I can understand why this happens to some. I guess whether your interest in politics will survive living in China depends on your enthusiasm for it as well as how much you try to keep up with current events. Discussing politics with most Chinese is an pointless. They either have the "ah but there is nothing I can do" attitude or the "it is not possible to have democracy when there are so many people" attitude. And they will certainly have lived a life full of NOT discussing politics, so even when you find someone willing to talk politics, it will be a very infant like discussion adversary.This is one of the saddest things about China, people have learned not to care about their country, despite their pride of it

For me it is key to keep up with politics back home, after all, I can vote there and we can't have the wrong people run my home country into the ground when the right people can do it faster.

I do find the Chinese political system fascinating, mainly because it is so unpredictable. It can be a problem finding good sources though, because the Chinese media sure isn't a good source.  I think the typical time politics comes up is when having coffee with other expats, that is typically with no locals participating in any talking

Quite the opposite.

I’ve always been vocal about such things, and I feel despair for all people who believe there are “sensitive” topics that shouldn’t be discussed.

The first year I was in China I just had so much fun, and so many new experiences, that I rarely thought about politics. Once I settled in to a routine, however, I started to realise the depth and complexity of social problems in China. Then I began to be interested in what Chinese people thought of the uniquely Chinese problems they faced every day.

I eventually met a few people who really opened up about the things they had experienced, and from then on I was hooked. Especially in the countryside and mountain villages, rape, murder, dismemberment, child molestation, suicide, workplace fatalities, and female students mysteriously disappearing are horrifyingly common (also completely unreported and unknown to the rest of the world).

I used to think of Communism as an American preoccupation, and not really relevant to anything outside past wars. But it is the worst. Not just for its horrible effect on social equality, or that it makes people turn against each other, but because of the defeatist mindset and wilful ignorance it instils in people. Chinese people have a lack of desire for truth, insight or knowledge that I find really shocking. For Chinese people, learning or discovering things is at best a chore.

I find their political apathy worrying. They have less capacity for critical thought or independent action than any other group of people.

And I find Chinese people’s indignation at their country being criticised extremely irritating. When I hear a foreigner criticise Australia, I am very interested – because foreigners in Australia are aware of a lot of political forces, social currents and bureaucratic problems that white Australian citizens aren’t. Their view is largely objective, and not based on national myths.

Sadly, Chinese people already think they know everything about their own country, and strongly resent foreigners saying anything on the subject – Except for entirely shallow platitudes like “Chinese culture is sooo interesting” or “Wowee, I just love Chinese food!” They live in a history vacuum, unwilling to think honestly about the past or the future. They simply don’t want to know, and they do not consider anyone else’s opinion worth hearing.

The more I read about modern Chinese history, the more horrified I become about Communism. It strips any geographical region of culture, social cohesion, resources and natural beauty. And there is no end goal, other than the expansion of Communism. It needs to expand, as cancer does, to virgin territories, consuming everything worthwhile or beautiful.

A Chinese poet and critic I was reading recently said that Communist China is an ever-expanding garbage dump. Quite accurate I think, considering that a hundred years ago China was one of the most naturally beautiful and culturally rich regions on Earth.

Best question ever, by the way.

Hell no..like Samsara quite the opposite. I look at the b.s. that China is trying to pull and it makes me cringe. I HAVE TO read widely.

when a classroom full of college students cannot tell me the tv channel for the local news, province news, and national news, it makes you want to give up sometimes.

if you discuss something bad in the news that they publish , they are offended you brought up the topic.

China has actually increased my interest and participation in politics. Particularly, I am concerned about the direction Australia is taking in it's dealings with China, and the current leader's seeming lack of understanding of how China thinks.

No, it makes me rage about politics. Whenever I see some idiotic Canadian politician bragging about trade deals with China without having a clue what he's talking about or getting the nation into I go into psycho mode. 

There is a good article on the subject of discussing politics amongst China's youth here

http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/chinas-youth-do-they-dare-to-care-about-politics

Nope, after working nearly ten years in government back home, I was apathetic to politics long before coming to China.