Are We Closed Minded Towards China?

Every person has a different experience that creates their perspective on the places they have visited, lived in, or are currently reside. These experiences can be based on first hand visits or outside sources (friends, family etc.) who can corrupt/or positively influence your personal opinion with their own bias. Some students have negative opinions surrounding China and may have consciously or subconsciously closed themselves off to new cultural experience surrounding this nation.

“I really like it here, I’ve been living in China for 9 years so I am used to the culture and don’t feel like I am close minded based on how many places I’ve visited and the things I’ve learned” said Amanda DaCosta. “I do think people generally have a negative view on China, mostly based on stereotypes and generalized view points on things like pollution, communism, and censorship. Sometimes people who have lived here longer can influence the opinion of people who just moved here, who want to know all about China, and I think this happens a lot.”

In my experience, I hear opinions about China daily, mostly regarding the pollution, the food, the customs, or strange experiences with the culture. Not every student may feel like living in China is burdensome, but it is not uncommon for individuals to have certain stories that shaped their opinion and allowed them to generalize their perspective.

“People make jokes that are pretty stereotypical, mostly negative about race or pollution” said Max Chen. “Even though these stereotypes are said a lot, I don’t believe they impact people’s choices on experiencing new cultural things if the person has been there for a while. For someone who is new to China, I haven’t heard any positive stereotypes, so this could impact the way they view China immediately.”

The Chinese government is a controversial topic and although they may not make decisions that personally affect the average person, the consequences of the involvement may negatively impact the way people view China.

“I think when you first arrive in China there are certain frustrations and things that annoy you, and it’s easy to be critical. There are many frustrations to do with the government, like CNN censoring all negative news about China even if it’s relevant.” said Mr. Boulton. “It makes me wonder how petty the government is, if it can handle small negative things about China and with certain controversial topics where if you don’t agree with China, then you have a view that doesn’t deserve to be heard. China has so much to be proud of in terms of infrastructure and economics, so when is it going to be mature to have controversial discussions where they aren’t necessarily completely in the right. There are stereotypes about China from people overseas who don’t live here and can’t understand the experience, but the censorship and control may cause a bias or negative connotation about China and Chinese culture that would prevent some people from getting further involved in the culture. In my experience, China has been welcoming to me and I think the outside perceptions of what China may be like is quite different from the reality.”