I've worked and lived in China. If you think China hasn't changed then you should have seen China 30-40 years ago when everyone was wearing the party uniform and carrying Mao's little red book in their chest pocket. And I mean that literally, not metaphorically.
Today you have women running companies, Starbucks and makerspaces in every city where people sit and talk in English. You've got to be kidding me if you think China hasn't changed, it has changed faster than virtually any other place. Beijing (the only city I can personally speak of) has a surprisingly large gay nightlife. It's astonishing how much that country changes even year to year.
Sure, it's not liberal in a political sense yet but it has liberalised dramatically, in virtually all aspects of life. Same goes for Japan, it's a much more open, global country now.
Today you have women running companies, Starbucks and makerspaces in every city where people sit and talk in English. You've got to be kidding me if you think China hasn't changed, it has changed faster than virtually any other place. Beijing (the only city I can personally speak of) has a surprisingly large gay nightlife. It's astonishing how much that country changes even year to year.
Sure, it's not liberal in a political sense yet but it has liberalised dramatically, in virtually all aspects of life. Same goes for Japan, it's a much more open, global country now.