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Comment by cleansy | Hacker News Reader

I saw ads for tai chi for a long time and thought of a Chinese hearts and minds campaign. That article reads like it was sponsored as well. Anyone else with the same impression?

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Yes, all of the links seem to go through to shopping funnels, even to get a PDF. I’m not seeing any freely downloadable resources. This is basically just an ad.

Many of the true old masters of Tai Chi fled to Taiwan during the Cultural Revolution.

So, if you want the best of both worlds (to learn Tai Chi AND avoid modern China's soft-power influence), sign up to a school that traces its roots back to Taiwan from that era.

You think that ads for Tai Chi in general come from the chinese government?

Well, as far as I know Tai Chi was already cool in the west, when the communists were still fighting the practice inside china.

I highly recommend it in any case.

I have neither a positive nor negative stance towards that practice. At least the Thai government used Thai restaurants and Muay Thai as a softpower booster. It would not surprise me when China does the same. To (assumingly) spend a lot of money to get Havard of all places to advertise for something that you can also get for free on youtube is a clue in my book.

But what if it's propaganda and we improve our health and lifestyle just based on that?

Oh, then I will go back to beer and television of course.

Yeah, my white relatives were practicing Tai Chi before the modern chinese goverment existed lol

"Guys over 40 shouldn't hit the gym; do Tai Chi walking instead. In 30 days, people won't recognize you anymore."

Tai chi is pushed by a Chinese organisation considered as a dangerous sect by the CCP. Falong something, I can't remember, basically inheritors from a 1980-1990s movement.

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