On the United States

China's government has not been very kind to my Tibetan Buddhist brethren, for sure, but as it is a Buddhist majority nation I feel safer there, go figure. And yeah, I did live there technically, my visas to both of those places werent visitor visas, to China it was a specially arranged visa as I was a guest of an organization, and to Guatemala it was a humanitarian assistance visa ( they may have a different word for it ). Was scheduled to stay for longer but I fell ill from food poisoning and they sent me home. I have adequate reason to hate this place: I am an atheist and I do not have that same rights as a Christian citizen does. I cannot hold public office in 8 states, am among the most mistrusted and attacked religious minorities ( statistically, even more than Muslim and Sikh ), cannot take an oath in courts of several states, etc. Do I really need to go on? I am an oppressed minority. I love China and will return one day. Maybe not live there, but definitely see more of the place.

I say you didn't live there because two weeks isn't long enough to "live" anywhere. It really doesn't matter what kind of visa you had to go there. In general, staying somewhere for two weeks is a visit. There's no need to twist words and make yourself sound silly. Just say you stayed there for two weeks. Please don't use the word statistics unless you have something to actually back up your statement.

As a person who was born and raised in China, I can say that if I had to choose between China or America, I would chose America. There are the same number of douches, America doesn't have Universal HC, and spends too much on the military, but, China honestly doesn't care much for the general public. Most chinese are also xenophobic and won't accept foreigners into their cities, unlike here in America, where, although I was bullied, I didn't care much and the teachers would care. The crime prevention scene in China might as well not exist, too. So much unorganized crime goes undetected and it's really scary. Human trafficking, extremely corrupt cops, and a drug dealing. Also, a good portion of men in china are cheaters. They will cheat on their spouses, marry other people when on business trips and have up to 4 wives at a time. Usually, one in Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and America. My uncle opted to become a French Legionnaire to gain citizenship there instead of staying in China.

Drmario: I am *not* twisting my vernacular, even if my stay in both countries was short, it does qualify me to speak about them an order of magnitude more than someone who hasn't been there. For statistics, refer to this link for a study by U of Minnesota: https://www.soc.umn.edu/assets/pdf/atheistAsOther.pdf I can easily provide more information but whether or not it contributes in any way to discussion, or can change your mind, is questionable at best. For you, lorddragna, I find the anecdotes of an adult who is still in his infancy more or less to be dubious information. First, allow me to correct you: Kansas is not in the 'Bible Belt', that consists of everything from Texas to Georgia in contemporary sense. Did you even fucking read what I bothered to write or are you illiterate too?

Sunbae, In your case you had reason to leave. China isn't my first choice for a new home, but its certainly an option and an opportunity. Everyone overstates East Asia's xenophobia, I know plenty of white naturalized Chinese citizens who love it there. My personal contact in Shanghai, for example, says the US visits he gets are good for two things: 'Trees in urban places and Mexican food'. He's been living in China for over a decade and like me, can speak Mandarin.

Of course you can talk about it. I'm trying to help you out here. You lose credibility when you say you lived somewhere for 2 weeks. In a discussion like this, the last thing you should want is to lose credibility. I simply suggested that you should reword it. I skimmed that article. I don't see how it shows this: "among the most mistrusted and attacked religious minorities ( statistically, even more than Muslim and Sikh )" Where is the proof for this "statistical" statement? Edit: I should clarify that I'm talking specifically about the part where you say more than Muslims and Sikhs. The article doesn't even mention Sikhs.

Elder is right and that document is right. In what's known as the "Bible Belt" in the US, atheists are really really looked down upon, to the degree that some can't hold office just because they're an atheist.