Gabriel Corsetti
@gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social
China, politics, climate change. Views my own. Reposts are indeed endorsements. Why would I repost if I disagree? https://gabriel965.substack.com/
Kaiser lived in Beijing, as far as I know. I really wouldn't say Beijing's quality of life is that amazing, especially when you don't have plenty of money. The pollution, the traffic and the ugliness of much of the city can't be overlooked. Not to mention the decrepit state of many tower blocks.
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Kaiser lived in Beijing, as far as I know. I really wouldn't say Beijing's quality of life is that amazing, especially when you don't have plenty of money. The pollution, the traffic and the ugliness of much of the city can't be overlooked. Not to mention the decrepit state of many tower blocks.
Not that I necessarily disagree with the general point, but the part about "driving to the mall" shows Noah Smith doesn't live in China.
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Not that I necessarily disagree with the general point, but the part about "driving to the mall" shows Noah Smith doesn't live in China.
This is not really true. There are people who spend years in China living with ordinary people in ordinary neighbourhoods, and they still end up with vastly discordant attitudes. There really seems to be no certain way to predict how someone's attitudes towards the CCP will evolve.
October 29, 2025 at 12:08 PM
This is not really true. There are people who spend years in China living with ordinary people in ordinary neighbourhoods, and they still end up with vastly discordant attitudes. There really seems to be no certain way to predict how someone's attitudes towards the CCP will evolve.
Also an interesting point. Everyone has biases and has only seen one part of the story. Living in China is meaningful, as is knowing the language, but it's not everything. Nor does being ethnically Chinese automatically give you more insight. Gatekeeping is pointless.
October 29, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Also an interesting point. Everyone has biases and has only seen one part of the story. Living in China is meaningful, as is knowing the language, but it's not everything. Nor does being ethnically Chinese automatically give you more insight. Gatekeeping is pointless.
True. Foreign correspondents tend to become very hawkish while in China, due to the way that the authorities do their best to sabotage them, often in ways that are completely pointless and self-defeating. It's less true for Italian correspondents, probably because they fly under the radar.
October 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
True. Foreign correspondents tend to become very hawkish while in China, due to the way that the authorities do their best to sabotage them, often in ways that are completely pointless and self-defeating. It's less true for Italian correspondents, probably because they fly under the radar.
The contrast between the claim "Chinese Muslim languages" are "literally everywhere" in Xinjiang, and the only sign in the photo being exclusively in Chinese, makes the post particularly ridiculous. I wonder if the guy believes what he writes, or if he knows what he's doing.
October 21, 2025 at 2:19 AM
The contrast between the claim "Chinese Muslim languages" are "literally everywhere" in Xinjiang, and the only sign in the photo being exclusively in Chinese, makes the post particularly ridiculous. I wonder if the guy believes what he writes, or if he knows what he's doing.
The "surveys show 90%+ of Chinese citizens support their government" argument has resurfaced again. I've been hearing it trotted out for years and years. Comparing such surveys in China with similar ones in other countries just makes no sense, for a number of reasons.
October 20, 2025 at 10:30 AM
The "surveys show 90%+ of Chinese citizens support their government" argument has resurfaced again. I've been hearing it trotted out for years and years. Comparing such surveys in China with similar ones in other countries just makes no sense, for a number of reasons.
Another day on Twitter, another large alt-right account with a blue tick spreading ridiculous misinformation about China's "Social Credit System". This stuff is actually incredibly damaging for those who fight to expose China's genuine human rights abuses.
October 17, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Another day on Twitter, another large alt-right account with a blue tick spreading ridiculous misinformation about China's "Social Credit System". This stuff is actually incredibly damaging for those who fight to expose China's genuine human rights abuses.
Chinese authorities detain the leaders of the underground Christian "Zion Church", and idiot shills and Chinese ultranationalists on Twitter celebrate China cracking down on Zionism because the church had the word Zion in its name. Couldn't make it up.
October 13, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Chinese authorities detain the leaders of the underground Christian "Zion Church", and idiot shills and Chinese ultranationalists on Twitter celebrate China cracking down on Zionism because the church had the word Zion in its name. Couldn't make it up.
I keep seeing content of this sort. This one's by some travel blogger based in Bangkok. Of course he goes on about robotaxis and drone deliveries (never taken a robotaxi or had anything delivered by drone in China, and I last went back in May). Are these people paid, or do they just want attention?
October 13, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I keep seeing content of this sort. This one's by some travel blogger based in Bangkok. Of course he goes on about robotaxis and drone deliveries (never taken a robotaxi or had anything delivered by drone in China, and I last went back in May). Are these people paid, or do they just want attention?
Also, the guy's example of why America is backward compared to China is just wild. "I was in the Hyatt, and I had to go down to the lobby and queue for 10 minutes JUST FOR A SPOON! The US is doomed." I was in Shenzhen in May by the way, and no robots delivered anything to my room.
September 29, 2025 at 12:51 AM
Also, the guy's example of why America is backward compared to China is just wild. "I was in the Hyatt, and I had to go down to the lobby and queue for 10 minutes JUST FOR A SPOON! The US is doomed." I was in Shenzhen in May by the way, and no robots delivered anything to my room.
New Shaun Rein diatribe on China's greatness dropped. This is the shills' new favourite talking point, that China has gone from lawless hellhole to super-safe utopia in 10 years. In fact, couriers would also leave packages unattended in front of my door 10 years ago, and no one would take them.
September 29, 2025 at 12:48 AM
New Shaun Rein diatribe on China's greatness dropped. This is the shills' new favourite talking point, that China has gone from lawless hellhole to super-safe utopia in 10 years. In fact, couriers would also leave packages unattended in front of my door 10 years ago, and no one would take them.
Shaun Rein's in full gear with his spiel today. Apart from the ridiculousness of equating human rights with stuff being cheap, the "really really nice" Shanghai hotel for $71 a night would probably cost half of that in Bangkok or Saigon. Most of SE Asia is better value for tourists than China.
September 28, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Shaun Rein's in full gear with his spiel today. Apart from the ridiculousness of equating human rights with stuff being cheap, the "really really nice" Shanghai hotel for $71 a night would probably cost half of that in Bangkok or Saigon. Most of SE Asia is better value for tourists than China.
My experience corroborates this graph. Levels of engagement on this site have really fallen through the floor. It's like everyone's given up on BlueSky. It was a nice idea, but it's not taking off. I hope I'm wrong.
September 27, 2025 at 3:08 AM
My experience corroborates this graph. Levels of engagement on this site have really fallen through the floor. It's like everyone's given up on BlueSky. It was a nice idea, but it's not taking off. I hope I'm wrong.
The AQI readings for Bangkok make no sense. Almost 5000 in one location, around 50-100 in others, but then it's below 10 in quite a number of others. So is it polluted or not?
September 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
The AQI readings for Bangkok make no sense. Almost 5000 in one location, around 50-100 in others, but then it's below 10 in quite a number of others. So is it polluted or not?
New wave of WWII films in China makes the country less safe for Japanese expats and visitors.
September 21, 2025 at 5:06 AM
New wave of WWII films in China makes the country less safe for Japanese expats and visitors.
Notorious Chinese ultra-nationalist Carl Zha, who lives in Bali, finds out that trying to use China's digital payment platforms as a tourist with a foreign bank card remains troublesome.
September 14, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Notorious Chinese ultra-nationalist Carl Zha, who lives in Bali, finds out that trying to use China's digital payment platforms as a tourist with a foreign bank card remains troublesome.
Recent trend: apologists (whose ranks Angelica Oung has sadly joined) are claiming that China just a few years ago was a terribly dangerous country, full of crime, violence and a complete lack of trust, but in the space of a few years it has become completely safe and a paradise of social cohesion.
September 11, 2025 at 4:52 AM
Recent trend: apologists (whose ranks Angelica Oung has sadly joined) are claiming that China just a few years ago was a terribly dangerous country, full of crime, violence and a complete lack of trust, but in the space of a few years it has become completely safe and a paradise of social cohesion.
This comic, which appeared yesterday in Italian newspaper La Stampa, makes fun of left-wing politician and former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema for attending Beijing's military parade. The caption refers to the Pekingese dog breed.
September 8, 2025 at 3:15 PM
This comic, which appeared yesterday in Italian newspaper La Stampa, makes fun of left-wing politician and former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema for attending Beijing's military parade. The caption refers to the Pekingese dog breed.
The inventor and main representative of "MAGA communism" just can't contain his excitement at the thought of Chinese hegemony.
August 6, 2025 at 10:13 AM
The inventor and main representative of "MAGA communism" just can't contain his excitement at the thought of Chinese hegemony.
This assistant professor at Cambridge has been making waves on the other site with his apologia for China's political system. Apparently making China's GDP grow by any means necessary means they are "leading poverty reduction efforts" and we should all get down on our knees and thank them.
July 30, 2025 at 2:12 AM
This assistant professor at Cambridge has been making waves on the other site with his apologia for China's political system. Apparently making China's GDP grow by any means necessary means they are "leading poverty reduction efforts" and we should all get down on our knees and thank them.
The Guardian's UK edition puts the tragic mass shooting in New York on its front page. Absolutely no mention anywhere of the equally tragic mass shooting in a market in Bangkok, in which five people were killed. And yet Bangkok is a cosmopolitan global hub and plenty of Brits live there.
July 29, 2025 at 3:45 AM
The Guardian's UK edition puts the tragic mass shooting in New York on its front page. Absolutely no mention anywhere of the equally tragic mass shooting in a market in Bangkok, in which five people were killed. And yet Bangkok is a cosmopolitan global hub and plenty of Brits live there.
I find it curious how visitors to China will wax lyrical about how clean Chinese cities are. They've improved a lot over the past 10-15 years, but if you live in Beijing the last thing you think is that you live in a city with immaculate streets.
July 24, 2025 at 1:38 AM
I find it curious how visitors to China will wax lyrical about how clean Chinese cities are. They've improved a lot over the past 10-15 years, but if you live in Beijing the last thing you think is that you live in a city with immaculate streets.
I think what this kind of prediction ignores is that a Japan with 1.4 billion people would be the world's biggest superpower, by quite a margin.
July 23, 2025 at 3:17 AM
I think what this kind of prediction ignores is that a Japan with 1.4 billion people would be the world's biggest superpower, by quite a margin.
The professional apologists are still banging on about whether to use CPC or CCP. The best part is that in China absolutely no one cares. But it's a great distraction from more important issues, as well as a loyalty test.
July 21, 2025 at 5:06 AM
The professional apologists are still banging on about whether to use CPC or CCP. The best part is that in China absolutely no one cares. But it's a great distraction from more important issues, as well as a loyalty test.