Don't be fooled by propaganda images of shiny potemkin villages (most of those skyscrapers are actually empty inside)
Here is the reality of life in racist, terrorist, fascist, communist, totalitarian china
Its unfortunate what you are telling me. The desperation of Chinese people is not good. When people feel desperation we tend to cut corners, to justify things that normally we would not do. There is, however, a great reserve in the human being. There remains some compassion, some hope. Even in desperate times some will be kind although some will not. I feel China has yet to recover from the murders and incompetence of Mau, and that is 80% of why they have put up with so much nonsense from Xi. You don't endure a reign of terror, famine and massacres and then simply pop up like a card. It takes time to get over something like that particularly if you cannot discuss it openly.
A westerner like me probably does not understand how the various groups in China think and live. They rear the children differently. Understanding them is not obvious. The question is what should I do? From a practical perspective if I wish for peace and also for good childhoods for children should I buy Chinese products or not? I do not feel that my choices have any predictable outcome. I can wish Chinese well. I cannot tell what effects I have on them. I also don't understand their feelings about Taiwan or about most political subjects or about me. I have a little understanding, not a lot. Which means I misunderstand. I guess the best thing I can do is work to keep my own country stable.
I'm aware that for Xi the government in China was far too centralized though currently that is changing a little, according to youtube rumors. Decentralization may yield some benefits for Chinese. It seems like with too much centralization many important things become details that get overlooked. This does not mean centralization is always bad. You can sometimes fight graft this way or make sure important things are done right, but you cannot be everywhere and cannot know all that is transpiring.
The Xi government has made some good calls regarding the skyscraper problem. It saw the impending trouble and forced the real estate developers to face their debts. It stopped the Ponzi scheme. Things could have gotten even worse. They already got very bad however. Many people were hurt.
Sad to say national boundaries are a compromise. The world has enforced these boundaries for almost a century, now to maintain peace; but they aren't always good. They protect but also prevent us from helping. For example if someone in Canada has a bad day I cannot simply step over the line to help them. No. I have to justify my visit to Canada, present paperwork, promise not to stay too long. And that is the easiest national boundary to cross. No, I must leave that individual in the hands of Canadians. This acts as an excuse not to do anything, not to care about that person. I can tell myself he is not my problem. He is on the other side of the border, so I am excused from caring. This is the negative thing about national borders. They are divisions.
