I'm not sure about the immigration process in any of the countries you mentioned, but I think you do need to come up with a good reason other than just being communist, how would the immigration office even vet your claims? Even if it sounds like your education experience doesn't look good, there's still your work experience to consider.

How did you "message the Chinese government" anyway, through their embassies or something? There are less than a million foreigners living in China according to the 2020 census: http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202105/t20210510_1817193.html

IV. Purposes of Staying in Chinese Mainland

Of the above population, 77008 persons came for business, 444336 persons came for employment, 219761 persons came for study, 419517 persons came for settlement, 74735 persons came to visit relatives, and 195338 persons came for other purposes.

More details: https://sfstandard.com/2023/10/09/san-francisco-chinese-consulate-shooting/

• Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Escalation of Tensions Between Palestine and Israel https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/202310/t20231008_11157299.html

Q: Fierce conflict has broken out between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip, causing massive casualties on both sides. Does China have any comment on this?

A: China is deeply concerned over the current escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel. We call on relevant parties to remain calm, exercise restraint and immediately end the hostilities to protect civilians and avoid further deterioration of the situation.

The recurrence of the conflict shows once again that the protracted standstill of the peace process cannot go on. The fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine. The international community needs to act with greater urgency, step up input into the Palestine question, facilitate the early resumption of peace talks between Palestine and Israel, and find a way to bring about enduring peace. China will continue to work relentlessly with the international community towards that end.

• Xinhua (state media) Backgrounder: Major Palestinian-Israeli conflicts in recent years: https://english.news.cn/20231009/e01c59819b3f4ac6a5dd8c5e407a221e/c.html
• CGTN (state media) Backgrounder: The decades-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-10-08/Backgrounder-The-decades-old-Palestinian-Israeli-conflict-1nJEaEexPfW/index.html
• Global Times (international branch of People's Daily, a Party media) Editorial : To avoid a new Middle East war, Israeli-Palestinian issue can't be delayed https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202310/1299464.shtml?id=11

State media (mainly Xinhua and CCTV) reports on both sides of the situation in Palestine and Israel in the same news article, like they have been doing for Russia and Ukraine since Feb 2022.

There is this photo circulating around on Weibo (Chinese Twitter/X), which reads “坚决支持巴勒斯坦和阿拉伯人民反对美帝国主义和犹太复国主义的斗争”, which translates to something like "firmly support the Palestinian and Arab people's struggle against U.S. imperialism and Zionism". I might be wrong but this was probably taken around May 25 of 1967 during a rally in Beijing, or maybe in March 1965 when a Palestinian Liberation Organization delegation visited China.

Israeli embassy is posting things on Weibo but they have to use the "select comments" feature to only display pro-Israel comments. Palestinian embassy's Weibo stopped posting in 2012, their last post was about how the Chinese government and people have always supported the just cause of the Palestinian people's struggle to restore their legitimate national rights, and included this picture of Deng Xiaoping and Yasser Arafat:

People are still commenting on this old post as a sign of solidarity with Palestine.

In China there are:

• 98 million members of the Communist Party of China (7% of the population)
• 73 million members of the Communist Youth League (there is overlap in membership with the CPC as the age requirements are 14 to 28 years old for the CYL, so do not just add the numbers from the CPC and CYL)
• 114 million members of the Chinese Young Pioneers (ages 6 to 14)

Joining the CPC is about taking on a responsibility to the Party and people, which is different from just believing in the principles of communism as a non-Party member.

The rest of the population can certainly "identify as communist" without being members of the CPC/CYL/CYP, but it depends on how you define it.

I've said this before in that thread:

In practice, the number of people dying under the death penalty is nothing compared to the number of people killed in acts of crime, so this unhealthy obsession with “avoid killing innocent people under the state” and finding justification for the death penalty is unnecessary and missing the point.

I find this idealist notion of worrying about "wrongful convictions" to be very reactionary. Yes any wrongful convictions should be avoided, but no the death penalty shouldn't be abolished just because there's a nonzero chance of "wrongful convictions" occurring.

Another thread in addition to the one posted: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/506123

I think that if you can justify deaths by war, then you can justify the death penalty for heinous crimes. If in future wars are won without any deaths or even injuries, then maybe abolishing the death penalty can be reconsidered.

This line of reasoning is very straightforward: if you find it necessary to send soldiers to possibly die in battle, why should people who commit heinous crimes be free from the possibility (not guaranteed) of the death penalty?

You will need

1. a collective leadership,
2. physical base of operations,
3. to do work IRL that benefits the exploited, and
4. propaganda/publicity (neutral term) to attract members or supporters.

I imagine most groups online cover point 4, but lack all the rest.

Point 1: There will be no "real" unity without a single voice of authority, unless you want anarchist ways of organization.

Point 2: Building tangible things IRL is necessary as humans are not digital lifeforms.

Point 3: If there's nothing to show beneath all the talk, then there isn't any reason for people to support you.

Point 4: This one everyone probably understands.

I read the article from KKE and thought maybe they changed their mind as it was published in 2010, then I went to their homepage and saw this: https://inter.kke.gr/en/articles/On-the-war-in-Ukraine-and-Chinas-proposals-for-peace/. This is the last line:

The Chinese dragon with its economic and political resources is claiming what it believes to be its rightful place, including at the heart of Europe.

People who decide to read this may also want to read the Constitution of the Communist Party of China: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202210/26/WS63591ff9a310fd2b29e7eb2a.html

Both available on ProleWiki:

• https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China
• https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China

Side-note about HTTPS, the link OP posted does support HTTPS: https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/201911/20/content_WS5ed8856ec6d0b3f0e9499913.html, but not all Chinese government sites do.

How about this, why doesn't it mention the October 28th 2013 terrorist attack? https://baike.baidu.com/item/10·28暴力恐怖袭击案/12022667

On 1989 Political Disturbance: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/1252700

From "Press conference on successful implementation of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong and Macao since the 18th CPC National Congress": http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2022-11/06/content_78504624_9.htm

Thank you, a question from Bloomberg. If a decision to extend "one country, two systems" past 2047 in Hong Kong was made, what would such an extension mean for Hong Kong's future? Thank you.

Thank you very much for your question. Unswervingly, comprehensively, and accurately implementing "one country, two systems" is China's unchanging policy. On July 1 this year, in his address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly announced to the world, "There is no reason for us to change such a good policy, and we must adhere to it in the long run!" If Hong Kong, Macao, and the international community had any doubts in this regard before, this speech by the general secretary on July 1 gave the final word, and all those worries and discussions no longer persist.

Now this doesn't mean that the overall policy won't change over the next couple of decades, but I think it's more realistic for the transition to socialism to occur from within Hong Kong and Macao and not through intervention from the central government.

For reference: Xi Jinping's address at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region http://www.china.org.cn/chinese/2022-07/04/content_78303693.htm

四年自然灾害

I think you counted one more year, it's three years unless you're referring to something else. 三年困难时期 or 三年自然灾害.

No need to waste time when you see someone mention these three events together:

Famine, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution.

It's the Chinese liberal equivalent of that "TIANANMEN MASSACRE. ORGAN HARVESTING. UYGUR GENOCIDE" trope.

(Hint: It's aimed at Mao Zedong and the CPC)

Thanks for the ping @[email protected] and @[email protected] .

I'm not sure you understand the Cultural Revolution nor traditional Chinese culture, Mao Zedong didn't want to "destroy traditional culture", that wasn't the goal of the Cultural Revolution, that was the goal of "破四旧" ("Eliminate the four old“) movement orchestrated by the ultra-lefts. "Eliminate the four old“ targeted mainly feudal values and not capitalist values, it turned out to be more anarchist than scientific as with the rest of the actions of the ultra-lefts.

From a DeepL translation of "A Concise History of the Communist Party of China" (2021) page 205:

In May 1966, the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee adopted the "May 16th Circular", pointing out that: "The bourgeois representatives who have infiltrated the Party, the government, the army and all kinds of cultural circles are a group of counter-revolutionary revisionists, who, once the time is ripe, will want to seize power and change from the dictatorship of the proletariat to the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie." In August, the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party adopted the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which proposed that "the focus of this campaign is to straighten out those in power within the Party who have taken the capitalist road." The convening of these two meetings marked the launching of the Cultural Revolution. Since then, the Red Guard Movement has been rapidly emerging. From January 1967 onwards, the Cultural Revolution entered the stage of "total seizure of power" and soon developed into a serious situation of "overthrowing everything" and even "total civil war".

(Note that there is an official English translation of this book but I can't find a readable copy online yet, so above is the the DeepL translation of the Chinese text instead, with some minor corrections)

On traditional Chinese culture, we apply "取其精华、弃其糟粕", that means we don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, just because traditional Chinese values have bad aspects doesn't mean we can't learn from the good aspects. Maybe you have not heard of the Confucian phrases "天下为公" and "天下大同".

On July 1st 2021, in his speech at a ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, Xi Jinping proposed "两个结合" ("Two Adapts"), that is:

We must continue to adapt the basic tenets of Marxism to China's specific realities and its fine traditional culture.

Xi stresses the importance of inheriting the fine parts of traditional Chinese culture, as opposed to liberals who decry all of it. Both socialists and liberals have reasons to criticize traditional Chinese culture. Socialists apply a scientific approach that is to inherit the good parts and throw out the feudal aspects. Liberals are against socialism so they attack traditional Chinese culture without any reservations.

"Attack" on traditional Chinese culture wasn't a new thing, during the May Fourth Movement of 1919 there was a slogan called "打倒孔家店，救出孔夫子". During the Cultural Revolution the slogan was "破四旧" as I mentioned at the beginning, and after Lin Biao's coup failed there was the "批林批孔" (criticize Lin Biao and Confucius) movement that Mao endorsed initially but didn't anymore after finding out the "Gang of Four"'s intentions.

Sorry I got heated up after reading the article you linked, the strong words are directed at that. I personally wish the Cultural Revolution had succeeded but alas here we are.

There will always be the risk of reactionaries sneaking into the party and climbing up to the higher ranks, or former comrades turning corrupt and endangering the the socialist cause. But that doesn't mean we should destabilize the country just to deal with them, that only helps the reactionaries further their cause.

What everyone should learn from the Cultural Revolution is how NOT to handle internal contradictions.

This is the second time I'm seeing the Cultural Revolution put in a good light in this post, get off your high horses you naive idealists!

The Cultural Revolution was hijacked by ultras, Lin Biao tried to assassinate Mao.

This is the Constitution of the CPC in 1969: https://fuwu.12371.cn/2014/12/24/ARTI1419387596442272.shtml, it includes this paragraph in the preamble:

林彪同志一贯高举毛泽东思想伟大红旗，最忠诚、最坚定地执行和捍卫毛泽东同志的无产阶级革命路线。林彪同志是毛泽东同志的亲密战友和接班人。

(DeepL translation) Comrade Lin Biao has consistently held high the great red flag of Mao Zedong Thought and has most faithfully and resolutely implemented and defended the proletarian revolutionary line of Comrade Mao Zedong. Comrade Lin Biao is Comrade Mao Zedong's close comrade-in-arms and successor.

Utterly disgusting.

Others have mentioned China's non-interference policy, I'd like to add that I think the only way for China to get more involved is through the UN, that means the Security Council or Peacekeeping or some other UN organization.

Thanks for the ping @[email protected] .

Chinese in China here, I think a better question than "Do you support your government" would be: "If the US government were to replace the CPC and current government tomorrow, would you approve?" Sorry to folks in Nordic countries (another stereotype propelled by liberals) because the US is the "beacon" that liberals use mainly.

If people from any country have no experience with living in other countries, they might be more inclined to topple their own government if their living conditions aren't great and someone were to advocate for the toppling. Even if people read about how bad some foreign governments are in the news, some people would just brush it off as "propaganda", they would have to see it for themselves to believe. This goes both ways for both the people of the US and China.

Comparison is a powerful tool, but some people whip out the "whataboutism" card when you try to do that, they tell you to address the problem instead of finding worse examples from other places. Indeed it's always better to address the problem at hand, but people who scream "whataboutism" in relation to China's issues are really saying "don't look at worse places to make yourself feel good, overthrow the SEE-SEE-PEE regime now!"

Do I support the CPC and Chinese government? Yes and yes.

Does China have problems. Yes.

Do I need to hear from egotistical maniacs in other countries on how to handle issues in my country? No.

小时 means "hour", so in this case it means hourly. I use minimum wage as a baseline, but you can compare using per capita disposable income instead (English data source: http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202301/t20230118_1892303.html). Yes most people who've been to any form of university are expected to earn more than just minimum wage.

The cost of courses in public schools varies by region and is set by the local government, I would say 4000 RMB/year is a safe estimate on the minimum fee.

Students can also apply for student loans in China. I'm not familiar with the topic but here's a short news article from 2021 that covers the basics: http://english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2021-09/15/content_77753922.htm

Undergraduate students can apply for a maximum of 12,000 yuan ($1,860) in loans per person each year

The loans should be mainly used to cover tuition and accommodation, and any extra money can be used for daily expenses

Students do not need to pay the principal or interest while they are still in college and can apply for a five-year probation period after graduation, during which they only pay the interest

Student loans are part of China's financial aid package to help college students. Other assistance includes scholarships, subsidies and tuition fee waivers

Different forms of financial aid to college students totaled 124 billion yuan last year, benefiting 36.7 million students

Note that the last line I quoted mentions 36.7 million students, I'm pretty sure that includes students from all previous years since the total number of students in undergraduate and graduate schools currently amount to 40 million.

As for whether higher education is "affordable" in the general sense, here's a quote from the same article:

No college student should drop out of school due to financial difficulties and enabling all students to change their destinies and realize their dreams through education affects millions of households, national development and the future of the Chinese nation

As an example, for the top 2 prestigious universities in China, Tsinghua University and Beijing University, most courses cost 5000 RMB/year and dormitories cost around 1000 RMB/year, which adds up to 24,000 RMB for a 4-year course.

To put that into perspective, here's a list of the minimum wage for all regions in China (Chinese text): http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/SYrlzyhshbzb/laodongguanxi_/fwyd/202307/t20230703_502349.html. They range from 1420 RMB to 2690 RMB, so the total cost of 24,000 RMB will require 9 to 17 months of minimum wage income depending on the region.