Years ago I got hauled up in front of a Chinese employer (when in China, natch) for accidentally referring to Taiwan as a country and got a bollocking; I explained to the man in question that I was mistaken culturally, but that political beliefs in different countries were not my responsibility as an individual. If he could have fired me on the spot, he would have done. In retrospect, I should have just accepted sledgehammer practicality and sung the national anthem, tearing up a bit.
Chinese nationalism can be an odd beast, at once frightening and mawkishly sentimental ('We Chinese are lonely in the world; Taiwan Province must return to the arms of the mother.') and deliberately hoodwinked ('Hong Kong parents and British textbooks are to blame- these are lazy parents and deceitful school books!'). The notion of cultural and ethnic distinctiveness as having political weight is not really a discussion-point in official reality (even though the Chinese people consists of 51 ethnicities, at least). There is, officially, only a Chinese-ness 'belonging' to Beijing rule- broad strokes, broad slogans and broad reality is as readily applied to Western media as it is to Chinese loyalties- offence is occasionally intentionally drummed-up about Western films and media series. Individual Chinese may or may not be that bothered (and might be amused, whimsical, disinterested or sympathetic), but there is also the expected response which people rehearse. A large step forward would be the official acceptance of Chinese-nesses in disputed areas along with multiple political models, but you don't govern 1.3 billion that way.
Chinese nationalism can be an odd beast, at once frightening and mawkishly sentimental ('We Chinese are lonely in the world; Taiwan Province must return to the arms of the mother.') and deliberately hoodwinked ('Hong Kong parents and British textbooks are to blame- these are lazy parents and deceitful school books!'). The notion of cultural and ethnic distinctiveness as having political weight is not really a discussion-point in official reality (even though the Chinese people consists of 51 ethnicities, at least). There is, officially, only a Chinese-ness 'belonging' to Beijing rule- broad strokes, broad slogans and broad reality is as readily applied to Western media as it is to Chinese loyalties- offence is occasionally intentionally drummed-up about Western films and media series. Individual Chinese may or may not be that bothered (and might be amused, whimsical, disinterested or sympathetic), but there is also the expected response which people rehearse. A large step forward would be the official acceptance of Chinese-nesses in disputed areas along with multiple political models, but you don't govern 1.3 billion that way.
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