Allow me to admit something that makes me a not-very-nice person.

For the past many months, I’ve been watching YouTube videos on what is happening in China, and I have actually come close to celebrating what appears to be the impending collapse of the Chinese economy.

The way it’s going, China will soon enter a recession, followed by a full-blown depression.

This possibility initially made me happy, as it would create a political crisis that could result in Xi Jinping being removed from office.

I have had a slight change of heart, though. I no longer bear excessive hatred for all things Chinese. I only despise China’s leader.

See, YouTube is full of videos that are literally heartbreaking. Countless ordinary Chinese are seen not just crying, but wailing at their present lot.

Millions of businesses have closed down in the last few years, and there is no end in sight. Meanwhile, the real estate industry has collapsed, with their biggest developer – the Evergrande Group – needing a bailout to stay alive.

As for their banking industry, some banks are no longer able to allow their own depositors withdraw their funds, setting a limit on how much they can get from ATMs. Imagine that happening in the Philippines or the US, and panic will certainly follow.

Middle aged and old men and women can be seen in their despondent and depressed state, as they have nowhere to run, no one to turn to.

As for China’s youth, they too have nowhere to go. They may earn college degrees not just at home but even abroad, and when the time comes for them to seek gainful employment, there are no jobs available.

Imagine having a master’s degree and ending up delivering food as your only source of livelihood. It’s happening in China, and the situation is so bleak that there is even an oversupply of food delivery workers.

They deserve better. No wonder thousands of them head for the Philippines and other Asian countries to work in questionable jobs like overseas gaming operators.

A Tagalog phrase comes to mind: “Kapit sa patalim.” A non-literal translation would be ‘clutching at straws.’

In my book, Xi has always been the enemy. He wants to make his country the leader of his part of the world, not only economically but militarily as well.

The former is a valid goal, one that he has all but attained in recent years.

There’s nothing wrong in being an economic superpower. Japan did it in the post-World War ll decades, and their miracle was celebrated worldwide for the most part.

Japanese consumer products were not only of high quality, but they were also affordable. Ditto with the motor vehicles they produced.

I still remember in my youth, the phrase “Made in Japan” was considered a joke.

It usually referred to the cheap electronics that they produced such as transistor radios, TV sets, and cameras.

It took less than a decade for that perception to change. As an example, owning a Toyota was nothing to be proud of in the early to mid-60s, but by the late 60s up to now, Toyota cars are considered of good quality.

I know because one of my favorite cars was a Toyota Corona, which I got second hand, but which served me well for about a decade. When it was time to buy a brand new vehicle, I had no choice but to get another Corona.

(I would have wanted a Maserati, but I tend to dream a lot where cars are concerned.)

In later years, as my family was growing, I next bought not a Toyota but another Japanese brand, which I have since passed on to my older son and which he upgraded and still uses to this day.

But I digress.

Going back to China, there was a point that I had a Chinese car, a Chery. It looked good, was dirt cheap, and performed well. At the start. Six months after I got it, the dang thing started to rattle. “Kalampag” is the local term for what was happening.

I also sadly bought several Made in China home appliances, and my experience with most of them was equally sad. From toasters, to electric fans to a wide variety of gadgets, they all proved to be of low quality.

China’s economy is faltering because of this. Unlike Japan, and now South Korea, they are unable to produce high quality consumer products.

China now has dozens of brands of e-cars and e-bikes. And they are currently trying to break into the Philippine market. Their top car manufacturer, BYD, has found a partner in one of the country’s biggest group of companies.

I’m pretty sure they will live to

They’re no different from the old Chery I had. They look nice, but their quality will always be suspect.

Incidentally, the world’s biggest companies which set up China operations have been steadily exiting Xi’s kingdom. Their reasons are valid, but the bottom line is that they no longer believe China can regain its lost luster as a great place to invest in.

As for us Filipinos, we can only watch and wait as China implodes, hopefully resulting in their weakened military, specifically their Coast Guard, leaving Philippine waters for good.

For now, an informal “Boycott China” movement is advising consumers to avoid Chinese goods like the plague.

This is actually sound advice, especially where Chinese food products are concerned. They export so many fake goods, not only of dubious quality, but which are potentially extremely dangerous to the health of anyone who consumes them.

Let’s see, China has become known for creating plastic rice, fake eggs, even deadly formula milk for infants.

Chinese restaurants also recycle cooking oil extracted from canals to save a few yuen.

Perhaps the best news of all is that the Chinese people are already showing signs of their being disgruntled with the ultra-corrupt Communist Party.

This week, a People Power-style protest has been sprouting in several places. But instead of gathering in their version of Edsa, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of ordinary Chinese are now roaming around in bicycles in the evenings.

It is an action that has never happened before.

For now it is a silent protest that local government executives have taken note of as it has given them reason to worry that the all-powerful Beijing-based Communist Party leadership will give the order to neutralize the youth who are leading the mass action.

They did it before in Tienanmen, and the communist leadership is more than capable of doing it again.