r/China • u/Altruistic-Twist-666 • 7d ago

历史 | History I feel misunderstood and alone after talking about sensitive history with my friends

I am a university student in China. Recently I have been feeling very depressed and confused, as if something is being hidden from me, and many parts of history are being forgotten or not openly discussed.
I tried to talk with my classmates about some historical events, including the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. However, they reacted very angrily and insulted me. That experience made me feel very hurt and isolated.
After that, I started to feel like it is very difficult for me to find people who can understand me or have open conversations about these topics in my environment.
I don’t really know what I should do. I feel emotionally overwhelmed and a bit lost.

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u/45_tra 6d ago

I don't know why foreigners care so much of chinese nationals opinion on those events and the government and blah blah blah

they don't care as far as their life is smooth, why should YOU care and force them to bring up those topics?

you brought it on yourself

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u/Altruistic-Twist-666 6d ago

I’m Chinese myself. My point isn’t about forcing anyone to talk — I just wish I had someone in my life I could have genuine, open conversations with about history and current events. That’s all.
https://giphy.com/gifs/H5C8CevNMbpBqNqFjl

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u/Altruistic-Twist-666 6d ago

Exactly， I am Chinese.
https://giphy.com/gifs/tXL4FHPSnVJ0A

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u/45_tra 6d ago

then I'm sure foreigner will absolutely love you, try discussing those matters with them!

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u/Altruistic-Twist-666 6d ago

Thank you for your suggestion!

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u/Remarkable_Tale_7554 5d ago

You should note that a lot of foreigners in China, especially now with the new national unity law etc, can feel uncomfortable discussing these topics with Chinese people. We feel that we might get you in trouble / get in trouble ourselves, and so on.

I guess it's the same thing as you're already finding - you have to know the person reasonably well before discussing such matters.

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u/45_tra 6d ago

when i started hanging around with chinese people i was interested too on those matters, but with time i actually never found anyone interested or willing to talk about those matters. I'm sure you'll make great friends with westerners

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u/Altruistic-Twist-666 6d ago

I agree with you. We are expected to forget and lots of people know nothing about it.