Hacker News Reader

Comment by leesalminen | Hacker News Reader

You can also get away with all sorts of illegal and terrible things in China with enough money, just like anywhere else.

But, in China, you can’t criticize the government no matter how poor or rich you are. That’s the only reason Ma disappeared- he defied the government. Not to say bad things don’t happen to dissenters in the US but it’s not a matter of course like China.

IMHO, being able to criticize the government publicly without being disappeared is paramount to our ideals of society.

The article’s interpretation left out all that context.

View on HN

That is completely false, and I bet from someone who has never worked professional nor lived in China

Corruption is one of the thing that will end your career, even your life. Things like smuggling drugs, creating fake products that endanger lives, will get you executed.

Jack didn’t even go against the CCP. He criticized the financial regulators for not allowing innovation.

Weird that people desperately want this to be “China Bad Government” vs the Good Billionare Jack. But it’s more akin to an FCC vs Musk battle

Yeah but that's another point totally. I still don't think that allowing only those with money to criticize our government is something to be proud of.

No, you missed the point.

In the US, everyone can criticize the government and the rich can break many laws.

In China, nobody can criticize the government and the rich can break most laws.

The only difference is that nobody in China can criticize the government.

Rich people can break many/most laws in just about every country on earth. That’s universal.

Do you understand now?

> The only difference is that nobody in China can criticize the government.

In contrast to here in America where only some of us can criticize the government. How is that supposed to help me ?

You’re still missing what I’m saying. Anyone in the US can legally and publicly criticize any level of our government without fear of reprisal. In almost all cases.

> Anyone in the US can legally and publicly criticize any level of our government without fear of reprisal.

Both the internal statements by violent right-wing counter-demonstrators about widespread expectation of police tacit support without need for direct coordination that came to light and the actual police behavior toward violent right-wing counter-demonstrators in many cases during the recent BLM protests demonstrate that that certainly isn't true in substantial, recently-salient cases.

It is what we aspire to, though. Sure, we’re not perfect. Nobody is.

> It is what we aspire to, though

It's obviously not what some of “us” in positions of power aspire to.

I'm sure there are people whose decisions aren't reflected in the outcomes in China who prefer the CCP not repress dissent, too.

Unrealized aspirations aren't the measure of freedom of a regime.

(Sure, the US is better than the PRC when it comes to tolerating dissent. But it is not free of political repression.)

> I still don’t think that allowing only those with money to criticize our government is something to be proud of. reply

You generally don’t have to be rich to criticize the government in the US (without punishment; being rich may be necessary to get heard, though, but that’s a different problem); on the issues where the government at any level will retaliate, directly or indirectly, for criticism, wealth isn't really all that effective in stopping it, either.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com