23 hours ago, Fact said:

The KKK has pretty much been destroyed.

Who exactly is being hostile to Asians?

KKK shouldn't be allowed to start with.

Read the news.

On 2/13/2026 at 2:29 PM, BritManToo said:

Everyone I encountered in China appeared to be happy.

Everyone I encountered in the UK was miserable.

And that's nothing. Think of the happiness you would have found if you had visited North Korea instead of China.

As a general rule, the more tyrannical a government, the happier its subjects are in the eyes of foreigners.

Next time, visit Pyongyang if you really want to experience the ultimate happiness.

While the CCP promotes its "smart authoritarianism" as efficient governance that keeps society orderly it turns a blind eye towards privacy scandals, it's a reminder that under one party rule, advanced surveillance tech often protects state control more than ordinary people's dignity, even as criminal networks exploit the same tools for profit.

On 2/18/2026 at 11:51 AM, FritsSikkink said:

KKK shouldn't be allowed to start with.

Read the news.

I'm sorry, you can't ban opinions; we are not the European Thought Police. 

I think that the tech giants like Google, FB, X etc etc...are a bigger threat as with all that they know on their users, they have enough to topple anybody or any government.

8 hours ago, riclag said:

While the CCP promotes its "smart authoritarianism" as efficient governance that keeps society orderly it turns a blind eye towards privacy scandals, it's a reminder that under one party rule, advanced surveillance tech often protects state control more than ordinary people's dignity, even as criminal networks exploit the same tools for profit.

Isn't the BBC fake news? Surely its been edited to make you think the worst of China?

I know you won't read this.

8 hours ago, riclag said:

While the CCP promotes its "smart authoritarianism" as efficient governance that keeps society orderly it turns a blind eye towards privacy scandals, it's a reminder that under one party rule, advanced surveillance tech often protects state control more than ordinary people's dignity, even as criminal networks exploit the same tools for profit.

A good friend of mine went on a lot of trade missions to China in the early noughties -nothing senior but a hearty fella well met and on the last night of his trip had the "dubious" pleasure of two attractive Chinese ladies entertaining him for the night. I remarked that portly and lovely as he is he was being catfished and filmed and the information kept on file just in case he became important at some point. Spoiler alert he never did !

Part of a neat series of videos of a Dutch lady traveling through a remote part of Northern China, including meeting Uyghar people in what seems to be entirely normal settings, Its fascinating. Its a part of China I will never visit, but it looks stunning in place. She has been riding through Pakistan, Afghanistan,the Central Asian Republics, and the change in infrastructure is remarkable. Whatever Chinese policies are like, they have succeeded in bringing the fruits of industrialisation to people who, a generation ago, would have been living hand to mouth.

Not sure her Chinese traveling companion, Mr Bing, is a CCP stooge paid to keep an eye on her, or just a Triumph bike fan. Amiable chap it seems. It reveals a far more diverse Chinese culture than I could have imagined.

And at 5:07 you spot a guy enjoying a freedom that's just not possible, legally, in the US.

How the CCP deals with Hate speech, using Suppression & censorship. thats not very democratic .

Google ai overview:

State-Driven Regulation: Rather than just legal penalties, the Chinese government uses extensive internet censorship, mandating that private companies, social media influencers, and platforms, such as Weibo, proactively remove content.

6 hours ago, riclag said:

How the CCP deals with Hate speech, using Suppression & censorship. thats not very democratic .

Google ai overview:

State-Driven Regulation: Rather than just legal penalties, the Chinese government uses extensive internet censorship, mandating that private companies, social media influencers, and platforms, such as Weibo, proactively remove content.

Here's an example of what is censored in China! 😀

The CCP faces a major hurdle to climb in convincing the rest of the world that its system ,its particular brand of (smart authoritarianism) a authoritarian state of capitalism blended with Marxist Leninist one party rule is a viable, attractive, or superior alternative to liberal democracy.

Google ai overview:

"Communism is historically and ideologically considered a threat to liberal democracy because it advocates for a one-party state, abolishes private property, and restricts individual liberties in favor of collective, state-controlled power. Critics argue it suppresses political opposition,censorship, and free elections, replacing democratic processes with total control".

The CCP promotes stability and control internally but allegedly supports chaos externally to erode rivals democratic systems.

Congress investigates billionaire’s alleged funding of anti ICE protests points to real, recent U.S. congressional investigations into Singham, an American billionaire living in Shanghai with reported close ties to the CCP.

Multiple U.S. congressional committees have subpoenaed him, demanded documents, and probed whether he funnels money via dark money networks and nonprofits to far left NGO's organizing antiICE protests, campus demonstrations, and other chaotic protest actions in the U.S A.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/investigation/congress-billionaire-funding-ice-protests/

A first and quite bizarre but it shows how totally mixed up ,upside down the western progressives have become.

Xi Jinping CCP leader for life, a Smart Authoritarian type king is less disliked than the leader of the free world in Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dASSMInq5gI

On 2/16/2026 at 9:54 AM, TedG said:

Can you be more stupidly?

In America there is no direct election of the president. That's why there is a college of electors in the way. It is also why the "popular vote" had no effect on the result.

On 2/13/2026 at 1:47 PM, riclag said:

Can you imagine a autocratic rule where a single leader or a tiny elite holds absolute, unchecked power,deciding laws, silencing critics, controlling the flow of information, and shaping every aspect of public life without meaningful accountability to the people?

Don't need to imagine anything, I monitor US press and media.

The Ccp & the far left's fascination to manipulate the wordage, to make it seem so wonderful, in reality its a one party system control with a leader for life.

Can Chinese Authoritarianism Stay Smart?

https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/11/26/china-autocracy-smart-authoritarianism-growth-innovation/

America is on it's way out. This is China's century. Good riddance to the americans. They allowed Kissenger to mess up the world.

smart authoritarianism ,one party rule and the leader(king) gets to be leader his entire life.

The world trade organization let the ccp control the political demographics.The WTO facilitated the threat to democracy by appeasing the CCP ,which is demising democracy with one party rule,one leader for life.

google ai overview:

Based on analysis from researchers, policy experts, and U.S. government reports, the relationship between China's WTO accession and the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) control is complex, with many arguing that WTO membership did not lead to the liberalization that proponents initially expected, and instead, helped strengthen the CCP's grip.

In a effort to maintain control the smart authoritarian communist regime(CCP) continues strangling open access to the global internet behind The Great Firewall in its desire to maintain strict political and social control.

The Great Firewall:

"Beijing expends resources and manpower on a massive scale to ensure content censorship and preventing dissemination of “moral pollution.”^[10] China, with nearly 700 million users operating behind The Great Firewall, is strangling its Internet in its desire to maintain political and social control".

https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3587653/chinas-authoritarian-grip-how-china-reinforces-social-control-cultivates-a-clim/#:~:text=Beijing%20expends%20resources%20and%20manpower,maintain%20political%20and%20social%20control.

China’s Threat to Global Democracy

Up-to date, how many Democratic countries have China destroyed ?

On 2/13/2026 at 2:29 PM, BritManToo said:

I found China more free than the UK.

And I could walk anywhere I wanted in total safety.

Far fewer rules to stop small business in China.

Far fewer rules to stop house building than the UK.

And the only diversity I found was me.

Everyone I encountered in China appeared to be happy.

Everyone I encountered in the UK was miserable.

Totally agree, for 12+ years I worked in China on numerous short / longer term projects with the gov't and with private enterprise. Working with the Chinese members of all my projects was productive, focused and we achieved above what was expected in the project objectives.

People always helful, friendly and polite, no hesitation to check I we needed anything, good listeners. And much more English than anybody expected.

12 minutes ago, ravip said:

China’s Threat to Global Democracy

Up-to date, how many Democratic countries have China destroyed ?

They are a infant in control of the world ,they haven't mastered the art of manipulating Asean countries and are still working on its own people.(Taiwan,So Korea, Japan) with Communism(smart Authoritarian control,one party,one leader)

You sound like you're in favor of one party rule, smart authoritarian rule( leader for life, a king).How many of its own people died as a result of its control , millions upon millions!

13 minutes ago, riclag said:

You sound like you're in favor of one party rule, smart authoritarian rule( leader for life, a king).How many of its own people died as a result of its control , millions upon millions!

Compared to the west where our democratically elected governments are out to destroy all our people and all our culture and replacing it all with Islam.

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Compared to the west where our democratically elected governments are out to destroy all our people and all our culture and replacing it all with Islam.

I've never been there but Google has .it appears Google has a finger on the pulse of the CCP. One party rule decides how far to take religious doctrine.

Google ai overview:

"China is actively pursuing a policy of "Sinicization" of Islam, aiming to align religious practice with Chinese culture and communist ideology, which has led to intense scrutiny, surveillance, and restrictions on Muslim communities. Policies include the detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, destruction of mosques, and banning religious observances like fasting, veiling, or Islamic education".

10 minutes ago, riclag said:

I've never been there but Google has .it appears Google has a finger on the pulse of the CCP. One party rule decides how far to take religious doctrine.

Google ai overview:

"China is actively pursuing a policy of "Sinicization" of Islam, aiming to align religious practice with Chinese culture and communist ideology, which has led to intense scrutiny, surveillance, and restrictions on Muslim communities. Policies include the detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, destruction of mosques, and banning religious observances like fasting, veiling, or Islamic education".

Which relates to "China’s Threat to Global Democracy" how?

4 hours ago, riclag said:

They are a infant in control of the world ,they haven't mastered the art of manipulating Asean countries and are still working on its own people.(Taiwan,So Korea, Japan) with Communism(smart Authoritarian control,one party,one leader)

You sound like you're in favor of one party rule, smart authoritarian rule( leader for life, a king).How many of its own people died as a result of its control , millions upon millions!

TBH I don't favor one party rule, smart authoritarian rule at all.

That said, can you name just one country that China has destroyed just because they don't like that country?

Today, the Chinese normal people seems to have a lot of freedom to travel around - the numbers of Chinese citizens travelling all over the world just proves it. That also proves that the Chinese economy has improved... which is pretty obvious.

Yes, I agree. Going back in history, millions of Chinese citizens were killed by their own people, and on that same note, we have seen other 'developed' countries massacre innocent civilians without any mercy.

Today, China stands tall not only with its economy, but even militarily. They basically seems to mind their own business very well and stand no nonsense from any other country.

Just my 2 cents.

10 minutes ago, ravip said:

TBH I don't favor one party rule, smart authoritarian rule at all.

That said, can you name just one country that China has destroyed just because they don't like that country?

Today, the Chinese normal people seems to have a lot of freedom to travel around - the numbers of Chinese citizens travelling all over the world just proves it. That also proves that the Chinese economy has improved... which is pretty obvious.

Yes, I agree. Going back in history, millions of Chinese citizens were killed by their own people, and on that same note, we have seen other 'developed' countries massacre innocent civilians without any mercy.

Today, China stands tall not only with its economy, but even militarily. They basically seems to mind their own business very well and stand no nonsense from any other country.

Just my 2 cents.

"Mind their own business"!

Just one instance of minding their own business

How many thousands have died indirectly as a result of the CCP's purposeful negligence ,

google ai overview:

"Fentanyl Precursors: The CCP has been implicated in allowing the export of chemical precursors used to produce fentanyl, which is fueling a public health crisis and ravaging communities across American cities".

https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/media/investigations/investigation-findings-ccps-role-fentanyl-crisis

1 hour ago, riclag said:

"Mind their own business"!

Just one instance of minding their own business

How many thousands have died indirectly as a result of the CCP's purposeful negligence ,

google ai overview:

"Fentanyl Precursors: The CCP has been implicated in allowing the export of chemical precursors used to produce fentanyl, which is fueling a public health crisis and ravaging communities across American cities".

https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/media/investigations/investigation-findings-ccps-role-fentanyl-crisis

Remember the false information, including disinformation and conspiracy theories about the scale of the COVID-19? Regarding the Chinese vaccines etc. etc.

All depends on who does the investigations... these are arguments that no one knows for sure. Each person believes the version they prefer.

So much for the Smart Authoritarian CCP. Still an infant on the world stage,too busy with internal control to handle real strategic squeezes!

Here's fresh proof CCP isn't the unstoppable force some claim, "STRATEGIC STRAIN: China SQUEEZED by Iranian oil disruption". With the Strait of Hormuz basically shut down from US/Israel strikes on Iran, CCP is losing 15–23% of its cheap Iranian oil imports.

Resilient democracies like Japan/S. Korea/Taiwan have a plan and diversify, The CCP gets exposed by its allies/Iran. Not exactly mastering global dominance when a ME flare up could cripple their economy.

Google ai overview:

Magnitude of Potential Loss: If the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz continues, it would severely affect this supply chain. Some analysts estimate that combined with other regional disruptions, it could impact up to one-fifth of China's oil supply