# China is one f\*cked up society **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 16, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782 "2011-10-16T02:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/141 "2011-10-23T00:33:36Z")
We keep going around in circles. The Western reports have no new details, the Few Chinese blogs I’ve looked at have no new pertinent details, Chinese news that I’ve seen are editorials and no new content, the perp hasn’t been paraded on TV (AFAIK), etc etc. We haven’t had any Doper video expert weigh in. So, things still don’t add up in a Chinese context. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/142 "2011-10-23T00:49:36Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > We keep going around in circles. The Western reports have no new details, the Few Chinese blogs I’ve looked at have no new pertinent details, Chinese news that I’ve seen are editorials and no new content, the perp hasn’t been paraded on TV (AFAIK), etc etc. We haven’t had any Doper video expert weigh in. So, things still don’t add up in a Chinese context. What circles? The video appears legit, Reuters and AP regard it as legitimate, Chinese media is blatantly censored, yet you are waiting for some random Doper or Chinese citizen ™ expert testimony before you accept it’s real? What if this had been filmed in Detroit, or Islamabad, or NYC or Karachi…would you still be so defensive or skeptical? I first read of this video over a week ago and didn’t watch it until today because the idea of it was so disturbing. I wish I hadn’t now, but it seems that all reputable news outlets are treating this as real and it certainly looks to be so. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/143 "2011-10-23T01:37:38Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > And we all know and love the [50 cent army](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party). Something similar is done on a very large scale in Thailand too. People who are very familiar with China in this thread have serious questions about the video, and that’s good enough for me. No one is saying 100% it is a fake, just that there are some suspicious anomalies with the video and story. And after seeing how BBC has consistently flubbed it’s reporting from Thailand these past couple of years, I don’t take them at face value anymore. ---
**Author:** ![raskolnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47c2d/32.png) [@raskolnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raskolnik)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/144 "2011-10-23T02:52:53Z")
The thing is ‘chinaguy’ what are you saying is fake The video? That no child was actually hit? That no rag picker actually tried to help? That the child didn’t actually die? Has there been spin? Certainly. But you can’t keep saying ‘fake’ without saying WHAT really happened? ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/145 "2011-10-23T04:38:00Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > We keep going around in circles. The Western reports have no new details, the Few Chinese blogs I’ve looked at have no new pertinent details, Chinese news that I’ve seen are editorials and no new content, the perp hasn’t been paraded on TV (AFAIK), etc etc. We haven’t had any Doper video expert weigh in. So, things still don’t add up in a Chinese context. You haven’t been in China since 2000, according to your posts - am I correct? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/146 "2011-10-23T05:16:11Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > I think if it is true (and I believe it is until proven not) it’s totally out of character for no-one to help her, and there are other circumstances afoot. Not in China it ain’t What is out of character is that no crowd of gawkers formed ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/147 "2011-10-23T05:51:57Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Not in China it ain’t > What is out of character is that no crowd of gawkers formed And when did you live in the Far East? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/148 "2011-10-23T14:44:30Z")
> [@JustinC](#): > > You haven’t been in China since 2000, according to your posts - am I correct? I moved from Shanghai to the US about 15 months ago. I get to China about once a month on business - usually Shenzhen these days and occaisionally Shanghai and other places. First lived in China in 1985 in the countryside. raskolnik - I’m saying that to my non-expert eyes that the whole video could be staged. That the van did not actually run over a little girl, although the girl looks real up to right before the point of impact. It would then follow that the rest of it would also be staged. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/149 "2011-10-23T14:49:35Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > raskolnik - I’m saying that to my non-expert eyes that the whole video could be staged. That the van did not actually run over a little girl, although the girl looks real up to right before the point of impact. It would then follow that the rest of it would also be staged. Staged by who and to achieve what goal. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/150 "2011-10-23T15:42:54Z")
Based on my time in China: staged by some local government organ or as Even Sven points out could also be college kids as a prank that went viral. If staged, certainly not by the Central Government. Either way, it went big fast. AS for goverment pre-planned motives or spin: it’s a propaganda opportunity to show how modern society has lost its’ way, how talking/texting on your mobile phone is a bad thing (it’s endemic in China), parents should watch their kids better, how a penniless itinerant cleaning lady has more compassion than the modern Chinese, if tragedy strikes then even an unknown poor child will end up in an ultra modern military hospital, etc. Keep in mind that “news” or government announcements in China are almost always targeted at domestic audience. If China cares about world opinion it’s a distant second to the domestic audience. Thus, the tradeoff for looking bad internationally isn’t a major consideration compared with how many points this scores domestically. Again, _based on the information that’s been released_, a lot of things don’t add up. I’ll add a new one. This takes place in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, which is a city with a pretty high GDP near Hong Kong. China’s richest and most developed province. I have never been to Zhongshan, but if someone called this in on 110 (911 equivalent), then the video should have also captured the Police coming to investigate. At least in Shanghai, I’ve had multiple personal experience of calling 110 and a motorcycle cop is there in 5-10 minutes. The kid was there for a long time, IIRC there were reports that passerbys had called it in but didn’t get involved beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/151 "2011-10-23T16:06:08Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > The kid was there for a long time, IIRC there were reports that passerbys had called it in but didn’t get involved beyond that. YDRC. Those reports (upthread) were about a US event. ---
**Author:** ![simple\_homer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@simple\_homer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simple_homer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/152 "2011-10-23T17:21:53Z")
Police Arrest Two Drivers in Toddler’s Deadly Hit-and-Run in China [Police Arrest Two Drivers in Toddler's Deadly Hit-and-Run in China | Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/23/chinese-police-arrest-two-drivers-in-toddlers-deadly-hit-and-run/?test=latestnews#ixzz1bgZHCviW) > **[Police Arrest Two Drivers in Toddler's Deadly Hit-and-Run in China](https://www.foxnews.com/world/police-arrest-two-drivers-in-toddlers-deadly-hit-and-run-in-china)** > > Police formally arrested two drivers suspected of running over a toddler who died a week after she was struck on a busy market street in southern China and was ignored by passers-by, newspapers reported Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/153 "2011-10-23T19:53:18Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Based on my time in China: staged by some local government organ or as Even Sven points out could also be college kids as a prank that went viral A college prank viral that somehow, despite being seen by millions of people, hasn’t had any artefacts/pixellation/lighting errors pointed out. That is impressive shit. That level of accuracy usually takes a big budget, which brings us to theory 2: a Chinese government plot to portray the people of china as callous bastards who can watch a child die and do nothing. It’s not exactly a convincing premise. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/154 "2011-10-24T03:44:15Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > **China Guy** , are you a 50 Cent Party “Internet Commentator”? > 🙂 Not him, but I have strong suspicions about someone else here. @DearComradeC - I’ve lived in what the PRC claims as China for about 6 months all together, furthermore, I currently live in an area which has many Chinese and all my coursemates are Chinese. I also read a lot of original-language material from China. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/155 "2011-10-24T07:07:56Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Not him, but I have strong suspicions about someone else here. I know what you mean. I’ve always suspected Scylla was a communist plant, the pinko bastard. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/156 "2011-10-24T08:15:54Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > @DearComradeC - I’ve lived in what the PRC claims as China The PRC claims many things as China which they do not have any effective control over. Is the area you live in actually administered by the PRC, or is it one of those places like Taiwan or some part of India, Bhutan, Myanmar, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/157 "2011-10-24T09:17:28Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > The PRC claims many things as China which they do not have any effective control over. Is the area you live in actually administered by the PRC, or is it one of those places like Taiwan or some part of India, Bhutan, Myanmar, etc.? I was in Taiwan and HK, I also spent a fortnight in Beijing, where I was almost run over twice, something which has never occured to me in the UK. I am currently in Australia, and I’m the only non-Chinese in my class. Are they claiming Bhutan now? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/158 "2011-10-24T09:44:37Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Are they claiming Bhutan now? Not all of it, but certainly some parts. Apparently they claim the Haa District, various mountains, and some Bhutanese enclaves in Tibet. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/159 "2011-10-24T13:34:11Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Not him, but I have strong suspicions about someone else here. > > @DearComradeC - I’ve lived in what the PRC claims as China for about 6 months all together, furthermore, I currently live in an area which has many Chinese and all my coursemates are Chinese. I also read a lot of original-language material from China. If you are talking about me, hahahahhahahaha. i have a rep on this board for being a knee-jerk China pessimist. I spent two years in a backwoods city. While I loved my work and came to appreciate the culture, it was a difficult time for me personally and me and China butted headed basically every single day. I believe that there are some very deep, very difficult problems in modern Chinese culture (especially in regards to gender and sexuality), and that the government is nowhere as near as stable or unified as it is made out to be. I wish my friends in China the best, and I appreciate very much the friendships and hospitality I was shown. But China has a lot of “getting its shit together” to do before it can be taken seriously as a world power. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782/160 "2011-10-24T16:03:55Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > If you are talking about me, hahahahhahahaha. > > i have a rep on this board for being a knee-jerk China pessimist. I spent two years in a backwoods city. While I loved my work and came to appreciate the culture, it was a difficult time for me personally and me and China butted headed basically every single day. **I believe that there are some very deep, very difficult problems in modern Chinese culture (especially in regards to gender and sexuality),** and that the government is nowhere as near as stable or unified as it is made out to be. I wish my friends in China the best, and I appreciate very much the friendships and hospitality I was shown. But China has a lot of “getting its shit together” to do before it can be taken seriously as a world power. If you would care to elaborate a little on the part I bolded, I would be interested to read it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/china-is-one-f-cked-up-society/599782.md?page=9)