I Went To CHINA... (And I Was SHOCKED By The Experience!)

4. Gold & SIlver:

DISCLAIMER
This video is for entertainment purposes ONLY & designed to help your thinking, not direct it. These videos shall NOT be construed as tax, legal or financial advice and may be outdated or inaccurate; all decisions made as a result of viewing are yours alone.

Trading/Liability: Neil McCoy-Ward operates/trades under a private Ltd company within the Isle Of Man.

[NeilMcCoyWard]

Important: I received no payment or compensation for making this video. I paid for my own travel & hotel. I have no connection and received no payment from any Government agencies... Actually I don't even get paid from my own Government (Isle Of Man) for all the tourism promotion I do for them! All opinions are my own - thanks :)

[malc.s.]

I worked for a Sheffield based importer and dealt with the chinese for over 20 years. I visited many cities Hangzhou, Jinhua, Guangzhou, Shanghai etc. Never felt unsafe until I got back to the UK. Taxi rides took me past many deprived areas. Saw some sad sights, but generally the people I met were humble, friendly and to be honest nicer than many brits that I know. Our media is the pits for fuelling hatred of them.

[paulwalker]

My daughter lived in China for 2yrs teaching English. I visited and can honestly say it's an amazing place, nothing like the West would have you think. The UK is more restrictive, censored, expensive and authoritarian.

[labellavita]

My (American) aunt played tennis for years. Every year, her group would travel to another country and play tennis. She admitted that their trip to China was the trip that concerned her the most. And it ended up being her favorite out of all of her trips (Europe centric). She said the Chinese people were wonderful. I think we need to see things for ourselves.

[GingerPeacenik]

A friend of mine went to China 12 years ago and fell in love with the place. She was 25 and from Boston, struggling to afford rent even then. It took her another four years, but she married a Chinese man and moved there permanently. She still absolutely LOVES it!

[janstafford]

My wife lived in China for 4-5 years and always speaks highly of China and its people, you really have backed this up, cheers Neil, she will be very happy watching this.

[ffa]

I haven't been to China myself, but I don't think a whole country can hate another country. Governments may hate each other but people, well they are just trying to live their lives. Chinese, Americans or British.

[alibarber]

I went to China for a trip and found it to be friendly and safe.
Big contrast to Western nations

[truthseeker]

Here’s a novel idea: let’s get rid of all governments worldwide and just let the people live their lives in peace. Who’s with me? 👋

[joemann]

It's really funny what Westerners think China and Russia are like. It really shows the power the Western government, corporate and social media has over their people.

[lenalmt]

I am Chinese born in Malaysia, fluent in both Mandarin n English. I travelled to China almost 3 times a year for work before 2020, n still travelling to China every year now. Never heard of Social Credit Score...

[tmaxyb]

Neil, the UK is the tracking capital of the world. As far as social credits are concerned oyr whole system is set up to modify our behavour. Have the wrong views and you lose your bank accounts or even end up in prison for things that would otherwise g3t a telling off and a fine. How often in a day do we self censor?

[bouncingBrain]

I spent close to an hour on the comments. All those who had lived or traveled to China loved it. All the haters did not say a word about having been to China. Interesting.

[katherinehickey]

An old Chinese saying "A smile always comes back to you". Chinese people are naturally very friendly.

[benlewis]

I did some work with a bunch of Chinese right before covid…never met a happier, smilier, more friendly bunch of people in my life.

[ymhktravel]

I'm not Chinese, I'm Singaporean but I've been to China many times over 2 decades, helped by the fact it's visa-free for me all those years and now it's extended to 30days bilaterally, used to be unilaterally. The country has definitely changed for the better in terms of infrastructure, technology, poverty level, environmental pollution, public hygiene etc but there's still room for improvements in some areas while in other areas have already surpassed the developed world. But as a foreigner/tourist, China is still very much affordable to me, whether it was 10+ years ago or now. For eg, you won't get the equivalent of 1Y for bus ride or 2-3Y min for subway ride in Singapore, even the hotels are relatively much cheaper, esp in 2nd tier or less cities! But you go to China for their diverse landscapes, ancient towns and food culture, less for cities. Chinese people are generally friendly and helpful, I've been invited to join local hostelites for outside dinner and they usually rejected my part of the payment. So it's not just because you are westerner, the only white privilege you get is you look different from them (even if you are black) and will get request for wefies. Also yes CCTVs are everywhere but this is the same throughout East Asia (japan n S Korea too) and Singapore as well. CCTVs don't bother me because I'm used to it and i know they are there to catch criminals with footages (AI face recognition), less to monitor every individual. So if you have no criminal intentions, it shouldn't bother you. The reason why aforementioned countries are so safe even for women at night to walk is the CCTV, but it's not the only reason, also law abiding citizens who understood the consequence of behaving badly. London has the highest CCTV per capita but certain places in London are not safe imo because the bad people don't give a fxxk to it and perhaps the laws are lax. In summary, if you are disrespectful and bring your foreign arrogance there, they might not tolerate your nonsense as well. But isn't this the same everywhere u travel, ya? Some things say by western media is true, but most are just media propaganda. If you want to know whether a country is true as portrayed at home, and if you can afford to get a ticket to that country, then get it and judge it yourself. Eg, Pakistan is not that dangerous and Pakistani are also very hospitable. I know because in Singapore we are exposed to things both in the east and in the western world, and I've travelled widely. China is different in one aspect and you've to prepare the necessary before you go, unlike in most other countries, which is a bit of a hassle for first timer. You need to install your eSIM (the one that works there) which come with VPN before you land in China, translation app that can scan and translate, Alipay tied to your debit/credit card (which does not always work everywhere) and cash when your Alipay fails, etc. First time is always a steeper learning curve, 2nd time you start getting to be a pro, and so on.

[kuomacy]

I am Taiwanese, and I hope my message can help foreign friends understand the philosophy of governance in Chinese culture. Did you know that in countries experiencing post-war recovery, where education is not yet fully accessible, unrestricted freedom of speech can lead to rampant rumors, political instability, and hinder national progress?

If you were a visionary leader, you would likely choose to open up gradually. It's important to understand that complete freedom of speech and societal stability are often hard to achieve simultaneously.

For example, if you work for a major corporation in the United States, do you think employees can openly insult the CEO?

Most Americans, Europeans, and even Taiwanese spend the majority of their lives within companies.

We often believe we live in a place with complete freedom of speech, yet fail to notice that most of our time is actually spent in organizations where such freedom doesn't fully exist. Isn't that ironic?

In reality, governing a nation is far more complex than managing a large corporation. Allowing everyone to vote for the CEO and criticize them freely as if running a business or a country is child’s play is simply too naïve.

You might argue that countries and corporations are different and cannot be compared this way. However, I hope you understand this: Both corporations and citizens pay “taxes.” Therefore, the government is "supported by the people, " just as the management of a company is "supported by its employees".

On the surface, they seem different, but fundamentally, they are the same.

When considering these issues, you must understand one key point:

When a country is well-governed, the tax money contributed by the people generates a return greater than the sum of its parts (e.g., citizens gain access to high-quality infrastructure and various social protections).
Similarly, when a company is well-managed, the time and effort contributed by employees generate a return greater than the sum of its parts (e.g., employees receive high salaries and benefits).
On the surface, these seem different, but fundamentally, they are the same.

Both governing a nation and managing a company require vision and leadership ability. When ordinary people think they understand and criticize recklessly, it inevitably leads to societal division and stagnation in national development. This is the current situation in countries like the United States, South Korea, and Germany. (Providing constructive suggestions is acceptable, but malicious criticism only plunges companies and nations into chaos.)

In simple terms:
If you view China as a massive corporation, with its citizens as employees, the analogy becomes clear.
Employees contribute to the corporation's continuous progress and, in return, receive generous benefits.

From this perspective, citizens (employees) can provide suggestions to the government (corporation).
But avoiding reckless criticism of the government (corporation) is a governance approach that fosters mutual prosperity and a win-win scenario.

[KevinTalbotTV]

I don’t like the idea of everything on one app. Too easy to turn you off if you dont want the ‘safe and effective’

[calmbeforethestorm]

It is heartbreaking that governments and the media must create divisions and hatred. I am over it. I will judge each person according towards the behavior I witness. As for the tracking and censoring, the UK and the USA seem to be leading the pack.

[cruzfactor]

You actually picked a great time to visit a major city in China. Since it is Chinese New Year most of the large cities will literally be "empty" as many of the Chinese who work there are not from those cities, so they go back to their hometowns to be with their families. As a person who lived in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2009 to 2023 I was always amazed how quiet those cities became during Chinese New Year. Great to see back on again! I did wonder where you were.