this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
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It’s been nice to see ordinary Americans open up to life in China but everyone is acting blind to their censorship. Makes me thankful for the fediverse and being able to self host my own instance.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago

That app doesn't like gambling, politics, or sexually explicit material.

Your post probably fell under politics.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

Awwww, you poor thing.

They didn't see you as a useful idiot so they leveraged their hatred for what you are and banished you.

Leopards are hungry on both sides of the line.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 2 months ago (3 children)

I've noticed a very pro-China shift on Lemmy since Trump became president. Yeah, Trump is awful, but it's not like that makes China or Russia better. It makes them all bad.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago

China is good actually.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

That started well before he became president.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Pro or anti X nation state rhetoric is rarely helpful. I fully agree that blind support of another country just because it’s not the US is just silly. I don’t know what you mean by all bad. How’re you labeling all three of those countries?

Have you been to China? The thing that is affecting so many US users on xiaohongshu is waking up to how many aspects of Chinese daily life and society are actually better than the supposed best country in the world. This has been my experience on my most recent of many times in China. It shocking how many issues and stressors exist in America that don’t in China.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (14 children)

I don’t know what you mean by all bad. How’re you labeling all three of those countries?

Do you have your head under a rock? Over the past few years China has been putting the Uighur people in concentration camps while Russia has been invading and genociding Ukrainians.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

No, because I don’t fall for the propaganda. I’ve met one of the NYT reporters on that and their sources were three Ugyhurs and trust me. I’m guessing you don’t speak Chinese and have zero knowledge of it besides MSN?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

His trusted source is a German man that doesn't speak chinese, has never been to china and uses satellital pictures of buildings in construction as proof, like it is eyeopening how much media buzz someone as unserious as Adrian Zenz has only because he preached the "china bad" narrative.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Sounds about right.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The westerner that has never been to China and doesn't speak a word of mandarin is gonna lecture us on China.

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[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I think to each their own. My wife spent two weeks in China for work, and she’s still traumatized from it.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago (6 children)

You definitely need to tell us what happened with your wife. Can't just write something like that and leave it hanging!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I think to each their own. My wife spent two weeks in China for work, and she’s still traumatized from it.

What

Edit: oh his wife just can’t handle new experiences.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (3 children)

the real name of this app in chinese is "Little Red Book"

surprised?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

In English, Mao’s book is called the “little red book” but that’s not the case in China. The direct translation of what they call it in China is “red treasure book”. As such, the name of the app only seems like a Mao reference to people who translated xiaohongshu into English.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (4 children)
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I can read Chinese. Maoist thought and censoring of Mao should not be connected lol

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

good point. i think i misunderstood your initial title

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

I still don't understand the title.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Well yeah, Mao Zedong is kinda like Chinese Muhammad or Chinese Charlemagne (not supporting the guy, but still). Were you not expecting to catch some passionate attention? I mean, I'd also ask that of everyone; China is kind of known for censoring things, like Italians and cheese or Icelanders and their elves, so it's weird to see people think the equivalent of "I'm going to a flock of crows dressed up as an owl because it's exercising freeeeeeeedom!"

I don't "support" that from a Chinese government perspective, as their journey for power and reach, like a lot of territorial groups, involved lots of death and domination over things that couldn't "ethically" be owned, but from a service owner's perspective, I mean, if it's rightfully the child of your own two hands, it's just your right to ban as you wish.

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

One of the most cringe things I've ever read.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Posting anything about any Chinese leader is verboten.

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago (1 children)

This is it. Self hosting, federation, not for profit is the way. We need an internet that is made by just regular people for no better reason than it's fun. Not just social media either. We need an entire open internet, free and clear of all ulterior motives (or more likely still having bad actors mixed in, but at least they're not pulling any strings at the upper levels).

I don't know how possible that is, but I know we need it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Fully agree! Thanks for putting my thought into much better words.

The only issue I see now is how to surpass bad mods and admins? The balance between filtering off topic or bad content versus anything goes but then nazis come out seems to be a challenge plus power tripping.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 2 months ago (6 children)

I just don't understand why it's a problem that the nazis come out. Would we not rather they utter their opinions in the open so they can be refuted? That way people can also just ignore that user if they don't like viewing what he has to say.

It's not like they don't exist just because we ban them here.. They'll go somewhere to discuss where only other people who agree with them is allowed to be.

Unless we're talking direct threats or doxing I'm always an advocate for free speech online.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Nazi punks, fuck off.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I used to think this way, but no. Nazis should be shunned and banned and feel unwelcome everywhere. No one should ever think their rhetoric is harmless or ignorable. Those who tolerate Nazis enable them.

And yeah, folks can wring their hands about slippery slopes and where we draw lines, but the beauty of federation is that if someone is too loose or too draconian, we can go somewhere with more agreeable policies. We can decide as a society where the line is drawn, and it'll be fuzzy but as speech gets closer to Naziism, it will be rejected more and more places, as it should be.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago
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[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 months ago

That's a never-ending process of everyone voting and discussing where the line is and where it should be.

There is no "final" solution, instead the solution is for people to collectively and continiously keep solving it every day.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 2 months ago (2 children)

China is pretty sensitive about depictions of Mao, so it doesn't surprise me.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Ironically enough it's actually super popular in China to "Rent-a-Mao" or Chiang Kai-Shek or whoever else from China's modern history. There are a lot of Mao impersonators, just like we have impersonators of Elvis.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Even positive ones? But what's up with that?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

It’s largely cultural. China is a place where filial piety is import so anything that can be construed as disrespect for your forbearers is looked down upon.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago

Xiaohongshu does not tolerate political posts altogether, from what I read

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

It's like how companies don't like satirical use of their trademarks even if positive. Brand control. Or for China, propaganda control. They don't want you to get comfortable using jokes about it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I'm not really sure, it may be to do with how Jiang Zemin got called toad boy a lot.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Surprising to me too, it was a positive depiction of Mao.

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