Could you perhaps share any authors, works, blogs or whatever in English that critique Chinese politics in the manner you’re describing?

Edit: Let me rephrase after having done some searching. If Marxists wanted non-Chinese government and non-CIA funded information about the conditions and struggles of Chinese workers, where would be a good place to find it?

Thank you for the interesting answer. But seeing as you had to actually live there to get this impression, aren’t you being a bit strict on who’s (adult) left? Between western and Chinese propaganda, and a lack of [access to] Chinese critical sources, I think it’s incredibly hard to know what’s what without actually visiting. I mean, you can read a lot of Marx, Lenin and Mao, as well as contemporary critical theory, development studies, political economy and so on, without feeling like you’re able to get a clear view. I know I don’t.

How are you so sure? How do you see beyond western and Chinese propaganda and get to a semblance of truth? Genuine question.

You got me. Nice one, funny person.

No, foreign bases does not an empire make. If that was the case, watch out for Bangladesh. This dick measuring between nation states is unproductive and serves to legitimize imperialism itself. Rather than comparing oppressions, our focus should be on understanding and opposing the global system that enables imperial powers to divide and exploit working people worldwide.

4 Chinese bases, as compared to 800 or so US bases. And what is the death toll of Chinese military interventions since the second World War? Not sure, but it certainly isn’t racking up to the millions upon millions killed by US foreign intervention. Like the other commenter is saying, don’t support nation states, good on you. But doing bothsidesism and false balances when talking about Empire is absurd. Like calling US empire ‘less problematic’ 🤡

Sorry for being snarky… Of course modern China is an empire. Just without overseas military bases. A soft empire, one might say.

The vile Russian Empire, with its Romanov dynasty, super problematic. If Peter is so great, why does he look so wimpy compared to Joe Rogan? Hah, those stupid tankies don’t even realize the Chinese empire has been abolished for over 110 years!

So true! All the peaceniks yapping about the a bomb, flowers and trees are just pinkos. I heard a guy call for ceasefire in Palestine the other day, and I screamed to him: “Fuck off to Iran, if you like it so much”.

It’s about methodology more than research questions, although they are of course linked. Incorporating digital methods in your humanities project, like GIS, 3D modeling or ABM, will quickly land you in digital humanities. Remember though, humanities have a lot of theory and methodology you might be unfamiliar with as a CS student, so teaming up with someone who has those skills but lack in programming etc. will synergize in this field.