you want local perspective? this is what happens when it's implemented against a...

dang · on July 9, 2018

That's not local perspective. Please don't take these threads further into political or national flamewar. They're flammable enough already.

walrus01 · on July 9, 2018

Posting concrete examples of how police state mass-surveillance technologies can aid and abet in the suppression of disliked minorities is defined as a flamewar? Yeah...

dang · on July 9, 2018

Yes, because you weren't engaging in conversation, just posting ammunition. Your other comments in the thread suggest that you have an agenda about this. That's not a good basis for posting HN comments, regardless of the agenda or whether you're right or wrong; and when the topic is divisive it basically always leads to flamewars.

ilikehurdles · on July 9, 2018

Is your idea of local perspective a watered down and government-controlled local news source spouting government viewpoints? Really, dang, I’m curious what you would consider a valid local perspective that is something other than support of the regime. There were tons of local perspectives in links of the other comment.

And why is one viewpoint unworthy of HN but not the other?

mc32 · on July 9, 2018

Not speaking for dang, but for me local perspective means a Chinese perspective from Chinese people, be they actually living in Country or ex-pats living abroad consisting of regular folk [city and country] along with students and local experts. Chinese people are not "afraid" to speak their mind when they have something to say, so long as they trust you to not out them [when speaking on sensitive subjects].

dang · on July 9, 2018

Of course not. mc32 expressed an interest in how Chinese people see this issue ("non-Western", clear in context). That's an interesting question. But walrus01 responded with Western media reports on highly politicized subjects. That wasn't a serious response, just the usual political/national battle, which we're trying to avoid here.

HN threads are supposed to be for thoughtful conversation, in which people respond meaningfully to each other's questions and try to figure out the truth together. If you think in terms of intellectual curiosity (https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html), that isn't hard to understand.

star-trek-fleet · on July 9, 2018

Xinjiang is like Afghanistan, its not a police state, its a war zone.

You should not only pity the minority, the Han people are equally forced there because the government needs maintain control.

These articles, do care about the people, but not all of them.

whorleater · on July 9, 2018

This comment is not only hilariously unfounded, but also straight up wrong. Where is the Helmand province equivalent in Xinjiang?

star-trek-fleet · on July 10, 2018

It's a war zone in the sense of the forces want to turn it into.

Of course, the strong arms of Chinese government stops that from happening.

walrus01 · on July 9, 2018

I've spent literally years living and working in Afghanistan, so I take your comment about as seriously as something I'd see on Infowars.