Study Abroad in China

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Phone taps for tourists as well as students?

Yes.

Everyone who flies into China will come home with a nice gift of spyware on all devices.

+1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hong Kong?

HK is no longer safe. Everyone I used to know who lived in HK left. Some went to Taiwan, but most landed in Singapore.

[Anonymous]

Another +1 for not sending your child, OP

[Anonymous]

They speak Cantonese in HK, so it is a nonstarter for mandarin immersion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:State Department has it at a Level 3 due to arbitrariness of government denying exits. My bigger fear would be another COVID type lockdown. How would you advise your child?

Why on earth would anyone want to go to China, for anything? My friend was on a boat and saw a dead body floate by them. No one flinched. Chinese people try to come to the U.S. for damn good reason. At the very least, it is overcrowded and polluted. We are heading in that same direction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:State Department has it at a Level 3 due to arbitrariness of government denying exits. My bigger fear would be another COVID type lockdown. How would you advise your child?

Why on earth would anyone want to go to China, for anything? My friend was on a boat and saw a dead body floate by them. No one flinched. Chinese people try to come to the U.S. for damn good reason. At the very least, it is overcrowded and polluted. We are heading in that same direction.

I don't think we are all heading in that direction, as most other countries follow basic environmental standards and practices, while china follows none. China has completely destroyed their ecosystem, and destroys any other country's ecosystem that they touch (google Myanmar electric batteries the next time you shop for an electric car) Going to china, your kid will at the very least be exposed to toxic chemicals in the water that make Flint Michigan look like artisan spring water.

[Anonymous]

Wow I'm really surprised by the reactions here although maybe I shouldn't be. Some of the reactions don't sound terribly well informed about China and are borderline racist.

My DS is a Chinese major and planning to go to Shanghai in the fall for a semester. We've talked to a lot of people, including senior USG officials, and I don't see a basis for all the hysteria here. Yes, it's an authoritarian state, but so are many countries where students go (outside of Europe obv.) My kid is interested in understanding the country, he's not going to party or to engage in activism. We recognize that he'll need throwaway electronics and will likely be unable to access Western social media platforms while he's there.

Taiwan is an option of course - and not a bad one. But there are some differences in the language and it doesn't give you first hand understanding of China today. Some people have described Taiwan as having preserved "real" Chinese culture, whereas China today is very much shaped by the CCP unfortunately. But it's a huge factor in the world, in the global economy, etc.

There are something like 300k Chinese students in the US but only 700 American students in China. That's not especially good for us.

[Anonymous]

There's nothing "borderline" about many of these ignorant posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow I'm really surprised by the reactions here although maybe I shouldn't be. Some of the reactions don't sound terribly well informed about China and are borderline racist.

My DS is a Chinese major and planning to go to Shanghai in the fall for a semester. We've talked to a lot of people, including senior USG officials, and I don't see a basis for all the hysteria here. Yes, it's an authoritarian state, but so are many countries where students go (outside of Europe obv.) My kid is interested in understanding the country, he's not going to party or to engage in activism. We recognize that he'll need throwaway electronics and will likely be unable to access Western social media platforms while he's there.

Taiwan is an option of course - and not a bad one. But there are some differences in the language and it doesn't give you first hand understanding of China today. Some people have described Taiwan as having preserved "real" Chinese culture, whereas China today is very much shaped by the CCP unfortunately. But it's a huge factor in the world, in the global economy, etc.

There are something like 300k Chinese students in the US but only 700 American students in China. That's not especially good for us.

Just warn your kid that he will be under surveillance the entire time he is there. They will assume he is a spy. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

My DH did a study abroad in China in 2001 so a very long time ago but absolutely loved it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not send my child to China. What about Taiwan?

This. I would send a kid to Taiwan but not China.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's nothing "borderline" about many of these ignorant posts.

Can you please point out which posts you find ignorant or racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow I'm really surprised by the reactions here although maybe I shouldn't be. Some of the reactions don't sound terribly well informed about China and are borderline racist.

My DS is a Chinese major and planning to go to Shanghai in the fall for a semester. We've talked to a lot of people, including senior USG officials, and I don't see a basis for all the hysteria here. Yes, it's an authoritarian state, but so are many countries where students go (outside of Europe obv.) My kid is interested in understanding the country, he's not going to party or to engage in activism. We recognize that he'll need throwaway electronics and will likely be unable to access Western social media platforms while he's there.

Taiwan is an option of course - and not a bad one. But there are some differences in the language and it doesn't give you first hand understanding of China today. Some people have described Taiwan as having preserved "real" Chinese culture, whereas China today is very much shaped by the CCP unfortunately. But it's a huge factor in the world, in the global economy, etc.

There are something like 300k Chinese students in the US but only 700 American students in China. That's not especially good for us.

Just warn your kid that he will be under surveillance the entire time he is there. They will assume he is a spy. Good luck.

Or they will bribe him to recruit him as a spy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow I'm really surprised by the reactions here although maybe I shouldn't be. Some of the reactions don't sound terribly well informed about China and are borderline racist.

My DS is a Chinese major and planning to go to Shanghai in the fall for a semester. We've talked to a lot of people, including senior USG officials, and I don't see a basis for all the hysteria here. Yes, it's an authoritarian state, but so are many countries where students go (outside of Europe obv.) My kid is interested in understanding the country, he's not going to party or to engage in activism. We recognize that he'll need throwaway electronics and will likely be unable to access Western social media platforms while he's there.

Taiwan is an option of course - and not a bad one. But there are some differences in the language and it doesn't give you first hand understanding of China today. Some people have described Taiwan as having preserved "real" Chinese culture, whereas China today is very much shaped by the CCP unfortunately. But it's a huge factor in the world, in the global economy, etc.

There are something like 300k Chinese students in the US but only 700 American students in China. That's not especially good for us.

Just warn your kid that he will be under surveillance the entire time he is there. They will assume he is a spy. Good luck.

Or they will bribe him to recruit him as a spy.

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/advice-for-us-college-students-abroad

[Anonymous]

I love China but wouldn't go there now. Thinking of the poor kid who died by taking a side trip from China. https://news.virginia.edu/content/university-mourns-death-student-otto-warmbier