Politics - Any and All Political Discussions Not Really Related to TT

[zeio]

So the Chinese people chose the policy of year long Covid lockdowns with daily testing?

In the US, you change policies by changing the party in power. Yes, the policies are very different depending on who is in power. Hope the folks in China like leader for life Xi Jinping.

Read the sentences correctly. They couldn't chance the party but they could change the policy.

How many lives were lost in the US during the same period even if you could choose the party?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_COVID-19_protests_in_China

The police had largely allowed such rallies to proceed, although officers had reportedly arrested several protesters in Shanghai.[19] There had also been reports of protesters being beaten and showered with pepper spray before detainment.[19][20][21][22] By early December, China pivoted away from many of its previous COVID restrictions by reducing testing, reducing lockdowns, and allowing people with mild infections to quarantine at home, effectively abandoning the zero-COVID policy.[23]

2026/6/23
Trump Gets Negative Reviews Internationally as Fewer Say U.S. Is a Reliable Partner
36-country survey finds declining ratings for the U.S. amid rising concerns about its foreign policy and the health of its democracy
https://www.pewresearch.org/global/...nally-as-fewer-say-u-s-is-a-reliable-partner/

 

[zeio]

Nice to see this:

Fans in China cheer on Japan at World Cup despite political tension

Took me a few minutes to dig up this article during FIFA World Cup 2018 by 永井央紀/NAGAI Hironori, a Japanese reporter stationed in China.

有感於中國稱讚日本足球 (Inspired by China's praise of Japanese football)
https://zh.cn.nikkei.com/columnviewpoint/viewpoint/31293-2018-07-11-04-51-21.html?start=1

反過來看，日本人有為中國隊加油過嗎？中國在乒乓球上擁有超強實力，但是相比成為加油的對象，中國乒乓球被日本視為想要跨越的一堵高牆。在亞洲實力較弱的男子100米短跑方面，中國選手蘇炳添多次跑進10秒以內，但是在日本並未引起很大關注。

看著日本隊與比利時隊的比賽結束後，立刻轉換心情並快步離去的中國人的身影，我不禁思索在什麼條件下才會出現日本人稱中國是「亞洲之光」的狀況呢？

(Conversely, have the Japanese ever cheered for the Chinese team? China possesses overwhelming strength in table tennis, but rather than being the object of their cheers, Chinese table tennis is seen by Japan as a formidable obstacle to overcome. In the men's 100-meter sprint, a sport where Asia is relatively weak, Chinese athlete Su Bingtian has repeatedly run under 10 seconds, but this hasn't garnered much attention in Japan.

Watching the Chinese silhouettes quickly change their tune and walk away after the match between Japan and Belgium, I couldn't help but wonder: under what circumstances would the Japanese refer to China as the "Light of Asia"?)

 

[zeio]

In light of Batra's incident.

Why Socrates Hated Democracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJBzhcSWTk

Socrates’s point is that voting in an election is a skill, not a random intuition. And like any skill, it needs to be taught systematically to people. Letting the citizenry vote without an education is as irresponsible as putting them in charge of a trireme sailing to Samos in a storm.

Why Democracies fail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvyb499QCGk

Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf7ws2DF-zk

 

[zeio]

Replying here because answering the question requires delving into politics.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/forum/topics/thread-about-japanese-players.38013/post-580880

What's the social media buzz in Japan right now, is Tomokazu still Japanese when he wins and Chinese when he loses?

The Japanese toxicity (especially the ネトウヨ/internet rightists) is comparable to the Chinese (including Taiwanese) and Korean ones and shows no sign of abating. Don't let the Western media brainwash you about the seemingly cute and harmless Japanese culture. Political correctness of the West is such a foreign concept it would get an n for naive in East Asia. As I've repeated stressed, telling players to retire is so mild they wouldn't even bat an eye.

2026/2/26
アスリートがメイクをして何が悪いのか――　「国籍」「容姿」への攻撃、五輪開催中も6万2000件の誹謗中傷 (What's wrong with athletes wearing makeup? — Attacks on "nationality" and "appearance," 62,000 defamatory comments during the Olympics)
https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2026/02260534/?all=1
2026/2/14
日本選手団への中傷投稿６・２万件…団長「想定以上の件数、選手の力奪うからやめて」 (62,000 abusive posts targeting the Japanese team… Team leader: "This is a higher number than we expected. Please stop, it's taking away the athletes' strength.")
https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/olympic/2026/20260214-GYT1T00222/
2026/1/28
「ブス」「キモい」「消えろ」オリンピックで目立つ選手への誹謗中傷――卓球・張本智和選手は心無い言葉にどう向き合ったのか ("Ugly," "Gross," "Get lost"—how did table tennis player Harimoto Tomokazu cope with the hateful insults directed at prominent Olympic athletes?)
https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2026/01280535/?all=1

　このことに対し、張本選手は、「もし、自分がもともと日本人だったとしても、何か言われることはあるでしょうし、親が日本人であってもあると思います（中略）何をしても言ってくる人もいます。例えばですが、挨拶をしただけでも『挨拶してくるな』と言う人もいる。自分が100％良いことをしても、悪いことを言う人がいる」（2024年8月2日 THE ANSWER）と述べています。

(In response to this, Harimoto said, "Even if I were originally Japanese, I think people would still say something, and I think the same would happen if my parents were Japanese (omitted)... There are people who will criticize you no matter what you do. For example, even if you just say hello, there are people who will say, 'Don't say hello.' Even if you do something 100% good, there will still be people who will say something bad" (THE ANSWER, August 2, 2024).)

2026/1/5
「恐るべきライバル」だが「先祖の恩を忘れている」…ブーイング騒動の「張本智和」を中国メディアはどう論じたか　議論が沸騰した「高市発言」の引用 ("A formidable rival," but "forgetting the kindness of his ancestors"... How did Chinese media comment on Harimoto Tomokazu, who was booed? A quote from the controversial Takaichi statement)
https://www.dailyshincho.jp/article/2026/01051001/?all=1

(Set News is a pro-DPP news channel in Taiwan)
2025/12/7 (about an author in Taiwan on the Harimoto's incident at XTWC 2025)
張本智和手勢超嗆　作家：果然只有原是中國人的張本才知怎麼對付中國人 (Harimoto Tomokazu's gestures are extremely aggressive. The author comments: "Only someone originally a Chinese like Harimoto knows how to deal with the Chinese")
https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=1762105

---

Below is a Hong Konger living in Okinawa on how the xenophobic right-wing populists (not just Chinese, but especially Vietnamese, even Western folks are being discriminated) are growing in number in the rest of Japan such as Tokyo, especially after TAKAICHI Sanae has assumed power.

日本歧視現在嚴重嗎？ #沖繩香港人 #在日港人 #沖繩旅行 #日本生活 (Is discrimination serious in Japan now? #HongKongersInOkinawa #HongKongersInJapan #OkinawaTravel #LifeInJapan)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Sskv6hdPgTw

【式典であいさつ】高市総理「誰もが平和で暮らせる世の中の実現へ不断の努力を重ねる」令和8年沖縄全戦没者追悼式【ノーカット】（2026年6月23日）｜TBS NEWS DIG ([Speech at the Ceremony] Prime Minister Takaichi: "We will continue our unwavering efforts to realize a world where everyone can live in peace." Okinawa All War Dead Memorial Ceremony 2026 [Uncut] (June 23, 2026) | TBS NEWS DIG)
https://youtu.be/HzUmUEvGLho?t=18

Protester(s): No war! Protect Article 9! Apologize to the 240k people who died (in the Battle of Okinawa)!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzUmUEvGLho&lc=UgxjJNrZeT_USrEchit4AaABAg
@hakaider001
11 days ago
最も平和から遠い人がのたまっております。
212 like
(These are the words of the person furthest removed from peace.)

@るんるん-i7q-s9j
11 days ago
どの面下げてスピーチしてるんだか
マジでやべえ奴だな
ここまで嫌われてるリーダーもなかなか現れないでしょう
421 like
(I wonder what nerve she has to give a speech
She's seriously a mess
You won't often see a leader who's hated this much)

 

[Lando]

In light of Batra's incident.

Why Socrates Hated Democracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLJBzhcSWTk

Why Democracies fail
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvyb499QCGk

Why Democracy Is Mathematically Impossible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf7ws2DF-zk

Guess which dictator is responsible for more deaths than both world wars?

 

[M51]

Guess which dictator is responsible for more deaths than both world wars?

Leopold II of Belgium?

 

[zeio]

I guess you have greatly underestimated the death toll of WWII and OTOH overestimated that of Mao's campaigns.

In the grand scheme of things, it's just like the death toll under the Mongols Empire in the 13th-14th centuries, during which many Han Chinese and Eastern and Central Europeans died, a wildly unreliable estimate.

Did Mao Really Kill Millions in the Great Leap Forward?
https://mronline.org/2006/09/21/did-mao-really-kill-millions-in-the-great-leap-forward/

Western writers on the subject have taken a completely disproportionate view of the period, mesmerized, as they are, by massive death toll figures from dubious sources. They concentrate only on policy excesses and it is likely that their views on the damage that these did are greatly exaggerated. There has been a failure to understand how some of the policies developed in the Great Leap Forward actually benefited the Chinese people, once the initial disruption was over.

Myths about Mao Debunked
https://medium.com/@braisedporkblog/myths-about-mao-debunked-2a500637c586

Even the higher estimates of losses China suffered during the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961 range to between 15 million and 30 million. That was just under 5% of the population, which is actually much lower than the deathrates of other poor nations such as those suffering famines under colonial rule.

Deaths as a direct result of Chairman Mao’s “Great Leap Forward”
https://www.reddit.com/r/ChineseHistory/comments/1oq4uhg/comment/nnicdm1/

This standard that every single death in the country is because of the head of state, is only applied to socialist countries, but when deaths happen in capitalist countries due to the economic system, it is seen as a personal failing, rather than the fault of that government or the capitalist system.

Destruction under the Mongol Empire
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_under_the_Mongol_Empire#Demographic_changes

The death toll for the Mongol conquests is commonly cited as 40-60 million, a claim originating from the 1978 book "Atlas of World Population History" by Colin McEvedy and Richard Jones.[19] The book has since been criticized for lacking a solid basis for many of its population estimates.[20] In addition, the source used by McEvedy and Jones to support their claim of 35 million deaths in China during the Mongol conquests, "The population statistics of China, A.D. 2–1953" by John Durand, casts doubt on their conclusions. Durand points out that the Mongol censuses were likely very incomplete, leading to an exaggeration of the population decrease.[21]

 

[latej]

zeio: Let there be light ;-)

 

[M51]

So do I. It's time to speak about the spine-flexibility of those, who are responsible for his and Russia's flag to not be shown! Your time is up!

Sure, but not in the tournament thread.

 

[latej]

Sure, but not in the tournament thread.

So it is ok if WTT "elites" are politicizing the sport, but we can't?

Put yourself into Sidorenko's skin, and you'll get it.

I hope you'll post there then ;-)

 

[M51]

So it is ok if WTT "elites" are politicizing the sport, but we can't?

No, politicizing the sport is not okay, regardless of who does it.

What "WTT elites" are doing pales in comparison to the ETTU. Remember, it took a CAS ruling to get them to lift the blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian players.

Oh, and since we're in here discussing politics, how do you feel about your president, the former NATO general? What's his approval rating in Czechia right now?

 

[latej]

Oh, and since we're in here discussing politics, how do you feel about your president, the former NATO general? What's his approval rating in Czechia right now?

Not just NATO ;-) He used to be a member of the KSC (the communist party), up to 1989 - the so-called velvet revolution... It's so disgusting, how could we czechs get so low to vote for a person like that... It is simply incredible.

About the rating - it is hard for me to estimate. Unf. the media are still largely controlled... Definitely his (and his puppeterrs) latest steps didn't find much approval - he asked for Constitutional court ruling in a certain situation, and obtained it the next day - regular people would wait months... It was about NATO summit in Ankara... It's pointless to go to the details - the only chance is if we wake up together.

 

[M51]

Not just NATO ;-) He used to be a member of the KSC (the communist party), up to 1989 - the so-called velvet revolution...

That's common, most right wing politicians over here (🇭🇷) who are old enough to have been members of the communist party HAVE been members of the communist party.

Every former communist country is similar in that regard, the hypocrisy of Kaja Kallas is the norm, not an exception.

 

[zeio]

So it is ok if WTT "elites" are politicizing the sport, but we can't?

Put yourself into Sidorenko's skin, and you'll get it.

I hope you'll post there then ;-)

This!!! ITTF was the last stand in terms of unifying the world (Ping Pong Diplomacy at WTTC 1971, Unified Korea at WTTC 2018...), but look what ITTF under Dainton had become.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...cup-2025-chengdu-11-30-12-7.37129/post-553751

Politics have always permeated sports in one way or another. Why did ITTF bar Russia and Belarus from playing but not Israel? US hegemony. Why do they allow them now? US and Europe can't beat them. In much the same way, US does not keep a leash on Japan? China steps in. Simple as that.

As for Miwa's event, the rip-off pricing had already caused an outcry upon announcement. Right-wing Takaichi's statement/response to inquiry in the parliament only stirred things up further.

https://www.tabletennisdaily.com/fo...irman-of-world-table-tennis.23585/post-317213

And there's no politics
He doesn't talk about how the ITTF used to do this
We don't talk about how the CTTA used to do this
We talk about the future

 

[zeio]

This TV program on the failing US infrastructure was re-aired on Phoenix Television last night. Just in time for the technical difficulty experienced during KM vs Sato at USA GS 2026.

I feel for the American public. A dying hegemony still hell-bent on being warmongering.

搖搖欲墜——美國基礎建設觀察 (Teetering on the brink: A look at U.S. infrastructure)
https://www.fengshows.com/video/ef8374e6-3faf-4138-947e-1c13d3087bee

Crumbling Superpower: America's Fatal Infrastructure Crisis | ENDEVR Documentary
https://youtu.be/5JdF-9RBlcg?t=713

Tom has always felt that city hall prioritizes spending on improvements that are immediately visible to the taxpayer. He sees [music] the budget he was given as evidence of this. My last year on the job, I I had like somewhere around four or five million to do replacement steps and rehab steps. And for the bridges, half a million. So I spent four over $4 million on steps and I only spent a half a million on bridges. That doesn't make sense. Thank you. [laughter]

 

[pongfugrasshopper]

This TV program on the failing US infrastructure was re-aired on Phoenix Television last night. Just in time for the technical difficulty experienced during KM vs Sato at USA GS 2026.

I feel for the American public. A dying hegemony still hell-bent on being warmongering.

搖搖欲墜——美國基礎建設觀察 (Teetering on the brink: A look at U.S. infrastructure)
https://www.fengshows.com/video/ef8374e6-3faf-4138-947e-1c13d3087bee

Crumbling Superpower: America's Fatal Infrastructure Crisis | ENDEVR Documentary
https://youtu.be/5JdF-9RBlcg?t=713

You need not feel sorry for us, zeio. Sure, we have issues as does every country in the world. But we just celebrated 250 years since our founding. And looking back from where we started, I'd say we did pretty good! Just as you always rightfully complain about Western media, don't believe everything you see in the news (east or west). For the majority of the people here, life is either good or great which is why so many people around the world want to move here. I am truly grateful to be here.

 

[latej]

It would be nice if this video about Iran war, will actually only serve the purpose of introducing those of you, who don't know this exceptional man, to him and his channel, where much more important things than Iran war are discussed.

EDIT: saying "much more" is wrong, it's equally important, don't know how to express...

 

[zeio]

What I see is dirt cheap T05 in Chinese mainland. MFSB.
Gas price was 8 CNY per liter before the war and has barely risen to 9 CNY now. MFSB.
Life there has absolutely not changed for the worse one bit the last few times I visited. MFSB.

Whereas the oppressed and non-free in the eyes of the West but the freest economy Hong Kong? Went from 19 to 32 HKD (16 to 28 CNY) on average. MFSB.

Captain America: The price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay.
China IRL: Laughing all the way to the bank.

香港汽油價「世一」貴過北歐　背後4大原因曝光 (Hong Kong's petrol prices are the highest in the world, even higher than in Northern Europe; four major reasons behind this have been revealed)
https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/news/香港汽油價「世一」貴過北歐-背後4大原因曝光-233617236.html

香港油價每公升飆至130元 位居"全球之冠" 高額燃油稅等因素 推升港油價.全球最貴｜記者 楊駿宗｜國際焦點20260329｜三立新聞台 (Hong Kong's fuel prices have soared to TW$130 per liter, making it the world's most expensive; High fuel taxes and other factors have driven up Hong Kong's fuel prices)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrWbsJOJKeQ

油價爆升｜中國92汽油直衝9元 台灣補貼保民生　香港貴到31元 (Oil prices surge | China's 92-octane gasoline soars to CN$9; Taiwan provides subsidies to protect people's livelihoods; Hong Kong's prices reach HK$31)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Z-RYmU86s

同一滴汽油的命運！揭開港珠兩地油價「差天共地」背後：被刻意低調的 100% 內地進口內幕？😱｜心角角硬核實測 (The Fate of the Same Drop of Gasoline! Unveiling the Vast Price Difference Between Hong Kong and Zhuhai: The Deliberately Low-Key Secret of 100% Mainland Imports? 😱｜A Thorough Investigation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u04wcq_iplQ

Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (2021): A Davao City cab driver gives Hathaway his opinion on Mafty's goals versus regular folks' day-to-day struggles. IMO, the most important scene in this film.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Gundam/comments/1ly2cra/mobile_suit_gundam_hathaway_2021_a_davao_city_cab/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gundam/comments/1ly2cra

 

[zeio]

You need not feel sorry for us, zeio. Sure, we have issues as does every country in the world. But we just celebrated 250 years since our founding. And looking back from where we started, I'd say we did pretty good! Just as you always rightfully complain about Western media, don't believe everything you see in the news (east or west). For the majority of the people here, life is either good or great which is why so many people around the world want to move here. I am truly grateful to be here.

I feel sorry for the American-self in me. What a joke of a country America has become in the past 30 years. The American Spirit died along with the fall of the Soviet Union.

Even rural Chinese kids know what Epstein did …
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_CUlVR2_lpM

America in 2025 is a Problem. The Future is in Asia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vumADSfrytk

How China Completely Rebranded Itself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5cJSvsmu4s

See, I remember the first time I played basketball in a gym in mainland China. It was a random gym and on the wall a giant Chinese flag. And at that time, my first thought, propaganda, people brainwashed to love their country. It was an automatic thought. But it wasn't until I was older when I played basketball in an American gym when I noticed the [music] same thing. A giant American flag. And when I saw it, my first thought was patriotism, pride, America. Same flag, same placement, totally different label.

 

[zeio]

Long live George Galloway and stay safe in the heat wave...

George Galloway on UK political chaos & the fall of Western democracies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2S4i5sPUDI

https://youtu.be/K2S4i5sPUDI?t=144
I think this timing that you are in China is really interesting as well because we saw this recent turmoil in UK politics again. How many prime ministers? I think Britain is going to have its seventh prime minister in 10 years since 2016. And how many more do you want? So what a you [laughter] and each one less impressive than the last. Uh the uh when I was growing up, my father who was a very political man, we used he used to laugh at Italy which he described as having a new government every year and it was a kind of revolving door and no one could remember who was the last prime minister. Well, that's the state of British politics now. It's the state of Western democracy now...

https://youtu.be/K2S4i5sPUDI?t=394
That's exactly right and I'm afraid again that's characteristic of western uh democracy as they call it though it's less and less democratic less and less liberal they still call themselves liberal democracies that uh it's two cheeks of the same backside. It's tweedledee and tweedledum. Uh you change the party, you change the prime minister, but you don't change the policies. The policies remain the same. An absolute adherence to globalization, to war, to Israel, to accepting the diktat of the United States of America. Now, that's proving particularly difficult in Europe right now because the United States is represented by a kind of wild west John Wayne type cowboy figure with very bad table manners with uh vulgar language, vulgar personality that doesn't quite suit the Europeans as much as previous American presidents did. But in the end, they're still obeying the diktat. In the recent war with Iran, for example, I say recent, but of course it's an ongoing war, many people felt, and the European leaders were keen to imply that they weren't involved in this war. And then because Trump became very angry with them, they were forced to show their own people just how much they had been involved in the war, but secretly.

https://youtu.be/K2S4i5sPUDI?t=3300
Learn? Yes. Uh you don't have to emulate. I mean I stand for socialism in British characteristics. You don't have to repeat but you can learn and you gave some examples there. The Epstein class are rewarded in the west with unlimited lifestyles and wealth. The Epstein class in China are sentenced to death. Punishment for corruption is normal in China, uh but it is extremely rare in western countries. That should change.