Laughing
- 2015-11-30
Guess I ruined that one. 
Meant to say: maybe they just don't like you all that much.
Laughing
- 2015-11-30
Ask long termers how many trusted chinese friends they have, very few, if any. The chinese have their in and out circles, ignore that at your own peril.
That's sounds more like a personal issue than a cultural trait.
Most of the long-termers I know have plenty of trusted Chinese friends. I know I do. Never tried to cheat me once. And I know some of them have had the opportunity.
Now trusting 100% of people as you claim you did? That is not wise. But perhaps you were still young and naive.
John O'Shei
- 2015-11-30
That's one reason to get out as things get worse and blame gets collectively passed onto foreigners to save face.
The more you begin to understand Chinese; the more you'll realise that as a Western person, you won't truly fit in; as they do not wish for you to fit in, by default. When you do find a friend; you're usually just a novelty outsider, for positive or negative treated differently. You may even be a genuine friend to them but you're not in THAT kind of circle, you exist outside it in a completely different optional kind of circle.
What's worse, this doesn't change even when you marry a Chinese women. You're still tagging along as a guest as far as those 'circles' are concerned.
San Migs
- 2015-11-30
The key issue is trust. I used to trust 100 percent of chinese in my first year. In my second that dropped to around 85 percent. Now I trust 0 % of chinese people from the mainland.
Ask long termers how many trusted chinese friends they have, very few, if any. The chinese have their in and out circles, ignore that at your own peril.
Laughing
- 2015-11-30
It's a lot easier if you have a Chinese friend you trust.
San Migs
- 2015-11-30
Ever tried dealing with the banks in China?
They make changing foreign currency into RMB a piece of piss, but changing RMB back INTO foreign currency can be an absolute nightmare, except for perhaps the larger branches of BOC in the bigger cities. Even closing a bank account can be a nightmare in China and requires interminable stamping of papers and so on. It was for that reason I'd just take any leftover RMB earned down to HK and change it there before flying home out of HKIA. China is a nightmare to deal with things like sending money. Turnoi has mentioned his problems with western union there, normally you get some bank worker who thinks he/she is right and who won't admit they are wrong to the foreigner, or lies with a smile. In the UK this person would be called a "jobsworth", I'm sure there is a chinese term for it, but I'm too tired to bother looking it up right now.
Laughing
- 2015-11-29
which if China was to fall, could end up being a worthless currency. If those savings were in UK pounds, which is currently very strong, stronger than the EURO, then they could say they are rich.
Sorry to tell you, but the global economy is so intertwined these days that if a large economy like China goes south, so will your euros or pounds.
But what's to stop the FT from sending his or her money back to a bank in their home country, even if this really is a worry?
San Migs
- 2015-11-29
An FT from the UK is richer if he moves back home. Why? Access to government help, and higher salaries even in a lower paid job.
It amuses me to hear of FT's boasting of saving thousands of RMB, which if China was to fall, could end up being a worthless currency. If those savings were in UK pounds, which is currently very strong, stronger than the EURO, then they could say they are rich.