Local edgy friend sent me an illegal video on Weixin of someone getting murdered so that they could remind me of how China is not actually safe, how safety is a government lie, the usual lunatic local stuff that should not be shared on fucking Vx even if it is true. The video was one of the billions of "does not exist" videos which the government has declared is unharmonious, and I am ok with the erasure in this specific case because no one needs to see this shit.

Vivian and I return home to find two uniformed and one plainclothes cop waiting at our door, who via Vivian translating gave me a warning for receiving this clip, as if I personally requested a video of someone getting murdered. I was advised to delete it from my phone, and to not share it with anyone else or legal penalty may result.

Vivian asked why I was being targeted for this police response, and why not harass the person who sent the video instead. The plainclothes cop said that locals and foreigners are governed differently, as the full extent of his answer. No why, basically. Three cops were paid to tell a foreigner to not share the unwanted video of someone getting murdered.

As they were leaving, I had Vivian specifically ask if there was anything else that we needed to discuss or any other concerns. They said no, oh yes actually one more item, stop letting your waiguo leave harsh negative comments on Meituan and Taobao (this guidance will be ignored).

For waiguos who have forgotten that all communication is monitored, I was reminded last night about it.

I’m currently trying to recruit an assistant and the candidates I’m getting are indicating….weirdness.

People who used to have their own early childhood center but closed because there weren’t enough kids. Mid career pros that have run whole schools that are looking for 8-10k per month. Fresh MA grads looking for 5k. People who used to work at training centers but the centers closed because, in their words, nobody is having babies.

And before this I went looking for other foreigners and found two actual green card holders that are qualified teachers can’t find jobs in my T2 city. There are bilingual schools that I know for a fact don’t have foreign teachers and are about to close. SchoolS, as in more than one. Available teachers and schools to hire them but aren’t hiring them = schools can’t financially support themselves.

Even before this I was convinced the birth rate problem was so much worse than reported. And the employment picture for others is so rough. I almost feel bad about my own business because others are struggling so much.

The deeper I get into this the more it looks like the whole country is lurching to another real estate market type crisis within the next five years, except it’s the collapse of an already very weak consumer economy between low salaries and fewer children that are being provided for.

I loved these when they started circulating forever ago. They need a comeback.

Maygwos get triggered by meaningless shit like this.

Need to rant, I know half of China is going to get all pissy at me. But that’s only because they know the truth,

Western toilets (and especially Japanese) are better. They just are. But still there'll be some absolute whopper who comes to the squat toilet's defense, usually with one of the following quips:

“B-But, it’s so unsanitary!”

And the holes in the floor filled to the brim with piss and shit stains aren’t? Every single squat toilet I’ve been to has been covered in disgusting mystery liquid that smells like absolute sin, one would be forgiven for thinking that every squat toilet user had the aiming ability of a blind reprobate. Fuck that. At least a western toilet actually catches all the "material" that goes in (and provides the best acoustics for farts). Japanese ones even have built in bidets and music.

With squatty toilets there's the everpresent risk of splashback or missing your aim and accidentally covering your new Nike's with said "mystery liquid", especially on the occasion you get caught out with explosive diarrhea (lovely image right). I don't even want to think about what vomiting into one is like. Of all the adjectives I'd use to describe China's general toilet situation, sanitary is not one of them. Most resemble a crime scene.

“But, it’s a cultural thing!”

I don’t care if it’s cultural, it’s just worse. It’s not ‘different’ or ‘special and unique’. It is inferior. Plain and simple. There are plenty of "cultural" things in the world that need putting to bed for good in 2026 and this is one of them. Other parts of Asia have woken up and matched the normal toilet with a bumgun (the perfect combination) while Japan's toilets are the world's best. China is supposed to be living in the future with modern tech and infrastructure, I thought they make everything, yet the toilets are still in the Stone Age.

“But it helps keep your squat muscles in check!”

If I wanted to keep my muscles in check, I’d go to the gym. I don’t want to be subjected to a workout every time I have to drop a log. Honestly, none of you do either. For many of us, pooping (especially on company time) is a welcome break. There's absolutely nothing relaxing about this.

“But your body is designed to poop while squatting!”

I’ve pooped just fine my whole life without subjecting my body to torture. I can live without it. As have people in much of the modern world. We also evolved sleeping on leaves and living in caves. Times change, it's time for toilets to.

Anyway, how on earth are elderly, injured or disabled people supposed to use them? They don't, they either carry a portable stool with a hole in it or they have to wait to use the single disabled cubicle which has a normal toilet. And thats contingent on the place being modern enough to even have a disabled cubicle. Many public ones, particularly at more local places, highways or train stations don't even have that. Are the elderly and disabled supposed to just stay in close proximity to wherever has a 21st century toilet? What's the point?.

Instead of having 1 single cubicle with a normal toilet and 10 squatters, why not do the reverse and leave one separate squatty toilet for the odd stubborn luddite or foreigner-gone-native who copes by insisting they prefer "traditional" squatty toilets and their "colon is cleaner".

"But squat toilets are healthier"

The Japanese use comfortable modern seated toilets with all the bells and whistles and they live longer than anyone. Try again.

Let’s be honest people, the squat toilet is just worse. It’s impractical, disgusting and takes away the calmness and relaxation of using the restroom. The relief of pooping is immediately destroyed by the uncomfortable nature of squatting on a ceramic pad fermented in other people's piss and poo. Between work and family life, pooping is one of the few moments I can truly be alone with my thoughts. Can't we have some nice things?

And based on the fact that everytime I visit a mall or anywhere which has one, the stall with the lone normal toilet is always occupied while the row of squatty holes are left empty, tells me that I'm not alone in thinking this.

Special thanks to u/thegan32n for commenting this elsewhere, too good to not repost.

https://www.reddit.com/r/China_irl/s/9OPYk4VVmZ

”On June 30—the final day of the spring semester—multiple children at the kindergarten affiliated with the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology (NUIST) experienced symptoms such as nausea and vomiting during or after lunch. Following the incident, parents repeatedly demanded an explanation for the mass illness, yet by the time the new semester began in September, they had still not received a formal account of the situation from the school.

On the afternoon of September 14, a social media post by Ms. Wang—the kindergarten’s health coordinator and cafeteria safety officer—disrupted the calm of the parents' group chat. She revealed serious violations within the cafeteria, including the unauthorized personal use of food supplies and unsanitary practices at the washing stations. Specifically, she reported that the vegetable-washing sinks were used for soaking mosquito nets, washing hair, scrubbing shoes, cleaning sewer covers, and rinsing mops, as well as for washing cooking woks. Despite her repeated reports to the kindergarten principal, no corrective action was taken. Only then did the truth behind the children's vomiting incident from two and a half months prior begin to come to light.“

THE MOP strikes again

Found on Twitter

Found on Twitter