This is mostly true for nationalistic American liberals. China is the opposing empire to America, while many see Japan as this “country uplifted by America.” This attitude isn’t new and isn’t consciously held by most people that parrot it. Most don’t know any better and many would accept the nuances if presented respectfully.
Empires occasionally do good when it serves their interests, while every country has serious issues they need to deal with. You can still oppose authoritarians or be a weeb without needing to ignore reality.
Unlike America where you get to choose between: genocide in Gaza and uhm… also genocide in Gaza.
The way Chinese elite keep themselves in power is different from the way American elites keep them selves in power, but in the end what does it matter to you. Or do you want America to bring democracy to China at the end of a riffle, or be racist against Chinese people and Culture because you don’t agree with their government?
Edit: for the people (purposely?) misreading my comment, nowhere do I excuse the actions of China. I just want to point out that this rhetoric of condemning the human rights abuses of geo-strategic rivals is a known strategy that has a body count counted in millions. And pointing at Gaza is not a whataboutism, it is to show that Americas deep care for the Uyghurs or Taiwan independence is purely about cynical power.
Playing that one note song again. Care so much about genocide? Look directly within China’s own borders if you want to see one.
Ffs, of course it is! The wins they do have were all done for self-serving reasons. They occasionally stumble onto the right side of international conflicts, just like America. They sometimes enact effective policies that America doesn’t, but they often cause pain and death that no one can complain about. It’s an authoritarian empire; of course it’s awful!
I mean, this image is basically applicable to the entire west? Though the first part might be more weebs.
