Over half a million self-styled "TikTok refugees" have downloaded the Chinese social networking app RedNote in recent days, ahead of a potential ban on TikTok in the U.S. It’s triggered an instant phenomenon of ordinary U.S. and Chinese internet users enthusiastically interacting with each other.
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00:00♪ Xiaohongshu, it's nice to meet you. Thanks for taking me and me and all my friends. I hope we don't break you. ♪
00:12Just days ahead of a proposed ban on TikTok in the U.S., over half a million Americans have flocked to a different Chinese app,
00:19Xiaohongshu, or Red Note in English. They call themselves TikTok refugees.
00:25Ni hao, hi everybody. So I'm a TikTok refugee. I literally just got this ad like an hour ago.
00:31Red Note is one of China's most popular social media platforms, and a go-to search engine for topics like travel, beauty, makeup, and fashion.
00:40Many Americans had never heard of it until a few days ago, when some content creators on TikTok began downloading the app and telling their followers,
00:47with some saying it was out of spite towards the U.S. government for proposing a ban on TikTok over concerns China may use it for spying.
00:54That ban will go into effect on January 19th if the app's Chinese parent company does not sell it.
01:00So someone on TikTok suggested that it would be funny if we all went to Red, Red Note, Red Book here,
01:10because it's a 100% very much legitimately definitely a Chinese app, just to prove that we don't care.
01:20With the exodus of TikTok users to Red Note, it quickly became the number one free app on the U.S. App Store.
01:26The reason why I chose to Red Note is that some of my favorite creators, and not only favorite, but some of the creators where I feel like I can't get content like that anywhere else,
01:35said that they were moving to Red Note.
01:37It's become an unexpected opportunity for Chinese and American people to interact organically.
01:42Users are asking one another about health care systems, work hours, and stereotypes.
01:47Some Chinese users are even asking for help on their English homework and offering to give American users Chinese names.
01:53Rare positive interactions at a time when tensions between the U.S. and China are high.
01:58Today, what we have is we have regular users that are, for the first time ever, without VPNs and without a lot of, at this stage, curation or moderation.
02:15The American ordinary guys and Chinese ordinary guys are talking to each other directly.
02:22And it seems, for now, many Chinese users are also viewing these new American users positively.
02:28Hey friends from TikTok, I am Abe from China.
02:32And I just want to say it's so amazing to have you here.
02:36For so long, we haven't really been able to connect or talk to each other like this.
02:43But now we finally can and it feels so special.
02:47It's unclear if these exchanges will be allowed long term.
02:51Social media platforms in China are subject to censorship, with private companies held liable if they don't adhere to the rules.
02:57Users can also be banned if they don't comply with strict guidelines.
03:01For now, RedNote is rushing to hire English-speaking moderators, scrambling to adapt so they can manage the deluge of so-called TikTok refugees.
03:10Andie Xue and Keynes Coranta for Taiwan Plus.