(Eng.) TikTok Ban, Rednote and Freedom of Speech

➤This is an archive of my reply to Tumblr user @kirinblueko, you can read the original post here.

Taiwanese here. Thank you OP for sharing your views, I would like to say something as well

First of all, I fully understand that for most people, national security and personal information leaks are less important than having their social media shut down. After all, not every country is under constant threat of armed invasion. Even in Taiwan, there are still a lot of people who don’t take CCP’s information warfare and infiltration seriously.

Most people know too little about CCP

Unlike OP, I have been using Chinese social media for almost 10 years (not Red Note or TikTok). From my personal point of view, I think the most dangerous thing about using Chinese social media for a long time is not the security of information, but (1) users’ self-censorship of speech, and (2) the cognitive bias of users due to the influence of big data (biased in favor of CCP, of course).

These effects are slow and unnoticeable.

About (1)
You may have heard about internet firewalls and censorship in China. You may think it’s nothing, just use a VPN or don’t say forbidden words, but the truth is always beyond imagination.

The truth is that only a very small percentage of Chinese people have any experience with crossing the firewalls (even if the number seems high, like 10 million, it’s still a small percentage of China’s total population). VPNs have become increasingly difficult to use in recent years, and monthly network traffic is limited. There is also a risk of being arrested for using a VPN to cross the firewall.

Even if you stay within the walls, there is still strict censorship. I would say that 10 or even 20 years ago the internet in China was much freer than it is now. In the past, when there were big disasters and social events, Chinese people could still make their voices heard through the internet, but now (especially after COVID-19 and the White Paper Revolution), posts are deleted faster and faster, and the only news you see is the official news, which is usually censored.

All the restrictions have been put in place without people realizing it.

In response to the censorship of Chinese Internet speech, many strange new terms and acronyms have been invented. Avoiding all the forbidden words doesn’t help either, because CCP doesn’t tell you exactly what is forbidden, the rules are vague and confusing, and all you get is a vague reason for the post or account being banned. Then you get used to the Chinese way of posting in order to keep your account, and something even worse happens: you’re censoring yourself without even realizing it, and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with it!

Is this the kind of freedom of speech you want?

So when I see so many people who call themselves “TikTok refugees”, who download Red Note as a way to fight against the TikTok ban, and then complain to Chinese people about their government, and even say that China is not the way their government says it is… It’s super ridiculous to me.

When you’re complaining about your government, you’re enjoying the freedom of speech. Have you ever hesitated to post because you were afraid your account and posts would be deleted, or hesitated to take to the streets because you were afraid your family’s lives would be threatened?

Don’t forget that the TikTok ban will only come into effect after a court decision, whereas CCP’s ban can be enforced whenever they want it to be, and CCP is very good at using freedom of speech to attack freedom of speech.

I am saying this based on my own experience. I’m not urging people not to use Chinese social media, on the contrary, suddenly so many people from outside the wall enter Red Note, it will make CCP feel nervous haha. People both inside and outside the wall need more communication, but such communication must be based on an understanding of the CCP.

I hope that people in the free world cherish the freedoms they have now, and I also hope that everyone can recognize that the CCP is now the greatest threat to the entire world. When you really see this clearly, it’s like Eren discovering the key to the basement, and the way you see the world will be different from before.

*About (2), I usually pay more attention to news about East Asia, I can’t cite examples outside of East Asia, so I won’t talk about it here.

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#English post  #my thought  #taiwan #ccp