The double features don’t stop! Tune in to this episode of RFA Insider to learn about American social media users turning to a Chinese app in response to an impending TikTok ban, and how China is preparing for the incoming U.S. administration.
Off Beat
With TikTok slated to be banned on Sunday unless it is sold to a new, non-Chinese owner, young American users of the app have migrated en masse to Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote. The more than half a million American users who’ve joined RedNote in recent days, dubbing themselves “TikTok refugees,” hope to relocate their online communities and for some, send a strong message to Meta and its founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Launched in 2013, RedNote first endeared itself to young, female users in China and Taiwan as a platform for sharing videos, photos and text posts about lifestyle content. However, the app’s interface and content are almost exclusively in Mandarin, a fact which has not stopped the TikTok refugees.
RFA Uyghur’s Shahrezad Ghayrat, an avid RedNote user herself, explains why American users are flocking to this specific Chinese platform, differences in content moderation between TikTok and RedNote and the new “meme diplomacy.”
Podcast Free Asia
Eugene and Amy respond to listener comments calling into question the presence of North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian soldiers in the Russia-Ukraine war. While Russia and North Korea have not confirmed the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia’s Far East, only saying that such an action would conform to their strategic partnership, reports from South Korea’s spy agency, the Ukrainian army and the Pentagon have announced evidence of North Korean troops in Russia.
RFA’s own Korean Service also conducted an exclusive interview with a Ukrainian soldier sharing his battlefield encounter with North Korean soldiers.
Double Off Beat
As Washington, D.C. makes the final arrangements for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next Monday, countries around the world are similarly preparing for the new U.S. administration. Senior reporter Kitty Wang from RFA’s Mandarin Service comes on the podcast to share insight into how China might react to the new administration.
What’s the overall mood in China regarding Trump’s possible implementation of tariffs? Will Beijing alter its stance on either Taiwan or the South China Sea while working with this new administration? What about the Uyghur region and Tibet? Tune in to hear these answers and more.