Why must we always have a foreign enemy? Be it soviets, muslims, mexicans or now China.
Also seems a lot of folks takes a stance on China and view anything they do through that lens only. Those that are anti China seems unable to find anything China does to be positive. Similarly those that defend China seems unable to criticize China at all. Because of these default positions take, more nuanced discussions become ideological ones.
However, at places like HN, usually people and discussions are more rational and fact-based.
I've seen this happening in other circumstances and on other topics, that people who are educated and respected becoming mindless drones, or loss a significant portion of their reasoning ability and rationality whenever a certain note is played. Sometimes decency is lost too.
But then, I expect better on HN and I'm glad the moderator(s?) is doing something about it.
Cheers.
I don't know what the solution is. Maybe we should all strive to understand the other side better instead of casting quick judgement. Environmental and other issues aside, perhaps this is one of the benefits of the recent increase (not counting the current issue with COVID19) of global travel and tourism.
A non-trivial part of the tension between these two powers centers on and around technology, science and industries on the cutting edge. The sensitive topics touch on many of the readers' primary domains.
I don't know? Why must "we"? Can't China just get it's shit in order? Is it too much to ask for?
But this response is the kind of thing I'm talking about. I'm sure you have legitimate reasons to have a negative view of China, but discussions just devolve into emotionally charged rhetoric that doesn't go anywhere. How am I supposed to respond to this in a constructive way?
Nearly all government leaders' first reaction is try to downplay disasters.. after all they are politicians, not science experts.
Did you not watch Chernobyl? It's literally the same plot.
Even in this particular case, the Chinese govt. wasn't the only one trying to downplay this. The US government did the exact same thing even after China had already come to its senses.
There is a difference between the capacity of US and EU to suppress information and the capacity of authoritarian Chinese State to do this. The media in US and EU does not take direction from the Government.
> The US government did the exact same thing even after China had already come to its senses.
Did the US govt allow wet markets with live wild animals to operate in China for the political gain of Xi Jinping and China? Did the US govt downplaying this change the reporting of the media? Did the US order samples destroyed and ordered laboratories to not release information? No?
Stop running cover for Xi Jinping.
If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future.