“Recent survey-based research has found that the pervasive priority for both Chinese officialdom and the public is that “the behaviour of foreigners” be regulated and controlled.”
I find this part of the article quite relevant because you could change the word “Chinese” for “American” and people wouldn’t be abele to tell the difference. You can even use that quote and attribute it to the previous Tory government in the UK, and people won’t notice the difference either.
honestly, not only China has "paid for" actors on the internet, and the American government is likely to know how to escalate the situation while accusing China. The US government would have an easy time to orchestrate the effect that you describe. (I have found that with certain governments every accusation is an admission :( )
I will be personally very unhappy, both for Chinese users, expats, but also my kid, who has been learning Chinese and the Erhu since the pandemic from a US based teacher. She finally was gearing up to use this app (she avoids social media). And she would do so specifically to interact with Chinese users to improve her language and erhu skills, sigh. (I hope VPNs might work for her in that case, we will see) I am glad to see that china has yet to flinch on this. With America's attention span being notoriously short, they might just wait things out as long as they come out on top of perception, then again, you know so much more than me about this.
My extremely unscientific "vibe" is that the initial wave of TikTok refugees are eager to assimilate into the existing environment, and will be throwing any rude Americans under the bus in order to keep the peace. Sunday night, there was a prevailing metaphor of remembering to take one's shoes off when entering someone else's home as a guest. It's a level of gratitude I think really could make someone think that the Americans are cyber-refugees.
I've seen a lot of beautiful messages, both in Chinese and in English, about how people will have fond memories of this time, even if it ends up being short-lived. I don't think people would allow history to be rewritten that the Americans were so rude and awful, or anything like that. I've also seen several Chinese netizens talking about how they'll need to teach Americans how to buy Chinese phones that can cross the Great Firewall and get into Chinese social platforms.
interesting: "China’s influencers are promoting an image of “authenticity” through highly-aesthetic videos of the Chinese rural idyll". For years I've been fascinated by the YouTube and occasional TikTok celebrity 李子柒 Liziqi, and wondered if you if had a take on that particular phenomena. Very little is known about her: it's said she lived and worked in a major city, as a courier maybe, or as a chef, and then went to live with her grandmother, which sets the stage, but how much of it is "staged" and how much "authentic?" A fascinating character, nonetheless
“Recent survey-based research has found that the pervasive priority for both Chinese officialdom and the public is that “the behaviour of foreigners” be regulated and controlled.”
I find this part of the article quite relevant because you could change the word “Chinese” for “American” and people wouldn’t be abele to tell the difference. You can even use that quote and attribute it to the previous Tory government in the UK, and people won’t notice the difference either.
(the dyslexic kitchenwitch here)
honestly, not only China has "paid for" actors on the internet, and the American government is likely to know how to escalate the situation while accusing China. The US government would have an easy time to orchestrate the effect that you describe. (I have found that with certain governments every accusation is an admission :( )
I will be personally very unhappy, both for Chinese users, expats, but also my kid, who has been learning Chinese and the Erhu since the pandemic from a US based teacher. She finally was gearing up to use this app (she avoids social media). And she would do so specifically to interact with Chinese users to improve her language and erhu skills, sigh. (I hope VPNs might work for her in that case, we will see) I am glad to see that china has yet to flinch on this. With America's attention span being notoriously short, they might just wait things out as long as they come out on top of perception, then again, you know so much more than me about this.
My extremely unscientific "vibe" is that the initial wave of TikTok refugees are eager to assimilate into the existing environment, and will be throwing any rude Americans under the bus in order to keep the peace. Sunday night, there was a prevailing metaphor of remembering to take one's shoes off when entering someone else's home as a guest. It's a level of gratitude I think really could make someone think that the Americans are cyber-refugees.
I've seen a lot of beautiful messages, both in Chinese and in English, about how people will have fond memories of this time, even if it ends up being short-lived. I don't think people would allow history to be rewritten that the Americans were so rude and awful, or anything like that. I've also seen several Chinese netizens talking about how they'll need to teach Americans how to buy Chinese phones that can cross the Great Firewall and get into Chinese social platforms.
https://substack.com/profile/293420365-federico-soto-del-alba/note/c-91163367
Yet again, great stuff! And utterly fascinating.
One nit: "tow the line" is incorrect. Properly, it is "toe the line."
interesting: "China’s influencers are promoting an image of “authenticity” through highly-aesthetic videos of the Chinese rural idyll". For years I've been fascinated by the YouTube and occasional TikTok celebrity 李子柒 Liziqi, and wondered if you if had a take on that particular phenomena. Very little is known about her: it's said she lived and worked in a major city, as a courier maybe, or as a chef, and then went to live with her grandmother, which sets the stage, but how much of it is "staged" and how much "authentic?" A fascinating character, nonetheless