Why is it so difficult to persuade a Chinese person?

A few years ago, Yoyi was chatting with a Chinese friend. When discussing political issues, her friend didn't hesitate to believe that the difficulties China encountered were caused by the United States, that Ukraine deserved to be attacked, and so on. When Yoyi tried to persuade her, she found that no matter how well-reasoned Yoyi's arguments were, her friend still found them hard to accept. I believe everyone has had similar experiences.

Many people say that Chinese people do not care about logic. This statement has some truth to it, but more accurately, they don't care about logic and care more about stance. To understand their mindset, three points must be understood: 1. Whose stance are they taking (Who)? 2. Why do they follow the party's stance (Why)? 3. How do they view their own stance (How)?

First, they believe that people should stand from the perspective of the country, rather than their own or other groups' perspectives. This is related to long-term collectivist education, a culture that emphasizes group interests over individual interests, where family, state, and society are viewed as a single entity. In addition, this is inseparable from the long-term information censorship in Chinese society. The authorities not only block external information but also report selectively. To cite an example, suppose there is a closed school in Malaysia, and you only tell the children inside that Malaysia is bigger than Singapore, that Singapore used to be part of Malaysia, and you often reveal in history textbooks that the bigger the territory the better, then these Malaysian children will naturally feel that using force to unify Singapore 🇸🇬 is normal 😆.

Second, why follow the stance of the political party? Loving one's motherland is taken for granted and is a universal value. That's right, people in the vast majority of countries agree with this concept, but many Chinese people clearly get one thing wrong, or rather, some people intentionally confuse it. They mistakenly take the political party as the country, thinking that the Communist Party is the correct historical choice of the Chinese people because the Communist Party is the victor. And the idea that whoever has the bigger fist is right has been cultivated since childhood. Whether in exams, sports meets, or various awards and honors, only strength matters, and the winner takes all. This naturally leads them to believe that the rule of the Communist Party is reasonable and that the Communist Party is the country. When you go against the will of the party, it is equivalent to going against the will of the country, which is a manifestation of unpatriotism.

Third, how do they view their own stance? Chinese people are taught from childhood to be filial to parents, respect teachers and the Tao, and know how to be grateful. This is inseparable from the thousands of years of Confucian heritage, which constantly reminds Chinese people to be loyal to their monarch and protect their interests. Being a "lackey" or "listening to the government's words" is the best way to be filial to leaders. Therefore, you often hear some Chinese people use terms like "traitor" or "national traitor" to describe overseas people because they betrayed the motherland that nurtured them 😆. And if you tell them at this time that everyone is independent, they will say that Chinese people should accept the ideology of Chinese land and not accept the Western set, and since you cannot prove that Western ideology is necessarily better than China's, you naturally have no way to convince them.

In summary, when you try to use logic to convince Chinese people, it often has little effect. The logical argumentation based on a stance as a presupposition is inherently unreasonable. Just like some flat-earthers who only believe the Earth 🌍 is flat rather than a sphere, they only accept evidence that is favorable to them, dismiss opposing evidence as "conspiracy theories," then turn around and bite back by saying how foreign countries are also like that, mixed with some hearsay inferior theories—for example, "freedom is not absolute, therefore absolute freedom does not exist" 😆—thinking themselves very knowledgeable, not knowing that no matter how much one reads or how many places one travels to, without thinking, it can only be called having seen the world. Yes, I am talking about those overseas Chinese people who are deeply attached to their motherland and have fragile glass hearts.

Perhaps compared to logic, the iron fist of socialism is the best way to wake them up. Just like the three years of pandemic lockdowns, only after Chairman Xi treated them that way did they finally憋 out the White Paper Movement. Of course, Yoyi respects every individual who participated, and Yoyi also likes some Chinese friends and individuals who keep a clear head. However, Yoyi dislikes the group of Chinese people because most of them lack self-awareness, do not know how to respect and empathize, and are even less capable of reasoning.

Actually, there is still a lot that Yoyi hasn't said, and more can be written in the future. I'll attach a photo, hehe 😉.