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green_flash t1_j28zycb wrote

Xi is already responsible for a currently ongoing genocide. How much worse could his reputation get by meeting Putin?

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turbo4538 t1_j290xkk wrote

I would say his reputation can get a lot worse. He's not a pariah on the world stage yet like Putin.

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green_flash t1_j291wk0 wrote

Sure it could, but just by meeting Putin? Others have done that this year without much controversy, for example Kazakhstan's President and Armenia's PM.

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turbo4538 t1_j292xgq wrote

A state visit is different from meeting someone at a summit though, Putin would try to maximize the propaganda win. I can't see much of an upside for Xi.

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AirbreathingDragon t1_j2a76ww wrote

Association invites comparison, and Xi knows that the more he keeps being compared with Putin the likelier his countrymen are to get ideas if Putin were overthrown.

I wouldn't be surprised if Xi decides to call off the meeting and start distancing himself from Putin as we near the 1 year anniversary of the war.

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circlefullofcurses t1_j2aidu8 wrote

Repression, not genocide. If there was a real genocide, millions would flee China, and they wouldn't allow travellers to speak and film people in Xinjiang, let alone make videos on TikTok and other social media.

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turbo4538 t1_j2b4079 wrote

Some observers call it cultural genocide. It's real, it's just done with modern methods and it involves a lot less killing than a "normal" genocide.

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circlefullofcurses t1_j2b5i10 wrote

Cultural genocide like in Hawaii? The people don't even learn their own language at school unlike in China.

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