> It's been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, but it's worth reiterating - safety.
Maybe if you're Chinese. Right after college, a friend of mine (white American) worked in a job where he spent time at a factory in China, until he got stabbed in the lunch room by some older worker. He's fine, and while there is may be a degree of safe, it's definitely a question of safe for whom.
I won't pretend that violent crime doesn't exist, I've certainly witnessed it first hand.
I'm mainly talking random street violence, which is far, far rarer than somewhere like Australia. I'm fairly sure that applies to most of "the West", too.
I'm curious how you know this. Neither Chinese statistics nor news are reliable at all, and especially won't be reliable about basic quality of life issues like this where the government is highly incentivised to make their society seem really safe and controlled.
So that leaves anecdotes and personal experience. How many direct experiences of violent crime in both places have you had, and how do you know this generalises?
Maybe if you're Chinese. Right after college, a friend of mine (white American) worked in a job where he spent time at a factory in China, until he got stabbed in the lunch room by some older worker. He's fine, and while there is may be a degree of safe, it's definitely a question of safe for whom.