I have personally lived long term both in the US and China (I am French)
And I would choose China to raise my kids over the US any days. Yes there are repression in China, it would be a lie to deny it, yes I have been around a girl who smoked weed, she was 28-30 years old and she literally had to hide behind a car because it's completely forbidden, highly punished and another citizen can report you.
But China has many advantages, public services are awesome. Unlike France and the US, the government is corrupt but they don't vote any law against Chinese themselves. It's a country which still have some kind of moral traditions and values so far.
And last but not least I prefer government's surveillance than people's surveillance. It's far more easier to free think in China than it is in the US and France. The latter countries are closer to the sesame credit than the latter.
As a French citizen, that's a very big risk to take. I speak from experience when I say one tiny mistake (that would be a non-issue in most Western countries) is all it takes to get kicked out of the country, after which they'll deny your Visa for years with no obligation to tell you why. It doesn't matter if you own a house in China, it doesn't matter if you've invested hundreds of thousands/millions throughout your stay there, it doesn't matter if you lived there for 10 years without a problem, it doesn't matter if you're a month away from graduating from Tsinghua/Beida, etc. If you've been to China before then you've probably already broken the law in many different ways, such as not going to the local police station whenever you stayed at a hotel/switched apartment/stayed at your friends/partners place, etc. In other words, settling down and investing a lot of money into a life in China is a disaster waiting to happen.
After getting an apartment here I didn't register for about a month. I had to spend some time at the registry office to get a warning. They said if it happens again there'll be a fine, and if it happens a third time you presumably have to leave the country.
On your arrival/departure form it also says:
"Aliens who do not lodge at hotels, guesthouses or inns shall, within 24 hours (72 hours in rural areas) of entry, go through accomodation registration at local police station.
Right. No offense but where do you live in China? Beijing or Shanghai is not exactly the same as Xinjiang. Also foreigners (still) enjoy a de facto “upper class” status in China so it’s likely you may be unaware (or choose to be) to much of what happens (e.g. situation of migrants in big cities).
> Unlike France and the US, the government is corrupt but they don't vote any law against Chinese themselves
It's not very logical.
By definition, the word "Law" means: a system of rules that are created and enforced through social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior[0]. Who's behavior? Trees? Mountains? No, people's behavior, people who living inside the territory of the country.
So, the right way to put should be: China's laws are more restrict towards foreigners, which is reasonable, because:
1) Foreigners contributes less to the society than locals in general.
2) Foreigners have no proxy or benefiter in the government system, so nobody will speak for them.
I think the user you're responding to has it exactly backwards. Laws are more strictly applied to local Chinese than to tourists and expats. The general idea seems to be "these laowai are full of vices and they will do what they do, but we must instill and uphold a strict moral code for our own people to maintain a healthy society"
(I'm of course speaking of petty law breaking such as smoking weed or jaywalking. If you steal or defraud someone you'll see your visa disappear faster than sin)
And I would choose China to raise my kids over the US any days. Yes there are repression in China, it would be a lie to deny it, yes I have been around a girl who smoked weed, she was 28-30 years old and she literally had to hide behind a car because it's completely forbidden, highly punished and another citizen can report you.
But China has many advantages, public services are awesome. Unlike France and the US, the government is corrupt but they don't vote any law against Chinese themselves. It's a country which still have some kind of moral traditions and values so far.
And last but not least I prefer government's surveillance than people's surveillance. It's far more easier to free think in China than it is in the US and France. The latter countries are closer to the sesame credit than the latter.