A few months after a Chinese friend of mine came to the US in 2004 I asked him about some things like Taiwan, voting in China, and the free movement of people within China. The answers he gave me sounded like straight up propaganda (e.g. Taiwan is just a problem caused by the US government).<p>About a year later I asked him some of the same questions and his answers were completely different. I think he had come to realize that in the US he could say whatever he wanted without worrying. It was rather eye-opening.