I ask my mate in Shenzhen what he thinks of China and Xi.
He hates Xi and so do most of his friends. His wife is even a member of the CCP.
If you don't fully commit to the party line and pay increasing fees you don't progress in the CCP. Sounds a lot like Scientology tbh and they see it as more of a tax. Because leaving is a huge no-no. She wishes she never joined.
I take his (Chinese) opinion of China much more highly than a bunch of angry Zoomer kids on Lemmy.ml posting puff-pieces by the CCP.