You sound extremely comfortable judging from overseas without bothering to do any investigation into the history, current happenings or theory that explains why things are how they are.

China didn’t start in 1949 as some middle-class country waiting to “finish” a revolution. It started destroyed by war, invasion, famine, and colonial humiliation. Then it immediately faced embargoes, military threats, and nonstop pressure from the US-led order. Try rebuilding a civilization under siege from a globe spanning empire and see how fast it goes.

While you’re asking “where’s the egalitarianism,” nearly 900 million people were lifted from abject poverty. Villages got roads, electricity, clinics, schools, normal and high-speed rail links and corrupt officials actually started to get punished, including high-ranking ones.

You treat history like a vibe. Revolution isn’t a personality phase, it’s decades or more of infrastructure, education, stability, and survival in a hostile world.

And yes, strong centralized leadership still exists because capitalism didn’t disappear and imperial powers didn’t suddenly become friendly. We already saw what happens when countries relax too early, look at the USSR or if you’re too weak to defend yourself(Syria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Peru, Palestine).

Leadership gender balance and patriarchal tendencies are still real issue. But pretending nothing has improved since your grandma’s childhood is insulting to hundreds of millions of women who now read, work, own property, and live longer fuller lives.

What’s actually “weird” is sitting safely in America, benefiting materially from the empire, then mocking a country that had to claw its way out of devastation for not becoming perfect in 75 years. You have a very interesting way of interpreting things.

But you were getting hostile with me personally. We do vote just not directly for the top (honestly a better way to do it imo but sort of beside the point). Also I support a majority of what the current government does with anti corruption and targeted poverty alleviation (which has really helped my parents home village). Taiwan is not important enough to me either way to jeopardise that I’m sorry to say. I think the status quo of posturing and both sides doing nothing works for now and I think most people on the mainland and the island agree with me on that to some degree. If Taiwan reunifies I think it would be nice for some personal reasons I don’t particularly want to get into with strangers but I don’t support use of force I think if Taiwanese wants to break away and go it alone that’s good too if a majority support it.

Tldr: I’m a fence sitter (probably slight lean to reunify but I don’t think that’s my choice to make for other people) on this issue break away reunify not much changes for me outside of thoughts which doesn’t really mean much.

So you blame me for that and that’s why you’re being hostile to me despite how I was just politely asking your opinion on things?

That’s very hostile for no reason.

Not sure why anyone thinks they get to have an opinion.

White saviour complex is a big part imo.

Not at all related to anything I said?

If the USSR didn’t fall hundreds of thousands of women and children would have been saved from being pushed into prostitution and trafficking, millions would have avoid being plunged into morbid poverty, life expectancy wouldn’t have fallen by nearly 10 years due to the brutal conditions of capitalist shock therapy, there would be no war in Ukraine killing the sons of Russia and Ukraine by the thousand, the socialist block would still be together and would have enough strength that militant resistance against the omnicidal American empire would be more than just a pleasant thought for the future.

You’re very hateful for a third party. The collapse of the PRC that they seemingly “jokingly” called for would be devastating we’ve seen what happened to the USSR already. When did I call them a traitor that’s you putting words in my mouth. And to be able to look through this comment section and say there is no racism against Chinese people is genuinely astounding. Maybe it’s because you agree with the racists.

USSR kickstarted German conquests allying with them at the start of WW2

Ah you’re one of these people. Ok conversation with you will not be productive. Continue believing what you want all the best.

Why are you still speaking for them. “Apologetics” is when I try explain history to an American illiterate. And I call it spam because you have seemingly sought me out across multiple conversations in this thread you weren’t involved in to insert your idiocy.

Who are you to say what they agree or disagree with. I pointed out we have elections and democracy. That is a fact that they seemingly didn’t know. Why are you here spamming me and accusing me of bullshit just because you are illiterate.

I asked a question out of curiosity after someone came to me and self identified as pro independence. They answered about no democracy, I pointed out we also have democracy. Please just learn to read or fuck off.

I would. Why pro reunification people hold their opinions is equally as interesting as pro independence or status quo believers.

Syria? The country currently controlled by terrorists massacring minorities is a good example of what you want? Also the USSR did 90% of the work of defeating the Nazis while America continued to trade with and fund them through ford IBM and other enterprises. I think the US should just stop intervening but they never will as the massive violence and immiseration is necessary to sustain their empire.

I think you are illiterate. I have commented with you a few times and you seem incapable of grasping basic premises. I don’t care if Taiwan reunifies I was just curious why he holds the belief he does. He provided a reason that I’m my view starts from a flawed premise so I explained my thoughts on that. None of this was lecturing or chauvinism. Please learn what words mean and figure out how to grasp through lines before you talk to me further so we can have meaningful discussions as opposed to you just arguing in circles about bullshit you made up in your mind.

People said the exact same thing about Libya in 2011. ‘Just military targets.’ ‘Just a no-fly zone.’ It’s genuinely impressive how the same script can be rolled out over and over.

What it actually meant was destroying Libya’s air defenses and command systems. Once that was done, NATO pushed regime change, the state collapsed, and the country was handed over to militias, foreign powers, and jihadist groups. That’s the model.

When people say ‘only military targets,’ they’re repeating the same script. You don’t bomb a country’s defenses unless your goal is to weaken it. Once that happens, it’s open season: invasion, proxy forces, destabilization. These strikes are never isolated. They’re step one.

Left of centre

The guardian.

I’m not sure you know what it means to be left of centre.

Calling Lenin and Stalin “two peas in a pod” is pure ignorance. Lenin was a theorist of imperialism and revolutionary strategy in a semi-feudal Russia. Stalin governed an already-existing socialist state under siege and focused on industrialization and survival. Their political contexts, priorities, and theoretical contributions were radically different. Collapsing them together just tells everyone you’ve never seriously engaged with either.

Now about “dictionary imperialism.”

Western dictionaries define imperialism as broadly as possible on purpose: “extending power,” “influence,” “big country doing stuff.” Why? Because that conveniently erases the material reality that Europe and the US built their wealth through capitalist imperialism, finance capital, colonial extraction, unequal exchange, and permanent underdevelopment of the Global South. If imperialism just means “strong states exert power,” then suddenly everyone is equally guilty and nobody has to confront who actually runs the system.

Imperialism only has value as an analytical concept when it means something specific.

Lenin’s definition does exactly that: monopoly capital + finance capital + export of capital + division of the world + super-profits from subordinate nations. That explains the modern world. Your dictionary definition doesn’t explain anything.

We already have words for generic force: war, conquest, invasion.

“Imperialism” exists to describe a capitalist global structure, not your vibes-based “power is bad” framework.

You’re hiding behind dictionary entries because you don’t want to deal with political economy.

This isn’t a semantic debate. You’re choosing a deliberately vague definition because it lets Western countries off the hook and lets you posture without understanding systems.

Honestly, grow up. Stop lecturing people while proudly demonstrating you haven’t studied the topic. Being arrogant doesn’t make you informed, it just makes you loud.

But they’re afraid to even give them oil to avert a US-imposed famine, so its unlikely we’re gonna see China do something cool.

There is food aid and China built their solar infrastructure so they’re not leaving them out to die. I think it’s a complicated situation for China as the US has shown how crazy it can be and China enterting a hot war with them would be undesirable for the entire world to say the least.

Btw, mander.xyz isn’t blocked in mainland China like .ml

I use a VPN anyway so it’s not really an issue I’m here to practice my English mostly while interacting with interesting people.

Sorry if I phrased it badly, English isn’t my first language, this comment is more an open comment to the comment section where people are saying things like this and talking about Chinese meat waves and meat grinders and the like. I wasn’t trying to attack you.