I interpret the parent comment "Chinese don't want to be Chinese" as no one (including Chinese citizens) wants to be under the thumb of an authoritarian government. Not a racist comment.

Don't confuse anti-PRC sentiment with anti-Chinese sentiment. It is a classic strategy to conveniently conflate the two only when the CPC is being criticised.

Both points are over generalizations. It's obviously a complex issue. I've been to Taiwan, I've been to Hong Kong, and from my conversations with all types of people the best I can understand as a foreigner is that the Government is not what being Chinese is about. It's about the culture at the end of the day. You could argue that some population of Chinese have kept a certain culture present from a particular time. There's a lot of what I was told (I can't really know) traditional culture in Taiwan. There was an interesting mix of old and new in Hong Kong. It's sad to see so much conflict as a result of weaponizing identity and heritage. The stuff of lore is what makes any story interesting, and we destroy it with inept government structures.

See also:

> [Critiques of Israeli government]

> "It's really sad to see ... plagued by anti-semitism".

I think you missed a subtlety there, the point is not even the Chinese (people) want to be Chinese (citizens).

It’s not sinophobic to say that the Chinese government and the CCP are messed up. I don’t doubt that many Chinese people would rather they weren’t subjected to that regime.

That is entirely separate from hatred/fear/negativity toward Chinese people and/or their culture.

This, so much. Everything I say is always taken as apologism, while I just like my country.

If a US born american like his country, it's patriotism.

If a China born naturalized american likes both of his countries, it's proof of CCP manipulation.

Impossible to win.

It relates to what I heard in Taiwain (obviously from a biased leaning). But it's not sinophobic from my perspective, let me explain:

From the perspective of some people I talked to in Taiwan, they see it as they "saved" what Chinese culture is, and what China represents today isn't "Chinese culture."

That may not even be the right way to describe it but essentially there's culture vs government as the issue and they're not the same thing. A big fear of the non CCP people's I talked to is that CCP is destroying Chinese culture and that means they aren't Chinese.

Again, just trying to add some color to what I can identify. I rather add color than blur the lines.