mmqmiao

[mmqmiao]

what is THE worst thing you've ever drank. all liquids acceptable. please tell me what it was, bonus points for why

[mmqmiao]

Guess who finally read SVSSS

[mmqmiao]

to add on to the end of this.

there is a partnership between the university of michigan and shanghai jiao tong university (UM-SJTU Joint Institute) that is being dissolved right now because of "national security concerns"

this happened because five chinese international students happened across a US military base, and when interrogated by the police, they denied it out of understandable fear and misunderstanding of the severity of the situation.

in recent times, other joint institutes with china (see georgia tech and tianjin university, uc berkeley and tsinghua university) are being dissolved under the same reasons, for 'national security'.

now it does coincidentally line up with trump's presidency for the next four years, but even then, you can't say that any american international student would be any smarter or know better if they were in the same situation in china.

it is a small group, but they are students nonetheless, who are being denied opportunities in their future simply because their name and education is associated with something dissolved for the sake of national security. you can't even blame them for enrolling in such a program as they never knew something like this would happen in the future.

the US has so much anti-china propaganda that it's impossible to even talk about this topic without most people assuming that, yes, those teenagers and barely 20-somethings, were totally sent by china to find out military secrets and not because they were dumb and took pictures of something that looked interesting.

and it's all because this guy, who doesn't know shit about china or his own country to be honest, who voted against gay marriage, who is the head of a committee that "investigate[s] and submit[s] policy recommendations on the status of the Chinese Communist Party’s economic, technological, and security progress and its competition with the United States" because the US just can't allow for other countries to be better than them in anything even though their despairing education system continues to worsen over the years and is frankly an embarrassment and churns out embarrassments, jumped at an opportunity of students being dumb to deny thousands of students the opportunity to study internationally as they were promised. because he thinks they're synonymous with the CCP.

the US needs to handle its own problems first before it starts fucking around with other countries. maybe if their students actually learned history instead of using chatGPT to cheat through it, they'd recognize that the US is in one of the worst positions it's ever been to be talking shit about other countries, and that the majority of the shit they talk is wrong.

general thoughts about the 2025 小红书 boom

i feel like we're at a really interesting point in time right now, particularly in regards to the shift in american consciousness + changing world order, so i thought it would be fitting to document my thoughts about the xhs situation as a chinese american. however, please note this post is NOT speaking on behalf of any community, and i am only speaking to my own personal opinions.

the good

american propaganda is getting dismantled in real time. there's so much cross-cultural communication right now in relation to america's political issues, everyday life, and what china is really like

im already seeing people starting to learn the language, becoming interested in visiting china, etc. and i truly haven't seen this kind of mass interest in chinese culture in a long time

to be precise, the last time there was really "chinese soft power" in america was during the mid-to-late 2000s. notably this time period included the 2008 beijing olympics which was monumental for china on the global stage, as it showcased their prosperity, openness ("北京欢迎你"), and equal footing in the modern world. ive seen people compare the xhs phenomenon to this event and while both are drastically different, i do think this is an apt comparison (though obviously this xhs thing is on a muchhh smaller scale...)

so many new friendships and connections are being made!

the bad

to add on to what op said, theres definitely a difference between just generally understanding that as diaspora, most people around you will hold sinophobic views about china and chinese people VERSUS actually having empirical evidence that most normal people didn't see chinese people as human before. its jarring to say the least. like everyone is praising chinese people on xhs now, but just last week everyone was fearmongering about us?? really reminds you that in the eyes of the public, favor for any asian culture (and by extension, its people) is fleeting and will often change easily with the season

and yes, its definitely weird to see people talk about chinese people as if they've never seen a chinese person in america before. like obviously there's a HUGE difference between mainlanders and diaspora, but there's also international students that come to america to study so... ??

the memes are funny, and i like how the people on xhs are playing along with them, but something about the "chinese spy" memes rubs me the wrong way. tbh, most mainlanders actually have a positive view of westerners and america, and if they don't study abroad themselves or know anyone that went abroad, they will never truly understand what it's like to be discriminated against simply for being chinese (there's a difference between knowing and understanding ofc; not saying that they're ignorant & don't know anything lol). this is just the honest truth, just like how i'll never understand what it's like to live and grow up in mainland china since im diaspora. anyways, i kind of question if mainlanders are actually aware of the loaded context behind those words. while americans are using the "chinese spy" memes as jokes now in reference to why tiktok is getting banned, it doesn't change the fact that many other americans truly do believe that there is mass chinese surveilliance/planted chinese spies in america (i.e., see modern-day mccarthyism, like how chinese researchers are often stripped of their titles/reputations, interrogated, and then silently deported). like language and framing does matter, and it has actually affected chinese people in america, but now you guys are treating it like a joke?

anyways, even with all of the bad there's still overwhelming good that has come out of this, and i do feel like its better to be more positive than negative about these things in the long run! who knows where tomorrow will take us but at the very least i hope everyone actively continues pissing off the american government 💖 amen

[mmqmiao]

[mmqmiao]

[mmqmiao]

Inverted ballpoint pen drawing!! The first picture is what I drew and the second picture is the inverted final piece

[mmqmiao]

calvin and hobbes

[mmqmiao]

How many times can the same thing break your heart?

[mmqmiao]

"came back wrong" but it's food that you heated up in the microwave

[mmqmiao]

character misses their shot and the villain goes "ha! you missed." and the main character goes "did i?" and then shoots the villain again while they're frantically looking around the room for what the hero could possibly have aiming for instead

[mmqmiao]

netflix subtitles are great for when you want to read a caption with like 50% resemblance to what's being spoken

[mmqmiao]

do u guuys remember how huge lovebug was. back in ye days.

[mmqmiao]

there are those for whom we weep, the young, the bright, the fair

[mmqmiao]

this line delivery has lived in my head for 10 years

[mmqmiao]

a time when we were classmates.

Inspired by a balcony corner at my high school, one step away from our classroom.

Bắt đầu đặt đít vẽ vào ngày 5/9 aka Ngày hội Thả Cờ cuối cùng. Cũng không ngờ là mình sẽ sentimental như thế về cái trường này hay tuổi học trò nhưng mà aight here we go i guess. Nay đi ra khỏi cafe sách trường, nhìn nắng mà tưởng như sắp khóc đến nơi. Vừa đọc xong quyển kỷ niệm 30 năm, đọc về những ngày đầu tiên, về quá khứ của con người nơi này để rồi đến khi gấp sách lại, quay về thực tại mới nhận ra một ngày nào đấy cái nắng này cũng chỉ là quá khứ.

Rõ là định mệnh mang mình đến đây. Số là từ hồi cấp 2 đến giờ cứ mơ mộng trường nào là y như rằng dù có đỗ cũng sẽ học chỗ khác, nhưng mà thực sự là mình chưa bao giờ hối hận về lựa chọn cấp 2 hay cấp 3 của bản thân. Vào đây, mình có một góc nhỏ của riêng mình. Có một góc ban công thỉnh thoảng ra hóng nắng. Có mấy đứa bạn sẵn sàng nghe ramble hyperfixation của nhau dù chả chung fandom. Có những ngày ở lại đặt đồ ăn rồi ngủ lê lết trên bàn vì chiều có tiết. Có vô vàn học sinh năng động và hoạt động ngoại khóa bùm chát xình mà dẫu vậy, giữa cái náo nhiệt đó mình vẫn sẽ luôn tìm được một chốn để thuộc về. Mình nghĩ bất kỳ ai từng có một thời thanh xuân gắn bó với nơi này cũng có chung cảm giác.

Ở Ams, chúng ta tìm thấy chính mình.

(Wtf dài vãi 😭 Viết tặng bản thân 5 năm sau đọc ngồi khóc tu tu)

[mmqmiao]

Shel Silverstein be like "it's giving tree"

[mmqmiao]

what if i lose my mind btw