Misconceptions Chinese/Taiwanese have about US/Canada

[Bao3niang]

Myths Chinese/Taiwanese People Have About USA/Canada

1. America and Canada are less politically correct and allow more room for expression.

ANS: While it may seem so at first, once you get deeper into the culture you realize that it is just as politically correct. For Chinese, the definition of politically correct normally means not openly criticizing the government. However, the political correctness I'm talking about is how much people hate truth, and are afraid to think outside-the-box. Just like in China/Taiwan, if you think and act differently from the group, you will be ostracized.

2. America and Canada have better dating scenes.

ANS: American and Canadian women are more or less total b#####s. They are shallow, materialistic, loud, and immature.I cannot have deep conversations with 99% of them because they simply cannot connect with me on an emotional and intellectual wavelength. Nowadays basically all of them waste their life gossiping with friends or going on Facebook. They see gentleness from a guy as weakness, preferring to go with total jerks that treat them almost sub-human. American women also came up with the so-called "friend zone" rather than being firm and direct. Unfortunately, their behavior has influenced much of the world. US/Canadian women have princess syndrome and are the worst at handling issues. They expect the man to cater to them 24/7 while they are simply lazy bums with hardly a life.

3. America and Canada are true democratic countries.

ANS: Perhaps a more accurate way to describe it is faction-based mass control. The Democrats/Liberals take turn by feeding the people a bunch of lies and illusions for a couple years, then the Republicans/Conservatives recite their own bullshit for the next few years. In the end, nothing gets done because the people in suits are always arguing back and forth like children, too screwed up to remotely give a damn about the real picture and the real welfare of the people, because they are afraid that if the truth come out, the masses are going to lose faith and become harder to control. While Realpolitik (countries and politicians working for their own interests) is everywhere, many governments around the world can still hold themselves together and make unified decisions during times of crisis, such as China.

4. America and Canada are multicultural and tolerant of different ethnicities.

ANS: While America on the surface looks like a melting pot, the truth is its shit, especially for Asians. Even today, the Caucasian ethnicity still dominates, and whether you realize it or not, whites still see themselves as vastly superior. You are either white or inferior in one way or another. If you are not white, at least you got to idolize the mainstream culture and fit in to be truly accepted.

5. Americans and Canadians are free-spirited and enjoy life a lot more.

ANS: Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. America and Canada, like China and Taiwan, are all workaholic cultures where the people live for work, instead of striving for intellectual, spiritual, and artistic pursuits. It is because many are afraid that if they do not become like this, they will be left out of mainstream society and apart from everyone else who are workaholics and always strive to earn more or get to a higher position. For them, it gives an ordered structure for them to follow, a sense of belonging through conformity because they are so programmed to fear being different / radical.

[Winston]

I wonder why the media in Chinese countries don't just tell everyone the truth about life in America? They could do endless life stories of real Chinese immigrants in America. What's holding them back? Is it because they are afraid that the US will be mad?

[Bao3niang]

I think it is because the Chinese people who go to America are mainly the rich ones who do business, and the fact that there is a crucial economic relationship between the United States and the PRC. If China shows the bad side of the USA and people stop going there, China will make less $$ in the American market from its corporations and exports, resulting in less GDP/GNP growth. Another reason is that many Chinese have always seen America as a land of opportunity and a land of glory, because they think it is free and democratic (ofc we know it is not true). Back in the 1980s, when Western / American culture landed in China, it was seen as a relief from the Maoist era, so the freshness factor played a big role. Every day I pass the US embassy in Beijing, and I see big crowds waiting in line to get their visas to the USA as if their life depended on it.

[Bao3niang]

If you watch the Chinese movie called "中国合伙人", the guy that Deng Chao plays (named Meng Xiaojun) dreamt of immigrating to the US and it came true for him. It was only after he actually got there that he realized America was much shittier than he thought in pretty much everything.....

[momopi]

When I was attending elementary school in Taipei, I recall getting up at 6:30 AM to eat breakfast, then walk to school by 7:30 AM. The first thing that we did was janitorial and gardening duties to clean the classroom and sweep the outside areas. Then after a day of classes, we cleaned the classroom against and had to assemble for end of day ceremony. I didn't get home until around 6 PM. Some classmates had cram school afterwards. I had to homework and sleep by 10 PM.

When I moved to the US, I think we started classes in the morning around 9:30 AM and was done by 2:30 PM? We hardly had any homework so I just walked home, grabbed my fishing rods and went fishing at the river. At night I read comic books and played video games on the Atari 2600.

I wouldn't call the US a paradise, but it was more like "cruise control" for me in those years.