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[hamchan]

Can't Blizzard just say something like "we don't like how you're using our game?"

I know they're all about profit, but surely they must still have some morals.

What can Blizzard do? Ban the entire country from playing the game?

That's like banning an entire country from using a forum just because of one user.

 

[midonnay]

Fuck this noise.. Breaking the law shouldn't make you a slave...

isn't that the whole point of prison? the loss of freedom?

the state chooses when you can eat and shit..... is prison labour really so much more unsavory?

 

[markot]

isn't that the whole point of prison? the loss of freedom?

the state chooses when you can eat and shit..... is prison labour really so much more unsavory?

Rehabilitation is meant to be a big factor too. Slavery doesnt do much in that regard.

 

[midonnay]

Rehabilitation is meant to be a big factor too. Slavery doesnt do much in that regard.

it wouldn't necessarily be the entire itinerary of their stay.

at least this way they may learn a skill which will be useful after release and society gets essential infrastructure.

How many roads and bridges in America in disrepair?

why are you settling for a national wireless internet network when the rest of the world is going with fibre?

 

[CrocMother]

My huge problem with this is the inhumane conditions and the fact that these people don't deserve to be in jail in the first place.

The idea of using prisoners to make money on the internet, however, is a very interesting idea that I think merits debate, especially considering the insanity and expense of our prison system in the United States.

 

[The Technomancer]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/25/china-prisoners-internet-gaming-scam?INTCMP=SRCH

As a prisoner at the Jixi labour camp, Liu Dali would slog through tough days breaking rocks and digging trenches in the open cast coalmines of north-east China. By night, he would slay demons, battle goblins and cast spells.

Liu says he was one of scores of prisoners forced to play online games to build up credits that prison guards would then trade for real money. The 54-year-old, a former prison guard who was jailed for three years in 2004 for "illegally petitioning" the central government about corruption in his hometown, reckons the operation was even more lucrative than the physical labour that prisoners were also forced to do.

"If I couldn't complete my work quota, they would punish me physically. They would make me stand with my hands raised in the air and after I returned to my dormitory they would beat me with plastic pipes. We kept playing until we could barely see things," he said.

The lack of regulations has meant that even prisoners can be exploited in this virtual world for profit.

According to figures from the China Internet Centre, nearly £1.2bn of make- believe currencies were traded in China in 2008 and the number of gamers who play to earn and trade credits are on the rise.

It is estimated that 80% of all gold farmers are in China and with the largest internet population in the world there are thought to be 100,000 full-time gold farmers in the country.

Thats where I said ".....what?!"

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

The laojiao system needs to be abolished. It's a shame the movement 4 years ago to abolish it didn't pick up any speed. They've been cracking down on black jails and constantly reforming the death penalty system, but it's a shame that the re-education through labor system has not been touched. To those that don't know, re-education through labor system is separate from the formal criminal or judicial process--its ostensibly for "small crimes" like prostitution and drug use (but not drug trafficking) and the local police act as both prosecutor and judge, so it's rife with more corruption problems than average. I guess this NYT article is a okay primer: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/09/international/asia/09china.html

If they don't abolish it, I guess at least 1 step would be to allow a hearing or an impartial decisionmaker.

That all said, I would expect something like what happened in the story to have been more widely reported. The single source for this item is this anonymous Liu Dali guy, and I trust the reporting of the NYT, WSJ, Economist, and BBC on China reporting much more than the Guardian, which I've always found lacking. Heck, I'd even trust Caixin and Southern Weekly (private China papers) or Humans Right in China and China Labour Bulletin (NGOs that are explicitly against the Chinese government) before the Guardian's China reporting. Even the ChinaSmack blog. I've just always found the Guardian very lacking in the China-reporting end.

DON'T BELIEVE THIS GODDAMN CHINA DEFENSE FORCE DUDE!

So...they're forcing Chinese prisoners to do what scores of middle class white kids would do for fun and for free in the West?

edit: semi serious post now. So...there are bad jail conditions in the West = bad jails or bad wardens or bad prison system etc etc etc. Bad jail conditions in China = bad government, bad people, bad country. "China Defense Force?" or "illogically drawing conclusions?"

 

[Dead Man]

Thats where I said ".....what?!"

Yeah, that sounds fucked up.

 

[HappyBivouac]

Good article, the China defense force will be along shortly to argue all of it though

Can we come off this shit please? I live in China and I like being here, but I'm not going to defend half the shit that goes on in this place. And really, there is a lot of shit, but it's this black and white attitude people have about foreign countries that irritates me. It's not always about being for or against an entire fucking country and everything it does, especially with such a complicated place like China.

 

[Blackface]

a $3 billion/year industry.

smh.

I guess that's why there were so many of those rank-boosting CoD lobbies? I guess it adds up.

lol COD.

No, it's mainly from MMO's. Buying gold/currency. Particularly WoW.

 

[_Xenon_]

GAF has a few posters who defend anything and everything China. Other sites have even more defenders of any news article that hurts China's image in any way. It's believed that on other sites, some of those posters are actually paid by the Chinese government.

And I believe there's quite a few posters on gaf who never post anything in the gaming forum but would like to bash anything and everything from China as if finding negative Chinese stories is their job. I wonder why they are so interested in these stories and why they even registered for this forum (Neo Gaming Age Forum) in the first place. I'm not talking about anybody specifically in this thread though.

As for the topic, the reason why he got jailed is quite bothering. Usually for those activists they will get locked up for a few weeks and that's it, unless he has too much of influence. Besides, I'd like to hear more about this story from more credible sources rather than Guardian. I mean how did they get the news in the first place and why can't I find similar stories on CNN? It's not like you can visit these labor camps without permission or something.

 

[Cdammen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScBC2nZ1Ntg&feature=player_detailpage#t=141s

Thanks. Comedy has once again informed me about stuff I should already know / be outraged about

...and Jimmy Carr is a funny man.

 

[Dead Man]

And I believe there's quite a few posters on gaf who never post anything in the gaming forum but would like to bash anything and everything from China as if finding negative Chinese stories is their job. I wonder why they are so interested in these stories and why they even registered for this forum (Neo Gaming Age Forum) in the first place. I'm not talking about anybody specifically in this thread though.

As for the topic, the reason why he got jailed is quite bothering. Usually for those activists they will get locked up for a few weeks and that's it, unless he has too much of influence. Besides, I'd like to hear more about this story from more credible sources rather than Guardian. I mean how did they get the news in the first place and why can't I find similar stories on CNN? It's not like you can visit these labor camps without permission or something.

I would trust The Guardian over CNN.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

And I believe there's quite a few posters on gaf who never post anything in the gaming forum but would like to bash anything and everything from China as if finding negative Chinese stories is their job. I wonder why they are so interested in these stories and why they even registered for this forum (Neo Gaming Age Forum) in the first place. I'm not talking about anybody specifically in this thread though.

As for the topic, the reason why he got jailed is quite bothering. Usually for those activists they will get locked up for a few weeks and that's it, unless he has too much of influence. Besides, I'd like to hear more about this story from more credible sources rather than Guardian. I mean how did they get the news in the first place and why can't I find similar stories on CNN? It's not like you can visit these labor camps without permission or something.

Since it's the Gaming Age Forum, then there shouldn't be an Off Topic section right? It's doesn't go along with the name, oh gawd.

I can come up with a number of scenarios why people post a lot less in the gaming side. Between a gaming hiatus and enjoying the conversations on the OT more.

Everyone on this forum lurks to some extent. Another scenario is lurking the game section for news, but wanting to discuss OT things.

I was lurking this thread, and wasn't going to post, until I found you insulting people for hardly talking on the gaming section.

Fucking ridiculous.

 

[Wanace]

LOL at China Defense Force allegations. I live in and love China but I despise a lot of aspects about it.

If anything, there's a rational thinking GAF who doesn't jump to conclusions about China building up their industry and military with the specific purpose of crushing America under a jackboot heel.

 

[_Xenon_]

I was lurking this thread, and wasn't going to post, until I found you insulting people for hardly talking on the gaming section.

Fucking ridiculous.

My version of this reply:

I was lurking this thread, and wasn't going to post, until I found wienke insulting Chinese people for defending Chinese business as if they were paid by Chinese government.

Fucking ridiculous.

 

[DanteFox]

Playing video games in prison... I can think of worse punishments.

 

[Dresden]

Yeah, jailing someone for petitioning about corruption in his hometown, then forcing him to labor during the day and grind during the night, and beating him if he refuses... lol. We see this all the time in Amerikkka, right?

Playing video games in prison... I can think of worse punishments.

You have to remember that they were probably forced to do the most mind-numbing shit in these games, for hours on end without rest, after a day spent doing heavy labor.

 

[midonnay]

"OT only folk" are gamers who have ascended

they can quickly browse through a game synopsis and recreate the equivalent experience using their minds' eye.

only n00bs (gaming-gaf) actually use their bodies to play videogames

or so I've heard >_>

 

[CornBurrito]

Playing video games in prison... I can think of worse punishments.

Playing WoW in prison grinding for hours on end. I can't think of a worse punishment.

Well actually I can. They could be forced to play Maple Story instead of WoW.

"OT only folk" are gamers who have ascended

they can quickly browse through a game synopsis and recreate the equivalent experience using their minds' eye.

only n00bs (gaming-gaf) actually use their bodies to play videogames

or so I've heard >_>

Ever since joining GAF I've done less playing games and more reading about them. I remember I got hyped over -some game- (I think De Blob 2), followed the thread for weeks, and then did not buy the game.

 

[numble]

I would trust The Guardian over CNN.

On China news, you need to either get many sources, or trust very good sources like NYT or WSJ. Case in point, do a Google News search for "china suspends executions" (a recent announcement by the Chinese Supreme Court concerning some death sentences) and you'll get very different reporting on what they actually meant by the announcement, even from "good" sources like the BBC. Some headlines even imply that China is suspending all death sentences for 2 years. Besides things that get lost in translation from China to the West, the smaller foreign bureaus (NYT's Los Angeles bureau probably has more reporters than it has in all of China), and the less free press, makes it harder to know the true story. And then there are groups that just like to spread rumors like how China harvests organs (even Amnesty International says there is no evidence that that occurs) for ulterior motives.

Here's the most famous example of The Guardian's bad reporting in China (which was corroborated by Reuters and the WSJ, amongst others):

Summary: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20051012_2.htm

This sensational story ... quoting Joffe-Walt: "He lay there - his eye out of its socket, his tongue cut, a stream of blood dropping from his mouth, his body limp, twisted. The ligaments in his neck were broken, so his head lay sideways as if connected to the rest of his body by a rubber band." 

However, Joffe-Walt's report would be challenged when the democracy activist Lu Banglie showed up two days later several hundred miles away in his hometown Zhijiang.  This is what Lu's sister told the VOA reporter: "He appeared physically alright.  He seemed to be able to speak and take care of everything else.  He took off his clothes and washed them himself.  He said, 'Today is market day, but I won't be able to help you.'"  Soon, Lu Banglie began giving interviews to the press about his experience.

WSJ: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/press016.htm

Mr. Soong is a media researcher and statistician by training, and he has a passion for reconciling differing viewpoints. "If you read 10 newspapers a day . . . Sometimes you simply have to wonder, what I thought was the same story, how can it be so different?" He asks. This curiosity is part of what gives the site such depth.

There's no clearer example than his coverage of the Taishi village elections in 2005. The controversy began when a reporter for the Guardian newspaper visited the village, and wrote that the Chinese activist accompanying him was beaten "lifeless." But the next day, other newspapers interviewed the fixer, who was safe and sound, at home. The outcry from Chinese citizens -- particularly democracy activists, who felt that their trust in Western media was broken -- was immediate. But much of this might never have reached the ears of the Guardian's editors if it weren't for Mr. Soong's relentless translations of Chinese commentary. "The Guardian was not responding, so I kept doing the translations," Mr. Soong says. He even went so far as to list some recommendations for the Guardian on his blog.

 

[WickedAngel]

And they still call themselves a communist country? lol

It seems like they have a hybrid of Communism and Capitalism that manages combine the worst aspects of each.

 

[Dead Man]

On China news, you need to either get many sources, or trust very good sources like NYT or WSJ. Case in point, do a Google News search for "china suspends executions" (a recent announcement by the Chinese Supreme Court concerning some death sentences) and you'll get very different reporting on what they actually meant by the announcement, even from "good" sources like the BBC. Some headlines even imply that China is suspending all death sentences for 2 years. Besides things that get lost in translation from China to the West, the smaller foreign bureaus (NYT's Los Angeles bureau probably has more reporters than it has in all of China), and the less free press, makes it harder to know the true story. And then there are groups that just like to spread rumors like how China harvests organs (even Amnesty International says there is no evidence that that occurs) for ulterior motives.

Here's the most famous example of The Guardian's bad reporting in China (which was corroborated by Reuters and the WSJ, amongst others):

Summary: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20051012_2.htm


WSJ: http://www.zonaeuropa.com/press016.htm

On all news you need to get multiple sources these days, and in general, I would still trust the Guardian before CNN, but that is some dodgy shit, you're right.

 

[rpmurphy]

My version of this reply:

I was lurking this thread, and wasn't going to post, until I found wienke insulting Chinese people for defending Chinese business as if they were paid by Chinese government.

Fucking ridiculous.

The GAF part aside, is he wrong though? Just a few years ago, it was reported that the Chinese government was engaged in astro-turfing using hired posters according to a researcher.

 

[Goro Majima]

My version of this reply:

I was lurking this thread, and wasn't going to post, until I found wienke insulting Chinese people for defending Chinese business as if they were paid by Chinese government.

Fucking ridiculous.

I wasn't talking about this forum but we did have a thread on this forum talking about people working for the Chinese government who are basically professional shills for them.

I'll see if I can dig it up...

edit: Also, if there's anything I've learned on GAF, it's that there's a defense force for just about everything. I didn't think it'd be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that someone would defend the OP's article in some capacity.

 

[HappyBivouac]

edit: Also, if there's anything I've learned on GAF, it's that there's a defense force for just about everything. I didn't think it'd be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that someone would defend the OP's article in some capacity.

The main issue I have is that you and many others seem to have a knee-jerk "OH LOOK HERE COMES THE ____ DEFENSE FORCE" reaction anytime anyone introduces a little nuance into a discussion. It gets annoying.

 

[jaxword]

We do similar prisoners-doing-labor here in America, so it's not like this is anything new.

We don't do video games, though, that's uniquely Chinese (so far).

 

[_Xenon_]

I wasn't talking about this forum but we did have a thread on this forum talking about people working for the Chinese government who are basically professional shills for them.

I'll see if I can dig it up...

edit: Also, if there's anything I've learned on GAF, it's that there's a defense force for just about everything. I didn't think it'd be a stretch of the imagination to suggest that someone would defend the OP's article in some capacity.

First, nobody is defending the article (if it's true) but obviously somebody is hoping to see one.

Second, you know why there's a so called China defense force? It's because most of the Chinese threads in Gaf OT are just backward retarded:

1. China is modernize their army. They are going to rape us (that's like 3 threads in a row in last 2 weeks).
2. China killed a British drug trafficker because they treat people like shit.
3. Chinese policewoman killed a bandit holding hostage on spot so she must be a crazy commie because she laughed a bit when she's interviewed.
4. Chinese people spit / fart everywhere because CCP ruined their culture.
5. House bubble in China, that country is done for ha ha ha.
6. They played anti-America theme in the white house even though I don't know what that theme is. Fuck those commies.

Seriously if you guys want to criticize China at least find something legit such as censorship or pollution or corruption, instead some of you guys are just trying to show off how ignorant and stupid you are.

 

[hteng]

guys, you realize it's the demand for virtual gold that's causing all this?

 

[jgminto]

Don't support slavery. If you want cheap WoW gold, click banner ads.

 

[Slavik81]

3 years for illegally petitioning the government? What is that, like filling out a form wrong >_>?

It would be more like complaining to your local federal representative about the local government.

My rough understanding of this is that the federal government does care about corruption in the local governments, and some representatives will take action. But when push comes to shove, a lot of the corrupt local government officials got there with help of friends in high places. If they have good friends, they'll go over the heads of the local federal representative and persecute the complainers.

 

[Boozeroony]

Don't support slavery. If you want cheap WoW gold, click banner ads.

Also, don't do cocaine. Don't support the killings in central America.

 

[numble]

It would be more like complaining to your local federal representative about the local government.

My rough understanding of this is that the federal government does care about corruption in the local governments, and some representatives will take action. But when push comes to shove, a lot of the corrupt local government officials got there with help of friends in high places. If they have good friends, they'll go over the heads of the local federal representative and persecute the complainers.

Its a complicated phenomenon, here is how I'll try to sum up the system with copy/paste at 3 AM.

http://www.cecc.gov/pages/annualRpt/annualRpt05/2005_5e_access.php

Citizen petitioning of xinfang offices reflects a number of structural problems in the Chinese political and legal systems. Particularly in rural China, a single Party secretary often holds virtually unchallenged political power. Ordinary citizens have no ability under current law to organize independent organizations to protect their rights, and have only limited means to participate in the selection of local officials. Moreover, judicial institutions are subject to extensive local Party and government interference and provide limited protection for citizen rights. Without effective political or legal channels of redress, citizens often have little choice but to petition higher authorities repeatedly to seek help in resolving their grievances.

Despite the gradual development of the formal Chinese legal system, Chinese citizens continue to rely heavily on petitioning to resolve their grievances. According to estimates by national xinfang officials, petitions to Party and government xinfang bureaus at the county level and higher total about 11.5 million per year. In contrast, the entire Chinese judiciary handled 6 million legal cases in 2004, of which only 91,192 were administrative cases. Even within formal legal institutions, citizens commonly resort to petitioning to resolve their grievances; petitioners presented 4.2 million xinfang petitions to Chinese courts in 2004.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/world/asia/28china.html (This is an article from this past fall that suggests they are cracking down on some of these tactics to prevent petitioning)

Petitioning, allowed by Chinese law, has become a barometer of civic harmony — one that can affect the careers of local officials.

Because the central government rewards or punishes officials based on their ability to maintain social stability, those officials are eager to catch petitioners before they can lodge their complaints.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/asia/09jails.html

In China’s authoritarian state, senior officials tally petitions to get a rough sense of social order around the country. A successfully filed petition — however illusory the prospect of justice — is considered a black mark on the bureaucratic record of the local officials accused of wrongdoing.

So the game, sometimes deadly, is to prevent a filing. The cat-and-mouse contest has created a sizable underground economy that enriches the interceptors, the police and those who run the city’s ad hoc detention centers.

Human rights activists and petitioners say plainclothes security officers and hired thugs grab the aggrieved off the streets and hide them in a growing constellation of unmarked detention centers. There, the activists say, the aggrieved will be insulted, roughed up and then escorted back to their home provinces. Some are held for weeks and months without charge, activists say, and in a few cases, the beatings are fatal.

The police in Beijing have done little to prevent such abuses. They are regularly accused of turning a blind eye or even helping local thugs round up petitioners. That raises suspicions that the central government is not especially upset about efforts to undermine the integrity of the petition system.

The petition system provides people with the semblance of an appeals process that top leaders hope will keep them off the streets. But for officials at all levels, it seems, the appearance of order — measured by reducing the number of petitions — is an acceptable approximation of actual order.

 

[CornBurrito]

Seriously if you guys want to criticize China at least find something legit such as censorship or pollution or corruption, instead some of you guys are just trying to show off how ignorant and stupid you are.

There was recently a thread where people criticized China for basically using prisoners as slave labor. They also physically assaulted prisoners. I think the prisoner in question did something that didn't warrant the removal of his human rights, like petitioning corruption.

Oh wait, that was this very thread. So we are doing exactly what you suggested.

 

[_Xenon_]

There was recently a thread where people criticized China for basically using prisoners as slave labor. They also physically assaulted prisoners. I think the prisoner in question did something that didn't warrant the removal of his human rights, like petitioning corruption.

Oh wait, that was this very thread. So we are doing exactly what you suggested.

In case you can't read, the post you quoted is me talking about those idiots who'd rather bring up irrelevant bullshits such as chinese defense force instead of discussing this very topic rationally. They just want to bash something so they can feel better about their life, that's it.

And I have already brought up my thought of this topic: it's bothering if it's true but I need a more credible source.

 

[Dead Man]

First, nobody is defending the article (if it's true) but obviously somebody is hoping to see one.

Second, you know why there's a so called China defense force? It's because most of the Chinese threads in Gaf OT are just backward retarded:

1. China is modernize their army. They are going to rape us (that's like 3 threads in a row in last 2 weeks).
2. China killed a British drug trafficker because they treat people like shit.
3. Chinese policewoman killed a bandit holding hostage on spot so she must be a crazy commie because she laughed a bit when she's interviewed.
4. Chinese people spit / fart everywhere because CCP ruined their culture.
5. House bubble in China, that country is done for ha ha ha.
6. They played anti-America theme in the white house even though I don't know what that theme is. Fuck those commies.

Seriously if you guys want to criticize China at least find something legit such as censorship or pollution or corruption, instead some of you guys are just trying to show off how ignorant and stupid you are.

Fucking hell, you are worse than TexGAF. Why bring those up again? YOU are the one derailing this thread. Does everyone on this board feel fucking oppressed?

 

[_Xenon_]

Fucking hell, you are worse than TexGAF. Why bring those up again? YOU are the one derailing this thread. Does everyone on this board feel fucking oppressed?

This thread was already derailed since post #20. I'm not the one started it.

Hell even the title of this thread is fucking retarded. Several asshole prison guards = China? Can I get away by saying America is the land of perverts because of one single case such as this?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=431399

BTW no offense to US gaf. Just making an example.

 

[SpectreFire]

I would trust The Guardian over CNN.

That's like saying I'd trust Freddy Crackhead over Roger Crazy.

 

[Big-E]

Being in China for a while now and seeing what the government does doesn't really bother me. They are totalitarian and they want to keep that as long as possible and I can sort of understand where they are coming from even though it is garbage and shouldn't be done. What I don't understand is that nobody in China gives a flying fuck about anything. Mostly everyone is concerned about is making money, buying apartments and buying cars. Even talking to people who have traveled the world and have seen what it is like outside don't give a fuck if farmers and political activists are mistreated. As long as the growing middle class continues to make their money, the status quo is going to continue because they couldn't care less that other people have it hard. People in the cities see the people in the villages as garbage pretty much.

 

[SpectreFire]

Being in China for a while now what the government does doesn't really bother me. They are totalitarian and they want to keep that as long as possible. What I don't understand is that nobody in China gives a flying fuck about anything. Mostly everyone is concerned about is making money, buying apartments and buying cars. Even talking to people who have traveled the world and have seen what it is like outside don't give a fuck if farmers and political activists are mistreated. As long as the growing middle class continues to make their money, the status quo is going to continue because they couldn't care less that other people have it hard. People in the cities see the people in the villages as garbage pretty much.

So basically people in China are on par with the rest of the first world population.

Remember when people were dying and revolting in the middle east? Remember what everyone was talking about? Right. Charlie Sheen.

 

[Mael]

So basically people in China are on par with the rest of the first world population.

Remember when people were dying and revolting in the middle east? Remember what everyone was talking about? Right. Charlie Sheen.

Dear god what a moronic argument.
Are you even aware that there's other countries beside the US of A?

 

[rpmurphy]

So basically people in China are on par with the rest of the first world population.

Remember when people were dying and revolting in the middle east? Remember what everyone was talking about? Right. Charlie Sheen.

Your example is incongruous to the point being made. Chinese people not caring about stuff in their own country is not really the same thing as Americans not caring about events going on abroad.

 

[pseudocaesar]

Nothing to do with the topic at hand specifically, but this trend of posting articles with the title "[Insert country here] does xxxxx" is stupid. Like the entire nation had a referendum and voted on it, its always irked me. This is probably just some shitty ass warden in an extra shitty ass Chinese prison doing this.

 

[Zizbuka]

And pretty soon these people will be running the US....................

/packs bags and heads North

 

[Munin]

Nothing to do with the topic at hand specifically, but this trend of posting articles with the title "[Insert country here] does xxxxx" is stupid. Like the entire nation had a referendum and voted on it, its always irked me. This is probably just some shitty ass warden in an extra shitty ass Chinese prison doing this.

But it's China, man. That country is "a shithole". Nothing redeeming about it whatsoever.

Brb, gonna collect my internet defense force monies from the commies

 

[jorma]

My huge problem with this is the inhumane conditions and the fact that these people don't deserve to be in jail in the first place.

The idea of using prisoners to make money on the internet, however, is a very interesting idea that I think merits debate, especially considering the insanity and expense of our prison system in the United States.

I'm not sure anyone from the US are in a position to critizise China for inhumane conditions in the prison system, or for jailing people who does not deserve to be there. I mean your nation sentences people to life for stealing a candy bar ffs.

 

[SpectreFire]

Dear god what a moronic argument.
Are you even aware that there's other countries beside the US of A?

Did you even read what I wrote? When did I make a single mention of the US? Anyways, if you want more examples, look at Britain and the Royal Wedding.

People in first world countries are becoming more and more inundated with just the most trivial and useless things. Who cares about politics and real world problems when Charlie fucking Sheen is saying crazy shit on TV? We're getting lazy and even when we give a damn, it's absolutely disgusting.

"Oh shit guys! We need to help the Iranians gain their freedom! Let's change our twitter pics to green because and totally forget about this movement in a week because we'll be bored and digging into the new trend or hype!"

Maybe people in China don't really give a shit about the corruption and issues of free will in their country, but people in the western world aren't any better. They only give a shit these days if they don't have to leave their couches to do something about it.

 

[travisbickle]

it wouldn't necessarily be the entire itinerary of their stay.

at least this way they may learn a skill which will be useful after release and society gets essential infrastructure.

How are they going to use this skill when all the jobs are taken by unpaid prisoners?

 

[rpmurphy]

Nothing to do with the topic at hand specifically, but this trend of posting articles with the title "[Insert country here] does xxxxx" is stupid. Like the entire nation had a referendum and voted on it, its always irked me. This is probably just some shitty ass warden in an extra shitty ass Chinese prison doing this.

People have also pointed out the issue of why the guy went to prison in the first place, which isn't an issue that's specific just to that event at that time and location. Needless to say, most human events can be discussed in connection to the culture of where they take place. If there are aspects of the event that could be discussed at a wider level, then saying that the event has only relevance to that geographic location is either ignorance or intellectual dishonesty.

Maybe people in China don't really give a shit about the corruption and issues of free will in their country, but people in the western world aren't any better.

I'd like to see you prove that. In my eyes, the low amount of political activism coming from the Asian minority here in the US compared to other demographics speaks a lot about their civic culture.

 

[BloodySinner]

Being in China for a while now and seeing what the government does doesn't really bother me. They are totalitarian and they want to keep that as long as possible and I can sort of understand where they are coming from even though it is garbage and shouldn't be done. What I don't understand is that nobody in China gives a flying fuck about anything. Mostly everyone is concerned about is making money, buying apartments and buying cars. Even talking to people who have traveled the world and have seen what it is like outside don't give a fuck if farmers and political activists are mistreated. As long as the growing middle class continues to make their money, the status quo is going to continue because they couldn't care less that other people have it hard. People in the cities see the people in the villages as garbage pretty much.

What's wrong with that? I'm EXACTLY the same way.