Clubhouse, an American social media platform, was blocked by the Chinese Communist Party on August 8 for talking about Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. (Screenshot of video)
Clubhouse, a rapidly growing social media platform that attracts a large number of Chinese users, was quickly banned by the Chinese Communist Party. The politically sensitive topics on Clubhouse are a threat to the Chinese Communist Party, which fears another Beijing Spring.
Clubhouse, a U.S. social media platform that has attracted tens of thousands of Chinese netizens over the past few days because of its potential to talk about topics such as Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, was blocked by the Chinese Communist Party authorities on Feb. 8.
In the evening of that day, the Clubhouse platform was no longer available on the mainland, and all the “invitation codes” that were originally sold on Taobao for up to $100 were also taken offline.
According to public information, Clubhouse is a social networking service action application released by the software company Alpha Exploration Co. and was established less than a year ago.
Clubhouse allows Chinese Apple phone users to log in, but they must first obtain an “invitation code” to register for an account. Users are initially given only two invitation codes, and once they have an account, they can join as many chat rooms as they want and listen to the discussions or speeches inside.
Because users use the software to chat, they do not leave any records, i.e. all instant information “disappears” when they close the chat room, which is called “listen and burn” by netizens. This is why it is being sought after by a large number of mainland netizens.
Hong Kong’s Apple Daily said in a 10-day commentary that Clubhouse has broken through the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship blockade and is being used by Chinese netizens, with Clubhouse invitations even being sold for as much as $100 on Taobao, reflecting the Chinese people’s desire for. This reflects the desire and need for Chinese people to … and access to the world outside their walls.
The commentary said that Clubhouse connects the world inside and outside the wall through voice sharing, which is tantamount to abolishing the Great Firewall that the Chinese Communist Party has been painstakingly building for years, plus the fact that voice transmission and penetration is stronger than text, so there is no way for the Chinese Communist Party to control it.
Earlier, Reuters visited several Chinese “clubs” and found thousands of users discussing everything from Xinjiang concentration camps and Hong Kong’s national security law to Taiwan issues and even the situation related to former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Some have also found many mainlanders discussing the June 4 Incident, the Communist Party’s national security, and the first anniversary of Li Wenliang’s death in Clubhouse chat rooms.
The commentary said that if the situation continues, the “scene” could be comparable to the short-lived “Beijing Spring”.
At a meeting of the Communist Party’s Politburo on Jan. 28, Xi Jinping again stressed the need to prepare for various “black swans” and “gray rhinoceros” events.
The “black swan” refers to an unusual event that is difficult to predict; the “gray rhinoceros” refers to a major crisis that goes unnoticed.
According to the commentary, whether Clubhouse is a “black swan” that triggers an unpredictable event or a “gray rhino” that triggers an unseen major crisis, it must be nipped in the bud in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, lest it become a replica of the Xidan Democracy Wall in Beijing. The Xidan Democracy Wall
The Xidan Democracy Wall incident refers to the period from 1978 to 1979 when some people in Beijing posted large-character posters in Xidan, preaching democracy, freedom and human rights. Deng Xiaoping ignored the campaign out of a need to consolidate his personal power. This allowed the Chinese people to enjoy freedom of expression for a short period of Time, which is also known as the “Beijing Spring”.
However, after Beijing electrician Wei Jingsheng posted “The Fifth Modernization – Democracy and Beyond” and “Democracy or a New Dictatorship,” criticizing the Chinese Communist Party for denying freedom and democracy and Deng Xiaoping’s dictatorial line, the movement was completely suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party. In 1979, Wei was arrested and sentenced to 15 years for “counter-revolutionary crimes”.
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