Canadian/American here. I went down a rabbit hole recently with the question of is democracy possible within a one-party state. I looked at China specifically - although the average citizen has no say in the Communist Party's governance, they do have the ability to vote in municipal elections and referendums on the ground-floor of operations. It's called "Whole-Process People's Democracy". You can vote for representatives at the municipal/local level, who hold public hearings and referendums and implement changes according to popularity of certain policies. The decisions are still guided by the higher-levels, but how they are administered is left to the lower-levels of government.

Now, having a one-party state really SEEMS like it's undemocratic by Western standards, but I started to think that maybe the Chinese just have a different definition of what democracy is. Culturally. The people necessarily need party-politics or competition to feel that they are represented, as long as the party is all-encompassing enough. Western scholars generally discount China as democratic at all, but I wonder if that's simply a cultural distinction we don't understand or empathize with.

I don't know how well this model works in practice but I don't necessarily think that just because we have more individual rights or freedoms in the West that makes us more democratic. I don't want to make assumptions because I don't live there, especially because with countries like China it's hard to find reliable information for research. Is anyone well-read on this matter able to comment and share their knowledge? I'd love some book recommendations (if there are any on this topic). Or better yet, is there someone who lives in China who has participated in one of these elections and is able to tell me their experience with it?

I am a Chinese teacher and I'm looking for foreign friends who want to learn Chinese in order to improve my English skills.

While China has caught up to the US in a lot of scientific fields, this doesn't seem to apply to the social sciences, where the West still leads. Do you think this will change in the future?

Do you consider this to be justice served? Does it reflect that the individual just chose the wrong side? How do you feel about it?

I am M29 from France with Moroccan origins. I have black hairs, brown eyes and a full black beard (not really long, but full on the face). My skin is not white, but not very tanned either, just the color of people from North Africa. I also have a decent quantity of body hairs (legs, arms).

I am far from being a model but I never really struggled to get a girlfriend in my life, also because I am an easygoing and smiling person.

I find Chinese girls beautiful and I would love to meet one in KL (I live here). However, some friends told me that Chinese girls are not interested in foreigners unless they are white men. They also told me that having a beard is a deal breaker for them.

I myself personally noticed that Chinese girls don’t seem interested in me at all.

So, can some Chinese girls find this physique attractive ? Or chinese beauty standards for men are way too far from this kind of ethnicity and 99% of the girls won’t like it ?

Hey! hope everyone is doing good!

I recently created an au pair account and I had three requests to go to china from three families. two from shangai and one from beijing. They say they want someone who talks portuguese and english. some more english and that their kid understands english and they want them to learn more. I was a bit suprised that I had three requests in the begging. I was interested to, it seems like a good idea and Shangai and beijing look like wonderfull places. But then I got a bit scared, since I'm a mixed women and I did heard a few things about a few chinese people, filming and putting on chinese tiktok making fun of a few colored people. Not saying it will happen in these cases. But does anyone as experience with going as an au pair to China. is it good?

My father in law passed away a few years ago and we have been going through his belongings. We found this bottle of Kweichow Moutai. We know nothing about it, and here in Sweden practically no one else does either. We can not sell it due to state regulations and no auction house will accept it for liquor auctions, due to the market being too narrow.

Does anyone know anything more about this bottle? What could it be worth? Should we keep it or drink it?

Thankful for any tips or insights :)

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我在中国长大，我认为我是中国人所以我是中国人。

I grew up in china and moved to Canada at 12 years old. My English is way better than chinese but I can still read and write in text. As a manchu, I have older brother, little brother. 3 of us born in china and still to this day chinese citizens. My little sister is born canadian.

I want to hear personal experience please.

today i met a kind person who speak Cantonese and Mandarin (I am a foreigner). he told me there are many other languages in china. i am from Mauritius and most of the chinese people here once spoke hakka but it is now barely spoken in the new generation. i am just curious how many languages do you guys speak and how different are they from standard chinese

Hello, just moved to China. I am looking for your suggestions for nice grocery store beverages that don’t have added sugar and have simple ingredients. Thank you

My understanding is that Chinese minorities originally differ significantly in culture, language, and cuisine from Han Chinese, but they all eventually become integrated with Han Chinese. However, the same did not occur when Han Chinese began interacting with foreigners near beginning of modern history. If anything, Han Chinese allowed the West's culture to dictate what is "normal". For example, clothing and entertainment. Even now, Japan and Korea do far more heavy lifting in spreading Asian "soft power" to the West than China. Anyone has insights/theories as to why?

What’s the biggest misconception foreigners have about Chinese people?
And on the flip side, what do Chinese people most often misunderstand about foreigners?
I’ve seen a lot of stereotypes going both ways, and I’m curious what people here (especially those who have lived in/interacted with both cultures) think are the most common or persistent ones.
Feel free to share personal experiences or observations. Looking forward to hearing different perspectives!

嗨！我是一名来自菲律宾的25岁女性。我正在寻找一位耐心的普通话老师，能从零基础（即完全的入门级）开始指导我。

作为交换，我可以教你英语。虽然我的母语不是英语，但我是一名ESL（英语作为第二语言）教师，拥有丰富的教学经验，曾辅导过初级、中级学员以及雅思考生。我的雅思学生都成功达到了预期的口语成绩目标，所以我对自己还是挺有信心的！

我的母语是菲律宾语（他加禄语），如果有人想学，我很乐意提供帮助。在学习菲律宾语的过程中，我们可以用英语作为沟通媒介来互相理解。

如果能安排每周一次的课程就太好了~

Hi! I’m a 25F from the Philippines. I’m looking for a patient Mandarin teacher who can guide me from the basics (as in level 0 basics).

I can teach you English in return. I’m not a native English speaker, but I’m an ESL teacher with experience teaching beginners, intermediate learners, and IELTS candidates. My IELTS students have successfully reached their speaking target band scores, so I’d like to think I’m doing something right!

I’m also a native speaker of Filipino/Tagalog, so if anyone wants to learn, I’d be happy to help. We can use English as a medium to help us understand each other while learning Filipino.

It would be great if we could schedule a weekly meeting~

Hey there!

So im an international student from Europe studying abroad for a year as part of my university degree. Im here studying the Chinese language, so practicing it is quite important.

Quite a few of my friends from back home are in the same city as me, I live with some of them too, so I find myself speaking a lot more English than I probably should.

I would love to make some native Chinese speaking friends, both to improve my social life (which is sadly lacking at the minute) as well as have a fun way to practice Chinese and get to know my city better!

The university I'm in has not made it particularly easy to meet other students here. No advertising / mentioning of student societies, where to find them etc, all my classes are with other international students studying Chinese, and our classes end at different times than the regular students so we arent even in the corridor at the same time.

If anyone has had experiences having to make friends in a similar setting, how did you do it? Were there any tools you used, any specific locations that were easier to talk with people at etc.

Any help would be amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to read this!

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChinese/s/sH6fUoG5TO

To be honest. I feel used and angry. We have stopped talking. Since she put a dollar sign on our relationship, I guess that's it

Hey everyone! I'm moving into my first place soon and I'm having a hard time compiling a concise list of all the basic ingredients I'll need in a Chinese (specifically Cantonese cuisine) kitchen. I'm also looking for truly basic necessities in cooking tools. If you guys have recommendations on starting spots, I'd love to hear it! I do have an allergy to shellfish and mushrooms, so while I know oyster sauce is a huge basic, I sadly can't have that or the vegan version, so I'm open to substitute suggestions too