What Does Freedom Mean in China ? 在中国自由是什么意思?

[@CyrusJanssen]

What does safety mean to me? A safe environment to raise my children is one of my top priorities! How about you? Comment below! Thank you everyone for your amazing support! 😀If you'd like to support the channel please consider joining our Patreon Community: www.patreon.com/cyrusjanssen

[@Shenzhou.]

Safety to me means our children are protected from firearms, that young girls can stay out late at night without incident, and our elder folks are given the best possible protection from Covid-19. And of course, no bombings or drone strikes.

[@leineyekaterina9112]

Freedom is living in a place that doesn't push people to that point. Normal, sane governance won't result in that. To me, it's a blend of both individual freedom and a concern for the greater good. A normal place won't have a significant number of the population screaming, "fire!"

[@Peterlau0808]

安居乐業is what every Chinese wants!!! We don't need other country telling us what we want.😀😀😀

[@hindugoat2302]

i think he is misusing the word freedom... and confusing it with "living conditions" They are 2 different things... you can have safety and amazing infrastructure but thats nothing to do with freedom.

[@TAIWAN_PROVINCE_CHINA]

Support you and agree with you. I do not want to send my daughter to the US, as I am afraid that when she met a gun shooting, how could she react? It is horrible, only to image this.

[@jerryren748]

as a Chinese, I too have questioned the actions of my country, but just by looking back at how far had had the living standards improved from my grand-mom’s after dinner stories and my own experience, I can feel absolute confidence in my government and in my people. There’s a saying in China that goes “black cat or white cat, if it catches the mouse than it’s a good cat”, whatever our country does, if it brings us a good, safe life, than it’s a good thing.

[@stephenlock7236]

Perhaps that's the reason for the angsts against China, from those whose countries lack that philosophical thinking.

[@ondniwa]

Well,that is about what you think the purpose is

[@hkboi7433]

but they are COMMUNISTS an ideology created by uneducated workers and peasants

[@creatormaxi8324]

All the people that never live in democracy, they think it is very good option, i told you, i has experienced in 2 system, parliament vote (like china) and now direct vote (like US), and I prefer parliament vote, because no hostility, chaos etc Friends will be enemies, spouse and family also Why should we involve the un educated public with politic?? And the choice is not our real choice, they are from parties choice and ask us to vote and so we are thinking we have done the good job for the country?? It is brainwashing.

[@americanknow8232]

It was only a few hundred years vs China's advanced culture of a few thousands years.

[@x-creator4460]

Cyrus you are correct, it's not just in China but in most of Asian countries. I am from SKorea and the kind of profanity displayed on the window will not be tolerated by any citizen whether he/she likes Trump or not - it has nothing to do with freedom. It is a cultural difference deeply rooted in the Confucius culture.

[@andreiandrei9059]

It is a "cultural difference" between the educated and the uneducated. The lack of education is required for the people to tolerate (even to favor) theFerengi Rule of the Richest, the Plutocracy.

[@PL22-JudgeDredd]

X- Creator i think to say that its cultural is not very exact. I mean, it is about respect and manners. Didnt our parents teach us that??? In Chinese we have a saying for those who spew profanity, no good family upbringing.

[@x-creator4460]

@@PL22-JudgeDredd Humbleness and modesty have always been emphasized since childhood regardless of family background. It is something like "We are just a tiny part of nature" versus "We are the center of the universe" attitude in the west.

[@isafarooq1721]

@@andreiandrei9059 Nice Star Trek reference

[@CyrusJanssen]

100% true....I learned that principle in traveling to dozens of Asian countries, including your home country. Very different mindset and culture

[@abcdnx8823]

As an immigrant from China, I was excited and proud of the voting right when I was able to vote first time. I felt like I was the DECISION MAKER to choose MY leader/party. However after 15 years watching how the leaders/party switching and how the society very few positive changes, I realize my voting actually is almost nothing. I feel like my voting ticket actually shut my mouth to complain anything I am not satisfied with bcz it's me who "chose" that leader/party. However how are the candidates selected for me to vote? In the end, I only care how good the government perform rather than if I can choose which one specifically. I hate to see two or more parties keep fighting each other to win/survive for the power/party other than doing their jobs for people. Why Chinese people focus on society environment more? Language always can reflect the culture and philosophy. Chinese saying 水涨船高 means when the river rises the boat floats higher. In China all elementary school students have learned this. For Chinese it's not a problem to sacrifice some individual "freedom/convenience" to achieve the whole society benefit/advantages together bcz they believe each individual will definitely be rewarded from that society advantages.

[@oneplanetearth]

Most countries in ASIA , ARAB and elsewhere do NOT allow you the right to display , insult their leaders ( let alone their monarch, dare you insult the Arab Saudi kingdom ) , If USA enjoy this freedom , enjoy their 1% elite billionaires, their thousands of homeless, their good mediacl care with 700000 lost live. Dont export it to other country. PERIOD

[@ArashRezaee]

Well Saudi is suffering from some American freedom too, less than 1% have Saudi dynasty wealth and 20% live in absent poverty, more than 40% in poverty. And guess who's their biggest supporter.

[@kaiki8490]

In a asian country whose name i had forgotten. They play the national anthem before movies are show in a cinema and if you do not stand up and salute you can get arrested

[@tc-fz5qn]

Americans enjoy the lifestyle, culture, system of government etc that they are currently enjoying. Good on them. Nobody's envious nor is anybody desirous of what they have. If any body's keen to be a part of that, they're welcome to apply to migrate there lawfully. But leave the rest of the world to live the way they like without Americans imposing their ideology and systems on them. That is Real democracy. Would be good if America can learn to practice it.

[@Ibrahim86373]

US just wants to make other coutries in chaos to make benifits, they never care people live or dead; they will try every way to destroy the coutries who are better than them, US never bother to cover its hypocrisy

[@troutstalker4744]

Well said.

[@ipkeeau6303]

Without USA, the world will be a peaceful one.

[@x-creator4460]

I am from SKorea and we also have deeply rooted Confucius culture with emphasis on humbleness and modesty - we are just a tiny part of nature versus we are the center of the universe attitude in the west.

[@troutstalker4744]

@@x-creator4460 another good point .

[@johnliu2373]

This is the best clarity on how Chinese perceiving reality of this modern world.

[@Music4567able]

The true freedom is "respecting people's freewill". If the US government (no matter which party is in power) really treasures "freedom", then it should not force the Cuban government to accept the American so-called democratic political system and values through sanctions and threatening.

[@Shenzhou.]

Agreed. The U.S *democratic experiment in Afghanistan ended in failure* with the democratically elected Afghan President Ghani abandoning the country (with truckloads of U.S cash) and the 300,000-strong Afghan Army surrendering to the Taliban in weeks with barely any resistance. It just goes to show that not all countries want to adopt Western brand of democracy.

[@basstrip73]

@@Shenzhou. Ghani was so corrupt that most Afghans think the Taliban, with all of its flaws, is more representative of their country than the American puppet Ghani regime that collapsed one minute after its patrons left the country. Moral of the story: forcing a nation to be "democratic" at the point of a gun is a recipe for disaster (in addition to being grossly hypocritical).

[@jackchiu7560]

Many Central and South American countries were forced to adopt the American ideology and system of governance. The end results for all of them were chaos and upheavals the way the U.S. wanted them to be. I hope the Cuban people won't fall into the American trap.

[@sarahlee8832]

Exactly true freedom is letting someone decide their future for themselves ! How ironic

[@MarkYeung1]

@@sarahlee8832 Taiwanese people clearly embrace democracy and freedom. What does Beijing think about it?

[@evilpiglet]

The West said the same thing about Singapore. "You don't have freedom in Singapore. You say anything derogatory about your Prime Minister you'd get sued!" First, our leaders are doing a great job leading our country, they don't deserve anything derogatory or obscene. Secondly, if what you say is untrue then they too have the right to defend their honour. They are citizens too and the law protects their honour and reputation as much as it protects yours. So if you insult them with untruth, be prepared to substantiate your claim in a court of law. We have only one set of law and it applies to everyone, including politicians.

[@Shenzhou.]

Agreed. Singapore has actually been under (literally single-party) _People's Action Party_ rule for their entire life as nation for *56 years,* similar to China being under the _Communist Party of China_ rule for *72 years.* But the transformation in our countries has been astonishing under our respective leaderships.

[@水氵]

Americans intervening other country's politics, what's so new?

[@relaxstation2623]

Some people like to choose a lauzy government and scold them everyday and saying that this is freedom of speech.🤣🤣🤣

[@kaiki8490]

Japan had the same party running it for a longer period of time then singapore. It is actually the same party that bombed pearl harbour

[@firefly4326]

@@relaxstation2623 lol. Choose a lazy government then scold them everyday. Nice one bro. Thats America.

[@BarrettYT]

Great take on this, Cyrus. It's been fascinating for me since coming to China two years ago to learn the nuances and difference perspectives on the word 'freedom'. I also made a video on our channel about this topic not too long ago, although analysed differently we touched on many of the same points.

[@CyrusJanssen]

Thanks guys! This is why it's so important for all of us to travel around the world and learn from different cultures and be world citizens....so much to learn from each other!

[@hyc1266]

@@vietnguyen4312 Freedom is not everything for life. Human are not birds but human live in societies/countries. Every human society/country is a cage that human built for themselves. Freedom should not be used to measure how well a human lives. Happiness is the overall measurement of how well human life is. Are we happy in our countries? In the US cage, there are a lot of freedom but many human are not living happily for their lives are at risk most of the times. There is little order and human is bumping into each other with the freedom to go anyway they like. Let's use the happiness, death rate and human average length of life instead of "freedom" to judge which is a better country/society/cage. "Freedom" is a poor measurement and it is an excuse used by the US/UK to invade another country. We should talk about happiness instead of freedom. We should not follow the US talk of freedom. Only criminals want "freedom". Ordinary citizens want happiness and good health. As one person said earlier in the comments: 安居樂業Live and work happily, capable to enjoy life should be the human goal.

[@Music4567able]

@@CyrusJanssen Although I know that your mother is a German so you know how to speak German besides Mandarin and English. Until your video of the translation headphone, I did not know that you also know Spanish and Japanese. You are absolutely qualified to be a world citizen 👍

[@EcchiRevenge]

@@vietnguyen4312 You're implying a lot of things you have no source for.

[@quocjchau]

@@hyc1266 You rock!😀

[@ausreir]

The "freedom" touted by the Americans when attacking Chinese, is actually a very narrow range of rights that are largely political and have no impact whatsoever on the living standards of ordinary citizens. The fact that people think hurling verbal sh*t at another person in a public arena is their "god given right" is as amusing as it is absurd. Fact of the matter is, rights must come with obligations. Having the freedom to voice opinions must come with the responsibility to ensure these messages are not dishonest and harmful. The unbridled worship of individualism today has gotten so out of hand that people no longer use, but rather abuse their civil rights. This is a fatal flaw, hardly something to be envied.

[@Shenzhou.]

Agreed. The problem faced in the West is that an increase in *freedom of speech,* is accompanied by a decrease in *taking responsibility* for what's being said.

[@رزيئة]

Exactly. Then they play victim and oppressed when you tell them racism isn't a personality trait or being anti-vax is dangerous and irresponsible.

[@ruipengli3969]

Can't agree more.

[@firefly4326]

You are very right. To have rights is an obligation too. Collective togetherness and not indivisualism. American society and culture is different. Their interpretation of democracy and freedom is dependant on oneself. In other words, is selfish.

[@intothewrx]

FREE 🕊️ YOUR HEART 💔 from your anger 😤 bitterness. The ANSWER to anyone & everyone is ALWAYS LOVE 💗 Don't fall victim to conspiracies 🐍 that stirs up division. Hate & violence & war is never the answer. Because the #TRUTH 💡 is that we are all brothers & sisters🤗Amen ✝️ BRUCE LEE 🐉 was asked if he considered himself Chinese or American. Do you know what his wise answer was?? (1971 interview) The world is ONLY trying to keep China ACCOUNTABLE. So am I 🙏 China broke 🙅‍♀️ their promise 🤝 of two systems in Hong Kong (1997-2047). Everyone knows it 🌍 The whole world sees it. Please China, don't lose face! 😔 TRUST is easy to lose, hard to build... If China was HONORING two systems in the first place, there WOULDN'T be any protests. There would be PEACE☮️! The Hong Kong people have 🗣 cried out. Now the world 😭 cries with HK. Please China, don't lose face. I love China 🙏 I want China to be a good character in the world community and show that they can keep their word [integrity]. I am Chinese ✞ Hong Kong was supposed to be a symbol of China's☀️bright future. Not a reflection of its past🔫(1989). Oppression 🤐 is never 🙊 stability... No country is perfect! It's OK to criticize China where they are wrong. Please do... That is why we have 🗣 freedom of speech 🗣. Chinese citizens are forced CCP propoganda 🐍. They have no other alternative than the CCP's narrative. They have no election or voice 😔 #FREECHINA 🙏 and be GENUINE instead of fragile. XINJIANG Those who do 👿EVIL likes to hide 🤫🙊🤐 [censorship] Those who do 😇GOOD is not afraid for the world 🌍 to see 👁️👁️ [transparency] Darkness is scared of the light 🔦 (John 3:20)✝️ 💡 Show us inside the camps?? 💡 Hear from the students?? *95% of the responses I get resort to insults 🤷 But insults only describes the person 👈 spewing it (Ecclesiastes 10:12)✝️ I would love to talk to anyone, but let's be REAL please 🙇osd

[@fiifibenyin]

Freedom means having high level of expectations of coming home safely after a weekend shopping or a date in a moving theater. Secondly knowing that my tax money is being used to fight poverty!!!!

[@Whatever-dl8no]

100% true

[@wilfredtankhoonpheow2605]

American's tax money are being used to fight numerous wars of which they never won 😭

[@herta3286]

Whats the point having freedom if you're shot dead?

[@monsterb0x]

No, it doesn't mean any of that

[@americanknow8232]

I'm afraid I have to disagree with the person who said, "Innovation came from the west." American hired Nazi engineers to make space industry and ICBM missiles. European engineers started Silicon Valley. Silicon valley engineers were mostly Asians. The US was the farmer's nation with slaves. There was hardly any innovation. Technology was imported from Europe. Yes, Europe was advanced at one point in history, but it was a short period of thousands of years of the human history. Europe had a terrible middle age period when anybody who said the earth is round was executed. China had been more innovative than Europe for thousands of years. Don't give me the shitty idea of "The west has more innovation."

[@jean21020]

On their wonderful super super highways, drivers may pull over their cars, unzip and relief themselves under the sky. Once I was told it was because of traffic congestion! With so many PHDs and engineers, are there any reasons why there are NO innovations to handle their nature calls?

[@quocjchau]

Remember Marco Polo? He was amazed from what he saw and learned from citizens of "the middle kingdom" during his travel to East Asia round 1275. Marco Polo with his father and uncle traveled to China and witnessed what the Chinese people can build and the many things that were invented by Chinese. They then brought back that obtained knowledge to Europe and replicated them.

[@kaijiesoo8588]

Did the “West” not first refer to Europe? Before it expanded to include the Americas?

[@kokovin6808]

The west created weapons from gun powder but guess who invented gun powder? Inventor and scientist used paper and ink to write their ideas in the past and guess who invented papers?

[@americanknow8232]

@@kokovin6808 Only some innovation came from the west. Major innovation was traditionally form China to Arabs, and European stole them from Arabs. "Algebra" is the arabic word, for example.

[@andré-8888]

I've lived in China for almost one year now and I want to share my perspective. Firstly, from what I can see Chinese people are very satisfied with their government, they address the serious issues which are important for the society as whole such as the fighting the pandemic, poverty alleviation, infrastructure and safety. Most Chinese I talk to like cab drivers always are always talking about how safe China is, how the surveillance is there to protect the people, because people know if they are being watched they don't commit crimes and I have to agree, China is incredibly safe. Secondly, I also noticed that Chinese people tend to care more about economic freedom (making money) rather than political freedom. The government does not restrict peoples ability to make money at all. Thirdly, I have not yet seen a single homeless person in China. Lastly, so sum up I think since coming to China I've realized that Chinese people are they way they are mostly due to culture and not the government. It's also important to take into account that China is very homogeneous with 97% or something being Han Chinese, similar to Japan and Korea. This means that collectivism is way more important than the individual, this by itself influences much of their thinking and values. Of course China is not perfect, like other Asian countries there is rampant competition in everything, mostly to become rich, to give an example the middle school students at the school I teach start their day at 8am and finish at 8pm, they will likely keep studying well into the night as well. This is also the norm in the corporate world, because of collectivist thought, it's very common to do overtime or work on weekends, which is usually unpaid. However this competitiveness and working attitude is likely what has made China and Korea so rich in such as short time.

[@EdricHsu]

True, if a government works hard to make its people satisfied and live good lives, then they have less or no reason to complain. And the people work extra hard including overtime in order to be successful and rich, when they could easily choose not to, it’s also to make sure they can lead good lives for themselves and their families.

[@culture5679]

As Chinese, I think the most important part of human right are safety and development，while most western people think it should be freedom. for example, most western people think own guns is kind of freedom, but we think it is a threat for safety, we donnot want such freedom.

[@thelegittaco974]

@@culture5679 a very good point. I personally don’t see how I’m free when the people around me carry guns; I feel more free if people around me are weapon free

[@web8351]

Cultural difference: Western conversation: "I recently bought a new Porsche, and I am very excited." Chinese conversation: "The country’s Mars exploration has been achieved recently. I’m so happy about that. " one is focus on the collective interest and the other is focus on individual interest. Chinese don’t like to talk about their own things in front of others, because that would give others a feeling of showing off. if you don't understand this, then you may hard understand the Chinese cultural.

[@greentea8852]

Chinese and Asians in general are very quiet about themselves. Overseas Asians may look simple in the way they dress but most of them own a house/multiple houses or buss, while westerners might have a very nice cosy rented house/apt, only few of them own a property.

[@YuuSHiiiN]

That's not entirely true. There is still a degree of "showing off" for face purposes in Chinese society. For example, my uncle who is pretty well established in China once mentioned how an up and coming entrepreneur spent most of his money at the time renting a luxury car and drove it to meet with a potential business partner he was in negotiations with. Needless to say, the guy was sold upon seeing the car, and the up and coming guy ended up doing well for himself based on a farce. People in China will still post their beauty pictures and material images just to maintain a "good image" for themselves. Conversely, if you are seen as poor, ugly or way too humble, no one will take you very seriously.

[@stevenwinsir6229]

​@@YuuSHiiiN he just used an example to emphasize the difference between collective interest and individualism, it doesn't mean every Chinese citizen is like this. You should think about why Chinese people generally cooperated with the government during the Covid epidemic, while people in Western countries would rather go to the streets to protest than affect their freedom. This is due to cultural difference.

[@charles8204]

Can you find Peng Shuai conversation in China?

[@greentea8852]

@@sonicluffypucca96 I have never said all

[@iceradish]

Cyrus, you really have a good understanding of Chinese people and Chinese culture! Hope you will be the bridge connects West and East!

[@CyrusJanssen]

Thank you Ian! That's my goal

[@vitang7623]

West and East will never be connected. The West never in their minds want to be friend with anyone, the just want you to be their SLAVE, it's in the Anglo-Saxon blood, sorry but it's the fact.

[@ayameizayoi1892]

Freedom means you have the freedom after you obey the law, be a moral person, knowing how to respect others, and don’t interfere people’s business. You can have your exceptional freedom in the mountains, but in the society, you still have to be a person. Those yelling freedom everyday never understand what is real freedom, their freedom is only selfish and individualism. As long as their own wishes are satisfied, they don’t care about how much chaos they caused or how painful in others.

[@thisiskevin1000]

The West and the non-West (not just Asians) have diverse perspectives about freedom. History, culture and contemporary conditions on the ground mutually play important roles in setting their standards, world views and responsibilities.

[@boonchongsim8926]

Agreed, but may be we can look at more global scopes to have some share ideas over "freedom". To me, freedom to do crimes should be condamn and prevented. There are more to discuss on these levels...

[@willengel2458]

freedom and democracy have nothing to do with the situation between China and the US. losing the top spot as the world's biggest economy is. it's not more than three decades US being the sole superpower and has its way with every country, except for Russia and China. US wants to stay as top dog.

[@dcwtf09]

Even in financial freedom, in Asia's belief (mostly), we believe in working hard, believe in the importance of savings. Contrary to Western's belief generally, who really don't believe in savings, and spend whatever you have earned.

[@kiamzai4621]

there are many things you can't say in america as well; example political 'correctness', there are many speech boundaries, just that all americans would not admit it just to protect a belief

[@JS-ih7lu]

This is so true. Try saying something positive about China in the US and see how far you’d get. It’s f’d up that Americans can write profanity about their leaders but unable to praise the govt of a non-white country.

[@CyrusJanssen]

Very true!

[@timmcgraw3096]

like Nword

[@kinhunglui7658]

I would like to add one more point about the difference of freedom between China and the USA, China has its own political-social system and the Chinese are pleased with it (multiple western surveys have indicated that), just as the US have its own political-social system even though those same surveys show the Americans are less pleased with it when compare with the result of the Chinese towards the Chinese government, the Chinese respect the Americans to choose and have their own government and to live their own way, to me, that is freedom for the American, and why don't the Americans respect the Chinese to have their own government and live their own way? That is our freedom too.

[@2-cent]

Well said

[@Shenzhou.]

Apparently, it seems that in the mindsets of many Americans, it's unfathomable why people would continue supporting a political system that's not a Western brand of democracy like in China.

[@ngkeam9491]

@kinhung- because US purportedly thinks its political system is the best, haha, would like to share with China, to become China's most intimate sibling!

[@unclebearjourney2171]

Because the Chinese way is different from the American way, and Americans can't stand that another way different from theirs can work.

[@hollywoodj500]

@@unclebearjourney2171 Well said, American think theirs always the best. Like one guy said on CNN about several years ago America is not a super power We are an Hyper Power. "Arrogance" that's what destroying America, our leaders are so arrogant, they think because US has money they can bad mouth anyone they want. They're always saying America The Leader of the free world.

[@irritatedanglosaxon1705]

Freedom means they are FREE to get education, health system, transportations and beliefs FREEDOM to hv political identity gonna believe either in communism or liberalism FREEDOM to hv 3 basic needs accomplished as citizens: food, outfits, home These things would never exist in USA

[@griffionmk1034]

These things ever exist in China ?

[@0毛-b6s]

@@griffionmk1034 how do you know it's not exist in China ? BBC? or CNN ?

[@kennethHuo]

None of these are existing in China. I was born and raised in Beijing.

[@taffyandbeanz]

I think that being able to write profanity about someone is not as important as being able to live in a safe environment where you can walk alone at night without fear, nor going to school and not fear of being shot at, nor fear for your life with an encounter with a policeman if you’re not white. China is well run country by competent leaders who have improved the living standard of most people if not all in spite of being a basket case just 40-50 years ago, not by leaders who only cared about getting re-elected instead of doing their job, with one party overturning what the other party’s policy after each election

[@ilonailona28]

less fear, more freedom. I feel freedom and safety at my home country.

[@longcimb]

Yes. Security and safety with respect are more important

[@CyrusJanssen]

well said Christiane!

[@richarde.halliburton8022]

Consider Taiwan for a moment - Taiwan is just as safe if not safer than China, but with the free speech, uncensored internet/social media, individual civil rights and open, multi-party democratic system that doesn't exist in China. So, it's not a trade-off, Christiane, it is possible to have both safety and freedom.

[@ilonailona28]

@@richarde.halliburton8022 china mainland has safety and freedom too. We don’t trade freedom for safety. How and when Democracy system equals freedom? Well I saw there was a crossfire in the street between two mafia groups in Taibei. By the way after reunification Taiwan can still keep your system to vote for your Administrator.

[@scottadams2977]

The Chinese take freedom and responsibility together. Its one of the biggest reasons why i respect this society. I wish my western homeland took freedom more seriously and paired it with responsibility.

[@CyrusJanssen]

I like that combination!

[@hfsee6228]

I agree. Freedom come with responsibility

[@aynm3722]

A combination of freedom and responsibility is a combination of rights and obligations.

[@MarkYeung1]

@@CyrusJanssen A great example is Taiwan, which is part of China. People there enjoy freedom and democracy but take their responsibilities seriously. This proves that democracy can work for Chinese.

[@stephentsang259]

Did you take the responsibility of casting your vote, and enlisting to serve your country? I know Cyrus didn't, he said so in his videos.

[@user-ws6dc2nz6v]

中国有一个政治哲学概念叫“天道”，也可以理解为朝代和政权的更替。天道也在人心，即百姓。好的政府，百姓自然会把权力交给它，不论外界怎么评头论足；不好的政府，百姓自然会推翻它，不论当权者如何镇压。而今天美国却想扮演中国的“天道”或者就把自己视为全世界的“天道”，放眼天下，唯一标准。这种心态对美国自己是危险的，对全世界更是危险的。

[@再飲就乜咗]

所以中國才是真·民主，老百姓不爽政府就推翻。老共的天下就是這麽來的，得民心者得天下，這不是民主是什麽？

[@LiXu-p7b]

通畅老百姓不满政府时，就会联合军队的势力，成立自己的队伍；中国共产党就是这样起来的

[@nymeriafrost7687]

(A viewpoint from an Australian) Freedom from fear, freedom from want is just as valid as the freedom to choose your own leaders and the freedom of speech. I think China's system sacrifices a bit of the civil freedoms of its people (e.g. freedom of speech) in exchange for a rapid, concerted effort to modernize the country. The result is skyrocketing levels of income, wealth, stability, prosperity and quality of life. On the other hand, countries like India cling onto a corrupt and inefficient democracy, and the result is sluggish growth, low quality of life, increasing religious divide and a massive outflow of homebred talent. I think there's a bit of a delicate balance here. On the one hand, the increasing wealth and living standards in China is a good thing, but just how much civil liberties should people sacrifice in exchange for economic growth? I think, in the near future, probably around 30 years from now, as China becomes more and more developed, there will come a time when the current mode of government has to be relaxed, and greater liberties will have to be introduced to an increasingly wealthy and educated population. In the meantime however, I think China's current form of government works best for its current state. It is a vast country with a vast population that has achieved much, but still has a lot of work to do. Introducing democracy now will only lead to the inefficiencies and corruption you see in India. I don't mean there's absolutely no corruption in China (no system is perfect), but China's current system is efficient and effective, and it is vital if this behemoth of a nation wishes to vitalize itself and reach the same levels of prosperity as developed countries. You can already see the successes of its current mode of government: warp speed GDP growth that is set to surpass the US, a per capita GDP that has already exceeded Russia, increasing standards of living and education levels, a world class high speed rail network and infrastructure, 5G internet connectivity, a Mars rover and a homemade space station, hosting the Olympics and getting top tier results, dominance in cultural activities like chess and music competitions etc. For China, I think civil liberties should eventually be introduced to its people once the country has sufficiently modernized, and it should be done in an orderly and gradual way that makes sense for the country's state at the time. Meanwhile, the US, who used to not care a thing about China at all as long as it churned out cheap labour, is now worried that China has what it takes to surpass them economically and technologically (I think the wake up call for the Americans was China developing 5G ahead of them). And so they've decided to run a sabotage campaign, drumming up the usual suspects 'democracy' and 'human rights'. The thing is, if the US cared about these values at all, they wouldn't be propping up pro-American dictatorships around the world, invading countries that don't comply on the pretext of lies (WMD and the Nayirah testimony for example), committing gen***e (can't type the actual word in case KZbin gets touchy about it) on its native American population, and prosecuting whistleblowers like Assange and Snowden. What I want is peace and prosperity for people around the world and I can't stand how the US is trying to sabotage China with lies, just because they don't want to compete. And the thing is, with all their lies and deception, they still claim the moral highground and expect a round of applause. That's what I can't stand. The blatant hypocrisy of a wolf in sheep's clothing. And the unthinking masses accept it readily because their narrative presents a dichotomy of almost childlike fairytale simplicity: democracy good vs no democracy bad. And yes, its thanks to the civil liberties of the US that I'm allowed to vent here in the comments, but that's all part of their game. My viewpoint will never become mainstream because it's nuanced and requires thought and a knowledge of the history of the countries, which is already beyond the comprehension of the average American.

[@rap3208]

Simply put, to belong to a society, you have to sacrifice or compromise partially some of your individual freedom, asians understand this. The very individualistic western individual balk or begrudgingly subscribe to the idea but still relentlessly fight it all the way and not give an inch if they can help it. This individualism was very instrumental in their colonizing america and quickly become the world superpower but now that there is no challenge, it is what is tearing it apart now.

[@younglee9211]

I have to reply you because you type so much with your real thinking. The biggest enemy of Democracy is large number of un-educated citizens. it is very clear discussed 100 years ago.

[@nymeriafrost7687]

@@younglee9211 yes that’s something problematic about democracies. Most voters either don’t know what’s going on or they don’t vote at all. Gerrymandering is also a big problem. As are lobbyists who control elections through campaign funding.

[@ameliah8164]

As a Chinese girl, I would like to say that we have almost no restrictions on our actual daily life by entrusting advanced politics and state management to professionals. I don't want some low-quality people to have the same voting rights as me, and let them decide who runs the country? That's terrible. I have the freedom to go to the streets late at night, and the freedom not to worry about being committed a crime. When it comes to surveillance, most Chinese people think of: The bad guys are being monitored, so I'm safe. Only those spoilers always want to get rid of the rules, just like those disobedient children in school. Adults have some rules that are protective or have deep meaning, but those ignorant children cannot understand.

[@stephenlock7236]

In absolute resonance with your view on the matter. Other than what you have covered, China's system of government and governance is not the fossilized one, of CCP, CCP, CCP and CCP ( CPC) that which anti China and sinophobic loves to portray it to be. They seems to not want to hear or understand that the Chinese government is constantly reforming itself and reforming what needs reforming. And that is where all the differences lay.

[@artvandelay1840]

Re: Boston it’s precisely why the US government is bashing China. It’s a lot easier to use a common enemy to distract attention from the failure of their policies.

[@Music4567able]

I can put my feet into the shoes of Cyrus when he talks about the poor infrastructures in the US. The US has a "global tax system" which means that even if someone is not living and working in America, his or her oversea income should be taxed by the US government. Although "nothing is certain but death and taxes" is something fair because each citizen should fulfill the obligations besides enjoying the rights from the society, the tax paid by the US citizens wasted to build thousands of fighters and battleships cannot improve the welfare of ordinary people. Only the people involved in the "Military Industrial Complex" are benefited from the government expenditures.

[@evilpiglet]

America not only tax American, it also tax non-citizen that has an income in USD, like youtubers

[@CyrusJanssen]

Yes and I'm one of those Americans who has lived abroad for 15 years now and still pay taxes back to the IRS in America...I live in Canada now and people complain the tax is high, my response is yes it is, but thankfully Canada reinvests this back into the country

[@Nothingbutdust_]

I couldn't have explained it better and I'm so glad to know that there actually are American people who are willing to try to understand the Chinese mindset. I'm neither Chinese nor American, but it's disheartening to hear about all the hatred between these two great countries. In my country we are always trying our best at avoiding taking any sides, probably because it's such a small country but I like this humble mindset that we have. Unfortunately it seems to be getting harder each year to do this as politics are getting more and more polarised. So I'm very glad you brought this up as we need more people like you in this world.

[@thelegittaco974]

I once hated America as a Chinese; now I see the flaws in my ways. There are indeed great Americans and great Chinese, and there are good things about both countries. It’s just sad that you have one country that took the initiative to create such dark narratives about the other, and the latter has to stand up bitterly against them. Why can’t Americans just accept there are different ways to do things?

[@somewheresomeplace1309]

If you need to to change the definition of freedom to say you have freedom then you probably don't have it. What you're talking about is simply having a good economy and government workingon improving infrastucture, you're talking about good governance which in it of itself can be quite subjective. However you can't chnage the definition of freedom: the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. That is not the reality in PR China, if you can't say what you think about thhe leaders of china then you simply don't have freedom of speech. Stop trying to redefine words. In Japan they have an even more collective mentality culture but they still have the ability to freely express their thoughts and protest, insinuating that freedom of speech can't exist and an asian country with a collective minset is wrong, Taiwan, south korea and Japan are prime examples.

[@thelegittaco974]

@@somewheresomeplace1309 who said we changed it? Can’t you see that there are other kinds of freedoms except the freedom of speech? How about the freedom to healthcare, education, safety (including walking at night without fear), food and other necessities? Our political freedom, including our freedom of speech, is less than most others, that is true, but we make up for it with other freedoms. I’m not sure where you’re from, but using America as the obvious comparison, do most Americans have easy access to healthcare, education, and most of all, safety? Technically, they have that freedom…but realistically, under the current situation, do they? I don’t wish to criminalise you or demonise your thoughts. Indeed, you have brought up the immediate definition of freedom everyone knows. However, I would like to challenge you to not view alternates as “changes in definition,” but simply a different take. You can take a look at the list of human rights by the UN; the top two categories are freedom from violence of any sorts (which I don’t think any country can say they have fully given to every single person in the country) and the freedom to daily necessities like food, shelter, healthcare, education etc. Political freedoms are the third category on the chart, and that includes freedom of speech. Even if the listing doesn’t include a particular ranking, by the UN’s list, we didn’t change anything; we’ve simply placed our efforts on alternate categories.

[@somewheresomeplace1309]

@@thelegittaco974 Firstly I appreciate your calm and mature explaination of your view and not start name calling, so thank you. Second I appreciate you admitting that you do not have as much freeedom of speech as arguing over this would mean we get no where because its obvious. Now i'm not American, i'm from europe. We have universal healthcare and guns are not common to have ç my country, so low gun violence compared to the usa. I also agree the usa has many issues but it doesn't change the issues tha china also faces. Singapore is a country I think of as succesful and they do not have as much freedom of expression and press as the usa, for example protesting requires a permit...I guess you could view as being between china and France when it comes to freedom of speech. I would argue that while the lack of freedom of speech may somewhat temporarily prevent political coflict and thus maintain social order, it also harms the progress of the country because new ideas criticizing the policies of the current leaders and exposing their lack of competence will get individuals in trouble. A prime exemple is Jack Ma criticizing the Chinese government for stifling innovation in the financial sector , now look at the situation china faces today with its baks and property crisis.

[@blackmamba5593]

@@somewheresomeplace1309 but why not making suggestions to the government and working together instead of attacking and critisizing it? The problem starts when people don't trust their government and think the only way to solve problem is to replace the government with a new one, western countries did not experience this but when US officially states that your country is an enemy, things don't get that simple as 'give people all the freedom"....the question arises what people do you give freedom to and in whom interests those people act, in the national interests or a foreign country.

[@Coumei2009]

"Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose." J. Joplin

[@thetreekeeper143]

Hahaha true!

[@wmtse8974]

When one promote individualism, the self and self freedom, and disregard what is important for others, the public, the country and even the world, that is simply called selfishness. That will lead to conflicts among individuals, groups, societies and parties etc. Their concept of freedom is based on the power to bully others weaker than themselves. Haven't we seen enough of this in the West today?

[@sonicluffypucca96]

What Western nations on the whole fail to realize is the more they import peoples from disparate cultures, the more their will be a breakdown in the cohesiveness of their socieities, Freedom of speech and the free exchange of ideas can only exsist when the individuals of those societies agree that those are core tenents of the society's values. However since Western societies becoming are decidedly less Western, they are in effect leading themselves to their own downfall.

[@george6696]

Responsibility and freedom come hand in hand, you are exactly dead correct,

[@augustusjoegamies8462]

China is a bully in the Philippines they create tension to other country, your experience is contrary to our country 🇵🇭 we need the US military bases in the Philippines if china escalate the war.💪 We hate china Cyrus.

[@edmundleung6019]

If every westerner is as understanding as you are, our world will be a much better place to live... Not just in China... Thanks for your support!

[@puiyeeng4677]

Freedom for Chinese requires a lot of self-restraint and sense of responsibility. Being a Chinese, I was taught by my parents that I should make sure that my freedom does not infringe and undermine others' freedom. Say for covid vax, Chinese people go with vax cos they don't want to pass virus to their family nor their friends. This is not about individual freedom. This sense of freedom is innately imprinted in a chinese mind.

[@hlwonka8783]

Agreed. That what we being taught since young. I travel frequently & freedom for travellers is safety come first. That freedom. ( Safe environment & less fear).

[@angielin775]

Well, some Americans may think being homeless is freedom, having a home in China is being contained within walls and roofs🤣

[@eddiehah9842]

The poor are given homes built by the government. In addition, many economic programmes are introduced to help them overcome their plights.

[@WU-ee3vs]

@@eddiehah9842 how silly and stupid the poor-s!!

[@ilonailona28]

yeah, I have heard this one, "being homeless is their free will choice" LOL

[@jxmai7687]

Nobody like to be homeless as their choice with real freedom.

[@ilonailona28]

@Maxxxie DeSantis come on Americans should be more intelligent than that? Tell me Americans do have Independent thinking.

[@mfg8129]

Unfortunately, George Floyd does not has the freedom to breathe air in the USA. And as a result, he died.

[@Ryan-zq6lh]

As a Chinese, I totally agree your points. The most important thing are safety. Home, town, city, country are more important thing than ourselves, which is our culture, history and honor.

[@Ryan-zq6lh]

@@miquelmarti6537 I have lived in China for over 20 years and Nordics for several years. . I do think there are some shortages in China, especially that officials are very serious while things are related to politics since it is really sensitive in current multi-ethnic/large population/underdeveloped status. But before you criticize it by freedom, I think first please learn what is freedom and restriction and what it can prove to say migrants spread.

[@Ryan-zq6lh]

@@miquelmarti6537 Just recalled what was Cyrus's video talking about. Please watch it before you make comment...

[@angielin775]

Cyrus, you are so openminded and insightful, I love your videos, you are acting as a road and Belt connecting China and America while some warlords are creating drifts and barriers so they can sell weapons, I hope more people can see your videos

[@CyrusJanssen]

Thank you Angie!

[@0157matt]

China is a very free country , more people from the West and Europe should visit China and see for themselves how free the Chinese are ..... and it's true the Chinese care that society and country operate peacefully rather than insisting on individual rights ....

[@dehua-2730]

如果一个普通美国人有你百分之五的理解就好了。

[@BackpackerDuanGuoXia]

“Respect the elders, love the little ones”, this is something Asian kids have been taught day after day, time after time.

[@jessicaw8682]

People have different interpretation of or put different emphasis on the meaning of 'freedom'. To the Chinese people, being able to walk on the street at night without fear of being robbed is freedom, for example. To some others, freely making slanderous accusations without consequences is freedom. Such freedom does not help build a healthy society, and having it is nothing to be proud of. If people really value freedom, then let others live their way, and stop trying to impose your own ideology on others.

[@owenthecook]

Overall safety, job opportunities and good social mobility. - If you are free but cannot get access to these things, you ain’t that free, my friend.

[@hindugoat2302]

freedom is not about safety, the more free you are the less safe. like a wild animal is free, but lives in constant danger its only a matter of time before it gets eaten alive.

[@hindugoat2302]

this video explains why we cant all have jobs forever... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYHUXoZrapyLh7c&ab_channel=CGPGrey this one explains why your wrong about safety being essential for freedom kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6O9eaZpocd7i7s&ab_channel=PerthObserver

[@ellengran6814]

I would say the major difference is : Most Americans believe their culture is the best and thus feel they have a right to fight wars against other people. Most Chineese peoole prefer their culture, but also appreciate and respect other cultures. They will fight to defend their culture, but not fight in order to destroy others.

[@lukegao7947]

I can’t agree more. From my 8 year’s living in USA and 40 years in China.

[@typhooonn]

Cyrus I really enjoy your insight into China and its culture !

[@CyrusJanssen]

thank you for the support!

[@americanknow8232]

Who invented the LCD display, the tiny transistor radio, walkman, etc. Who invented quantum communication and the photon-based quantum computer, etc. Chian had been innovative for thousand years. The invention went to the Arab world, and Europe copied them. Printing technology, paper, porcelain, paper money, etc.

[@michaelloong964]

Arrogant Americans don't care about what China has invented , they only talk about their intentions stolen from Europe and the migrants from Asia and the rest of the world.

[@kaiki8490]

If the chinese invent it, the west will claim it is stolen intellectual proverty

[@CyrusJanssen]

So true!

[@frankvillager5272]

Well said and done! Thank you, Cyrus, for another good session on building a bridge of thoughts between cultures.

[@ABC-dj5gj]

It isn’t individual freedom, it is SELFISHNESS pure and simple. It’s me, me, and only me first. Never a thought for the greater good

[@HugotheBrainwasher]

I studied abroad in Shanghai for 3 years. You have the exact same thoughts that I have. You're inspiring me to start a KZbin channel too.

[@CyrusJanssen]

Awesome! Please do, we need more voices and insights into China

[@zhe8586]

DO IT!!!

[@HugotheBrainwasher]

Great, it's starting slowly! I'm trying to give it a more international relations analysis focus

[@yvonnewang222]

So well said Cyrus! Love how you responded to those typical questions

[@Dovid2000]

This video and explanation is an eye-opener, Cyrus. Thank-you for sharing these thoughts with us.

[@中南西北客]

Well said, Cyrus! Here is another point I'd like to add to your discussion about China's choice of their political system: partisan politics is not popular in China, especially among the well-educated. As you may know, history plays an important role in the decision-making process when Chinese people come to the point of making a political choice. And the history of "the partisan struggle"（党争）in the Ming Dynasty has taught the nation a profound lessen in ruling the country -- good for the group interests but bad for the general public. Nowadays in Mainland China, the majority of those who have been watching Taiwan are generally fed up with the partisan politics in the Island, which has cost the island's economy tremendously in the past 25 years, yet brought little to the people's welfare. With that, there is a good reason for the Mainland Chinese to keep themselves away from the partisan politics.

[@industrialrobot434]

well said x10 I'm not Chinese but i can understand it.

[@sumpuckcheong3840]

Democracy-let the people choose. USA should put the $700 over billion military budget to its citizens to vote if these money should be spent on the military or the society. Does it’s citizens have a choice?? Democracy??

[@ngkeam9491]

@Sum- its overly tedious and troublesome procedures, it would further defer passing the bill or consensus.

[@sumpuckcheong3840]

@@ngkeam9491 Fully understand. This is democracy, you get what you voted for.

[@jackchiu7560]

To answer your question, I say that American citizens don't have any choice at all. Political analysts labelled American democracy as "illiberal democracy" whereas the people have the rights to elections but the citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power. The American political establishment didn't like the word and so they renamed it "conservative democracy" to make it sounds nicer to the ears and to prevent the average American people from questioning the true meaning of "illiberal democracy."

[@Shenzhou.]

With an increase in *freedom of speech,* there should be a corresponding increase in *taking responsibility* for what's being said.

[@teddybearmonster]

This comment is best for Xi. All the warnings he said about Taiwan and he does nothing. Xi should take responsibility for what he is saying.

[@Shenzhou.]

@@teddybearmonster President Xi Jinping merely said that he would not rule out reunification of Taiwan with the mainland by force if necessary, then what action does he need to take? Taiwan hasn't made any declaration of independence, then what does President Xi need to do?

[@YuuSHiiiN]

@@Shenzhou. Rig the next elections in favor of Tsai Ing Wen's opponent cause as long as she's in office, the longer Taiwanese political agitations and trouble for the mainland will continue, lol!

[@leelin9783]

@@teddybearmonster Please note that Taiwan is just the name of the island, their actually name/government is Replubic of China (aka EX-China). Therefore, China (aka CCP) have the right to claim Taiwan island is part of China because Taiwan is not a country, they are just taken by EX-China government during civil war.

[@shnmak2958]

If we consider the volume of lies and disinformation that many state funded msm (eg bbc dw…) pushed out in the past 2 years, and zero consequence for these lies and disinformation, while whistleblowers who tried to expose the truths are being persecuted, what “responsibility” can we expect from them for their “freedom of speech”?

[@douglasevans3314]

Hi Cyrus, you really hit a homerun on this video. Probably the best video you've done yet. I enjoyed it and it made me think. I'm a veteran who fought for my country in Vietnam. Of course that was total insanity. I went to high school in Switzerland. I spent 3 years living in Europe as a kid. I learned a lot about different people and cultures. So when I went to college I got a degree in International Affairs and Economics. That wonderful educations, at TCU, opened up even more of the world. You very succinctly opened a whole world with your comparison between China and America. I worked and lived in the Middle East for 25 years and just retired ( forced) because of Corvid 19. I have been living for several in Bahrain with my fiance. She's Chinese and has taught me and awful lot. She had to go back to China I returned to America. I must say could hardly understand America. It's become a very strange place. I've been back here for 17 months, and we live on weichat. We thought we'd be back together within 2 or 3 months, didn't happen. So now I see some of the strangest things, like "we won't wear masks" or "don't take the vaccine because we can do what we want." Where do these crazy people come from? And the terrible resurgence of racism and white supremacists. As a white,well educated adult male it seems that the country is falling apart. Hate and homeless are rampant too. On a final note thanks.

[@stephenlock7236]

That's one reason why the American public need to travel more. It is ironic that a significant number of Chinese had nothing but only positive views of the West in general and the US in particular; at least from the 1960s to the late 1990s. That essentially account for large migration of Chinese people and students to those countries. But following the 100s of millions of the Chinese who have travelled internationally, in the mid 1990s to present, as tourists, students and business; and that almost all choose to return home, is indicative of how they now see and feel not just about China but the foreign lands that they have travelled to as well.

[@shizhe1629]

There is a quotation that has been circulating in China for a thousand years, called: 好战必亡 which means that if a country is keen on war, then it will inevitably become weak due to too many wars, and even lead to the country’s demise. This sentence is still valid today, a thousand years later, the United States is a perfect example

[@firefly4326]

China learned from their own fallen dynasty. There are so much wise words to learn from

[@Rudyjosephjr]

America culture is still living in spring autumn period. We are way beyond that.

[@relaxwhc]

FREEDOM can't pay your bills and feed your family, mate. A lot of homeless free people in the US. 💥

[@eddiehah9842]

More should be done to help them

[@aliciacline08]

Homelessness is freedom. No societal restraints.

[@rap3208]

@@aliciacline08 They are actually restrained by having no money, no home, no job, etc. Their aim is still to have something to eat and somewhere to sleep - things they don't have that restrains them to have a better and productive life.

[@absolutejewel]

You said it right, freedom is the opportunity of the people to have better life and for their future generation to enjoy better progress and quality of life than the current. Also, freedom comes with responsibility and accountability, responsibility to others (not only to self). Freedom is having the ability to enjoy human basic needs - fulfillment of fundamental needs of food, water, shelter, clothing; safety and protection; feeling of love and belonging; and self esteem.

[@gloriapeng3258]

As a matter of fact, Chinese people are quite utilitarian. Many people don't care much about whether they can vote for their leader of the country, because A being the president or B being the president does not really make a huge difference to ordinary individual's life. Ordinary people are more interested in earning money and making their own living, cause that makes essential differences to individual's life.

[@Fanstism]

I Totally agree with you!! I come from a Chinese family, from a child we were always taught by our parents to always respect our elders, no matter how good or bad, respect is number one, and that is what makes everything on the tracks, I like freedom, but everybody needs rules to control their life, is noway you can live well without boundaries

[@SamLoveSharing]

Both China and the United States belong to countries with strong learning ability. The world needs to learn from each other, not attack each other.

[@CyrusJanssen]

Well said Sam! Couldn't agree more

[@dario_de_luca]

I come from Italy, an example that democracy doesn't work, the elected government fall like every 2 years ( it should last 5 years )

[@youngeagle5953]

"The right to express our thoughts means something only if we are able to have thoughts of our own." Erich Fromm

[@香剣]

如果每个人都愿意负责任～那么每个人将获得最大限度的自由～相比自由～我们更讨厌没责任心的

[@chandaisy9251]

說得對！👍👍👍

[@Batman65410]

I want to thank you giving me an insight in China that thought like a lot of people don't understand.

[@tomisapamsuraj2652]

Cultural difference: EXCELLENT Western conversation: "I recently bought a new Porsche, and I am very excited." Chinese conversation: "The country’s Mars exploration has been achieved recently. I’m so happy about that. " one is focus on the collective interest and the other is focus on individual interest. Chinese don’t like to talk about their own things in front of others, because that would give others a feeling of showing off. if you don't understand this, then you may hard understand the Chinese cultural.

[@wfang001]

The most ironic but saddest thing is the understanding of freedom for western people is unexpectedly shallow that the individual freedom comes with obligation and should not damage public safety, even they have been practicing freedom for hundred of years.

[@shiva.shiver]

How about freedom for women to be outside or walk around solo 24/7? It’s a very exceptional reality that exists in China .

[@Shenzhou.]

If Westerners think they have the freedom to say bad things about China, then Chinese should have the freedom to say good things about China, not get ridiculed or doxxed because of our views.

[@水氵]

West twisted both democracy and freedom. Don't believe in anything they say about freedom and democracy.

[@ilonailona28]

A wonderful content, Cyrus, thank you. Being a Chinese in an international environment I was questioned many times, "you don't have freedom in your country, you are not allowed to insult your leader in public". Or "oh you don;t have political freedom, you are not allowed to vote" etc etc. Well I often reply them "our leader did a good job, why should I insult them." in the end, it is also a culture thing, in China we never call the names of the parents or grand parents, likewise we don't insult any leader in public. As political freedom, we do have rights to vote at the basement level, for example voting the village leader, town leader, people's deleguee etc. but for the upper level, people don't really know the candidates abilities, cannot make a fair decision. Even though, chinese people are not very enthusiastic of voting, they care more about the substantial things. If i have a vote for myself, I assure you I will always vote the more handsome charming one.

[@keviniskev1151]

I’m a Chinese college student.after viewed your channel.l just wanna to say :thank you for your everything !

[@CyrusJanssen]

Glad you like them!

[@rl9567]

Thanks for sharing this. Here in Taiwan we often think we have freedom and a lot of western media portrays it that way as well (which is true to an extent). But a lot of western media doesn’t report the fact that our current DPP government has been shutting down media or intimidating individuals that shares critical view of the party. There’s also other situations in Taiwan that western media doesn’t report about Taiwan, my guess is that because it will go against the freedom in Taiwan narrative.

[@stephenhill8790]

They are scared that the rest of the Taiwanese Chinese might think becoming part of mainland China could be a good idea and will start to improve their lives . As it may be a one country two system like HK . So they will continue oppressing any other political ideology or party . democracy only works if those in power allow it to work it can be just as corrupt just as a dictatorship or a monarchy

[@CyrusJanssen]

Thanks for this comment and sharing your important voice in this matter

[@MithunOnTheNet]

LOL, faceless CCP troll account posing as "Taiwanese". 90% of the comments on all these CCP shill videos are faceless accounts set up by CCP's propaganda wing with no content. You think you wumao accounts are fooling us?

[@rl9567]

@@MithunOnTheNet because my account doesn't show a face that automatically makes me CCP? interesting...you're the first to say that. It's interesting that without knowing anything about a person, you quickly assume that i'm a CCP "troll", simply because i'm sharing my experience here in Taiwan that may not "agree" with your view. but hey, more power to you, this is the internet, you're absolutely free to express your opinion about someone without knowing who they are. Cheers to you.

[@Boilthebunny15]

I just watched a vlogger walking the streets of Chengdu at 3am. Peace and safety is freedom

[@seeker13788]

Freedom from suffering is the true freedom. I agree that the western freedom centers on individual freedom; however, this individual freedom can only be meaningful and powerful if the individual is well educated, well cultured, well informed and well integrated. Lacking any of these attributes, this freedom when exercised without consideration of consequences will not only diminish the freedom of other individuals in the society, it will most likely cause harm and suffering to others. Consider the right to bear arms, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and so on. These are powerful weapons of democracy; however, like all weapons wielded thoughtlessly, it becomes destructive implements. In a functioning government, the needs of the people should percolate up to the top where the leader of the nation carries out the will of the people and hopefully, for the good of the nation. A people that is under-educated, impulsive, mis-informed and/or fragmented easily falls prey to and is led by the nose by special interest groups to their own detriment. When in a society, you give up the ability to act on personal whims in exchange for the security and conveniences offered by the collective. You respect the social etiquette (you don't get to walk around naked, spit, litter, smoke tobacco in certain areas etc), menace or harm another society member, respect the laws of possession, follow road rules just to list a few. All these curtails your freedom to do as you see fit. Therefore, true freedom allow the society to thrive, prosper in order to mitigate suffering. It allows people to live harmoniously in peaceful co-existence and reach for higher levels of enlightenment and achievements in all areas especially industrially, commercially, ecologically, socially, culturally, philosophically and scientifically. On an off-tangent topic but somewhat related topic, I need to touch on the subject of goodwill. Once a certain level of affluence is achieved, in China's case having enough historical learning embedded in its culture to main cultural-philosophical maturity, the society then needs to transition from monetary currencies to currencies of goodwill. This can be observed by western bloggers in China who constantly remarking how friendly the people are and how they regularly "fight" to pay for meals. This is an expression of the culture where one's frailty to the winds of change that can bring one to unexpected depths of suffering. If you've built up an account of goodwill, you can turn to those you've helped to get help in return. Also steeped in the Chinese culture, you don't look down on others because you don't know who will rise above you and help raise you. This is a mature form of self-interest. It's no longer a zero-sum scenario (where one party gives/lose, the other party takes/wins); you're really co-existing (vying to build goodwil, so that each party is obliged to look out for the other party). I can and want to go on ... but alas I've run out of time. I'll end with an apology for my long-windiness by paraphrasing Mark Twain: "I didn't have time to write a short comment, so I wrote a long one.”

[@Sonyhamster]

Here in Hong Kong, we are amongst one of the freest places on Earth. I have lived in the UK and can quite definitively say HK is freer than the UK. However people were brainwashed to think China has been taking away their freedoms when it's simply not true. For a start democracy didn't even exist prior 1997 and it was actually Beijing that wanted to introduce universal suffrage in HK until separtists threw up protests over the fact candidates would need to be vetted (like with any other country). Then after the 2019-2020 unrest it was pretty clear some groups in HK were recieving substantial amounts of money from foreign governments to cause unrest, including direct and indirect money from the NED. So the National Security Law was introduced. Again the irony here is the criticism is that Beijing was interfering in HK's affairs, yet in 2004, HK had the chance to write it's own National Security Law as outlined in the Basic Law. However the irony it was the so-called "pro-democracy" camp who protested against it and it was abandoned.

[@Rudyjosephjr]

Pro democracy is NED funded. All they want is not peace and harmony. Its about their pocket money.

[@danborggren6608]

Im Swedish and live in one of the "freest countries in the world", but my country is ranked by European media as one of the most dangerous countries in Europe based on deadly violence. I guess Western freedom entails living like a shut in and watching TV all day in order to keep the family safe.

[@BenjiSun]

looks like Freedom of Expression, is Freedom from "Love Thy Neighbour", is Freedom from Respecting Others, is Freedom to Self-Righteousness. it's individualism at the expense of others.

[@BenjiSun]

This example is an almost daily occurrence on drone groups, and a clear message of "freedom of expression at the expense of others". "I was shooting aerials of my property for my records only. I live in a very rural area, no houses near mine, I guess a man saw my drone hovering over my house, and decided to drive over and threaten to shoot my drone and me. Don’t have any idea who or where he came from. I am totally legal and own a Mavic air 2. Anyone out there experienced this? I was dumbfounded and did not react to him as he sped off. Just gonna forget it." -- someone from a drone group on Facebook.

[@scalarnai]

US democracy is all about me, me, me. China's Socialism with Chinese characteristics is all about we, we, we. It's about the selfish Christian doctrine vs the selfless Confusion doctrine. I know which I would choose....the latter of course. There would be less chaos and upheavals in this world

[@tutu-uw6zz]

I accept some of your point but not all. In my opinion, freedom means you have the right to choose. You can choose to work 996 or 965, you can praise your goverment or criticize your goverment.

[@antoniotan2681]

if America wanted China to have more "democracy", then China would want America to have more open-mindedness.

[@stephenlock7236]

Ironic that too many Americans lacks what they have most of. Open-mindedness.

[@andreww1328]

Chinese are hard working. They enjoy spending every cent they earn at their own will. That is the meaning of their freedom.

[@archsama2012]

80k homeless wondering in the streets of NYC freely. That's what we called a free nation!

[@alexandercarpenter5791]

That's absolutely true, at the first glance of that car, I think the owner of this car might be a freak.

[@wwppk]

Even though I hate Trump, that driver is a complete clown. The freedom those kinds of Americans value is the freedom to be an idiot clown in public. Even homeless Americans living in tents have those kinds of freedoms. But those freedoms are useless when they don't do anything to improve peoples' standard of living and quality of life.

[@beesplaining1882]

What a great explanation of the differences between Asia and America. The best I've seen.

[@Jackbyl]

Exactly. We can't simply say we can do this and you can't there, so you don't have freedom. In China, you can bring a bottle of open beer, walk up to a police officer, have a chat with them while sipping it, and walk away like a boss. How many ppl can do this in the US?

[@stephenlock7236]

You may be shot even before you know it.😭😭😭😭

[@relaxwhc]

Americans have so much freedom until you can get sacked for saying Na Ge 那个 in mandarin 😂 If agree, raise your hand 🙋✋💥

[@Shenzhou.]

Agreed. In many states in the U.S, it's illegal to walk around in public with a open bottle/can of alcoholic beverage in hand. But you can do that in China, no problem. Just watch Gweilo 60 do it all the time in his videos.

[@jadeliu6973]

@@Shenzhou. no alcohol but qiang

[@宋庆-i4m]

@@Shenzhou. Can I get married in China if I am Gay?

[@Shenzhou.]

@@宋庆-i4m You can get banned on Twitter, just for "deadnaming" someone (calling a transgender person by their given gender at birth). That's American freedom for you.

[@宋庆-i4m]

@@Shenzhou.That's wrong and I'm against that.....but what does that have to do with my question? the question was can I still get married as a gay person in China?

[@ancienttime6307]

Well said Cyrus, well said.

[@traditionalcultureandactiv6001]

视频做的很好 文明本身就有多样性；民主、自由在不同文化和国家理解也不同，不同发展阶段诠释也不同。 恶心的是有些国家故意借民主、自由、人权问题，利用媒体优势全球搞舆论夸大或抹黑，进行颠覆对手的阴谋；而对自身，真正大量侵犯人权行为缺视而不见

[@chandaisy9251]

👍👍👍👍🇨🇳🇨🇳

[@junjunl8644]

I really encourage ones to visit China to find their own answers. Such freedom in China is what I ultimate need.

[@hannibalyin8853]

the ordinary people don't need to bother such things like "choose a leader" or "decide which policy is the best", because ordinary people just can't draw that big picture and put that into their mind to evaluate which is which. if you think you can, good for you, you should start a campaign and get founded immediately to be a governor or a president. and let's watch how well you handle the questions came from every single aspect of society. this is a teamwork, and need to be done with trained hands that delivers, and that's what China do, we have a complex system to promote the best man for the job from bottom to top through tens of thousands party members that have the skill of leadership. yes we don't have universal suffrage but we also don't need to deal with those old stupid fucks like Biden or Trump and let the left and the right battle each other to separate our country. 5-years-plan, action to the ground which you can see it with your own eyes. is far more better than "4-years-rollback" of some of those "free country".

[@alexfisky]

very good point

[@Boilthebunny15]

Over 90% support for a government is more representative than 50% support of 70% of the population. You are right Cyrus, many people won’t vote when there are only 2 parties who don’t strongly represent their views

[@gillesturcotte5661]

There's a huge flaw in the comparison. Jinping represents the people massively more than either Trump or Biden. By their actions hurting the people , both Trump and Biden deserve disrespect

[@gulamog5041]

Winnie Pooh

[@stephenhill8790]

@@gulamog5041 now crawl back under that rock you came from

[@kaiki8490]

@@gulamog5041 Fake news Look this up on quora, you will see massive amount of winnie products in china, they are also children's books in chinese with winnie. Why do so many people brag about their freedom to look up anything in the west never bothered to do so. The great firewall of laziness and racism

[@ayi3455]

China never say sorry to the world for spreading the Wuhan virus...

[@stephenhill8790]

@@ayi3455 China did not spread it all over the would it was the countries that flew out all the tourists from Wuhan and did not bother to put them into quarentine because of their human rights at the first sign and as soon as it was confirmed China put Wuhan into lockdown ,but the west just had to prove they were the icon of freedom and chartered flights to spread their infected citizens home and allows them to infect every one . Not so smart 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@rebeccawong1]

It just frustrates me to see how ignorant some of the US citizens are, or perhaps from other countries too😵 Good job u 👍🏻

[@Mr.Patrick_Hung]

If it is not safe to walk down the road without carrying a gun, then one is not free. I have lived in Hong Kong for the past quarter century and am glad to be here and dread to think of how I would be doing in America. We have the best of both worlds in Hong Kong.

[@CyrusJanssen]

HK is an amazing city! I lived there from 2014-2017 and loved every minute of it!

[@clu3886]

Absolutely, respect to the elderly or authority is a MUST in east Asia culture.

[@richiesd1]

I agree with you on the synergies. But according to John Mearsheimer, that will not work. Great powers are not interested in synergies they’re interested in becoming the hegemon and staying hegemon. They US is not interested in cooperating with China to improve the lives of people around the world. The US want to keep china in a number 2 position for as long as possible. That’s becoming harder and harder to do, hence the anxiety.

[@waybock]

👏👏👏👍👍👍An excellent presentation of a different point of view reflecting the difference in culture. There are so many different culture in this World and the US represents less than 5% of the World's population. Thank you for taking the challenge to change a predominantly Western World view.

[@ameliah8164]

You can discuss your political views in private conversations, but once you put them on the Internet, one-sided opinions can easily incite confusion because there are too many Chinese, and you may not consider the overall perspective when you question, because there is a civic perspective and a manager’s perspective. The gap is very large. If many people believe a provocative wrong view, it will cause huge chaos, as the Cultural Revolution in China and the terrorist activities in Hong Kong have proven this point. As a Chinese, I support speech control on the Internet. Because I don't want to see rumors and unscientific views spread widely. I believe in my country’s governance think tanks, they have proven to be reliable. Of course, if there are problems with some policies, we will put forward opinions on legitimate government websites, and they will also adopt reasonable proposals.

[@lowcc7602]

Right. Freedom has vast boundary. Chinese wisdom came into now being 5000 years. The mind as now 5000 years . US has how may years in history?

[@georwoogle]

There are always discussions of high quality from you. Thank you, Cyrus.

[@cindychan8748]

Well said, Cyrus. Btw, if rolls back to the 60’s and prior, American did have the “respectful” culture as one addressed the elderly to mr/mrs/miss instead of calling their first name. Yet overtime, courtesy is long gone, the word “respect” seems have disappeared from the dictionary. American culture is now filled by absolute individualism which I won’t call it freedom but selfishness.

[@Daniel-oy3ut]

Did they have the police to enforce it? Is it a culture or a rule?