Chinamaxxing is adding more gloss to the recent flourish of Chinese soft power.
  • HotznplotznEnglish
    12·
    2 days ago

    This is not a ‘trend’ but a controlled influence campaign by the Chinese party-state.

    “As a Chinese person who has been online throughout years and years of heavy Sinophobia, it felt refreshing to have the mainstream opinion finally shift regarding China,” Claire, a Chinese-Canadian TikTok user, tells BBC Chinese.

    There has been no “heavy sinophobia” but reports that were and still are critical about the Chinese government. Nor does the mainstream opinion now shift as people are still if not even more aware of Beijing’s atrocities. This is just an influencer saying something like that for money, and I would like to know who pays her.

    The article itself says later:

    [Chinese state media and the government] have sought to portray the US as a decaying superpower because of inequality, a weak social safety net and a broken healthcare system. According to a commentary in state-owned Xinhua, the “kill line” meme “underscores how far the lived reality can drift from the ideals once broadcast to the world”.

    And:

    It’s little wonder that Chinese authorities are pleased with Chinamaxxing […] Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said […] he was “happy” to see foreigners experiencing the “everyday life of ordinary Chinese people”.

    Sure, they are pleased. They control the entire campaign on social media.

    As the article says at the end:

    It’s hard to know what Chinese people make of so many things because all public conversation and activity is heavily policed. Criticising the government is risky and protests are quickly quashed.

    Tere is a lot the memes making it to the West don’t show. China’s youth are facing an unemployment rate that sits at more than 15% and burning out from a gruelling work culture, yet sharing too much of their pessimism online could alert internet censors. They are worried about finding a home as the country’s property crisis continues, and dating is no easier than anywhere else.

    Yes, and there is a lot more what is not displayed on Chinese social media given the state’s censorship.

    The headline and the article are highly misleading imo. This is pure Chinese Communist Party propaganda.

    • rockerface🇺🇦@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      13·
      2 days ago

      There’s been a bunch of these deliberate misleads, too

      • Criticism of Chinese government = “sinophobia”

      • Criticism of Israeli government = “antisemitism”

      • Criticism of russian government = “russophobia”

      Seems like the classic ghoul playbook to me

      • HotznplotznEnglish
        6·
        2 days ago

        I fully agree. It’s a concerning that many journalists like these from the BBC don’t appear to understand that such things are not the result of an organically grown development but rather a controlled influence campaign. The article cites “influencers” and social media stats, but the journalists should know that such sources paint a hopelessly false picture of reality.

  • Koprov@piefed.socialEnglish
    13·
    2 days ago

    How is the Uyghur situation lately? Still chinamaxxing in their concentration camps? Fucking whitewashing…

  • Saapas@piefed.zipEnglish
    12·
    2 days ago

    Zoomies just keep having these nonsense trends and they are dying as fast as they’re being made. I love it, it’s all so silly

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
      8·
      2 days ago

      Their public perception is being normalised. Russia, Israel, USA… all doing shit that China has been demonised over for decades.

      They arent getting better, their peers are being revealed as no better.

      • grue@lemmy.world
        6·
        2 days ago

        Their peers are getting worse. Pretending it’s always been this bad is pro-fascist disinformation.

        • Delphia@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 day ago

          Some cases yes, some cases they are just being more blatant about it. Either way I think we can agree that the publicly percieved gap is definitely narrowing.

  • Jax@sh.itjust.works
    31·
    8 hours ago

    Anyone that moves to China because they’re angry at the U.S. will learn the definition of cutting off their nose to spite their face.

    I am not Han Chinese, therefore it will never be a very Chinese time in my life. Fuck Hasan.

  • MareOfNights@discuss.tchncs.de
    2·
    2 days ago

    Didn’t all of this “I’m at a very Chinese point in my life” stuff start with Hasan Piker?

    He went on a (I’m assuming paid for) trip to China, got shown around by some CCP guide and said “I’m at a very Chinese point in my life” while doing a Mao cosplay.

    Then everything blew up on TikTok. Seems very deliberate.