The China Thread

It didn't used to be like this before covid and in fact it used to be very rough that people would tell you to stay away from certain areas. The transformation into a high-trust society happened near the end of covid.

Personal story. My wife had left her purse at a dessert shop in a mall in SZ. She had walked around for at least an hour before realizing she left it behind and when she went back, the table she was sitting at was completely untouched as if it was store policy.
How much does it have to do with trust/honesty vs. fear of the stick- unavoidable punishment and ubiquitous cameras and tracking?
 
^There are many cameras in the West in public places, malls, stores where most thefts occur.

One factor has been the fact that incomes and purchasing power have grown a lot in China over the past several decades.
 
Serpentza is not going to like these.



The "China as a high-trust society' spin is so laughably incorrect that you'd have to wonder if the Changs aren't just making a blatant mockery of their low info pro bono online westoid simps. China is not a high trust society. China is not even a low-trust society either, but a zero-trust society instead. Can't stop wondering how much these foreigners get paid for these videos, bar seems really low these days.

Meanwhile in the real China, far away from slick and high grade staged propaganda videos reality seems a bit less rosy. In the video below a 'high-trust' Chinese senior gets run over by a fellow 'high trust' Chang. The 'high trust' perp than speeds off, obviously high in trust that the matter will be taken care off and his further attendance isn't needed. That's high trust. The senior Chang then lies on the asphalt in agony for minutes, probably high in trust that the ambulance will come soon even though nobody in China calls ambulances for strangers because it means financial liability in case the other 'high trust' Chang victim is, like the majority of Chinese, a brokie.

In the videos dozens if not hundreds of other high trust drivers and pedestrians can be seen walking and driving by. This is because they are so high trust in China's system and their fellow citizens' benevolence - anyone who says otherwise is CIA bytheway. They are also high trust in the victim's physical resilience hence confidently choose to keep high trusting the plan. Whether an ambulance eventually arrived isn't clear, arrival time of first responders in China is extremely unreliable but that's just part and parcel of living in a high trust society .

Did I say China is a high trust society already? The term is suddenly in widespread use by all the sellout Chang whisperers so might as well join in on the bonanza. High trust society!

 
Another banger from serpentza, this time related to China's crumbling and highly compromised infrastructure. In China on average 30 major bridges collapse a year. Even so the CCP, high in trust as always, hasn't registered a single bridge collapse since 2015, yet in the 2000-2014 timespan 302 major bridge collapses were reported, equalling 22 collapses a year. Since then citizens initiatives from abroad have registered around 3 major bridge collapses every single month.

Like with anything else in China people die regularly in these collapses, yet noone cares and nothing gets done about the near diabolical corruption, shady business practices and inferior building styles causing it. In the video below serpentza and laowhy86 mention the Qinghai tourist ropebridge collapse last month. 5 people died, 11 are missing. In 2024 the same bridge collapsed as well, that time without victims.

High trust!



Some additional collapses













 
Another banger from serpentza, this time related to China's crumbling and highly compromised infrastructure. In China on average 30 major bridges collapse a year. Even so the CCP, high in trust as always, hasn't registered a single bridge collapse since 2015, yet in the 2000-2014 timespan 302 major bridge collapses were reported, equalling 22 collapses a year. Since then citizens initiatives from abroad have registered around 3 major bridge collapses every single month.

Like with anything else in China people die regularly in these collapses, yet noone cares and nothing gets done about the near diabolical corruption, shady business practices and inferior building styles causing it. In the video below serpentza and laowhy86 mention the Qinghai tourist ropebridge collapse last month. 5 people died, 11 are missing. In 2024 the same bridge collapsed as well, that time without victims.

High trust!
A fellow American who lived in Xi'an during the years that I was in Guangzhou, and who was married to a Chinese lady, used to keep this huge stash of pictures of collapsed bridges that he grabbed off social media and found on the Chinese from about 2006-2009.

In Guangzhou, if the bridge doesn't collapse, someone will just throw you off it.

 
^There are many cameras in the West in public places, malls, stores where most thefts occur.

One factor has been the fact that incomes and purchasing power have grown a lot in China over the past several decades.
Yes (I mentioned unavoidable punishment in China), in the West crimes go unpunished despite solid incriminating evidence, and it's common knowledge among the thieves, that's why they're so brazen, again in China you will face harsh consequences and it's a given.

Expectation says a noticeable change occurred after Covid, not that long ago, when the wages were not rising exponentially any more, looks more related to surveillance measures and the introduction/tightening of the social credit system.
 
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The "China as a high-trust society' spin is so laughably incorrect that you'd have to wonder if the Changs aren't just making a blatant mockery of their low info pro bono online westoid simps. China is not a high trust society. China is not even a low-trust society either, but a zero-trust society instead. Can't stop wondering how much these foreigners get paid for these videos, bar seems really low these days.

Meanwhile in the real China, far away from slick and high grade staged propaganda videos reality seems a bit less rosy. In the video below a 'high-trust' Chinese senior gets run over by a fellow 'high trust' Chang. The 'high trust' perp than speeds off, obviously high in trust that the matter will be taken care off and his further attendance isn't needed. That's high trust. The senior Chang then lies on the asphalt in agony for minutes, probably high in trust that the ambulance will come soon even though nobody in China calls ambulances for strangers because it means financial liability in case the other 'high trust' Chang victim is, like the majority of Chinese, a brokie.

In the videos dozens if not hundreds of other high trust drivers and pedestrians can be seen walking and driving by. This is because they are so high trust in China's system and their fellow citizens' benevolence - anyone who says otherwise is CIA bytheway. They are also high trust in the victim's physical resilience hence confidently choose to keep high trusting the plan. Whether an ambulance eventually arrived isn't clear, arrival time of first responders in China is extremely unreliable but that's just part and parcel of living in a high trust society .

Did I say China is a high trust society already? The term is suddenly in widespread use by all the sellout Chang whisperers so might as well join in on the bonanza. High trust society!


Bytheway, on the topic of road safety, here's a chart of deaths per 100 000 people. Compare this to Japan, which is an actual advanced and high trust society.

images (24).png

Now also compare that to Europe. Don't mind the color patterns, China would have been pitch black if on the same graph.

images - 2025-09-08T105156.261.jpeg

China is third world all the way, and due to certain macro-economic, financial and demographic trajectories will in the next 50 years stay that way. Not a single indicator speaks in the opposite direction. The wumao know this hence why you are currently getting bombarded on whatever platform with these smooth feel good emo- propaganda videos instead.
 
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Another banger from serpentza, this time related to China's crumbling and highly compromised infrastructure. In China on average 30 major bridges collapse a year. Even so the CCP, high in trust as always, hasn't registered a single bridge collapse since 2015, yet in the 2000-2014 timespan 302 major bridge collapses were reported, equalling 22 collapses a year. Since then citizens initiatives from abroad have registered around 3 major bridge collapses every single month.

Like with anything else in China people die regularly in these collapses, yet noone cares and nothing gets done about the near diabolical corruption, shady business practices and inferior building styles causing it. In the video below serpentza and laowhy86 mention the Qinghai tourist ropebridge collapse last month. 5 people died, 11 are missing. In 2024 the same bridge collapsed as well, that time without victims.

High trust!



Some additional collapses
















Although your propaganda is fairly lame, it does work with lower IQ crowds or the rabidly anti-Chinese set that will consume that kind of propaganda at face value.

Here's a basic stat for you: China has built over 900,000 bridges the last few decades.

AI Overview


China has built over 960,000 highway and high-speed railway bridges, making it a global leader in bridge construction. This large number reflects China's commitment to infrastructure development, economic growth, and connecting its vast territory through advanced engineering and project management.

Key Statistics:
  • Total Bridges: Over 960,000 bridges have been constructed in China.
  • Highway Bridges: The country possesses more than 830,000 highway bridges as of 2017, with an average of approximately 28,000 new highway bridges being built each year from 2007 to 2014, according to ASCE Library.
  • High-Speed Railway Bridges: Nearly half of China's high-speed railways are built on bridges, demonstrating a significant portion of the infrastructure being dedicated to this structure type.
  • World's Tallest Bridges: China is home to 90% of the world's top 100 tallest bridges in the 21st century, according to 新华网.
A failure rate of 0.001% would translate into a hundred bridge failures. The failure rate of Chinese bridges is not that much higher than that of the US, according to this study (see table 1 below):

Going forward though, I would expect the failure rate in N. America to exceed that of China given the state of disrepair of US infrastructure and its aging.


20190403_Bridges.jpg
 
The "China as a high-trust society' spin is so laughably incorrect that you'd have to wonder if the Changs aren't just making a blatant mockery of their low info pro bono online westoid simps. China is not a high trust society. China is not even a low-trust society either, but a zero-trust society instead. Can't stop wondering how much these foreigners get paid for these videos, bar seems really low these days.

Meanwhile in the real China, far away from slick and high grade staged propaganda videos reality seems a bit less rosy. In the video below a 'high-trust' Chinese senior gets run over by a fellow 'high trust' Chang. The 'high trust' perp than speeds off, obviously high in trust that the matter will be taken care off and his further attendance isn't needed. That's high trust. The senior Chang then lies on the asphalt in agony for minutes, probably high in trust that the ambulance will come soon even though nobody in China calls ambulances for strangers because it means financial liability in case the other 'high trust' Chang victim is, like the majority of Chinese, a brokie.

In the videos dozens if not hundreds of other high trust drivers and pedestrians can be seen walking and driving by. This is because they are so high trust in China's system and their fellow citizens' benevolence - anyone who says otherwise is CIA bytheway. They are also high trust in the victim's physical resilience hence confidently choose to keep high trusting the plan. Whether an ambulance eventually arrived isn't clear, arrival time of first responders in China is extremely unreliable but that's just part and parcel of living in a high trust society .

Did I say China is a high trust society already? The term is suddenly in widespread use by all the sellout Chang whisperers so might as well join in on the bonanza. High trust society!




Video lasts 48 seconds, doesn't show you what took place before or after, just some dude laying down stretching on a crosswalk, has vibes of being staged, and is posted by a 100% China hater channel - likely recipient of the $1.6 BILLION US anti-China propaganda fund?

That is the kind of level of propaganda on that channel from their most recent batch, they show a bunch of Chinese workers taking their midday siesta naps and try to pass that as some kind of a worker holocaust:
 
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Bytheway, on the topic of road safety, here's a chart of deaths per 100 000 people. Compare this to Japan, which is an actual advanced and high trust society.

View attachment 23447

Now also compare that to Europe. Don't mind the color patterns, China would have been pitch black if on the same graph.

View attachment 23448

China is third world all the way, and due to certain macro-economic, financial and demographic trajectories will in the next 50 years stay that way. Not a single indicator speaks in the opposite direction. The wumao know this hence why you are currently getting bombarded on whatever platform with these smooth feel good emo- propaganda videos instead.


So China has road fatalities half as high as those in SE Asia, and a bit higher than those in Poland, Russia or Romania, and that is your proof of China being some kind of a dystopia?

Notice how you have avoided talking about thefts and lack thereof, which was the original subject above. I wonder why? lol.

How about crime rates, let's have a look:

1757304188940.png

1757304330030.png

Homicide rate in China 11 times lower than in the US, 4 times lower than in Canada.

Let me help you out a bit LaNegra - this here below is what a low trust society looks like, and this happens every day near Serpentza and C-Milk's US adobes, but they will instead report about a couple of the 960,000 Chinese bridge failures instead, LOL!

 
Yes (I mentioned unavoidable punishment in China), in the West crimes go unpunished despite solid incriminating evidence, and it's common knowledge among the thieves, that's why they're so brazen, again in China you will face harsh consequences and it's a given.

Expectation says a noticeable change occurred after Covid, not that long ago, when the wages were not rising exponentially any more, looks more related to surveillance measures and the introduction/tightening of the social credit system.


I think one factor that might be at work here is their social media and its influence on society, Douyin, Xiaohongshu are chock-full of feel-good stories featuring good samaritans (in part due to state censorship), while in the West TikTok and Insta are a toxic well of narcissism and social dysfunction that demoralizes and brings down society.


This guy asked the same question:


"What's most amazing about this is that China was not always like this. As recently as 20-30 years ago things were not nearly as "safe" as this.

Why it happened is a Ph.D. thesis waiting to be written. How it happened we largely know: what happened in China over the past several decades is well documented and shared on the internet.

Are people just afraid of Chinese police? But China was even more authoritarian 20-30 years ago. Is it the cameras? Then how come that guy on NYC subway killed that Ukrainian refugee all on camera?I don't have the full answer, but I think part of the answer is "social consensus": most of society agreeing on most values.

But you think that just means people are brainwashed? But they were brainwashed even more 30 years ago and yet this did not happen.

And then of course what is the goal? For people to fight each other and live in fear, carrying guns when they go to buy milk and bread? Lots of questions and people just pulling answers from their favorite Freedom(tm) textbook.

To be fair, US and Europe were a bit like this 50 or so years ago, though they are no longer anything like it.

Unchecked immigration? I think that is a part of it. Immigrants do not share local values. A small number of immigrants is probably ok, but too many at once tips the balance.

But even that does not seem to be the complete answer to the question of what it takes to lose it."
 
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Expectation says a noticeable change occurred after Covid, not that long ago, when the wages were not rising exponentially any more, looks more related to surveillance measures and the introduction/tightening of the social credit system.

A good observation and questioning process so I'm happy to respond to you here.

The emergence of the Middle Class has been driven by lower cost of living & supply side and local Chinese consumer brands. Right now, it is at a stage where costs from these local brands are cheap because they are a couple years new and testing the consumer market. I suspect in a couple of years cost of living would go up as these local brands realize their actual positioning in the market and then wages would need to go up to maintain or increase quality of life. @SpyofMoses - this is to answer your question earlier btw.

You can google Dual Circulation Strategy for more on how they're breaking out of the middle income trap.

There is actually no social credit system in the same way most folks in the west believe it is - rather it is a debt credit system. Its too much effort to respond to every posts and I made a meme mocking that assertion a long time ago but I'm not going to respond to correct to every mention of it like a bot.


So yes, it is more related to an increase in material well being rather than authoritarianism. You also see similar elements of this behavior to other Sino ethnostate societies such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan as long as basic quality of life is met.
 
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Politico: Pentagon plan prioritizes homeland over China threat


Han Feizi: Asia without America, Part 3, Liberal Taiwan in a Realist World.


Han Feizi taking a victory lap and applaud the prioritization back home.


"The US is now reckoning with the “Skull Chart” – a darkly humorous meme passed around on social media. The Skull Chart is a visual representation of Vaclav Havel’s famous observation of China’s explosive growth, “We have not yet had time to be astonished.” Every US versus China chart is now the Skull Chart.

China’s trend lines are merciless. The American populace and institutions are just beginning to reckon with the Skull Chart and its implications. The new National Defense Strategy, if implemented, is surely the correct decision for an overstretched empire, given Skull Chart math.

It is long past time for America to come home, circle wagons, lick wounds and put out domestic dumpster fires. While soldiers patrolling American cities may be dystopian to many, it is hard to deny that vast swathes of urban America could use whatever resources are freed up from overseas military commitments."
 

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