1. SPS Accounts:
    Do you find yourself coming back time after time? Do you appreciate the ongoing hard work to keep this community focused and successful in its mission? Please consider supporting us by upgrading to an SPS Account. Besides the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, you'll also get a significant number of ever-expanding perks and benefits on the site and the forums. Click here to find out more.
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
You are currently viewing Boards o' Magick as a guest, but you can register an account here. Registration is fast, easy and free. Once registered you will have access to search the forums, create and respond to threads, PM other members, upload screenshots and access many other features unavailable to guests.

BoM cultivates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. We have been aiming for quality over quantity with our forums from their inception, and believe that this distinction is truly tangible and valued by our members. We'd love to have you join us today!

(If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you've forgotten your username or password, click here.)

China and stuff

Discussion in 'Alley of Dangerous Angles' started by Liriodelagua, Nov 24, 2005.

  1. Sir Fink Gems: 13/31
    Latest gem: Ziose


    Joined:
    Aug 28, 2005
    Messages:
    576
    Likes Received:
    4
    As far as protesting the company: the company -- or should I say "company" -- is state-owned (isn't everything in China?) so protesting the "company" would be protesting the government. And we all know what happens to Chinese citizens who protest the government.

    The great irony is that China is supposedly a communist nation -- a worker's paradise where the evils of capitalism don't exist. A country where evil corporations don't suppress the rights of their workers, don't get away with polluting the environment and exploiting the local populace. Hmm... could it be China is "communist" in name only? Could it be that "communism" is only used as a means of keeping the population under the yoke of the government over there?
     
  2. Tassadar Gems: 23/31
    Latest gem: Black Opal


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2001
    Messages:
    1,520
    Likes Received:
    8
    Crackdown of a few hundred associated with a CULT (supported by the west), or risk internal rioting and civil war where a few hundred thousand could be killed?
     
  3. Aikanaro Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2001
    Messages:
    5,521
    Likes Received:
    20
    Sir Fink: China is sometimes called 'state capitalist' - in the sense that there is only really one corporation, and that's the state.

    Tassadar: Er, what? A 'cult' is just a religion that you don't like. The 'cult' that I'm refering to are promoting nonviolence, morality, etc. Yeah, I'm seeing plenty of rioting from this...

    On the other hand - if there were riots I'd be quite glad to see it. Sometimes violence is what makes changes, and in this case I could only view change as a good thing.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong
     
  4. Iku-Turso Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2005
    Messages:
    2,393
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    28
    Hey, but christianity was just one of those cults promoting nonviolence, morality etc. and look where it got the christians.

    Of course the violence part may have come to the scene after christianity was promoted as the main religion of the Roman empire...

    In any way war, rape and torture commited with "God on our side" is extremely bad commercial for christians, and who's to claim that these people wouldn't be devout in their faith.

    For all that we know, and it might be very little, the chinese are doing pretty well as anything claiming to be a communist nation. Of course we should be concerned about the chinese, or anybody polluting rivers and whatnot. But can anyone do anything about it? Moreover: wouldn't doing something about it be just too costly by all measures?
     
  5. Tassadar Gems: 23/31
    Latest gem: Black Opal


    Veteran

    Joined:
    Aug 2, 2001
    Messages:
    1,520
    Likes Received:
    8
    On the surface. There were a lot of underground movements associated with this. Not good.

    Ehh... maybe it's a good thing you're not running a country, aye? :p :D
     
  6. Shoshino

    Shoshino Irritant Veteran

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2001
    Messages:
    2,086
    Media:
    66
    Likes Received:
    79
    Gender:
    Male
    just like another big country I know
     
  7. AMaster Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Jul 26, 2000
    Messages:
    2,495
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    50
    Yes, but we're America; we have a God-given mandate to flex our military muscle.

    China does not.
     
  8. Aikanaro Gems: 31/31
    Latest gem: Rogue Stone


    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2001
    Messages:
    5,521
    Likes Received:
    20
    Ichor: The thing about Christianity is that it's never really (or at least - only a small minority has) practiced its pacifist principles, these people seem to. Also it should be noted that registered Christian groups aren't suppressed in China despite this history, so it seems the government's fear isn't based on that they might be violent or something. Christians have proven that they can be violent, these 'cults' are doing well to prove their nonviolence.

    Not that Christianity has much to do with this discussion anyway...


    Tassadar: I'm curious - what's this about underground movements? I've visited several sites now (one at least of which I'm pretty sure is unbiased - religioustolerance.org) and none of them has mentioned anything of the sort.

    To quote from Religious Tolerance:

    I really can't see the danger of this.

    And you're probably not familiar with my political beliefs - but I assure you, I have no wish to rule any country. 'The government is both unnecessary and harmful'.
    Riots have been proven to be a very powerful tool for change - note, say, the Haymarket Riots, or even the riots in France recently. While I don't support a lot of what happened in it, it's clear that it worked seeing the new plans which the French government is bringing out.

    Unless you're a pacifist - you have no leg to stand on here - how far can you be pushed until it's justified to push back?

    To other peoples: Yeah, America sucks too - but there are plenty of America sucks threads - can't we have just one that's devoted to China bashing? :p
     
  9. Iku-Turso Gems: 26/31
    Latest gem: Diamond


    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2005
    Messages:
    2,393
    Media:
    1
    Likes Received:
    28
    The christianity thing was only serving as a reference to similar situations, since christianity was a pacifistic cult in it's early phases and it was not approved by the Roman government at the beginning.

    A similar kind of reference might be India's nonviolently achieved independence, Gandhi's ideals and the situation between India and Pakistan; hindus and muslims, soon after India's Home Rule.

    My point was, that no matter how much an ideology would start as non-violent, it will soon enough become too large a movement, so that nonviolence could be factually possible and unless the violent elements are suppressed or assimilated into the ideology in some manner, the violence will become uncontrolled.

    As long as pacifistic movements will stay in the minority, they remain pacifistic. So if Falun Gong will gain more followers, there will become a point when it will lose its pacifism.

    One reason for this might be that as a minority movement it has no power to overthrow anything, and as such it has no value as a tool for anyone willing to use it in such manner. By keeping such cults as minorities, or by trying to control them in some manner, the Chinese government is trying to make sure that no upheaval will start.
     
  10. Carcaroth

    Carcaroth I call on the priests, saints and dancin' girls ★ SPS Account Holder

    Joined:
    Aug 3, 2004
    Messages:
    1,655
    Likes Received:
    5
Sorcerer's Place is a project run entirely by fans and for fans. Maintaining Sorcerer's Place and a stable environment for all our hosted sites requires a substantial amount of our time and funds on a regular basis, so please consider supporting us to keep the site up & running smoothly. Thank you!

Sorcerers.net is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to products on amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.