The Truth Behind Guanchang's Praise for China: The Real Shortcoming is Democracy and Freedom

Internet celebrity Guanchang, also known as Chen Zhihan, arrived in Shanghai on the evening of the 10th, quickly initiating his 'China is wonderful' mode. He praised the airport restroom for having doors and claimed that there were drinks in the roadside refrigerators which could be purchased via QR code, although this was merely a vending machine. During his visit to the Nanpu Bridge, he exclaimed, ‘It’s beautiful; Taiwan doesn’t have such large bridges.’
When he found out about China’s subsidies for exchanging old appliances for new ones, he marveled, saying, ‘This is amazing!’ even praising the hotel’s delivery robots. However, veteran media figure Zheng Peifen candidly pointed out on the show 'National First Brave' that ‘What China truly lags in is democracy and freedom!’ She emphasized that in China, no matter how advanced the technology is, the one-party rule restricts people's enjoyment of freedom and democratic rights.
Zheng clarified that the Communist Party’s shortcomings do not lie in material conditions, but in the lack of freedom and freedom of speech. She believes that Guanchang should understand this point, recalling his 2022 posts where he remarked, ‘The beauty of Taiwan lies in the democracy and freedom that Taiwanese enjoy,’ now seeming contradictory to his earlier critiques.