China: A One-Gang Utopia

Would You Trade Your Freedom for Safety?

If safety and efficiency are your priorities, only one gang can run the streets. The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) knows this.

The celebrated godfather of the nation, Mao Zedong, promised a socialist utopia but brought China to the brink of disaster. His campaigns, such as the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) and the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), caused poverty, famine, political fanaticism, and violence. Yet, he unified China after decades of civil war and ended what many Chinese view as a “century of humiliation” by foreign powers. They still refer to him as a saint, well, without the religious connotation, since communists don’t believe in God, but in “hard work.”

The nation’s current kingpin, Xi Jinping, is a strongman who came to power in 2012 with a mission for national greatness. At first glance, Xi seems to have succeeded. China’s kicking Western ass with technological innovation, electric vehicles, robotics, and arguably, artificial intelligence. The only thing the USA has recently done faster is weaken the liberal order and dismantle democracy.

Compared to the USA (and most of the West), China seems like a utopia. Unlike many Western cities, where alleyways smell of piss and broken dreams, Chinese alleys and streets smell of flowers, clean air, incense sticks, or sizzling garlic. This wasn’t the case ten years ago, but now most vehicles are electric, public toilets are everywhere, and the only nasty smells come from the barbaric backpacking Westerners who packed three t-shirts and two shorts—me. I thought China would be polluted and hectic. Instead, I walked along quiet, clean streets (thanks to all the electric cars) through immaculately maintained green parks to restaurants with some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.

You can easily find noodles, dumplings, or rice dishes for around 10–20 RMB (1.50–3.00 USD). Government-subsidized canteens (e.g., in factories or universities) offer meals for 5–15 RMB ($0.70–2.00). And if you want to eat like an emperor, requiring fresh ingredients and classy service, you might spend 20 USD per person, especially if you bring your own alcohol, which they usually let you do.

Endless amounts of affordable, delicious food might be all that’s needed for a utopia to my primitive man-brain, but I understand some of you might have other paltry requirements, such as healthcare.

China has established the world's largest basic medical insurance system, covering over 1.3 billion people (more than 95% of the population). Basic check-ups can cost as little as 50–200 RMB ($7–30 USD), and common surgeries may cost 3,000–10,000 RMB ($420–1,400 USD). And in the same way that you pay for a meal and shop, China uses its mega apps like WeChat and Alibaba to enable quick online consultations. The people I met book check-ups for the next day within minutes and never wait more than two weeks for surgery. All this would make you think that taxes in China would be as high as those in European social democracies. That’s not the case.

Let’s ignore the government researchers who estimated that tax fraud cost the state ¥1 trillion (about $157 billion at the time) in 2011, and found that the largest culprits were state-owned enterprises—we can focus on utopia for a bit longer.

Most middle-class workers earning 5,000–30,000 RMB/month (USD 700-4,100) pay 3–20% income tax. On top of that, child education, elderly care, mortgages, and rent are tax-deductible, so most of the people I spoke to pay close to nothing. On top of that, businesses get a bunch of tax exemptions, and the general Value-Added Tax (VAT) is 13% (reduced from 17% in recent years). There’s no nationwide property tax (only pilot reforms in select cities), no inheritance tax, and only 1–3% for home purchases. And, as always, everything is efficient because of the mega apps—there’s fully digital tax filing through WeChat and Alipay.

But a utopia isn’t just a numbers game for our non-rational species. What about the feels?

China feels as safe as a gated-community daycare. The robocops are almost as cute as their real cops. Who needs a scary, racism-fueled police force when you have cameras pointing in all directions on every corner?

Whereas in the West, where we’ve willingly signed away our privacy via our phones, we can still escape Big Brother by leaving our phones behind, paying for burgers in cash, hiking to the middle of nowhere to drop acid and shoot guns into the night sky with stars dancing on swimmable lakes, and organizing raves where we run around half-naked sharing our love and bodily fluids with strangers. This is not safe.

In China, danger isn’t sexy. A woman doesn’t need a man who rides his motorcycle while playing his guitar with his calloused hands. A woman needs a man who’s over 170 CM, makes over 15,000 RMB (2’000 USD/month), has a university degree, and is well-groomed. When it comes to marriage, men require a woman between 22 and 28. After 30, they may be labelled "leftover women" (剩女, shengnü). However, fewer young people in China are getting married. Love can be dangerous, or even worse, a distraction from your bottom line. Thanks to romance apps, sex has become transactional. Whereas older generations still hold rather conservative views on sex, the porn-brained, money-focused generation of the present is down to hop in a Didi (China’s Uber) for a quickie before using an app to order their next meal or groceries.

Whereas I’m not sure if men always come wrapped up, meals sure do. Cooking and grocery shopping in markets are becoming rarer among China's middle and upper-middle classes. People don’t have time. Instead, everything is ordered online and arrives in plastic. Although China has cleaned up its skies due to its affordable electric vehicles and incredible infrastructure that puts Western countries to shame, plastic is everywhere. Even at restaurants, reusable utensils will often come wrapped up.

You’d think Chinese people would be wary of using so much plastic, as it’s detrimental to our oceans and sea life. Fish and seafood are an integral part of their culture. Nowhere have I ever eaten such a rich variety of delicious fresh seafood. Yet, it comes at a high price—morally, not financially.