Comment on China starts smartphone inspections to boost 'anti-espionage efforts', raising fears among expatriates and foreign business people about arbitrary enforcement

Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

• bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  At some point I’m going to have to because the woman I love is from there. Probably I will need to get a burner phone for the occasion. It does seem like a beautiful country full of interesting culture. Shame about the government though.

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  • stellargmite@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Stick close to her and trusted family and friends. Though cash must be accepted legally , its hardly used. Getting a simcard requires registering with your passport now. If you’re okay with that, a cheap burner phone with wechat for payments and comms and standard phone number yo get hold of your family back home. Needless to say you wont be anonymous so my attitude when visiting there was kind of just accept that, and don’t do/say anything stupid. i.e assimilate temporarily with that way of life. All of these concerns are only a small part of life and of course a billion or so people are living with it. You are totally right that the place is full of interesting and amazing history, culture, food and really friendly and hospitable people despite the bs they have to put up with.

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    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yeah I would definitely just accept that I don’t get to have privacy from government surveillance. That’s why I’d not want to bring any of my personal electronics with me. It may be particularly challenging since I know two of the places my GF really wants to travel to are Tibet and Xinjiang (apparently both are popular tourist destinations), in both of which I understand Western Tourists are under a lot of extra scrutiny because they don’t want more documentary crews and journalists getting in and sneaking some footage of the treatment of minorities. I have to be ready to just swallow my pride and appreciate it for what it is.

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      • stellargmite@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

        I haven’t travelled to either province mainly on principle - I don’t think I could stomach it - so I cant speak on that. Though, many other locations if not the whole country, have similar history, and treatment of local minorities, culture and language.

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  • Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    It really is a beautiful country with a bunch of really beautiful landscapes, but unfortunately due to their government I wouldn’t dare go to it.

    Kinda like Florida, beautiful state with a bunch of beautiful beaches and fantastic weather but do to political reasons I wouldn’t dare visit.

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  • ikidd@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    Make sure you’re out before Canada gets into another dispute with China and they resort to hostage diplomacy again.

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    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yeah, good point. Luckily my name isn’t Michael which improves my odds somewhat

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  • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    The countryside is beautiful and the rich parts are nice but most of the country is a slum and the vast majority of the people there live in poverty. Check out China Insider on YouTube.

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    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      Yeah, luckily my gf’s family is relatively wealthy by Chinese standards. I believe her mother is an engineer for a weapons manufacturer, and my gf herself used to teach civil engineering at a university

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  • Socsa@sh.itjust.works ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

    You don’t actually have to. Trust me I’ve been through this.

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    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

      I guess, but I would like to. Especially because her culture is really important to her

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• DarkThoughts@fedia.io ⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

  Kinda the same reason it has always been.

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