Reminds me of this channel 4 [0] interview with writer Benjamin Zephaniah. Tbh I find his reasoning, go there and see for yourself, much more convincing than your reasoning.
Particularly this;
> when you're not willing to risk your life to understand and uncover the parts the government doesn't want you to see
Just reads like FUD, it's not China that locks up people at the highest rate on the planet. That "feat" is reserved to a country were nobody would say "don't visit there you might die!" even tho the chance for that to happen there is much more likely than in China or NK, where most police don't even carry guns.
Considering the locked up two Canadians in retaliation for Canada arresting Meng Wanghzu. I just don't see how I could go there and not have anxiety for the whole trip.
It's a shame though, I always wanted to see China.
I have Canadian citizenship and lived in China when the two Michaels were locked up. In reality, even if the worst fears are true and every foreigner is explicitly tracked and constantly monitored by the local police department, it still wouldn't really be worth the government's effort to "disappear" the average foreigner, or even "invite them to tea". Most of us simply aren't that influential or important.
Of course, it does feel a bit suspicious when you say something mildly critical of the government online or during a meal with friends and then "mysteriously" the next day your VPN stops working, but it's just as likely that it could be coincidence and you're reading too much into it. But that's exactly how things are supposed to work in an authoritarian regime. Most of the time the government isn't explicitly watching over everyone, but because the legal system is deliberately opaque, everyone maintains a tiny bit of fear inside them that maybe they could be being watched, or that there might be a secret police just around the corner, so they self-censor and limit their behaviors just in case.
So, you're right that you might have anxiety the whole trip, but arguably that means you're getting to experience the "real China". Living under a constant chilling effect[0] is probably worse for locals than foreigners. At least as a foreigner you can leave when the pressure gets too much. Most locals don't have that privilege.
A very prominent businessperson being held for allowing her company to commit fraud and violate US sanctions in a country that has an extradition treaty with the US is not the same thing as a country "suddenly" detaining two expats, in an immediate and obvious response to the previous lawful detention. The two Michaels weren't even charged with anything after they had been detained, imprisoned and interrogated for 5+ months! Meanwhile Meng Wanzhou was able to continue living a relatively comfortable life under home arrest. It's not fair to suggest that the average person - Chinese or not - will just randomly be arrested and imprisoned for months in Canada, with no charges filed whatsoever. The same thing happens frequently in China.
> Considering the locked up two Canadians in retaliation for Canada arresting Meng Wanghzu.
So let's just ignore the context of why and how that happened, or what kind of anxiety that translates to for Chinese people visiting countries like Canada or the US?
I mean, who there started arresting other nations nationals as geopolitical gambling chips? It wasn't China, it was Canada at the command of the US.
> I just don't see how I could go there and not have anxiety for the whole trip.
As a German national, I don't see how or why that should affect me. Can you please expand on your reasoning there?
Particularly this;
> when you're not willing to risk your life to understand and uncover the parts the government doesn't want you to see
Just reads like FUD, it's not China that locks up people at the highest rate on the planet. That "feat" is reserved to a country were nobody would say "don't visit there you might die!" even tho the chance for that to happen there is much more likely than in China or NK, where most police don't even carry guns.
[0] https://youtu.be/zowOkv0Cuhk