Ex-pat issues in China - sound familiar?

[BritManToo]

On 11/16/2019 at 6:08 PM, Tayaout said:

I've been following his channel for a while. The situation looks worse in China compared to Thailand. 

 

Same as TM30, same as applying for marriage extension.

Was in China for two weeks in 2017, nobody followed me anywhere, wandered around all over the place, made all my hotel bookings on Booking.com. Flight from Chiang Mai to Changsha, I was the only foreigner on the plane, at the airport stamp, stamp through, no questions, no interest in me.

Hotel check ins was just reception taking a photo of my passport on their smartphone. No police turned up, and I was in a very rural area with no foreigners and then a big city with no foreigners.

Got lost at the end of my trip, couldn't find the bus stop, took me ages to find a policeman to ask, when I did he was very helpful.

 

Vietnam is the same for home visits for foreign residents, this is normal for Asia.

Edited November 18, 2019 by BritManToo

[Tayaout]

@BritManToo Tourist experience is different than expat. Best example is the thai expat complaining all the time about issues tourist never have. On top of that Serpentza and his friends make YouTube videos about China and it sure does attract attention of such kind of government. 

[RocketDog]

I've only been here 3 years but I see the parallels to life in Thailand as pretty weak.

 

The extent that Thailand requires alien tracking seems more similar to most western countries now than to China. There is a considerable amount of surveillance in America and Britain now too.

 

I must state outright that I'm not a fan of China in any regard whatsoever. A 6 hour layover in Shanghai convinced me to never enter the country again. I have zero desire to see it from the inside since what I see from the outside is abhorrent enough.

 

I am not at all convinced that China is pulling the strings of the Thai government. Being eager to separate Chinese visitors from their money is simply pragmatic.

 

 

[Traubert]

8 hours ago, Tayaout said:

@BritManToo Tourist experience is different than expat. Best example is the thai expat complaining all the time about issues tourist never have. On top of that Serpentza and his friends make YouTube videos about China and it sure does attract attention of such kind of government. 

That is a fact.

 

People in the west bang on about freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The fact is, you can say what you want in China, but the minute you try and form a mob to campaign for support for your cause, the nasty rises up your neck. Assembly, 200 dancing grannies can get together to do their dance/exercise sessions daily and no-one bats an eyelid, but if they had a motive and a microphone, there would be a 'presence' with minimal delay.

 

Maybe what this chap has forgotten is that Youtube may be blocked in China, but it's by no means unavailable and he's attracting attention as you say. Not wise.

[Mavideol]

53 minutes ago, Traubert said:

The fact is, you can say what you want in China,

you joking, right? we all know your alliances, please, don't post misleading information

[Mavideol]

23 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

 

 

and no one will give a <deleted> even if u get kidnapped....nope nope nope happy i don't have to go there anymore.

agree 250%

[Traubert]

26 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

you joking, right? we all know your alliances, please, don't post misleading information

No I am not joking. A superficial scan of Weibo for instance will show you multi-thousands of dissenting comments.

 

However if your comment gets reposted more than 500 times, you will be asked to take it down, not by the authorities but by Weibo itself. I wouldn't for one second say that Weibo aren't 'following orders,' but that's the reality. Like I said, say what you like, the individual is not seen as a threat, a mob is.

 

Now you tell us all your reality, seeing as you know better?

[473geo]

Out in rural Thailand the nature of Thai people always draws my admiration.

No matter if they work hard, live on little, they take everything the world and his wife throw at them, and on a daily basis came out ok, often still managing to raise a smile, supported by community spirit. Taking things as they are now, today, and dealing with it.

 

Perhaps more 'visitors' to Thailand would benefit by adapting this strategy

 

The past is gone, the future who can know.

 

 

[Bournville]

On 11/16/2019 at 5:52 PM, BritManToo said:

On the other hand, he still has a good looking woman in his bed every night, which he probably wouldn't have managed in his home country. We're all here for the cheap and available slim and attractive women, really no point in denying it, nothing else really matters.

Your post was sarcasm.. Right? If not.. Then your absolutely wrong. Many of us.. Men.. Here, didn't have tiny girls in our minds alluring us here. Give me a curvy woman any day or night... and with some class and culture. 

[Bournville]

On 11/16/2019 at 10:13 PM, madmen said:

Your not allowed to say that here. The pathetic bashers will come after you ????

Interested comment. Why would anyone's negative feelings about any topic about thailand be viewed by you as "pathetic"? Tell me... 

[SteveK]

3 hours ago, Traubert said:

Maybe what this chap has forgotten is that Youtube may be blocked in China, but it's by no means unavailable and he's attracting attention as you say. Not wise.

He has relocated to the USA, as I would have done in his situation. A lot of his videos attracted negative attention from Chinese people, especially the one asking which province has the most attractive girls.

[Traubert]

30 minutes ago, SteveK said:

He has relocated to the USA, as I would have done in his situation. A lot of his videos attracted negative attention from Chinese people, especially the one asking which province has the most attractive girls.

Yeah, they can get very sensitive about that sort of thing. Possibly better to flee before he met some local justice.

[CNXexpat]

He also has a channel with a friend where they are travelling on motorbike through China.

 

In the channel you showed us, he is always complaining, nearly about everything. 2 Grab drivers in different cities raped 2 women and he made a big story about it. He always forgets that the country has 1.6 mio. people. Now he is living in the "safe" US and I am sure that in this country with less than 400 mio. citizens Grab drivers also rape women from time to time. 

 

I have heard that he is financed from Falun Gong.

[ThomasThBKK]

On 11/17/2019 at 10:01 PM, holy cow cm said:

Vietnam is no way like or no way even near China. Where and the heck did you dream that up?

 

Of course it is.

 

They even kidnap their own in europe: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44958530

 

They silence dissidents the same way china does: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/digital-dictatorship-vietnam-seeks-silence-dissidents-181115062123198.html

 

 

 

Quote

A consequence of this is that unlike China, Vietnam can only block online content after it has been put up – thus, many bloggers are beaten up after posting anti-government material as a form of physical intimidation,^[88] or imprisoning people for their online posts.^[89] An estimated 200 activists and bloggers are imprisoned for criticising the government on the Internet.^[90] In 2016, the government detained Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a blogger who criticized the government's reaction to a chemical dump by a Formosa Steel plant.^[91] This is one of several cases of the Vietnamese government using vague national security laws to punish bloggers.^[92] In August 2018, a Việt Tân member for Facebook posts which the government considered to be an attempt to overthrow the state.^[93] In addition, the government is also known to hack the online accounts of Vietnamese bloggers and other Internet activists, report the Facebook pages of anti-government users as spam so the pages get taken down, or blackmail Internet activists with stolen personal information.^[88] To better monitor articles which are posted online by local websites, the government-linked Vietnam Journalists Association launched dedicated software in 2017.^[94] The Ministry of Information and Communications also commenced a software project to manage "misleading" information on the Internet.^[94]

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Vietnam#Press_censorship

 

They might lack the power china has, but they are in no way nicer people.

 

PS: Not saying Th is a posterchild, don't get me wrong. 

[Mavideol]

22 hours ago, Traubert said:

No I am not joking. A superficial scan of Weibo for instance will show you multi-thousands of dissenting comments.

 

However if your comment gets reposted more than 500 times, you will be asked to take it down, not by the authorities but by Weibo itself. I wouldn't for one second say that Weibo aren't 'following orders,' but that's the reality. Like I said, say what you like, the individual is not seen as a threat, a mob is.

 

Now you tell us all your reality, seeing as you know better?

have you been arrested for making a comment about the government? maybe not because if you did, quite sure you will not be speaking/writing the way you are, please keep us informed, make a public comment about the government and be sure to post the outcome..... pathetic to comment anyone can speak free in China

[gamesgplayemail]

Who was thinking that <deleted>na was a nice place to live even 15 years ago cannot be very smart. I know very well, I was there and did not need 15 years to understand.

 

 

 

[Mrfox]

Hmmm...it's always the expats having issues...there 1.4 billion, and in recent 30 years have turned from a very poor country to, arguably, the most powerful house in the world. More than 800 million people out of poverty and counting. What people fail to understand is the political within China is also changing, but at her own pace and need. The only country close in population is India and compare them with China,  pretty sure, you know the winner. 

In contrast, the West has been declining rapid, Google national debt vs GDP. 

 

While china isn't perfect, its citizens are happy and enjoying life and this current government is trying to be a responsible lead...again try comparing that the the other countries, U.S. warring non-stop,  india, it's thing in Kashmir,  the Russian,  etc...list goes on.

 

Many commenters sit in their little well and judge the world by the view from the bottom of it...it seems...

[StreetCowboy]

On 11/16/2019 at 10:13 PM, CharlieH said:

I could relate a lot to the video as I too spent time in China in the Guangdong province and it was a fantastic experience back in 2002.

I was the only white guy around in my town in those days.

Like Bradford

[StreetCowboy]

11 hours ago, Mrfox said:

Hmmm...it's always the expats having issues...there 1.4 billion, and in recent 30 years have turned from a very poor country to, arguably, the most powerful house in the world. More than 800 million people out of poverty and counting. What people fail to understand is the political within China is also changing, but at her own pace and need. The only country close in population is India and compare them with China,  pretty sure, you know the winner. 

In contrast, the West has been declining rapid, Google national debt vs GDP. 

 

While china isn't perfect, its citizens are happy and enjoying life and this current government is trying to be a responsible lead...again try comparing that the the other countries, U.S. warring non-stop,  india, it's thing in Kashmir,  the Russian,  etc...list goes on.

 

Many commenters sit in their little well and judge the world by the view from the bottom of it...it seems...

People don’t die in lorries going to Europe because they are happy with their lot in life.

[sunnyboy2018]

On 11/16/2019 at 11:00 AM, madmen said:

Did you watch the vid? This is  not some crusty old beer bellied wife beater wearing expat. I doubt he would have any trouble getting attractive women back home

And wade through feminist çŕáp with the weight of the law hanging over his head giving her the impunity to behave badly.

[StreetCowboy]

On 11/18/2019 at 11:07 PM, CNXexpat said:

He also has a channel with a friend where they are travelling on motorbike through China.

 

In the channel you showed us, he is always complaining, nearly about everything. 2 Grab drivers in different cities raped 2 women and he made a big story about it. He always forgets that the country has 1.6 mio. people. Now he is living in the "safe" US and I am sure that in this country with less than 400 mio. citizens Grab drivers also rape women from time to time. 

 

I have heard that he is financed from Falun Gong.

That’s worth a shilling.

[sunnyboy2018]

12 hours ago, Mrfox said:

Hmmm...it's always the expats having issues...there 1.4 billion, and in recent 30 years have turned from a very poor country to, arguably, the most powerful house in the world. More than 800 million people out of poverty and counting. What people fail to understand is the political within China is also changing, but at her own pace and need. The only country close in population is India and compare them with China,  pretty sure, you know the winner. 

In contrast, the West has been declining rapid, Google national debt vs GDP. 

 

While china isn't perfect, its citizens are happy and enjoying life and this current government is trying to be a responsible lead...again try comparing that the the other countries, U.S. warring non-stop,  india, it's thing in Kashmir,  the Russian,  etc...list goes on.

 

Many commenters sit in their little well and judge the world by the view from the bottom of it...it seems...

Pure nonsense.  Thirty million killed by the current party  no real internet. No news. 100s of thousands of political prisoners whose organs are harvested. A population slowly being chip and pinned into robotic submission. A nightmare quasi dynasty using brutal coercion to cow the people. Just horrible.

[beautifulthailand99]

On 11/17/2019 at 9:01 AM, zhorik said:

the probelms he complains about are one The chinese are tearing down derelict quaint towns and replacing them with modern buildings which is what the local inhabitants want. they may look cute but no one really wants to live in a ramshackle, infested building. Second banks no longer give bank accounts to people on tourist visas, They dont in Europe or elsewhere because of money laundering. THe Chinese are anti foreigner  though i have never found this it is hardly surprising that given the way the west vilifies China  and its history of raping and pillaging China then they would be suspicous. I also remember how in Britain foreigners had to report at regular intervals to the police. Many of my friends at University did this,

He complains that they get different prices when even South Africa does the same as do many other countries. he then states that small hotels cannot process foreigners passports as they do not have the means. Mainly they dont have the forms or the inclination to send  or take them to the Police.  I have found this but simply crossed the road to another small  cheap hotel taht did do this,, I never found it a problem but i can understand why given so few foreigners staying there it would not be worth their while taking on the admin.  He complains China has got more expensive which simply means it has gotten richer. yet this is a complaint? I do not know what he would think of Brfitain where  i noticed the prices have really risen. The man seems to have found a profitable niche denigrating China who has given him a good income and a nice wife.  Winston or serpentza is an english teacher who taught doctors english., he is not an IT business man something he  stated he was. Why he tries to hide his profession  is beyond me, He got his money from pandering to the right at first his videos were good and unbiased, a refreshing approach to living in China, then they changed. Take what he says with apinch of salt.

He really needs to cash in his chips and leave the table before he loses the lot. The Chinese won't like him dissing the country in the way he does for much longer. 

[ChouDoufu]

china's not a bad place to spend a few years.  have been here with the thai girlfriend going on a second year.  living on the big island sure beats life in bangkok!  clean air and light traffic and easy access to the countryside.

 

getting our work visas was fairly simple at the bangkok visa center.  the officials post the requirements and follow the rules.  and the rules dont' seem to change on a daily basis.

 

never a problem flying in, or crossing land borders by bicycle.  never been questioned (even unshaven, muddy, wearing lycra, coming from laos during the monsoon), never had luggage searched -- until entry two months ago.  new scanners at the airport picked up the many bottles of thai medicines and smelly sauces the lady needed to bring with.

 

police registration is no real hassle.  can be done at the nearest substation, and takes all of five minutes if doing it yourself.  then if on long-term visa you have 30 days to apply for the residence permit.  if you successfully got the visa, should have no problems with the RP.

 

the RP acts as a multiple-entry permit.  you can leave/re-enter as many times as you like with no additional forms other than the equivalent of a tm-6 at the border crossings.  there is no tm-30 system, no requirement to re-register if returning to the same residence, no 90-day reports.

 

i've been here for the most part of the past ten years.  only had one visit from the police.   a couple of uniforms came to apartment, declined to come in, asked to see passport to check off the list of foreigners staying in their assigned zone, and left.

 

i've stayed with friends in other cities, which required a trip to the local cop-shop.  five minutes affair, required only a copy of friends ID card.

 

have done plenty of travel in the south.  hotels always a concern as they are supposed to be registered in the police system to accept foreign guests.  if not, they can send a staff member to the nearby cop store with your passport to log you in.  but often they'll simply take your cash and hand you a key with no registration at all.  in some small towns the local police are more strict, and foreigners are sent to the local 5-star.

 

big annoyance is the internet.  inside the firewall fewer than half the sites i want to access are available.  vpn's work, but during party meetings and 'disturbances', the minders work around the clock to shut down the links.  getting a sim card requires showing passport, and only at the main office of the phone network.  use of internet bar requires chinese id card, unless the clerk is willing to sign you in with his own.  wifi is available everywhere, or when traveling, i book a 'computer room' with internet at a cheap hotel.

 

opening a bank account on a tourist visa has become impossible, no trouble with a work visa.  opened a couple accounts last year, surprisingly was not handed any IRS forms.  moving cash out is getting harder by the day, although can still get chinese friends to send as much as needed.

[dimitriv]

On 11/17/2019 at 11:33 AM, Expat Brad said:

Maybe this new anti western sentiment has been caused by the west. To be more precise, America. They are doing everything they can to bring China down so, as to remain Number 1. It is affecting not just businesses but, the ordinary Chinese people with regards to employment and consumer price increases and so, they are forming negative views about western people particularly American's. Why wouldn't they? 

IMOP America, NOT China needs to realise that there will be NO winner in this economic BS war. 

 

>> doing everything they can to bring China down

 

Can you give ONE example ?

 

 

[dimitriv]

On 11/18/2019 at 12:47 PM, Traubert said:

No I am not joking. A superficial scan of Weibo for instance will show you multi-thousands of dissenting comments.

 

 

 

From what I know social media in China has instant censorship. It means that things you write will be instantly deleted, or be visible only to you.  

 

[dimitriv]

On 11/18/2019 at 7:52 AM, RocketDog said:

The extent that Thailand requires alien tracking seems more similar to most western countries now than to China. There is a considerable amount of surveillance in America and Britain now too.

 

 

 

Really?  I am not familiar with the US. But in Europe once you are in there is zero tracking. No TM30's. No 90 day reporting. Visa based on marriage are permanent after some years, or you will get a new passport. No need to renew anything every year. In which way alien tracking is similar like Thailand?

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by dimitriv

[Traubert]

On 11/19/2019 at 6:34 PM, Mavideol said:

have you been arrested for making a comment about the government? maybe not because if you did, quite sure you will not be speaking/writing the way you are, please keep us informed, make a public comment about the government and be sure to post the outcome..... pathetic to comment anyone can speak free in China

Nope and I've made plenty. As I keep saying, it's forming and fomenting the mob that gets you into trouble. I'm not your mouthpiece, I haven't a discriminatory bone in my body.

3 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

People don’t die in lorries going to Europe because they are happy with their lot in life.

Chinese people don't, the people in the Essex truck recently were found to be from cuddly, friendly Vietnam. The new expat paradise.

2 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Pure nonsense.  Thirty million killed by the current party  no real internet. No news. 100s of thousands of political prisoners whose organs are harvested. A population slowly being chip and pinned into robotic submission. A nightmare quasi dynasty using brutal coercion to cow the people. Just horrible.

Well if you want to go digging back through history, no country of any account has clean hands. Also the organ harvesting thing is solely based on poor mathematics and wild accusations. It completely baffles the medical profession here.

1 hour ago, dimitriv said:

 

From what I know social media in China has instant censorship. It means that things you write will be instantly deleted, or be visible only to you.  

 

Not from what I and my familiars know though, here on the ground. Admittedly, key words like the famous black flag operation in Tiananmen will flag up. Pretty much every social media has key words which attract attention. Weibo/WeChat is no different.

[dimitriv]

1 hour ago, Traubert said:

 

Not from what I and my familiars know though, here on the ground. Admittedly, key words like the famous black flag operation in Tiananmen will flag up. Pretty much every social media has key words which attract attention. Weibo/WeChat is no different.

 

>> Not from what I and my familiars know though, here on the ground.

 

So it doesn't happen. Social media has no instant censorship where things you write get deleted immediately or are hidden for others.

 

>> Admittedly, key words like the famous black flag operation in Tiananmen will flag up.

 

Ah, so it does happen. First you say NO, but later; The censorship only happens when you write something the government doesn't like. It will not happen when you write something bad about the weather today.

 

>> Pretty much every social media has key words which attract attention.

 

Name some...  Not Chinese but western. Did it ever happen to you that your Whatsapp message didn't arrive because you said something bad about Trump ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2019 by dimitriv

[Traubert]

2 hours ago, dimitriv said:

 

>> Not from what I and my familiars know though, here on the ground.

 

So it doesn't happen. Social media has no instant censorship where things you write get deleted immediately or are hidden for others.

 

>> Admittedly, key words like the famous black flag operation in Tiananmen will flag up.

 

Ah, so it does happen. First you say NO, but later; The censorship only happens when you write something the government doesn't like. It will not happen when you write something bad about the weather today.

 

>> Pretty much every social media has key words which attract attention.

 

Name some...  Not Chinese but western. Did it ever happen to you that your Whatsapp message didn't arrive because you said something bad about Trump ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really you are stretching it now because of desperation. Send a message with the word 'jihad' in it, send another with 'crusade' in it and yet another with 'infidel' in it.

 

Are you telling me that won't attract attention?

 

I'm all for debate but arguing for the sake of arguing doesn't interest me. If your case is that all social media isn't monitored around the world, perhaps you need to think again. Chinese social media is no less restrictive than any other. That's my point and until you can stop the bluster and prove or at least cite a case proving the opposite. we're done.