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Thanks for the reply and links. I will keep reading your content. And I appreciate that you’re in the Understanding China space which is far too sparsely populated.

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Interesting subject. But the essay is confusing. I read it twice and still don’t understand the 8 “wether to do” or 4 “depending on” construction.

The essay has the feel of a CCP aligned Xi Jin Pin Thought propaganda piece written to gain the author’s brownie points. I am NOT anti Chinese, I’m an American struggling to understand the Chinese system.

I would like to believe China has an alternative, functioning democracy. This hasn’t convinced me. Maybe in the next installments it will. I am fully cognizant if the malfunctioning US system but so far, this article is a poor critique of Western manufactured consent.

I’ll keep reading... as long as it’s free. I’m up to $60 in monthly Substack fees, plus other vital news subs so no way I will pay.

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author

I agree about the construction. It works in Chinese, but not for us.

The essay is, as you say, a CCP aligned Xi Jin Pin Thought propaganda piece and that's a good thing.

The CPC sets China's general tone and direction – which 96% of folks are happy with – so its alignment to Xi Jinping Thought is unsurprising.

The author assumed that readers knows China is a democracy. If you don't, you might find The Democracy Gap useful: https://open.substack.com/pub/herecomeschina/p/the-democracy-gap?r=16k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

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Mar 10Liked by Godfree Roberts

I found this video useful for learning more about the system in China:

https://youtu.be/oztfO3RJDVI?si=G_I9YT8qu2E6LOuo

Also this series from Jerry Grey:

https://youtu.be/tEhvGgOUE6c?si=37r5hElw21TTnYmC

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