China misconception, or reality?

Question

Ok, there are things I'm believing about china that I NEED to know are true.

1. Is it true the only job you can do is Factory work? Or it's the majority job you can have ? (besides teaching) (I want to be a musicician.. )

2. Is certain types of music illegal in china?

3. Is it illegal to be online alot? (Yes Im a nerd I am into games and such)

4. Do you go to jail if you dont do what the gov tells you? (If they tell you anything, such as you have to do so and so or else you go to jail)

Thanks..

Also if these are false, no offense to anyone living there.

Yes, I am american

And I've heard this on TV and from parents, I know it's not true but I want to confirm it

Answer 1

1 - not true
2 - yes I believe so, at least according to the law, but you can get just about anything here if you want it
3 - not true, although there is monitoring of what goes on on the internet by the govt.
4 - in some cases, like if they say do not murder and you murder yes you will go to jail

Answer 2

OK, there is some truth to some of the things you hear...

# 1 and 2 are not true...

#3: internet use is growing fast. most young people use the internet. chat programs are very popular (skype, msn, yahoo, QQ). Some sites are blocked by the government as there is indeed issues that the Chinese government does not want its citizens to know about, or to know as little as possible.

#4: you dont go to jail if you keep the peace and respect the law, like everywhere else. BUT you might end up in jail if you protest against violations of human rights, or if you want freedom for ethnic minorities (which is some cases are the majority in their homeland....), or for freedom of speech, religion (e.g., falun gong and non-approved churches), freedom of movement (e.g. the treatment of rural workers), against the one-child policy, etc.

Other than those "minor" government intrusions into your personal freedom, China is a great place to visit and Chinese people are generally friendly and pleasant. But honestly, one cannot be complacent and pretend that these issues do not exist. These issues are real, they are serious, and many human rights activitist have been sent to jail, tortured, killed...

If you love China, if China is your country, you cannot be silent, you have to speak up and do something...

Additional Note: Faye, I am not Chinese, and I don't know how you say that I hate China. On the contrary, it is a country that I love, like I always say, it has all the pieces of the puzzle to become a great nation...it's not there yet, maybe soon if people want to change a few things, maybe never, if people ignore the facts...As for the one-child policy and forced abortions and sterilizations, it has been a very common practice in some rural areas. Maybe not a government policy, but who is the government? Look up Chen Guangcheng if you want some very recent examples of imprisonment and beatings...

p.s. LOL....ileer is really right on the ball...Faye, I know there is a lot of China-bashing and misconceptions out there, sometimes my blood boils high when I read some of the idiotic things that people come up with...so I can understand how you, as a Chinese, can feel when you read things that look anti-Chinese. Some of my comments may look like that, but they are not...Intelligent discussion between intelligent and open people is the only way to bring the truth out of darkness and create a better world, in China and elsewhere.

pps: to the moron who doesn't know me, half of my family and my own children are Inuit...I don't need to hear lessons from an imbecile like you about how Native people have been treated in this country. For your information, if you care at all, I've dedicated the past 20 years for the advancement of Aboriginal rights in Canada...Crawl back under your slimy rock...

Answer 3

I am an American and have been living in China for a few years. I think the best answer so far is from ileerchi... Basically you are under misconceptions.

I knew another American jazz musician who came here to make a living (trumpet). After a couple of years he bailed out. He found it difficult. He tried it in Beijing for a year and then went to Shanghai for a year. If I had more time and space I could go into what his experience was like. If you are really interested, let me know via email and we can talk.

Answer 4

Are you American? I can't believe your press, it's true that they say there's no freedom of the press in America.
1: NO. People can do anything they like really. There are lots of factories in China so lots of workers there but China has just as many industries as we do.
2: All music is fine in China. They tend to like things they can sing along to so it's all a bit dreary. S.H.E are a bit more upbeat.
3: Not at all, there are some restrictions (for example, I tried to log into my yahoo account via the UK site which wouldn't load, but through the Chinese one it was fine). Kids play online games ALL the time.
4: I was never spoken to by anyone official (not even the police. In fact, I was saluted outside the Forbidden City!). The Chinese just don't throw anyone in jail. Just steer clear of talking about politics, Tibet or Taiwan and you'll be fine.
Just treat China as a normal place, as a foreigner you'll be fine and very respected if you're a classical musician.

Answer 5

hi faye, i think you have every right to defend your own country. Yes, China may has some issues, but most people hate china because of propaganda in their own countries ileerchina. while i was in other countries few yrs back all that ever shown on their tv was how poor and backward china are. so most people in the world 'know' china through tv(dynaemu would be an good example of tv propaganda). people living in other country also portray china to be dangerous (high cime), dirty, high pollution (even tho the highest CO2 emission in the world is USA who refuse to ratify kyoto protocol an effort to reduce CO2 emission). i even have friends came up to me to be careful before i came to china to work as SHE said i'll be shot if i was ever found not bringing mao ze dong's teachings (i know this is seriously ridiculous!) And the irony is that, these people who critise and 'hate' china most probaly never even set their foot into china to see actually how advance is china, how intelligent and friendly the people are here.

i'm a expat working in china who feel that china are really been misconceived here.

sry dynaemu, never answer your Q, anyway others had given you the answer. :)

Answer 6

1.) No, that's not true. Lots of IT people are working in China, also in, finance, and investment, although musician wouldn't be a suitable job

2.) Not really, as long as it doesn't specifically blast the government with human rights and other political sensitive issues

3.) No, it isn't illegal. Trust me, lots of young people go online chatting, downloading, games, etc........in China

4.) What do they tell you to do? If they tell you NOT to kill or rape or steal but you still do it anyway, then yes, you will go to jail. Just obey the law as you normally would in other countries. Just don't protest or blast the government regarding human rights and such

Answer 7

faye,you are one of the chinese who think that you love your own country very very much.but you are a little lack of knowledge.which means you have no ability to define what is wrong and what is right.ykphil said nothing wrong.He is not a chinese,but he like chinese.he love china truely than what you think how much you love your own country.do you think what you really love is your government or your people?i am a chinese,i will tell you that many things our China do is not right.That's why so many people from other country dont like China at all.Every body hate China has a reason.Do u know that?Including me,myself.I dont want to argue with you.i'm really disoppointed with you.so many chinese people like you are lacking of knowledge and an independant thinking.

Now on the questions,about china misunderstandings.
1 no.what you think is not true.Yes, many people not educated,they do the facotry job.it's very hard and little income,and bad health condition working in the facotries.But they still work very hard without any complain.But except that there are prety more other jobs people do.it is just like in USA your own country.
2 there are some kind of songs are illegal in China.you can only find them in the black market.they are not allowed to sell because the songs are telling something wrong that the govenment do and what govenment want to hide.I believe what those songs tell are mostly correct in some extends.They are not making those songs base on nothing.There is always some reasons. But,except those songs, other songs can be found everywhere in China.Including demestic music and foreign music.popo music or classic music.just like what you have in USA.
3 this is also untrue.Poeple free to use internet whenever they want and no restriction on how long you can use the internet.But there are somewebsites blocked because they are telling something wrong about China.
4 in the law government make there is no such kind of things that they will put u to jail because of u dont do what they want u to do.But in some local government they do use their right to push peopleto do what they want people to do.
but i think in China,only the folk listen to the government.no government will listen to folk.They say that what they do is right and all the chinese people think that they are right.no one argue no one even think about.everybody think that our country is very very great without thinking.

Answer 8

Hey, so many people have answered your questions, and I guess u already had a clear picture of China and your future. In a conclusion, why not try to move to China for a few months and try to feel how's it like? Welcome to China!

Answer 9

ykphil, I would nod and agree before I saw the last few sentences. So you were saying some people are being tortured even killed for something that's wouldn't be an issue in US or some other countries? NO WAY!!

Are you really a Chinese? No offense but I really doubt it. And even if you are, you might be in an age when, people like you, start to feel life is dark and hopeless.
You know more stuff---sure,like you guys have some special soures that we ordinary people will never know--but you people are easily offended, you complain, ***** about gov and political affairs...

Why don't you just answer the questions and leave? I don't understand, why people just don't like China--of course you have the rights to like or dislike anything, just try to hold less misunderstandings, that's all I hope.

It hurts badly when I see a Chinese say he/she hates China. As a Chinese myself, I tend to believe they are holding some misunderstandings too. Or they collect too much negative information, to say the least.

If you read news on robbery, killings, horriable diet habit, bribery...everyday, I wouldn't even try to persuade you to see the bright side. coz admit it, you want those things to confirm your negative yet "true and right" ideas about China.

1. No. I never study official statistics, but China is developing an integrate industry system, not just factory work. I'd agree with the answers given by above friends.
2. I don't think so. But I'm very interested. Are you willing to tell us how come you have this question on your list? Chinese people welcome all types of music, so long as the lyrics don't contain sensative stuff, you can listen to, sing, or teach. No problem.
3. No. But games take too much time and energy of young people, esp. the teenagers(school age). So you may have heard that Chinese gov ordered the internet bars to refuse under-18s. (I don't think many bars will really follow the order though. They say "no" to under-18s, they lose the majority of their customers.) So anyway, it's not "stay online" what the gov cares about, it's "who" that matters. And believe me, I think gov needs to do more on this bar restriction thing. Those kids are crazy and so obssessed.
Chat, email, bbs...If you have a computer, and broadband service, you can stay online as long as you want. Oh, like what others said, keep away from illegal stuff and be careful to avoid politically sensative affairs.
4. No, I don't think so. I mean, even it's the most criticized one-child only policy, when people break it, let's say they borne a second child, no one would be put into jail, just a fine. Like what they did 19 years ago, when my younger sister was born, they punished my parents 400 yuan. But that's all.
No jail, no torture, no scary political persecution. So far as I know, things are pretty much the same as many years ago. You over-borne kids, you pay a fine. I did read news and got inflamed on individual examples, how local officials did horrible things to pregnant women, but really, just individual, and NOT a gov policy.

I've been to US twice, and I saw falun gong banners and anti-communist party(China's) newspapers. I met and talked with people who got totally impressed and overwhelmed by the negative aspects of China, and couldn't overcome to see that China has a good side. I understand.

To be completely honest to you, I complain about my country too. coz some bad stuff that you gained from news, they are true. They are not typical, but they exist. I can't deny. And I can't imagine how badly they make you people feel towards China.
But you see, some stuff, they come out of human beings nature(bribery, robbery and even wars, they happen in any country, right?), not a gov or party. There are 1300 million for god's sake!

I know China is not good enough to let everyone like it, but still, it's my homeland. I won't change it for the world.

So, do I help here?
(I got a little bit emotional)~_~

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:-) Sorry, ykphil, my words are little strong. Now you may think I'm a bad girl who thinks she loves and defends her country, but actually doing the opposite. Ooooh no....= =|||

You know what, from time to time, I can tell that I'm trying to keep away from all the bad things about China, on purpose.
You know, I would skip news reports on abortions, expanding wealth gap, unafforable medical charges, etc. I don't know why.

I guess 25 is still a little bit young to truly understand something big, like "China, do I love her OR I just like to argue with people(or debate? criticize?)." Or, it might be just because I'm truly childish and worse---a coward.

um, ileer-----?_?sorry, I can't spell it, you know I'm talking to you right? I admit I do lack something, but I don't think it's "knowledge"(I know the worst ugliest stuff about China), more bravity to confront with the realty which can hurt me a lot that is.

I'd love to say more, but I only have 5 minutes left. So~
Would you two please talk with me more, even it's,um, criticize?
I mean it. :-)
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I kept thinking about it last night. So 7:35 am, I'm here again.
Two new points: No.1, that we hold different ideas because we live in different places and what we see and hear are different. Very different.
No.2, China needs various voices to grow. So I don't think us reaching the same conclusion is a good thing.
CPC is young, and China is young, I have no doubt that they are trying to do their best. Just give them some time.

(My English fails me...I guess I would have to stop here.)
Last but not least, Thank you dynaemu, thank you for asking first before making any judgement. (handshake)
Have a nice weekend!

Answer 10

@ykphil,
minority freedom???? What are u talking about?
Do you still remember how your ancestors colonized America and slaughtered native Indians?? Shouldn't those Indians build their own country and enjoy more ‘freedom’? Moron!