- Joined
- Oct 20, 2019
Hello. I haven't replied to this thread before but I read much of it with interest. I want to thank you for all your time posting here and I hope it doesn't lead to problems for you.
I would like to ask you how easy it is to get books in China on the history of your country. And are there areas of history that are forbidden? In the West we say that "History is written by the winners" and there are lots of things in our own history that are hard to get unbiased or accurate information on. China has a reputation for having a lot of censorship and propaganda. Does this interfere with academic freedom for historians?
I would also like to ask what is the typical Chinese view on Israel and Zionism?
My answers will be a little different from the other reply you got. As you might imagine, many people view the same thing differently.
The Scottish independence vote took place before anybody knew the UK would leave the EU. If the Scottish people had known this they would have probably voted to leave so that they could remain part of the EU. Generally the relationship of Scottish people to English is friendly rivalry. Most don't want to actually leave but some politicians promised them they could "have their cake and eat it". This is an expression meaning you get something you want without bad consequences. It means you can eat the cake, or you can have (possess) the cake. But you can't eat the cake and still have the cake afterwards. The idea Scottish nationalists presented to the Scottish people was that they could have freedom from any decisions made by English politicians but miraculously keep financial support, military protection, deals and influence in England. Fortunately, most Scottish people are smart enough to realize when they're being sold a "pipe dream". (Another expression meaning it seems good but is not real, coming from 'opium pipes' that people smoked).
Scotland has a lot of oil refineries from North Sea oilfields. The Scottish Nationalists think that if they separate, they will have lots of money from these oil fields all for Scotland. But it wont happen.
Most of the English would be sorry to see Scotland go. Very few Scottish people still speak the Scottish language. The accent is different and there is national pride, but the reality is Scottish and English people aren't really any different from each other culturally.
There are two views on this. Much of the media and those who wanted to remain in the EU said that the Brexit supporters were all racists who hated foreigners. This is quite funny when you realise that the EU is the largest White protectionist state in the World and makes it hard for Britain to buy goods from non-White nations, such as food grown in African countries. There were two really big reasons for Brexit support, I think. The first is sovereignty. The EU was originally a trade agreement and it grew into more and more of a powerful body itself and laws which it made immediately became UK laws; and its courts were superior to UK courts. People didn't want to be ruled by other countries even if they had a voice amongst those countries.
The second big reason is immigration. People in the UK wanted to be able to decide for themselves who to let into the country. Angela Merkel the German premiere, opened the EU to enormous numbers of immigrants from other countries such as Libya. Many people were very unhappy about this. I think Merkel is the reason that the UK voted to leave. If she had been less determined to let in so many immigrants, the UK would probably have stayed.
Not many. Most people just don't think about her that much. But she is regarded favourably by most because they view her as a symbol of the country. Legally she still has a lot of power but through tradition she never uses it. It's a strange situation that came about through British history. The French killed all their royal family. But in Britain, they survived and in the turmoil that followed were eventually allowed back and a balance of power was negotiated. They would keep many of their legal powers over the country but they didn't use them because it was a very delicate balance and they didn't want to push their luck too far. Mostly they were happy to just be rich and spoiled and over time it came to the point that the King or Queen had power but stayed out of politics and didn't use it. Today, the Queen could legally do a lot of things but if she did there would be a huge crisis that would end with their powers being taken away from them.
They are still very, very rich and very, very well-connected, however.
That hatred is gone these days. At least for the English. A lot of the hatred was from cheap Irish labourers coming over to England and working for much less money than the English labourers.
People still make jokes about the Irish, though. For example:
Two Irishmen were working in the town. One would dig a hole and the other would follow behind him and fill the hole in.
After a while, one amazed onlooker said: "Why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?"
The hole digger wiped his brow and sighed, "Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-person team. But today the lad who plants the trees is sick."
I hope all this is interesting to you. I have one last question and it is the most important - Can you get me Li Bingbing's (李冰冰) phone number?
I would like to ask you how easy it is to get books in China on the history of your country. And are there areas of history that are forbidden? In the West we say that "History is written by the winners" and there are lots of things in our own history that are hard to get unbiased or accurate information on. China has a reputation for having a lot of censorship and propaganda. Does this interfere with academic freedom for historians?
I would also like to ask what is the typical Chinese view on Israel and Zionism?
Thank you for your reply. I'm sorry I didn't know you were British.
About Britain, I know it is divided into four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,There was a referendum on independence in Scotland in 2013. Do you know the specific attitude of the local people towards the independence movement? And how do the English view the independence movement in these places?
My answers will be a little different from the other reply you got. As you might imagine, many people view the same thing differently.
The Scottish independence vote took place before anybody knew the UK would leave the EU. If the Scottish people had known this they would have probably voted to leave so that they could remain part of the EU. Generally the relationship of Scottish people to English is friendly rivalry. Most don't want to actually leave but some politicians promised them they could "have their cake and eat it". This is an expression meaning you get something you want without bad consequences. It means you can eat the cake, or you can have (possess) the cake. But you can't eat the cake and still have the cake afterwards. The idea Scottish nationalists presented to the Scottish people was that they could have freedom from any decisions made by English politicians but miraculously keep financial support, military protection, deals and influence in England. Fortunately, most Scottish people are smart enough to realize when they're being sold a "pipe dream". (Another expression meaning it seems good but is not real, coming from 'opium pipes' that people smoked).
Scotland has a lot of oil refineries from North Sea oilfields. The Scottish Nationalists think that if they separate, they will have lots of money from these oil fields all for Scotland. But it wont happen.
Most of the English would be sorry to see Scotland go. Very few Scottish people still speak the Scottish language. The accent is different and there is national pride, but the reality is Scottish and English people aren't really any different from each other culturally.
In addition, what mentality did the British choose to support brexit in the referendum on brexit?
There are two views on this. Much of the media and those who wanted to remain in the EU said that the Brexit supporters were all racists who hated foreigners. This is quite funny when you realise that the EU is the largest White protectionist state in the World and makes it hard for Britain to buy goods from non-White nations, such as food grown in African countries. There were two really big reasons for Brexit support, I think. The first is sovereignty. The EU was originally a trade agreement and it grew into more and more of a powerful body itself and laws which it made immediately became UK laws; and its courts were superior to UK courts. People didn't want to be ruled by other countries even if they had a voice amongst those countries.
The second big reason is immigration. People in the UK wanted to be able to decide for themselves who to let into the country. Angela Merkel the German premiere, opened the EU to enormous numbers of immigrants from other countries such as Libya. Many people were very unhappy about this. I think Merkel is the reason that the UK voted to leave. If she had been less determined to let in so many immigrants, the UK would probably have stayed.
About the queen of England, what is the attitude towards her by British? Are there any negative comments about her on the Internet?
Not many. Most people just don't think about her that much. But she is regarded favourably by most because they view her as a symbol of the country. Legally she still has a lot of power but through tradition she never uses it. It's a strange situation that came about through British history. The French killed all their royal family. But in Britain, they survived and in the turmoil that followed were eventually allowed back and a balance of power was negotiated. They would keep many of their legal powers over the country but they didn't use them because it was a very delicate balance and they didn't want to push their luck too far. Mostly they were happy to just be rich and spoiled and over time it came to the point that the King or Queen had power but stayed out of politics and didn't use it. Today, the Queen could legally do a lot of things but if she did there would be a huge crisis that would end with their powers being taken away from them.
They are still very, very rich and very, very well-connected, however.
I have also seen some documentaries about British history. How do the British treat the historical hatred with the Celts (mainly the Irish)? Do people have a psychological gap compared with the great history of the British Empire in the past?
That hatred is gone these days. At least for the English. A lot of the hatred was from cheap Irish labourers coming over to England and working for much less money than the English labourers.
People still make jokes about the Irish, though. For example:
Two Irishmen were working in the town. One would dig a hole and the other would follow behind him and fill the hole in.
After a while, one amazed onlooker said: "Why do you dig a hole, only to have your partner follow behind and fill it up again?"
The hole digger wiped his brow and sighed, "Well, I suppose it probably looks odd because we're normally a three-person team. But today the lad who plants the trees is sick."
I hope all this is interesting to you. I have one last question and it is the most important - Can you get me Li Bingbing's (李冰冰) phone number?
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