China's Biggest Hidden GHOST City Has Failed - Episode

[@TheChinaShow]

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[@wylieecoyote]

"Meats" are the one to beat..

[@ThePoopsmith-12345]

Just received my first package from Hello Fresh today!! My kids are really excited.

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

Oh yeah.. the Schumann is currently screaming from solar microwaves( high energy flatline resonance) Fellahs, stay out of the sun..

[@stormcrowemissaryofsophia2366]

Chinese rocketfuel components: Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine , is a tumor inducing carcinogen. Nitrogen Peroxide, is a super neurodegenerator which induces methemoglobinemia.. Still there's no fefelli strong enough, to hide the perihelion heart attack raptures, which began in 2017.

[@NealBrown63]

"Couple" is TWO! It doesn't mean anything else, no matter how much you want it to.

[@fyeelessarndra3392]

I'm Malaysian, so I'm very much entitled to criticise my own country. A KZbin channel made a video about failed megaprojects around the world, and Forest City took the top spot in that video. Many Malaysians saw that video, most agreed, but a very few strongly disagreed. In fact, a Malaysian royalty slammed the video for being fake and a slander. I won't name said royalty (because in Malaysia it's punishable by law to speak about the '3R': Religion, Race & Royalty), and it's hilarious how everyone who's high in the Malaysian political hierarchy tries their best to cover this up as if it's dust that can be swept under a rug. It's a freakin' whole city! What proverbial rug can be used to cover this massive failure?! It's really stupid. Meanwhile, Singapore across the straits is just heaving sighs of relief because they just dodged a freaking ICBM instead of a tiny bullet by rejecting Country Garden's initial goal of involving them in this project..

[@chocobrowniewin]

The moment I heard that China was involved in that project, it was the death knell. Now with the talks of restarting HSR, well, one has to be wise and make contingency plans. Leaders are not saviours. You can't rely on them to do anything except to make huge mistakes.

[@adolfolerito6744]

Thank you very much for your comment pal, it’s fantastic to have these insights, especially when the language barrier is considered… Singapore dodged a bullet for real, especially considering that with how much land is in short supply there, a ghost city would have hit them real hard! Anyway I’m really sorry for you that you have to tiptoe your way around all of these topics, including your country’s elite, because if you don’t toe the line you will be arrested and prosecuted by your own government… I really wish you that Malaysia one day will get the freedom that it deserves, so that people will be able to freely exchange ideas and constructive criticism without worrying about the “3R”. Wish you the best :)

[@fyeelessarndra3392]

@@johnharris1360 all our "occupiers" are foreigners... I don't think handing over one coloniser to another makes any moral difference because in the end it's always the natives that gets the brunt of the violence... Your comment makes no sense to me..

[@blokeVB]

​@@johnharris1360 butterworth today. But it kept dirty commies out

[@petermanning3811]

A few is more than two

[@serpentza]

A couple of beers does not mean 2 beers… but it can if you only end up drinking two which is highly unlikely

[@FPSunderscoreSam]

It's never two beers.

[@mrhairypalm5006]

🤦🏻

[@bschneidez]

To each his own. I've always been a light drinker though. Beer for me has always been more of a tool for relaxation and loosening up... If I want to get messed up, there are enough substances which work better and don't make you feel like death the next day.

[@maolcogi]

Edit 2: I'll put this at the start because I'll actually agree with you on the "Let's go out and get a couple beers." not meaning two. But that's just something people say, it isn't really referring to TWO beers. You guys got me all worked up, this is ridiculous. cou·ple /ˈkəp(ə)l/ noun noun: couple; plural noun: couples 1. two individuals of the same sort considered together. "a couple of girls were playing marbles" It never refers to anything other than a pair, or two, of something. Edit: I also don't ever want to end with 2, even 2 pints. Give me 3 pints at least please! 3 pints of delicious Yuengling Lager!

[@kneau]

@@maolcogi a few beers for you

[@dj_paultuk7052]

I work for a very large UK construction company with housing sites all over the UK. We have "Chinese investors" buying up entire floors of London Apartment blocks even before they are built. They then rent them out at very inflated prices. Sadly our government is doing nothing to stop this.

[@davidbridge5652]

Definitely, I work in construction sales in the uk and we help construct alot of apartment blocks mainly in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds etc and there is a hell of alot of Chinese money

[@D.S.handle]

But if they are used then what is the problem?

[@dj_paultuk7052]

@@D.S.handle The problem is they are making less new units available for UK buyers. Secondly they are pushing up UK rental prices to insane levels.

[@D.S.handle]

@@dj_paultuk7052 would you be against British investors doing the same, a.i. buying up entire floors and renting them out? Because I think that what you truly don’t like here is the action of wholesale renting, instead of the renting being done by the Chinese nationals. I assume that in both scenarios the taxes are being paid, and if the renting is profitable there would be other people who would do this instead.

[@lordhoweproductions3733]

Simple solution. Don’t rent from them. They’ll realize it was a shitty investment if nobody is interested and they will stop buying apartments.

[@simonscott1121]

I worked for a Chinese company, in Australia, and a chinese guy's monitor (he was something like an executive assistant) faced me. He spent 99% of his time on the chinese facebook equivalent. The other 1% of the time he was yelling and being aggressive to people who were asking him to do actual work.

[@RatinanLee]

That sounds very Chinese to me, yes, they don’t even know how to do the actual work. I also have many work colleagues who are exactly like that. These people won’t survive outside Chinese firms

[@generalmartok3990]

Yep. Average Chinese middle manager.

[@TubersAndPotatoes]

A crazy thing about Malaysia's USD$100 billion Forest City project is that Malaysia's GDP is less than USD$400 billion. What made them think Malaysia can support a real estate project worth 25% of Malaysia's total economy, all concentrated onto one single spot when Malaysia's real estate economy is only around 3% of its GDP at around USD$9.5 billion per year? Go figure why China's housing market is so dysfunctional, and is trying to export its ghost city model overseas after it can't squeeze out its own local markets anymore.

[@jeannie4cc]

I lived in Hong Kong in the early 80's late 70's. The South China Morning Post had stories and pictures of aborted or newborns left (baby girls) in the gutters of Canton. I was a teenager and knew the repercussions at that time.

[@Bingo_Bango_]

Kind of miserable how South China Morning Post has gone down. The English-speaking portal still has some teeth (the reprehensible Alex Lo well and truly excluded) but it isn't permissible to publish or translate anything too "unpatriotic," especially sharing deeper mainland issues, nanzao was shut down, and the website is wholly blocked in most of China anyway.

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

The colonial SCMP dreaming of bringing back f'ing monarchy to China, praising all the HK-cubicle homes making the moneybags rich, is surely the definition of trustworthiness! For total clowns.

[@drCox12]

As a German I can tell you that we have the same thing as with "a couple (of)". For us it's "ein Paar" or "ein paar". The lowercased "ein paar" means "some" or "a few".The capitalized "ein Paar" means "two" or "a pair". In the oral communication it depends on the context. I learned in school that in English it's the same with "a couple" with the indicator being the word "of". So "a couple of" something means "some" or "a few" while "a couple" (without "of") means "a pair" or "two".

[@kylematlock7499]

This sounds like it is probably the "rule", but I highly doubt enough people know this for it to actually be used in such a manner.

[@EchoLog]

As a native English speaker, who's autistic fascination is grammar, and someone who's collected many books on language myths: your English class wasn't 100% right A couple of apples is two apples. A couple apples is two apples, but you didn't (fully?) say "of" A few apples is an unspecified amount, although less than a bunch. A bunch of apples is, disappointingly not the unit a bunch, but simply an unspecified amount of apples that is larger. Some apples is an unspecified amount, presumably but not necessarily more than a few. If you were to say "a couple of these" back to back with "a couple these", it'd get heard as either a native speaker eliding "of" /əv/ to "o" /ɔ~ʊ/ to just mild lip rounding, or a second language speaker focusing more on meaning than pronunciation (which is preferable, accents aren't an issue) Maybe across the pond in RP or some conservative dialects "of" has this function? It was never pointed out to me as a difference amongst dialects or generations however... Idk. Not a professional but I will use the word expert, and I'm not certain but I'll eat a hat if I'm wrong. ..... anyway uhh .... Proposed additions to English: Alienable/inalienable possession differentiation Evidentiality marking Different dialects learn the phonics of their accent, and reconstruct a fuller more robust vowel alternation ablaut system (I figure a German speaker would appreciate that) Stop teaching our diphthongs and retracted tongue root vowels as "long and short" versions of their monophthong vowel pairs in the Latin script. This makes everyone from Asia who's a second language learner learn a fake version of a dialect that hasn't existed in a long time. Lexicalize tone and vowel phonation, since so many accents are already developing into frenchinese. (Like mine) No more spelling reforms. If they spell it wrong and it looks and feels more right, it is more right. Especially in multilingual situations where different spelling conventions and cross-cultural puns are so available.

[@AdrianDanielGuard]

​@@EchoLogbro just casually dropped a phD thesis in the chat

[@cocozamis544]

Happy New Year ❣️ Thank you for your hard work ❣️ Stay save ❣️ Best wishes from Germany 🇩🇪❣️

[@bennykoh]

I am from singapore and work with customers whose plants in Singapore face the forest city on the malaysia side. we singaporeans are very familiar with the forest city debacle. heard countless stories from malaysians about how this project was launched by ex-prime minister mahatir to attract china chinese to live in malaysia and drive across the border to singapore to work or play. in reality this huge project was just one of his vanity mega projects which on the surface was to improve malaysia's image to the world and make it more attractive for foreigners to live and work. In reality these projects were just a means for him to skim money to enrich himself and his cronies. once the capital controls imposed on china chinese by beijing, this forest city was doomed.

[@fyeelessarndra3392]

I'm gonna need to correct you on one fact there my friend. Forest City was under Najib Razak's era (remember the guy with the massive 1MDB corruption fiasco? Yeah, him). During his era as prime minister, Najib pandered *hard* on China, he was literally sucking CCP's d*ck. When he was ousted, Mahathir took over as prime minister (again) and halted any China projects in Malaysia, including the HSR to Singapore (and he got ousted too, and so did the next prime minister after him. Malaysia was having its own Game of Thrones during this time). Not that I'm defending Mahathir, he's done some shady things too, just not as bad as Najib (maybe, who knows really) but he did something right by stopping future debilitating China projects on Malaysian soil. Our current prime minister keeps a civil relationship with China (and China's trying hard to destroy even that by having their stupid remodeled Russian "made in China" fighter jets flying over our airspace and thank God our current government is not having any of it). At least our current PM is not licking CCP's boots. But yeah, I'd say we deserve being laughed at for Forest City, and even more so by Singapore, being our good neighbour who almost got dragged into this shit show.

[@fyeelessarndra3392]

Hmmm.... I had a comment before under this one but now I don't see it anymore. I was saying that Forest City was former prime minister Najib's project during his tenure and not Mahathir's. I guess some shill reported it and it got deleted because I mentioned that damned party's name. Good to know that shills are working hard keeping an eye on the comment section, you guys stay stupid ok? We won't have Wumao Corner otherwise if you shills don't do your jobs 🤣

[@edifier107]

It reminds me with Indonesia's very ambitious mega project doom to fail which will be the new capital city Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN). This failure will be of epic proportions just like Forest City. All the red flags are already obvious but the President is one stubborn individual digging its own grave out of pride and ego.

[@hakikomorisng8050]

CORRECTION: The Forest City Project in Johor was launched by Najib Razak, not Mahathir Mohamed. In fact, Mahathir bitterly attacked the Forest City project and incurred the wrath of the Johor Sultan who has financial interest in the project.

[@AW-uv3cb]

I have to say that the random quarrels between Winston and Matt add a lot of comedic value to the show 😀

[@Lozwave]

Just a couple

[@EchoLog]

Every entertainment duo has a siblings/married air to it. Just what happens when a couple of people people work together for a long time. These two have it dialed in just right for the show they're doing.

[@TheScotsalan]

Re ghost cities. A mate lives in a complex that has maybe 10% occupancy. Its semi rural, so not enough ppl so that shops can pay, so no shop. A few miles away is an entire ghost town, abandoned, unfinshed tower blocks and hotels etc. The area was supposed to be a garden city/country park thing, and the developers promised no more development, to keep it looking like a country park. But the developers went bust, they have sold the country park area... to other developers. The new owners are draining the lakes to sell the fish, and cutting the forests to sell the wood. 🥵

[@ms-jl6dl]

Scotland?

[@TheScotsalan]

@@ms-jl6dl Ha ha no. China of course.

[@atomicdancer]

I heard the new owners of that Scottish ghost town are draining the loch to find the Monster

[@kneau]

⁠​⁠@@atomicdancer meanwhile, several fairy guardians of the Caledonian Canal just point and cackle.

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

The Chinese people should be full of envy by the great lifestyle of all the homeless sleeping at every subway station in Western Europe and the USA.

[@ForestTekkenVideos]

Sitting on a rock on a cloudy day in the cold wind with my Hawaiian shirt on with 2 other random sellouts sounds like a form of hell. Awesome show! 👍

[@DeHerg]

20:00 "When in the history of ever, in any galaxy, has there been a country that ...[describes space program]... and is begging for foreign aid?" India India also has a space program and receives foreign aid.

[@gerrade71278]

British colonies in the outer realms predominantly substitute "a few" with a "couple" ALL the time. I am with Winston on this one

[@weiwuxian2661]

As an Australian I agree

[@MeAndMyFriendBovineTapeworm]

I'm not from a former British colony, but a couple is at least seven and three quarters. If we're talking about cookies or something like that. If we're talking about kicks in the balls, it greatly depends on who's getting kicked.

[@ReviewThisTestThat]

As a dictionary definition it is 2

[@seriouscat2231]

Coupled means connected. Because you usually connect two things, it by default but not literally means two.

[@seriouscat2231]

When you go for a couple of drinks, the one thing you do not do is have many unconnected drinks, in multiple different places, for example.

[@truenorthstrongandfree3699]

I got sucked in! I was told that Hainan was the Chinese equivalent of Hawaii! nothing could’ve been farther from the truth. I’ve been to Hawaii over a dozen times and there’s absolutely no comparison whatsoever between the two, Hainan was a horror show from accommodation to expensive food to poor transportation and the list goes on and on. if you’re ever offered the chance to go to Hainan, don’t go.!

[@jpstahl2939]

I don't know about any religious conservatives praising China or Russia. In fact, stories from missionaries to those countries are pretty tragic and how they have to hide from the government in order to practice their personal religion and not whatever the state is pushing on them.

[@wordshurt2676]

While I agree with you wholeheartedly, most hard righties are praising Russia (hardly any praise china besides a few communist righties) just because they hate the west, rather than any actual love for Putin or the ccp

[@ArmySigs]

There are some in the US who love Putin because of his stance on LGBT etc. They think he's the Russian Trump 🤣🤣🤣

[@bakerdow9884]

@@ArmySigs Well, Putin is a much more significant global resource entrepreneur, ahemm...

[@ldawg7117]

52:04 this whole arguing over the meaning of a couple has me in tears

[@ericsarnoski6278]

Painting the grass green cracked me up. Reminds me when I was in the USAF and they sent me to Abilene Texas in late August. While I was there , they had people spraying the grass green to spruce up the appearance for a upcoming Pentagon inspection.

[@generessler6282]

Funny. But "Pentagon inspection" is not a thing.

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

I remember youuuuuuuu! The song in my head that usually tells me it's time for a dose of ADHD medication, but once a week tells me it's time for The China Show 😊 🤗 💕

[@iamamoghalfmanhalfdog5325]

Is that a symptom of adhd having songs repetitively pop in your head

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

@@iamamoghalfmanhalfdog5325 I don't know if it is "officially," but it always correlates for me 😂 My thoughts will be racing, my hands will be restless, and a song will be on loop in my head, very often this one for some reason. I'll become aware of myself and go, "Hmmm, how long has it been since I last took an atomoxetin? 🤔" When insomnia sets in, I can often have three things racing simultaneously in my head: a song, a conversation, and some problem being solved or a plan being plotted out. From a mindfulness perspective, it's pretty fascinating, but it's also exhausting and frustrating 😂

[@iamamoghalfmanhalfdog5325]

@@TheRealJellyBomb i get that happen not diagnosed but its always a semi excited thing and the same song chorus over and over . The song i dont even like . Thanks for the clarification i relate to what you said

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

@@iamamoghalfmanhalfdog5325 Yeah, it's usually a song I don't like for some reason 😂 Though I actually do like this one, even though I think it's a bit cringey. WRT ADHD, I was only diagnosed a year ago, and just turned 47 last week. It explains a lot about me, and I'm glad I was diagnosed, not because I "identify as an ADHD person," but because it makes me more cognizant about my behavior, and the pills are really useful 😊 So if in doubt, I recommend getting checked out. Or just find a friend with ADHD medicine and try it out. My doctor told me that giving someone ADHD medicine is a pretty good litmus test (though he claimed not to do it) for if that person has it. If the effect is calming rather than arousing, that's a really good positive indicator 😊 I try to get anyone who suspects they have ADHD or that I suspect have ADHD to try my pills whenever possible 😂

[@jiminauburn5073]

That picture of the 'harmacy reminds me of one that my wife and I used to go to in hospitals in Hangzhou and Guangzhou. And you are right about having to pay for care before you get it. My wife would go to the doctor, and she would have to pay for the visit first. Then everyone would crowd around a desk with a doctor sitting at it. Everyone waving their receipts, wanting to be the next person to sit in the chair at the desk and tell the doctor their ills while everyone else was around. It wasn't always like that, but it was when I first moved there in 2003. It was getting better before we left in 2008 and you would get a number and wait in the waiting area for them to call your name/number. Then maybe the doctor would say you needed a test. So back downstairs to pay for the test and get your receipt. Then back upstairs to have the test done. I remember my wife had to have some blood drawn one time. So we pay for the blood draw and then go up to the blood draw place. There was a line of people in front of a glass partition, kind of like you might see at a bank. So there are people behind the partition that are responsible for drawing the blood. You walk up, stick your hand through the semicircle cut in the glass, give them your paperwork/receipt and they draw the blood. After they would draw the blood, they would throw the needle thing they used to get the blood out into a cardboard box that was 10-15 feet away, sitting on the counter on their side of the glass. Sometimes it would miss and hit the wall behind, or the glass. The wall behind the box and the glass were all splattered with blood from all the syringes that they were throwing over there after every patient. Another time we were waiting at a hospital in Guangzhou and while sitting in the waiting room, the guy next to me spits on the floor, then rubs it around with his shoe to spread it out so that it dried on the floor. Spitting in a hospital? I actually had a procedure done when we were in Asia, but in Thailand. Hospital was great in Bangkok. I always told my wife that I was dying and needed to go to the doctor, to get me on the next flight to Bangkok and if I did not make it, well, that was OK.

[@TheGrace020]

Another banger episode 😻Thanks as always Cmilk and Winston 😼

[@CmdrSoCal]

china observer is better.

[@daryldaryl913]

We can see by the massive amount of rubbish on the beach how much they love the Motherland.

[@agibson1871]

When a cop pulls you over and asks" "Have you been drinking?" That's when you would say" "Only a couple of beers." 🤣

[@mpja]

Winston is correct about a couple meaning a small number. It depends on context. The most all encompassing definition is a small indefinite number of things. This is the most commonly used form from where I am from. "A couple" can mean on the other hand mean a pair or a special status.

[@midgetydeath]

No. A couple literally means two of something. A figure of speech that includes the word can mean something else. But a couple explicitly, literally, and solely means two.

[@TrangleC]

We have technically the same issue here in Germany. We colloquially say "ein Paar" (literally translated "a couple", "a pair") when we mean "a few" or "some". Technically and semantically it means just 2, but nobody means actually specifically 2 when they say it. I assumed it is the same in English. In Germany Winston would be correct and ought to have won the poll. I know, German is not English and my understanding of how such things work in English is limited and tainted by me perhaps wrongfully assuming things that are similar between the two languages also work the same way. Just saying, because the two languages are closely related...

[@crystalmethany6286]

You’re right, in American English we say “we’re gonna have a couple beers” and it always means more than two. I think alcohol is universal in that we always end up drinking more than we should😂

[@pbjandahighfive]

In English I find that when the word "pair" is used in reference to a particular count it ALWAYS means only two items, but people will regularly use the word "couple" more loosely to specify something like a range of "two or three" even though technically it is only supposed to mean two. It can also be used to mean something slightly more vague, like someone says "I will be there in a couple of hours" it would basically mean that you could expect them to arrive not immediately and not a very long time from now, but sometime in the near future, in like two to four hours.

[@TrangleC]

@@pbjandahighfive Yes, that is how I thought it was and how it works in German too. I just was made unsure by Cmilk's stance and by Winston losing the poll.

[@TrangleC]

@@crystalmethany6286 Hehe, perhaps. I wasn't even thinking in terms of alcohol.

[@tigerwoods373]

I like to say couple only meaning 2 but most people say couple instead of multiple. If needed I will ask for clarification Don't use couple if you mean more than 2.

[@Bobtubeau]

There's a derucci near me in Australia. It's bizarre knowing it's Chinese.

[@evel.6024]

I love the whole discussion about 'a couple of' cause I had this discussion with my book editor. It can be used as in 'a couple' as in two of something, but also as 'a couple of' f.e. minutes, then it is around 2 minutes, but not exactly. :3

[@shrewpynewpers4548]

I agree with this take. I will add that I only speak English though!

[@evel.6024]

@@shrewpynewpers4548 Because English is my second language, I often need to check with native English speakers. They laugh themselves silly when I accidentically Englishfy Dutch words or sayings.

[@dominiquefortin5345]

Here in Canada, "a couples of beers" definitely means more than 2 beers.

[@George-W-Jenson]

🍺🍺🍺🍺

[@dominiquefortin5345]

@@George-W-Jenson 99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down ...

[@Rubix003]

The States too.

[@davidm5746]

That theme song is so iconic to you two. I hear it and I immediately think of you guys. Cheers!

[@Mr101beers]

Australians have a couple of beers. Then we have a couple more.

[@George-W-Jenson]

😂😂

[@371508129]

We had a saying at one of the places I worked at “ Never sweat at work, never poop at home.

[@AceFuzzLord]

Winston just admiring he'll be working out in the cold without being prepared is definitely the exact opposite of me. I've grown up with cold enough winters and I still absolutely hate the cold weather.

[@chopsticksandtrains]

Great episode guys!

[@ColtonBrummell]

This is truly vital information for the American people to understand!

[@closetconservative]

Congrats on HelloFresh for sponsoring you!

[@mutecryptid]

I’ve learned more mandarin watching this channel and “historical” dramas than my 7 years of classes and it’s pissing me off bc that class almost killed me 😭

[@ANPC-pi9vu]

LOL Astarion references are invading half the things I like and I am here for it... daaaarling.

[@theuncalledfor]

I only know Goostarion. Is that your sandwich? Not any more! Honk~

[@mrz133]

I live in the other country garden development in Johor Malaysia which was taken over by the Malaysian government is far better I am thankful I chose this instead of forest city although when I bought this place they gave us an option to buy another in forest city for 50% off 6 years ago which most stayed away including myself

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

Honest question. Are you worried about tofu dreg construction? I'd be scared crapless about the building self destructing 🤯

[@mrz133]

@@TheRealJellyBomb not really as in Johor the standards of safety and inspection is quite high as the land here at least the country garden Danga bay one that I am staying at is owned by the sultan himself with him coming and going regularly and it is always built very near to him highness palace as different state is very different at times here in Malaysia.

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

@@mrz133 That's good to hear 😊

[@omarabdullah510]

Forest City is bestowed with duty-free zoning as an incentive to attracts buyers. It has since turned into smuggling of sorts. "Residents" will buy liquor & beer, duty-free, from whatever shops happen to still be open in there, then cart them out of the compound to resell at prices just below normal market rate. Malaysia boleh lah

[@AlphaAurora]

The best part of Forest City, is that you can stare across the strait at Singapore. A place where the Chinese-majority aren't half-assing their construction projects, and they even have China's construction firms building massive Housing projects....to standard. All it took was for the government to actually enforce standards.

[@doujinflip]

Made by China isn't as big of a problem as QC'd by China ❌

[@RatinanLee]

Singapore is getting worse anyway. The construction is one thing, but imagine the signboards, the language, etc. They directly translate from Chinese to English and hope people will understand. They regularly use abbreviations (Chinese love abbreviations) and hope all foreigners will understand. Sometimes, those local Chinese people insult foreigners for not understanding their broken English directly translated from Chinese.

[@AlphaAurora]

@@RatinanLee That's unfortunate, but perhaps reflective of their turn to importing Chinese to make up the racial balance in Singapore?

[@julianokleby1448]

You TWO guys are like an old married 'couple' who have nothing left to do but torture each other. lol

[@b_uppy]

That a relatively high percentage said "2-3" is used shows that *the alternate meaning is viable.* Sterzel is correct, even if it is less universal. It does depend on context...

[@edelweisstomner9009]

Winston was right as it is sometimes used as a informal word for just a "small amount" there isn't a numerical value to the term when used informally. Even Webster has a 4th definition as "an indefinite small number" to argue against him is pointless, just seams to be cMilk's hobby to bust his balls over nothing

[@b_uppy]

@@edelweisstomner9009 In C-milk's defense many agreed with him. I learned that it can be used more as a suggestion than an actual amount in third grade.

[@Steve-ev6vx]

I consider "a couple" to be two things that are connected in some way. As in they are "coupled". Two things in a group, but not connected are a pair, as in a pairing. A married couple is two people. A pipe coupling couples two pipes, unless otherwise stated as a three way, four way, etc. If you have two people stand together they are a pairing. If they marry each other they are a couple.

[@b_uppy]

@@Steve-ev6vx Use of the word "couple" is contextual.

[@MrBalloonHanz]

17:05 not only Hawaiian shirts. All three have their own matching Hawaiian short suits. 😂

[@saxpert]

Actually green facades or fronts are a good idea regarding cooling and good humidity. A house front covered with ivy generates a very good cooling effect in summer so you don't need air-conditioning in Europe.

[@Jeep4X]

Talk about a “couple” of guys flogging a dead horse 😂😂

[@netkr0]

interesting fact, a Singapore Presidential hopeful Tan Kin Liang, own a unit there and promoted this city to no end.

[@zenithdawn9663]

Hey Roman, good to see you here too.

[@d3fenc367]

Wow. The BBC actually accurately reporting for a change!

[@bullpup1337]

No, its just for a chance that you actually notice and acknowledge it because you cannot refute the fact that they are (or are even aware).

[@Merc399]

SerpentZA outing himself as a binge drinker is hillarious xD

[@johannbezuidenhout2976]

Hey us South Africans don't need much of a reason to binge drink.

[@Merc399]

dude i get it. im not knocking him my dad drinks every day and has teh healthiest immune system of anyone i know idgaf im just saying its hilarious that he thinks the amount he drinks is normal xD its not! but im sure hed say the same about the amount of weed i smoke so there we go haha@@johannbezuidenhout2976

[@abzmorningstar4429]

51:48 “I use street speak” I fucking love winston😂

[@Joemantler]

"They promote family, but they have lots wrong, too!" One thing can be good while another is evil. I can praise the good and condemn the evil! Just the same as you do it in individuals, as well.

[@UncleJoeLITE]

You two play off each other wonderfully. True pros imho.

[@bullpup1337]

no, they are the opposite of pro, and thats why we love them

[@Peter-cm8vi]

You could describe them as a "couple" of pros

[@paullittle6458]

LOVE...LOVE...LOVE the original "Introduction Theme Song" ‼️♥️♥️♥️ All the episodes I watched during the past " 3 COVID Years" ‼️

[@maolcogi]

29:37 ... do beaches in China really look like that? That's just children playing in a sandy wet landfill. I found a can on the beach here in Florida (where we really do have pure white sand caused by reef erosion and such) and I thought it was dirty, turns out it was absolutely pristine.

[@internationalme2897]

Showing support. 🙌

[@Sk0lzky]

37:35 you can actually make it work but it requires maintenance or some hardcore (plastic) protection for the walls, there are a few malls and similar buildings (and a ton of private houses of course) in Europe which pulled it off successfully. In fact I'm installing something like this on my house this summer, I already made a roof garden as well (I didn't consider adding a railing beforehand though so it's not particularly safe and I ain't ripping it all apart, it's a few k in labour, expertise and materials) Hell, there are in fact office and university buildings like this and I think even the imperial castle in Poznan (or a building next to it) has some vines on it.

[@jasonbrophy5081]

Love the channel, keep up the good work. Much love from Charlotte NC

[@RatinanLee]

R&F Princess Cove in Johor Bahru, next to the causeway (the bridge to Singapore) is also like a ghost town - I went there last month, the retail area was extremely scary, and I felt so scared, so I left within like 10 minutes after I learned there were nothing there. The nearby City Square was so crowded. The footbridge linking City Square to R&F was partially torn due to the construction of the RTS project between Malaysia and Singapore. Anyway, no one is going to want to live there. The best area to live or to build hotels and malls is next to the new RTS station which will be the new gateway to/from Singapore.

[@bgarbled]

a 'couple', by definition, is two... but in society, getting 'a couple beers', means at least two, depending on how much fun you and whoever you go with are having..! Great show guys... looking to become a $20 member... ! Be well..

[@natejames9596]

Love the show and happy you have a sponsor, but I can only imagine the plastic waste that comes with those meal kits.

[@serpentza]

Only brown paper

[@Anita-k]

I get it, this concept may appeal to some people (and as a phase for most of them), but they'd NOT have to advertise "free breakfast for life", if this'd attract enough customers long-term imo ... I bet they do this, bc lots of people only test their "21 free meals and free shipping", they gave out for a while and THEN THE PEOPLE ARE OVER IT, bc there's a reason they didn't cook themselves before. & Just like you, I thought the exact same thing, when I heard "all ingredients pre-portioned/pre-packaged" ... geez, that's a HUGE amount of plastic waste for each single meal! Sure, takeout also comes with lots of plastic, but I kinda doubt it's such a big amount, as I envision this complex option* - however at the very least I don't also have to cook it myself and clean up afterwards - bc I'm definitely NOT an "I feel like cooking now" person at all; despite occasionally doing it. & Getting pizzas in cartoons to have variety really isn't that bad, when it comes to waste. * If I'd have a food related factory and someone would come up with this business idea, I'd shake my head in despair tbh, bc I know too well, most people aren't eager to cook and clean, even if there're meal options that are allegedly ready in 20 to 30 minutes ... which I also doubt, bc it takes a while to e.g. cook potatoes. & I also doubt, that several portions of pre-packaged flour are cheaper, than buying 1kg/2pounds of flour, that comes in a paper bag where I live - not trying to shįt on their sponsor, but I kinda feel these are meals for (at least middle class) people, who earn relatively well and have lots of spare time on their hands - this business likely boomed during covid lockdowns and now that everything's back to relatively normal, HF is starting to struggle.

[@BastedwithMustard]

@@Anita-k crazy was just thinking deep on this myself yesterday hahaha

[@Anita-k]

@@BastedwithMustard Tbh I never gave HF any thoughts, as granted I'm not their target audience/customer, I've heard KZbinrs talk about them for years though - but this was the very first time, I heard about bfl (= breakfast for life) and that gave it away for me - bc I bet you can only get "bfl", when you also order HF for the rest of your life; that's why I think they're currently struggling.

[@kneau]

_HelloFresh to Stop Buying Coconut Milk From Thailand Amid Claims of Monkey Labor_ "The meal kit company’s decision follows an advocacy group’s report claiming that some monkeys in Thailand are forced to climb trees and pick the fruit." - NYTimes, March 2023 Totally unrelated to plastic waste, yet still... that's something.

[@YoutubeWatcher264]

Family went to Legoland Malaysia years ago. Very few people outside Legoland area. At night, you'll definitely feel how ghost of a city it is.

[@zapfanzapfan]

A lot of concrete and rebar wasted on ghost cities, fortunately low quality so they will return to nature soon...

[@hendrikalbrecht-m8h]

@ Winston: In the German language we can tell apart a couple (ein paar) from a couple (ein Paar). If you write it Paar it means two of Something, Like a pair of shoes. If you write it paar it means more than two. So you'r both right😂

[@thevibeinc]

15:34 This C-Milk stand-in and his Chinese Hawaiian short-suit “gang gang” really stole the show. 😆😂 The wardrobe staff had the most heart and dedication on this propaganda shoot team. They were sure to match the complete outfit from the smartwatch band to the flip flops.😅 I have meat on my bones and I know with 100% certainty that those “ROKES” always leave unforgettable memories with lingering reminders. I find it rather interesting that this storyline/setting involved 3 Island gangsters, attempting to perfect (10 out of 10) “roke” mounted NSFW yoga poses. All while deep diving into this rocket conversation.😅 I suspect the only reason they didn’t go full blown, competitive level, Olympic splits, had to do with the budget lacking room for replacing those lovely shorts.

[@admiralradish]

Im with CMILK . In Texas at least, We say "do you wanna go have a few beers" We also say "do you want to go get a beer" Now the second one USUALLY never means 1 beer.

[@CalimehChelonia]

I love this show!

[@ceebee]

52:00 - Winston is so cheesy that I love it, because I'm just as cheesy

[@karenhinson8002]

Like many words, phrases, etc. "A couple of beers " can be both a figure of speech or could literally mean just that; a couple (two)

[@PIR2023]

Thank you so much for opening my eyes about China

[@Zunidrap]

Winston was right about the meaning of "a couple". Dictionary says two or a few (of something). The majority vote means nothing if your audience is not proficient in English.

[@Cloudy_Jones]

True but most people outside of the US use a couple in place of a few, we use words in ways that don’t reflect the dictionary meaning, like saying “that’s cap” is doesn’t mean “that’s a thing on your head” right?

[@Sukhothai77]

Anything over two isn't a couple, it's a few. More than eight? Then using 'a few' would feel wrong too. Polls don't mean anything if they are mostly non native speakers. Polls are often wrong.

[@Strange_Brew]

I never laughed so hard at a video as the one about the Chinese runner doing the Olympic promo… hilarious!!

[@maciejlewandowski7311]

How are ghost cities like "Forrest Town" powered? Does it have it's own powerplant? Is whole city powered or just those inhabited locals? This is HARDCORE :D

[@AnonYmous-rw6un]

Agree with Winston on the "vague" couple in the drink context. It means more than one, maybe three, but not many.

[@toomanymarys7355]

To an alcoholic, sure.

[@user-uz1yv2oc9v]

Great show as always guys. I remember reading somewhere recently about how the same thing with overseas owners buying newbuilds in a foreign country to rent to the locals happens a lot in Australia, their regulations don't allow overseas buyers to purchase second hand homes but there are no such restrictions on new builds... maybe you have Australian viewers who can confirm but I don't think it is fair to let any country buy houses in a different country for speculation as exchange rates can easily stop local buyers who actually want a house for themselves getting one.

[@helenrushful]

You guys deserve more subscribers.

[@Waverlyduli]

At sunset a couple were sitting on the park bench holding hands and whispering. How many people? Definitely two. 😅 The reality is that a couple can mean exactly two but it's context dependent and all languages have quantity adverbs that are usefully vague like a couple, some, a few, several, numerous, etc. PS "Well, China has a couple of failed property developers". Definitely more than 2! 😮

[@pizzaboisupreme]

I agree with Winston. A "couple" of beers would range anywhere from 2 to 6 here in the Midwest.

[@dannymaliana]

One of the definitions of a couple = an indefinite small number. e.g. "he hoped she'd be better in a couple of days"

[@sonialelii9038]

And that Forest City is even more horrific.

[@totallypointlessvideos3832]

In UK a couple beers does not mean 2 beers 😂

[@billmarsh1971]

Yep, a couple is a lunchtime session 11am - 5pm

[@TheRealJellyBomb]

A couple of beers means, "as many bears as mathematically possible into my mouth, please, and someone for the love of god carry me home."

[@Steve-ev6vx]

Yeah but to find the right definition you need to use something that you wouldn't want to overindulge. If I said a couple of footballs, how many footballs do you think I am talking about? Or a couple of bowling pins...Or a couple of forks... You wouldn't say, "a couple of forks is definitely at least half a case of forks."

[@CurtisMiller-w9m]

Nice haircut Winston. When you said clam man’s beach color was Butt-nut instead of butternut squash…lol. I just imagined a foul odor wafting around him. Those ghost cities and polluted beaches are different levels of hell. There was no mankind contact with the moon. Check out ‘Whitsit Gets It.’

[@Caoimhin93]

I've never seen someone do so much mental gymnastics in their life just to admit that they weren't wrong like Winston on his entire "couple equals 3" argument 😂🤣🤣🤣

[@Prodmullefc]

"They sure make a cute couple." Winston: How many of them are there?

[@agalah408]

I'm with Matt here. a couple of beers is 2 beers. If a guy and three girls walks into a bar, do you point and say "They look like a nice couple?" Well...maybe in Utah.

[@ashleyobrien4937]

43:28 That freak show building complex kind of reminds me of the vibe I got while playing Bioshock....

[@alexerhardt4407]

A couple is two , three to six is a few and a case is just "I had a few drinks but im cool to drive"

[@Der_Kleine_Mann]

Yea, here in Germany it's similar to what Winston means. Like (en."Let's go and have a couple of beers") (ge."Lasst uns mal ein paar Bier trinken gehen"). Which basically means, open end🍺🥴

[@Joemantler]

I would definitely say "A couple of beers" if I meant "one or two over a short time, but not long enough for more than that." It denotes "I'm limiting it to ONE OR TWO"

[@toomanymarys7355]

Winston uses it like alcoholics do, to misrepresent his overconsumption lol

[@EndlessTravels]

how is a couple 1? Can a couple of one get married? :)

[@Joemantler]

In Current Year, I wouldnt bet against it. "More And More Women Are Marrying Themselves-Here's Why" By Lindsey Lanquist September 9, 2016

[@Steve-ev6vx]

​@@EndlessTravels Nope, and in most places a couple of three can't either. Generally a couple refers to two things connected in some way, but is also just used to denote "a few" in an undetermined amount.

[@houlej19]

The stairs to nowhere is one of my favourite Chinese art piece 🖼️

[@RichardHowells1234]

Concur 😁

[@George-W-Jenson]

illustrating the land of facades and shortcuts ...... to nowhere 😂

[@ashleyobrien4937]

1:51:51 Good point, I actually feel a little sorry for you couple, you went over there, when it was "O.K." and it metastasized right in front of your eyes. It's kind of like being in a restaurant and seeing a fly just land right into your bowl of custard. You naturally unzip your fly and flop your pecker into the bowl of custard and then call the waiter. He comes over and freaks out asking what the hell are you doing ! Naturally all you can say is you found the fly, and now, you are f*cking dis custard....

[@Steve-ev6vx]

My dad went in the early 2000's to meet some people and hang out with a specific family, and he still won't really talk about what happened. It's just strange because he openly talks about every other place he has went, but even if you ask about China you just get a word or two.

[@GDBUNIT]

Hey Matt and Winston, love the show, long time fan! Did you guys hear about the recent controversy of the Chinese influencer who drank pesticide live on stream, and then was later sold by her family as a yin/ghost bride? That was the first time I've heard about yin/ghost marriages and the market of selling deceased daughters to families with deceased sons. Would love to see an episode about the topic.

[@micbrett1]

My dad returned from a holiday in China back in 2012. He was amazed by the kilometers and kilometers of solar farms and the 6 lane roads that appeared in these popup cities that just ended in the middle of no where. I was perplexed at the time but the result does not surprise me in the slightest. Simply put, these ghost cities are a Ponzi scheme. As for the solar farms, it's funny how China have made nice with Australia and moved back to coal power stations. Probably another Ponzi that not even the West has clued onto yet, hence why we still build the bloody things on mass. But lets see how it plays out over time, maybe we can use them to jump start fusion reactions instead.

[@lorsheckmolseh3345]

As long letting people sleep in a card box on Skid Row in L.A. between p1ss and sh1t is no "Ponzi scheme".

[@marykirn6336]

Thank You For Your Work. Love Your Shows. ♥️♥️👍👍

[@tjmurphy9909]

A couple is a few and a few is a couple, But I only have a few couples left so use them wisely 👍

[@tjmurphy9909]

If anyone saw the livestream chat for the whole 2 hours then you’ll understand 😹😹😹 the longest discussion on how many a couple represents 😹

[@ericvulgate7091]

Two-tree

[@theaveragejoe5781]

This person spoke the truth 💯

[@oh515]

So, when they don’t have someone to take care of the elderly people they want an extremely baby boom? Who shall take care of all the children? How shall they in same time manage to get any income?

[@agalah408]

That ghost city definitely needs a monorail (cue the song) It certainly worked out well in North Haverbrook

[@ThePoopsmith-12345]

It certainly put them on the map.

[@andy4an]

And a boys band too!

[@johns2240]

I call the big one, "Bitey"

[@SapioiT]

37:05 Knowing China, if they did a good job, they would use plastic greenery, to make the city blocks look like that, which would also solve the issue of plants growing on the sides of buildings, and maybe also use perfume to make it smell like greenery.

[@erutuon]

Like C-Milk, I'm bothered by people using a couple to mean a few. I think I got into arguments with my family about it as a kid. Cracks me up to hear that argument again. Thanks for the show! You guys always make me laugh hard and help me feel some sympathy for whatever latest thing Chinese people are going through. I hope this year will go well for you and your families.

[@Steve-ev6vx]

Considering "a couple" when referring to people is two people, I don't see a "couple" of anything else to be more than two. ""A few" is not specific, but "a couple" is specifically two.

[@lifeisbutadreamsodreamon]

English people use 'a couple' to mean a few 😅😂🙃 which is probably why serpentza probably got this from his parents

[@lifeisbutadreamsodreamon]

But can also mean '2' all depends on context.

[@Espen.Johannesen]

53:20 the two old men from muppet show here.

[@haebee]

it's like a giant movie set of just facades except real movie sets are better constructed.