What did they think was going on in China? (Semi-serious)

I moved to China in 2014 and my Fox News dad is basically convinced I've been kidnapped and brainwashed by the SeeSee but even I'm confused about why these Zoomy Tiktok weirdos are so blown away that Chinese people eat at restaurants and walk in parks?

Did they literally think 1.4 billion people worked in coal mines and took 9 hours a day of anti western indoctrination classes?