TikTok went dark in the US late on 18 Jan 2025, but was back online the next afternoon. On Trump signed an executive order halting the TikTok ban for 75 days “to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action with respect to TikTok”—after previously suggesting ByteDance shift the platform to a joint venture at least 50% controlled by U.S. interests (Trump has the power to delay the ban for up to 90 days).
The ban triggered a “refugee” movement from TikTok and ironically to 小红书, a platform based in China. It was apparently a protest against the US government’s “censorship”. But these “refugees” would soon learn what true censorship really means. Caricature of the Chinese leader, even presented in a laudatory instead of a critical tone were removed. Some of the “refugees” had a rude shock. It is a totally alien platform. You either censor yourself or they’ll censor you. Sinophiles jump to the rescue, pushing that “everywhere in the world” as if it’s the same everywhere. Of course it isn’t. Pickpocketing is a crime. Serial killing and mass murder are also crimes. True prejudice is seen in those who can’t differentiate the severity.
While American TokTok users are from all walks of life, Chinese people on 小红书 are almost entirely apolitical, hedonistic lifestyle influencers from high society. The authorities struggled to deal with the high volume of English posts. Interestingly, there was no conflict and ironically, it’s all due to “culture shock”. It would be extremely abnormal for Americans not to complain about their “miserable lives”. It’s the exact opposite with the Chinese users. They flaunt their wealth on 小红书 even when they have lost their jobs. The gullible Americans believe that the Chinese are far more fortunate than they are. The Chinese are happy that they had the Americans fooled.
While everything seems peaceful at the moment and Chinese netizens seemed to be very welcoming towards the “refugees”, it should be noted that Chinese people are required to demonstrate “patriotism” through enmity whenever they are called upon to do so by their leaders.