Just because people and outlets have a different opinion than you doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong, or "propagandists". Some people just have a different opinion, out of their own free will and independent thought, all right?
Yes people can judge for themselves. Having said that, I believe I also have some say in how I think I should be judged, and that I am allowed to push back at others' attempts to put me in a box.
I am not "pro-CCP". I only look that way because western mainstream media is so full of anti-China propaganda that anyone who deviates from mainstream opinion look like pro-CCP.
(At this point, some will say "we are only against the CCP, not the Chinese people, and you are wrongly equating China with the CCP". I have written extensively in the past why such rethoric doesn't stand to scuritiny and merely covers up policies that will result in the real suffering of common Chinese people: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29358557)
So no, I'm not a CCP supporter. What I am, is being tired of all the anti-China propaganda that's on the one hand merely biased and prejudiced misrepresentations, and on the other hand a deliberate manufacturing of consent for war. I am tired of my home being constantly misrepresented and villified.
You are right that nobody knows my situation. So I will hereby give you a sworn statement, i.e. you can hold me accountable for it in a court of law if you find me to be lying: my family is not held hostage by Chinese forces, nobody from China is threatening me and my family, and everything I say is entirely my own opinion based on my own independent research without anybody paying me to say these things.
You may not be a paid shill (I’m certainly not accusing you of it - that would be against the rules) but your behaviour is indeed curious for someone who is trying to not look like one.
For instance, why are you trying to get in touch with other HN’ers with a history of pro-China commentary?
Don’t be surprised that people are suspicious. And it’s not because of a difference of opinion - users here are very tolerant of that - it’s because of repeated behaviour (another example: avoiding answering difficult questions regarding the alleged sexual assault of Peng Shuai).
What ModernMech said. I think what that other often downvoted user said made a lot of sense and that he's wrongfully being downvoted, so I wanted to talk to him in private and share our experiences. There is nothing wrong with that.
Also, "users here are very tolerant of that" — I'm sorry, I have to disagree with that hugely. You say I'm "suspicious" because... I have repeated behavior of being suspicious? That's a circular reasoning.
Also, this "repeated behavior of being suspicious" actually means "repeatedly having a different opinion about China". How is that being tolerant again?
It is exactly because of this that many people don't dare to post alternative opinions about China on Hacker News -- for fear of being socially ostracized. By chance I happened to encounter a few people on Twitter who turn out to be one of those so-called "bots" on HN, and they told me they posted anonymously because they fear the shit that will land on them (downvotes, accusations, more) if they post with their main accounts.
There is nothing suspicious about not answering about a subtopic. I can say things when I want to and not say things when I want to as long as I don't break any rules. I also don't answer about Hunter Biden for example, and I don't have to.
I already said many times before why I have a different opinion and I post so often about it. I am Chinese and I am fed up with the lies, propaganda, villification and manufacturing of war consent. There is nothing suspicious about speaking up when you think there is something wrong in a community.
In fact, I assert that the only reason you think such behavior is suspicious is because you have been too influenced by anti-China propaganda. You and the mainstream media have such a warped view of China in your minds that any message that deviates from the mainstream view automatically looks preposterous or fake. But here I am, a westernized Chinese who posted nearly nothing about China for 20 years of my Internet history, suddenly posting about China after having witnessed on the ground in early 2020 how many lies the media told about China and COVID (and as it turns out, many other topics as well), and being shocked and enraged at that. With a non-westernized Chinese citizen you can still say "oh but he's being censored/forced/brainwashed". As a westernized Chinese I have free access to information on both sides and I understand the western viewpoint very well. As a software developer who has developed stuff that hundreds of thousands of sites around the world uses and who has helped numerous clients, I have demonstrated my ability to do independent research. If there is anybody qualified to have a legitimate opinion about this topic, it would be me. So maybe you should seriously consider the possibility that, no maybe I'm not suspicious, it's you that may be wrong and that I may be right, and that the truth is in fact so far from that what you believe that the truth looks suspicious even when it isn't.
>Also, "users here are very tolerant of that" — I'm sorry, I have to disagree with that hugely. You say I'm "suspicious" because... I have repeated behavior of being suspicious? That's a circular reasoning. Also, this "repeated behavior of being suspicious" actually means "repeatedly having a different opinion about China". How is that being tolerant again?
Let's stay on topic.
What's suspicious is that you repeatedly and vociferously commented about the topic (alleged rape by a CCP official) until you were challenged about omissions in your translation/interpretation. An interpretation which downplayed the allegation, blamed the victim and curiously... omitted key details.
Then suddenly, when pressed further, "There is nothing suspicious about not answering about a subtopic".
Right. Ok. There is nothing suspicious about engaging in commentary which supports the CCP's official position on Peng Shuai while refusing to even acknowledge the words she wrote. Sure.
The alleged assault is not a "sub-topic", it was the only topic. That's what the thread was about. I know it serves your purpose well to make this about anti-China propaganda (which I agree exists and is a problem). But I've not made a single comment about China outside of this specific topic. The rest of your commentary is merely a clumsy attempt at painting me as racist in order to distract from the true topic. Stop it.
As to my motivation. Like I already told you, I am close with several woman who are survivors of assault. I find your unwavering support of the CCP and their actions in this particular instance suspicious, particularly because you are Western. It should be a no-brainer to condemn what happened here. It's plain as day what the CCP is doing.
Stop painting our disagreement as "differing opinions on China". That's FUD. What we have is differing opinions on the rights of women.
Just because people and outlets have a different opinion than you doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong, or "propagandists". Some people just have a different opinion, out of their own free will and independent thought, all right?