My impression is that people in China may say very different things, and that they may contradict themselves more frequently than Westerners, for example. Statements often vary in accordance with the situation, rather than in accordance with beliefs. The same people who criticize me for watching “Xinwen Lianbo” with a straight face might, and who tell me that there are so many better (Chinese) tv programs, would tell me in a heated debate that they don’t mind to be misguided by censorship, or to get only filtered news, when it helps to safeguard stability, public security, “national defense”, etc. It really seems to depend on if the situation is combative or if it isn’t.

That said, they are people who I’ve known for a long time, and they aren’t thuggish. I’ve never heard them praising crackdowns on dissidents, on women who take advantage, etc.. And I think that’s an important difference. I’d never refer to thugs as “friends”, not even formally.

“Family planning is a right law for China and like every other law, people breaking it should be penalized or nobody will follow, as simple as that.”
—whether it is still the “right law” in 2012 in highly debatable. And the fact that it is “the law” does not mean the law is just, or the punishment is commensurate with the crime. Especially in China where it is the CCP’s law, not the people’s law.

“Because the baby aborted was a girl, I have some doubt about her story”
—give me a break. You are pathetic and a disgrace to humans.

http://tealeafnation.com/2012/06/after-forcible-abortion-local-government-brands-father-traitor-for-talking-to-reporter/

Isn’t that great? They force abortion on the wife, then they bully the husband for having the nerve to talk about it. Yeah, that’s a great system.

“China can have its own social acceptance”
—yeah, like “blame the victim”. It looks like the smartest thing your daughter has done is to stop listening to her mother. Based on the available evidence, seems like a wise choice. You seem to think like a dinosaur.

I do not know what world you are living in, not reality for sure. People and countries have been, almost always, justifying “ends” with whatever “means” they have.

It is a serious national security issue if a country has no enough land to feed its people. In short term, you can trade whatever other resources you have for food; in long term (let’s say 50 years, not too long), your oil or whatever will run out or other countries will be over-populated too. Human being can end up much worse than the rat; the rat does not have nukes and rats after the crash at least will not live in nuclear winter.

Selfishness is the real universal law for all creatures, including human. Population control is important for China and thanks God; Chinese are not bogged down by religions. Family planning is a right law for China and like every other law, people breaking it should be penalized or nobody will follow, as simple as that. If you do not want abortions, use birth controls or have yourself sterilized which is free in China I believe. Inner cities of America are quite violent. If America has 2.6 billions of people, it will be either a failed state or a state with less individual rights than now.

Because the baby aborted was a girl, I have some doubt about her story. I hoped that someone will really investigate the story. It will not be a surprise that she knew it was a girl, didnot want pay the fine, and wanted the abortion.

That subway story is a case of poor taste to me. People can have all kinds of sentiments online, nobody really harassed her anyway. China can have its own social acceptance, I would not mind if the police dispense a gay parade in China. Men, hairy or not, in pink underwear can be considered indecent exposure.

I do not fixate on complete individual freedom without context a lot because humans are not solitary creatures, so individual behaviors should be regulated for the benefit of the group.

“She definitely did not dress appropriately in public and the dark clothing would not have felt cooler either.”
—you know what, if she didn’t break any public decency laws (and she didn’t), then she can dress however the heck she wants. How she dresses is no excuse for sexual harassment. That would be the point, one that evidently eludes you and the Shanghai subway authority. I had a feeling you two were thinking at the same level.

“I am thinking that it will be easier for us to all get out of here in case there is Chinese Exclusion Act II”
—it appears your definition of “thinking” might be overly broad.

Romney has not been doing well with female voters. GOP was considering a congresswoman (?) with a Down-Syndrome child as VP, sounds familiar? I have not heard about it recently, but it did give me a good laugh. China must be a strange place to you, but what makes you think that Chinese believe whatever CCP says? Rumors might be more reliable sometimes; no wall can be thick enough to hide everything.

What makes you think that population can keep growing without dire consequences? Australia has rat infestation triggered by drought once every 10 years or so and it always goes like this; rats are everywhere searching for foods, rats eat rats after exhausting all resources, and the plague ends with piles of dead rats. Human being should control its destination better than the rat.

She definitely did not dress appropriately in public and the dark clothing would not have felt cooler either. If she meant to be sexy, it was much unsophisticated. Should she be harassed? I think not and nobody harassed her anyway. Women should never have to use sex appeal to get ahead that is anti feminism though it works. You guys know you are very visual and some women take advantage of the weakness. Palin winked and some men believed she winked to them through TV I did not like her because of that.

I might sound like a racist in one of my posting. With American history of racism, still very much alive in my opinion, I have been doubting my decision. My daughter was not motivated to learn good Chinese because there have been few Chinese where we live. She was quite surprised when I suggested she should date Chinese when she got older, because I had been raising her “color blinded”. Second time she was mad at me， and I am no tiger mother. I am thinking that it will be easier for us to all get out of here in case there is Chinese Exclusion Act II, but I do not want to make her worry and now I just try to point out thinly veiled racism in current events to her.

Is it me or is this a most beautiful example of irony?

Richard, you must be really famous now – even Yang Riu is writing into your blog, albeit as a sockpuppet (the clue is in the daughter… )