichever it is, I think it helped let my point sink in.

You keep making that unbacked assertion despite evidence to the contrary. This is erring on chauvanism at this point, it seems like you have more of an emotional attachment to refusing to recognize the PRC as democratic than a logical one. Why is that?

The collapse is a tragedy, and it needs to be thoroughly vetted and investigated. Looks like the investigation is ongoing, and the story is actively developing. However, this doesn’t translate to any of the following points:

1. That China is Imperialist

2. That construction with Chinese involvement (this project was a joint-effort) is worse on average than other available options

3. That China isn’t still the best option among those available to Thailand, Malaysia, and countries in the Global South seeking development in general

Ultimately, your original claims of China being a “bad trading partner” and is doing “economic imperialism” are backed soley by an incredibly recent tragedy that is still undergoing investigation. Even if 100% of the claims posited in your articles are correct, ie that substandard materials were deliberately used and that workers actually ran off with documents for the purpose of hampering investigation efforts, those are all problems that can be dealt with via thorough audits and policy correction.

Engineering and construction failures, by quantity, are fairly common, and when you’re one of the largest construction firms on the planet, it is all but certain that failure isn’t a matter of if, but when. In this manner, it is important to know why certain failures end up emphasized in media and which ones end up going under the radar. Western, english-speaking media has an invested reason to discredit China right now during the tariff war as public opinion on China is shifting to a positive direction, especially since the US passed 1.6 billion dollars in funding anti-PRC media.

That does not excuse any possible malpractice. This is a tragedy, and those responsible, Chinese or not, should be held accountable and punished. Corrective action needs to be taken. However, the investigation is ongoing and the geopolitical context makes it an especially convenient story to signal boost despite still being a developing story.

What matters most is the frequency of failure, and if proper investigations and corrective measures are taken. If the investigation concludes that CREC is responsible, yet no corrective justice occurs and no policy changes implemented, that is when we can begin to speak of China being an untrustworthy trade partner. Using a tragedy as ammo while the facts are still being uncovered leans more towards Sinophobia than genuine concern for the well-being of Malaysian and Thai peoples.

Also, as a side-note, complaining about Communists when commenting on a community with quite a few Communists is pretty childish, and ends up hurting your credibility more than helping you prove a point.

If Australia pivots to the EU, then that just means Australia will pivot to wherever the EU pivots, the heavily financialized US or the industrialized PRC. The EU has neither the immense finance Capital of the US nor the industrial capacity of the PRC, so it must maintain stronger ties with one of those options, and it’s increasingly clear which one the winds favor.

It might have worked back in the 90s, when China was more reliant on the US, but now China has built up BRICs and the BRI, it has a much better industrial base and more customers. In the end, this dramatically benefits China’s standing.

The overwhelming majority of large firms and key industries are in the public sector, while the private sector is dominated by small firms, cooperatives (huawei is an example, as are farming cooperatives), and sole proprietorships.

Cool, none of that refutes anything I have said, more affirms what I said and explains that westerners do not approve of the system that the Chinese have implemented by and for themselves, and have achived far higher rates of satisfaction than western countries do. Since you haven’t actually countered anything I said, I’ll just re-assert my comment:

You can keep making that assertion, but without backing it means nothing. China is democratic. You can read this article talking about why the Chinese democratic model is in place and why the people support it, or this article on how the Chinese model of democracy works in contrast to western democracy, or this short video on how it works, or this video on how elections work, or this article on the makeup of the NPC.

By what metrics is China not democratic? What mechanically would they have to change for you to accept the opinions of the Chinese citizenry on their own system? I recommend this introduction to SWCC, it goes in-detail about how elections and the democratic model work in China.

I want to keep stressing and asking, what mechanically would China have to change in order for you to accept the system that the Chinese have implemented by and for themselves, and approve of at rates exceeding 90%?

Frankly, it’s insulting to assume I somehow haven’t been exposed to the Wikipedia page yet when that’s inevitably the first exposure anyone in the west tends to get to subject matters like that. The articles I linked go far more into the actual structures at play and don’t focus on a purely US/EU-centric POV, but includes Chinese perspectives as well.

China is a good trading partner, but it isn’t a charity either. BRI is not Imperialism, nor is it charity. BRI allows China to lower shipping costs and increase trade, it gives them more customers to buy their products. Rather than the US, which gives out loans with clauses requiring privatization of key resources that the US can dominate with its immense finance Capital, China focuses on building people up so that they can benefit China in the long run as customers.

There is no real alternative third option between the US and China, unless you want to do something like Cuba or the DPRK are forced into through sanctions and embargo. When comparing the largest and most brutal Empire in the world to a country that focuses on creating more customers to fulfill its own intetests via building up infrastructure, it’s clear which is the better option.

The “neither Washington nor Beijing” crowd implicitly approves of the current US hegemony as there is no alternative fronted by that.

Yep! He probably has some help, but many Chinese write in similarly flowery ways, especially those who rise through the ranks of the CPC due to how its structured.

I also really like Democracy is not an Ornament and Water Droplets Drilling Through Rock.

When I describe my awe upon seeing the power of droplets drilling through rock, I am praising those who have the willingness to rise each time one falls, and the moral character to sacrifice for overall success. I am expressing my admiration for those who develop a solid plan and then have the tenacity to see it through to the end.

You’d think they’d learn after repeated rug pulls, hopefully quantitative buildup will leap to qualitative shifts.

Entirely expected, but we will see which way the EU pulls. Right now approval for China is rising while US approval is falling.