Topic: [2014-01-14] “Bubble” or “Ponzi scheme”: Chinese media keep bashing Bitcoin (Read 1239 times)

I think they are fearful that the population will catch on and bitcoin is an escape valve for their currency controls. Authoritarians of all stripes do not like freedom and want to control everyone else, bitcoin helps people who want to be free of the totalitarians, socialists, communists, fascists/crony-capitalists and the rest of their ilk - and they are fearful.

Within the last generation China has shifted from Communism (which they called Socialism) to Mercantilism (which they're calling Capitalism). 

Mercantilist governments actively support established businesses, frequently forbidding competition and subsidizing exports while penalizing imports.  Often they develop "captive markets" if possible in controlled territories where people have no choice except to buy from their own favorite merchants.

Capitalist governments, at least in theory, allow and promote open competition between businesses and tend to break up rather than enforce monopolies at least when functioning well.

Let's hope it can fix the political system itself as well. With enough economic incentives brought by Bitcoin, people may finally set down to do the work.

True for me also (and my mother-in-law grew up in Mao's China and got no education because of it).

Interestingly enough now most Chinese feel very sorry for their North Korean neighbours as they appear to be "so brainwashed".

Amen. Wealth seems to fix everything. Maybe it makes governments more confident and less fearful when they are on top? When I was a kid China was more like North Korea is today. Now it has vestiges of the "Mao suit" culture, but is much more of a normal nation.

Okay - sorry I misjudged you - I think you do have a good idea about what the reality is (the media distorts it from both sides).

It's hard to know what system will end up prevailing but I do know that in Australia (where I originally come from) we have had no new significant infrastructure built in more than 30 years but in China they have built whole cities in less than half that time.

Personally I think if you can enjoy life and live in a place that has good infrastructure and services then it is a pretty good thing no matter what the supposed political system is.

I don't think we disagree here. China is officially communist. However they have been drifting toward capitalism for years. I guess it is a mixed economy?
And I don't think communism is a bad thing necessarily. It just hasn't worked in any pure form. Whatever they have, it will likely be the economy of the 21st. century.

Not Wikipedia please - what is your definition of communist (about now I am guessing you are an American)?

That would perhaps be a good start (and if you are talking about China today understand that it has absolutely nothing to do with Carl Marx).

BTW - I live in China (so I might have *some clue* about what I am on about).

So they are not communists? Where are you getting that from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_China

I read it in western media articles about China every day - so this is actually *western propaganda".

How about you try googling: "communist china" :abcnews

Chinese are not confused and why would the western press report what the Chinese government "calls itself" if they only "report the truth"?

It *is* the western media that says it (and surely they should ignore what China says as they are always happy to attack China over Tibet, Taiwan or Xinjiang).

I find it funny that westerners are so sure that only the Chinese (and other non-western countries that don't follow their political systems) are *brainwashed*.

Authoritarian is a better word then. Still the press is not free in China. 
I think they are unsure of what they are. The money is just to good to let pass. On paper they are a one party system, and that party is the communist party. It's not the western media that says that. It is China.

Strange that I keep reading about "Communist China" in (at least nearly) all western media (no-one who I know that is Chinese thinks that China is communist - do you?).

Had those medias been the mouthpiece types I would have long ignored them, there are a few news outlets in China which withstanded multiple government attacks(Editor-in-Chief sacked and prisoned, etc) and stick to their POVs. Also China is strictly authoritarian rather than totalitarian, or I wouldn't even be posting here.

must be typo! i know you mean 4400$ 

I think you also need quotes around the word media when talking about the Chinese media. Totalitarian governments don't do media, they do propaganda.  

The medias in China probably are more culpable than PBOC for the last crash. All the published policies of PBOC to date are, after all, already implemented in the western nations, real name accounts which only accepts bank transfers, and in China the verification can be done in minutes: put your ID card number and your name in and you are good to go. The Chinese social networks are saturated with all kinds of Bitcoin rumors afterwards, a large percentage of them can be traced back to major news outlets.

It was also for the first time known to me that some of the most open Chinese medias which are famous for being outspoken against the government and calling for democratic reforms, actually hate Bitcoin so much. While they are certainly entitled to their POVs and it's understandable that most journalists are liberals and are naturally suspicious of "getting rich quick" sort of things, the difference between Chinese medias and their Western counterpart is that in China they sometimes directly fabricate facts. One of the major news outlet published a piece, "quoting" Huobi's CEO about a purported plan for Huobi to exit China given the hostile environment, this is a blatant lie and probably what causes the final dip of the price, Huobi has threatened a lawsuit afterwards.

It's great that after all these years of crying wolf many Chinese investors have learned to ignore them anyway.


 

Negative psychology.

With what has been happening in the technology world... lol, It's the people who will win, not the governments or corporations. I'm happy they are reacting like this, even if it is for cheap coins, it means that once the rest of the Cryptocurrency ecosystem is up and running the little people will have a bigger share than the big players that are soon to be forced to play the BTC game.

The Chinese will be forced to buy at 1 million when the time comes. Hopefully the Chinese people will find a way to get in the game.

no one falls for their lame ass schemes to buy cheap coins no more ...

you are dreaming