If I wanted to go on a date, what could I talk about?

Pandas seem like a good place to start. Girls love pandas- they’re cute, cuddly and furry creatures that always seem to be smiling at you. I could talk about how they are native to China and continue to really impress this girl by showing off my intellect in regards to how great China’s economy is.   

But if the girl was smart like I’d hope, she would call me an idiot. 

She would know China is filled with black market terrors, deathly pollution problems and a socialist government.

In fact, China’s government is like a sleeping volcano just waiting to erupt. China is like your big brother with a large ego, happy to receive your praise, trade resources, and maintain a peaceful relationship with you until you show them up. Then you deal with chaos.

With an $8.2 trillion GDP, China boasts the world’s second largest economy, according to CNN. It has been well reported that China is one of the fastest growing superpowers, and with a population of more than 1.3 billion, this is no surprise. With the unlimited resources and the manpower China possesses, even Paul Wulff could have taken WSU to a bowl game.

But before we start re-enacting the Cold War, let’s look at some facts. China and the United States are at peace right now. A lot of business gets done between the two nations, and both countries benefit. Because of their economy and business ties with the United States, China was rated by The Huffington Post as a top five location for studying abroad. Many WSU students follow this route.

But the dangers are sometimes hidden. For one, the BBC reported Tuesday that the United Nations criticized China’s human rights record at this month’s Geneva meeting. The U.N. cited arrests of dissidents, – in this instance, anti-socialism protestors – the continued use of the death penalty and the use of torture among prisons as causes for alarm.

So if you’re a WSU student studying abroad in China this year, stay out of prison.

Chinese officials responded to the U.N. by saying major progress has been made in improving social and economic rights.

And I’ll bet they have. When you consider that China underwent a violent government overthrow, has a history of perpetrating numerous massacres against its own people, and is home to an enormous population that even the world’s greatest historical empires would struggle to rule, there is certainly a lot of room for improvement.

Julie de Rivero of Human Rights Watch told the BBC that China’s focus on economic domination is a tactic to avoid the human rights issues. Citizens who simply echo notions of corruption among politicians and party members land in prison, she said.

But hey, it’s communism. What do you expect? It could be worse. It could be North Korea.

But diving deeper than the government, it is evident that the human rights issues in China have spread into the ranks of its citizens. In August, the Beijing police reported that a six-year-old boy had his eyes gauged out for sale on the black market, according to the Toronto Sun.

This is just one of many examples of the dark corruption in China ranging from organ harvesting to the sale of exotic and rare animals, and even to rampant electronics plagiarism. CNN published numerous public reports on these illicit trades over the last 10 years, and it seems that the Chinese government is doing nothing about it.

Perhaps the most obvious problem with China is its pollution. Americans showed up to the 2008 Olympics in gas masks, according to The Atlantic Wire. The air in China is so bad for athletes, it makes sporting events in the thin air of Colorado seem like they are below sea level.

As to China’s economy, the country has millions of people churning through every last resource the country has, and they use outdated power sources like coal to do it. The Guardian reported that China’s air pollution levels are off the charts in the city of Harbin, and the entire city had to be shut down after levels rose 40 times over the safety level recommended by the World Health Organization.

Take into consideration that Harbin’s metropolitan population is around 10 million; it’s astounding that the city’s residents weren’t allowed to attend school, work or even travel this month, and the people are in danger of acquiring deadly cancers.

So when the world is finally destroyed by global warming in future generations, pass it down to your great, great grandchildren that they can thank China for the world’s downfall.

This is also the part of my date where I could say, “Hey you like pandas? Well China’s pollution is killing them.”

Every nation has its issues. But what makes China especially scary is that they truly started from the bottom, and when you know what the bottom tastes like, you never want to go back. China will do everything they can to further its climb to the top and stay there, and Americans need to be aware of that.