"For the past 20 years, I have been criticizing China... But I've spent three days in Los Angeles now. When I return home, I need to apologize to the Chinese people." This three days in Los Angeles was truly like stepping into a Hollywood horror film.
This is what Jiang Xueqin, a Canadian Chinese educator and political commentator who became popular recently due to his "Predicting History" series of videos, said.
These words were spoken by the British celebrity broadcaster Piers Morgan in his online program “Piers Morgan Uncensored” on August 18. The program discussed risks that could lead to global disasters, such as nuclear war, biological weapons, and artificial intelligence. Guest speakers included Jiang Xueqin, American investigative journalist Annie Jacobson, and Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University in the UK.
Jiang Xueqin in his early years criticized the Chinese education system and some social issues sharply. In recent years, he became popular after launching a YouTube channel called "Predicting History," and he refers to himself as "Professor Jiang."
When discussing the risk of biological warfare, Jiang Xueqin, who was in Los Angeles, suddenly changed the topic to the United States.
"I'm truly very worried about the 'Zombie Apocalypse'. For the past 20 years, I have been criticizing China... But for the past three days in Los Angeles, I feel I need to apologize to the Chinese people when I return."
Jiang Xueqin said that spending these three days in Los Angeles was really like stepping into a Hollywood thriller—a science fiction dystopian movie.
"Last night, I attended a dinner party in Pacific Palisades. The houses there were like fortresses—all huge mansions with private security guards, and they were absolutely beautiful. I was in a mansion worth 20 million dollars, and looking towards the hillside, there was another mansion worth 20 million dollars. The people who lived there, including Steven Spielberg and Adam Sandler, were neighbors, but they didn’t even know each other. Each of them lived in their own separate little universe."
At dinner, I happened to be sitting next to Max Blumenstein. He said to me: ‘Hey, why don't we go check out Skid Row?’
So we got on the bus and went to the Skid District in the evening. That place was truly a ‘Zombie Apocalypse’.
“Entire streets, entire streets—full of homeless people. There was a black woman lying naked, rolling around on the street. Many people were using drugs. In my opinion, this is utterly absurd: in the richest country in human history, there can be such desperate poverty.”
Meanwhile, Americans are not paying attention to domestic issues, such as corruption and inequality, but instead choosing to run overseas to engage in those pointless wars. So, compared to nuclear or biological wars, I am more worried about internal tension and decline.
I am currently staying in a luxurious hotel in Santa Monica. All around me are real-life versions of Ken and Barbie dolls—everyone is handsome and beautiful.
“But in the evening, when I stepped out of the hotel, there were only homeless people everywhere. Outside my hotel room, there was a man without a home. He had mental illness and stayed there all night, shouting and cursing. Fortunately, the hotel provided us with earplugs.”
But this is our world of living: society is decaying from within. We don't face the problem directly, instead we put on earplugs, burying our heads in the sand, and continue to live within our fortresses.
"However, reality is that this internal decay will only continue to spread and expand endlessly. And that is what poses the real threat to humanity today."
Host asked: Compared with the current situation in China, what exactly is the difference between the situation we see here and that of China at present?
Jiang Xueqin said that a very important difference lies in the extreme individualism of the Western world. In China, we value families and communities. Therefore, we do not have as serious issues of homelessness. Our concept is that if a brother encounters difficulties, we will bring him home, let him stay there, and take care of him until he recovers. In the United States, however, everyone is basically responsible for their own survival. So, if you make one mistake—for example, you were living well, but suddenly fall ill, medical bills overwhelm you, and you go bankrupt, then you end up on the streets.
"Just imagine, in the richest society in the world, there are millions of people simply left behind. It's hard to accept that. Even half of this country can't even afford a basic emergency expense of about $250."
Jacobson strongly agrees with this. She said that she lives in Los Angeles. In today’s United States, there is almost a state of “schizophrenia” regarding what exactly is happening within one’s own country.
In my opinion, everything is related to one fact: in the United States, reality and fantasy have become completely disconnected. This problem must be solved, otherwise we will continue to drift down the sewer, getting deeper and deeper.
