An app that is only a year old shakes the Chinese political system
Human rights and democracy… China’s Achilles tendon’furious’
Blocking’Club House’ and developing fake apps
Club House. Photo = REUTERS
‘Firewall’,’Invitation’,’Revelation’,’Down Way’,’Xinjiang’,’Bangan’ (China, Taiwan)…
On the 10th, when I searched for club house in the Weibo search box of China’s largest social network service (SNS), such a related search word automatically appeared. Most of them are considered taboo words in Chinese society.
One Weibo user said, “Last night, the conversation between the young people in the clubhouse’s binocular problem chat room was hot. By the time I left the room at 2 in the morning, only 150 people were waiting.” Another user also wrote, “What the hell are you talking about in the clubhouse’Shinjang’ chat room?”
The clubhouse app is gaining popularity in China. Photo = Weibo capture
One-year-old app shakes up the Chinese political system
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 11th, an interactive voice social media’Club House’ app created in the United States last year is making waves in Chinese society. Since Tesla founder Elon Musk participated in a live conversation through this app on the 1st, it has attracted worldwide attention, and interest has recently increased in China.
Clubhouse is a voice-based SNS created by Paul Davidson and Roan Seth from Google in Silicon Valley, USA in March last year. It is operated based on the invitation of users of the app, and only real-time participation is possible and conversations cannot be recorded. Not only does not send texts, photos, and videos, but also does not leave a record of conversations, so security is secure and closed.
The clubhouse app is gaining popularity in China. Photo = Weibo capture
For this reason, recently in China, chat rooms on sensitive topics, which have been subject to Internet censorship, from the human rights issue of Hong Kong and Xinjiang Uyghur to the bilateral issue (the legitimacy issue of China and Taiwan) are gaining popularity.
Various themes such as’Why Club House is Popular’,’Club House Join’,’Club House Taiwan’,’Club House Invitation Code’, and’Club House Block’ were created on Weibo as a club house related tag. These topics have hit tens of millions of views. That is a proof that interest in clubhouses in China is hot.
Hong Kong police are spraying tear gas at protesters shouting against Hong Kong Security Law. /Photo = Reuters
Human rights and democracy… China’s Achilles tendon’furious’
In China, access to clubhouses is quite tricky. First of all, it can be used only with the iPhone operating system (iOS), and it cannot be downloaded from the Apple App Store in China, so users must create a separate overseas app store account.
As we deal with difficult-to-access and sensitive topics without any addition or subtraction, articles that introduce chat room invitation codes, user reviews, and download methods are gaining popularity on Weibo. One netizen said, “I heard a discussion on the legitimacy issue of the governments of China, Taiwan and both sides on the Club House app, but it was too sensitive and political opinions and information came out.” Another netizen said, “I went into the chat room for height problems and came out, but it was shocking,” and said, “I couldn’t sleep because my head hurts enough to buzz.”
The Chinese government has been politically sensitive to both sides and Hong Kong issues in the international community. Since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China and Taiwan have argued that each of them is an orthodox government representing China.
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong trapped behind barbed wire. Photo = Yonhap News
At the time, the US adopted the principle of China’s’one China (one country that Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, etc. cannot be separated)’ and established a break with Taiwan. However, as the United States is placing importance on Taiwan again recently, and Tsai Ing-won, who insisted on Taiwan independence, succeeded in re-election as Taiwan president last year, China is showing an extremely sensitive reaction. In particular, after passing the Hong Kong National Security Law last summer, the authorities have been conducting strong censorship on’Taiwan independence’ and’Hong Kong protests’.
In the case of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, it is regarded as China’s largest Achilles heel in terms of human rights. Until now, the United States has criticized China for cracking down on human rights such as monitoring the Uyghurs, an Islamic minority ethnic group, and imprisoning them in camps for forced labor. Whenever the US-China conflict emerges, it appears as a classic material.
China is now officially denying the problem of suppression of human rights in Xinjiang, calling it “intervention in internal affairs”.
Blocking’Club House’ and developing fake apps
To summarize the reviews of Weibo users, there are a lot of sensitive discussion rooms in the current clubhouse, such as’Taiwan Independence’ and’Hong Kong Security Law’.
It is reported that a chat room related to Dr. Lee Won-ryang, who played a crucial role in publicizing the existence of a novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) to the Chinese authorities last year, was also reported. Li Won-ryang died of corona 19 infection after being driven by the Chinese authorities as a rumor spreader. There were 4,000 people in the’Bilateral Youth Debate’ chat room dealing with exchanges between China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
With the explosive popularity of the clubhouse, a video lecture introducing how to obtain a subscriber invitation code necessary for signing up for an app was uploaded to Taobao, an internet shopping mall for 8888 yuan (about 1.54 million won). In addition, clubhouse invitation codes are sold from tens of yuan to 500 yuan (about 86,000 won).
One Weibo user said, “Through the Clubhouse, I was able to hear realistic discussions about the binocular problem that we haven’t been able to do so far.” Another user was concerned that “there is a lot of chat rooms in the clubhouse now on Xinjiang Uyghur issues, so (the use of clubhouses in China) will not last long.”
Chinese authorities recently blocked the clubhouse app. Photo = Weibo capture
In fact, Chinese authorities have blocked the use of clubhouses in mainland China on the 8th. China has adopted a socialist system, and the spread of Western democratic ideas throughout society is regarded as a serious threat to the continuation of the system. Accordingly, the clubhouse where free discussions are possible, as well as social media in the United States such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, are blocked with the’Great Firewall’.
As the club house app was blocked, the appearance of the Chinese version of the’Club House’ app was announced recently. On the 9th, smartphone maker founder Luo Yonghao told Weibo, “As far as I know, about 10 companies are copying clubhouse apps,” he said. “We will not take a break even during the Lunar New Year holidays.”
However, local experts believe that it will be difficult to gain as much popularity as the original clubhouse, as the apps cannot escape censorship by the Chinese authorities.
Reporter Joara Hankyung.com [email protected]