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Comment by thewhitetulip | Hacker News Reader

I am from India and people always look at China and say "look at how that country progressed". I always cringe at that statement. A country is not judged by how well it treats it citizens during the fun times, it is during the unrest that their treatment matters.

I'd rather prefer a cycle than the 400kmph trains Chinese have but I want the freedom of speech I get in India. (of course 2014-current we don't have much freedom of speech, but this is a democracy and will always stay a democracy.)

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Different countries different values. Most probably majority of Chinese people care more about having a peaceful and prosperous life. At least this is what my Chinese friends tell me.

They're also really happy to be able to own an iPhone. It's a huge status symbol there. They couldn't care less about the "Western Internet". Baidu, Weibo, Alibaba, Taobao etc. are more than enough in everyday life.

What's interesting though is the huge change of opinion of people in the last 15 years. When I first came to China, everybody was optimistic, the future was bright, everything would work out.

Now when I talk to people from the lower classes, they are bitter and tell me that, yeah China progressed, but their life is worse. The gap has increased between the rich and the poor and I don't think China is a great role model in term of progress.

Same here, I'd rather live in the forest in a hut like a poor farmer as long as I have the freedom to do or say whatever I want to.

I have a hard time understanding why people value stuff over freedom.

So you would rather watch your children eat mud to fill their bellies, slowly starving to death, and keep your freedom of speech?

It is thousand times better than getting shot in the street like dogs. It is this mentality which encourages 'strong' leaders who screw the general public left right and center.

I don't have children and I would not even think about producing offspring if I were so poor. But in general, yes.

> and will always stay a democracy

This you can't really say, can you? :(

See, the most 'powerful' leader we had after Indira Gandhi was the current PM and he used to have public support because everyone was thinking that he'd do his magic.

But he won't be able to become a dictator. The loophole which Indira Gandhi used to form Emergency was removed and there is little chance that someone like her will be born, go to the top of a national party, win election and then form a coup.

Our armed forces are controlled by the President who, usually is voted from the outside, she ain't just a rubber stamp. Plus, not to mention, we don't have a democracy, we have an oligarchy, the politicians own businesses everywhere and the big business houses own all political parties so even if we became a dictatorship, the big business houses will be the ones to lose, at least one of them and that's all it takes to form a coup to kill the dictator.

Years ago, I walked into a pharmacy in London. The Indian owner was having a chitchat and told me they invaded China with no troops using Buddhism. The ignorance and arrogance were just unbelievable.

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