Be Like Water, My Friend
Living in China, I watch America’s political theater unfold like a bad rerun. It’s not the 狗血 soap-opera twists that tire me out—honestly, those might be entertaining. It’s the dialogue: left and right locked in a predictable, repetitive shouting match. Each side’s dug into their ideological trench, reciting lines like a rehearsed debate: “I’m against you because you’re them.” It’s boring. Exhausting, even. And from here, it feels like a nation so hooked on its principles it can’t see past them.
Maybe this sounds too China-centric, but hear me out: I think China’s “success” (whatever that word means) comes from dodging that trap. Western traditions—like liberalism or Marxism—love their universal rules, etched in stone. Chinese political thought? it’s about what works over what’s “right.” There’s this old saying, 就事论事—“deal with things as they are.” Deng Xiaoping spun it modern: “Black cat, white cat, as long as it catches mice.” Ideology’s just a tool, not a god.
From a westerner’s point of view, freedom of speech or democracy is univesally good, and we need to apply these principles everywhere. Chinese political thought approaches these concepts less as universal ideals and more as tools evaluated by their outcomes—stability, harmony, and state strength often take precedence over individual expression or electoral competition - hence the Great Firewall and censorship of “subversive” ideas.
That’s why calling China “anti-democracy” or “anti-freedom” feels off to me now. It’s not rejection—it’s indifference. The West sees these as non-negotiable; China sees them as optional, like apps you download only if they run smooth. This contextualised thinking is also rooted in a personal level: I’ve watched friends here shrug at censored WeChat posts, then pivot to something else—adaptable, unbothered. Bruce Lee’s “be like water” rings in my head—fluid, not rigid.
Maybe I’m just jaded, staring at this mess from afar, but I’d take a cat that catches mice over a debate club any day.