What are your thoughts on the trend of Americans labeling themselves as "TikTok refugees" and migrating to the Chinese social media platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu)?

The great thing about cultural exchanges of this sort is that both sides benefit from deeper understanding. Interacting with “TikTok refugees” has only made Chinese people more sympathetic towards American millennials and gen z - just as Americans are becoming better informed on, and more willing to humanise the Chinese.

What is surprising, however, are the responses given by the Yanks.

“That’s shocking, when I was 5 all I could recite were textbook passages or something…”

How did the trans issue metastasize within just a decade from being a question of kindness and tolerance to a tiny minority to convulsing a whole society?

China isn't perfect, but even as a developing country, it has done extraordinarily well for itself. Most people have a stable job, a roof over their heads, plenty of good food to enjoy, free/subsidised healthcare and education, a relatively healthy environment for dating and raising a family, and some of the safest streets in the world. This is the kind of normalcy that young Americans crave, and what their Chinese counterparts take for granted.

Speaking of patriotism, there is a popular liberal narrative in China that depicts Americans as having better "critical thinking" skills due to "more individualism/freedom" and "less nationalistic propaganda". Likewise in the US, there is a deep-rooted perception that the Chinese are "brainwashed" and "unable to think for themselves".

Contrary to popular belief in China that Americans have it "easier" than the Chinese do, the reality is that most American youths are working two or more jobs to make ends meet, with one viral comment from an American user stating they were working up to 84 hours per week (for reference, Chinese tech companies’ notorious “996 system” is only 72 hours per week).

Why do US military soldiers/officers have a chest full of medal ribbons when they probably haven't been in a combat situation? Are the medals for attendance, good behaviour, or long service perhaps?

In retrospect, the US government’s hostility towards TikTok is one of the biggest political blunders of theirs in recent years. Late stage capitalism is barely held together by bread and circuses; when bread becomes unaffordable and the circus is banned due to “antisemitism/threatening US national security”, people seek alternatives.

By the way this phenomenon is quickly going global. Rednote/Xiaohongshu isn't just the most downloaded app in the US, it's also topping the charts in Europe and Africa. Might be too early to be sure, but this unprecedented “east-meets-west” social experiment is really starting to look promising.

Even the stereotype of "oppression" is questionable. There are plenty of things you can talk about on Chinese social media that would have you censored or even arrested in America - things like the aforementioned case of Luigi Mangione, and Israel's ongoing genocide of the Palestinians. Which is just one more reason why so many “TikTok refugees” find Chinese social media so refreshing. Unlike Americans climbing over the Great Firewall in search of freedom of speech, and as a gesture of protest against the US government, most Chinese people only use a VPN for porn, not anti-government activities.

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↑“For those of you who didn’t know, every morning American children aged 5 and above must stand up and place their right hands over their hearts, and recite the pledge of allegiance to the American flag. At every sporting event (professional or even children’s), before the national anthem is played, we would cover our hearts and stand up.“

Chinese people are incredibly tolerant to different opinions - this is necessary in a nation of 1.4 billion. "Cancel culture" isn't a thing, in fact there is no decent Chinese translation of this western concept. You can be pro- or anti-Israel/Palestine, you can be pro- or anti-Russia/Ukraine, you can be pro- or anti-LGBT…and even when people disagree, they tend to be more forgiving about it - maybe it’s because Chinese people aren’t naturally confrontational, or perhaps they know that life is hard enough without bringing internet beef into it. This is completely unlike Reddit, Twitter or even here on Quora.

See:

Why is there so much free porn on the internet?

But when the youths of these two nations actually talked to each other on the same platform, the myths were debunked instantly. The truth is that in American schools, students pledge allegiance to the flag every single morning; whereas in China, students only raise the national flag and sing the national anthem once per week.

No wonder American gen z'ers are the least patriotic generation on record. If you had to work 84 hours a week just to afford food and rent (and we still haven't factored in the ridiculous costs of education and healthcare in the US that made them so supportive of a man like Luigi Mangione), you'd find it challenging to feel patriotic too.

Right now most of the American youngsters on Xiaohongshu tend to be left-leaning, but I believe Chinese internet has a place for you regardless of your beliefs or interests. China has plenty of weeaboos, wehraboos, furries, gooners and all kinds of subcultures, whatever suits your tastes.

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The recent influx of American users on Xiaohongshu has been an eye-opener, to say the least. For instance, one of the most popular questions Chinese users like to ask American newcomers - besides "I’m your designated Chinese spy, have you paid your ‘cat tax’ today (i.e. shared a picture of your cats)?" - is "how many hours do you work per week?". This is no surprise, as class consciousness is observably rising among both Chinese and American youngsters, and Chinese youths have been disgruntled with the conditions of the Chinese labour market for years.

For decades, liberals in China have been telling people that America is a paradise where you can easily strike it rich, you can be free, and your rights as an individual are protected...you know, typical 20th century "American Dream" rhetoric. But while Chinese youngsters these days no longer hold any illusions that the grass is greener on the other side, most of them have never been to America or met any Americans, which meant they have no way of knowing what things are really like over there.

And what better alternative is there than China? Thus, the exodus of “TikTok refugees” to Xiaohongshu.

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Here in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - where westerners constantly tell me I've been "oppressed" by big bad China all my life - in all my years as a schoolboy, not once did I ever have to pledge allegiance to any flag or nation (the only entity my school required me to praise was God).

Which of the two regimes is more "nationalistic" and "brainwashing"? Should be pretty obvious.