Clubhouse let Chinese people debate and mourn together. Credit: Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON via AP Images
For a few rare weeks, thousands of ethnic Chinese from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and around the world spoke to each other about some of the most sensitive topics of the day: Uighur concentration camps in Xinjiang, gender equality in Chinese tech firms, loved ones lost from the deadly coronavirus in Wuhan, and Taiwanese fears of an invasion by the People’s Liberation Army. They were talking directly, hearing voices, gauging emotions, through Clubhouse, an invitation-only social media app.
Those weeks of real-time conversations revealed a rebel truth to a regime that has used increasingly sophisticated censorship and propaganda to promote a broad narrative of China triumphalism. As more voices joined in the free-wheeling platform — and I was among those who listened and even spoke a few times — their exchanges signaled that the regime did not represent, or even understand, the psyche of many people in China or its diaspora.
Some participants tried to defend the
Exclusive longform investigative journalism, Q&As, news and analysis, and data on Chinese business elites and corporations. We publish China scoops you won't find anywhere else.
A weekly curated reading list on China from David Barboza, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Shanghai correspondent for The New York Times.
A daily roundup of China finance, business and economics headlines.
We offer discounts for groups, institutions and students. Go to our Subscriptions page for details.
Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. Trade Representative under Donald Trump, reflects on his decision to launch the trade war with China and begin the process of "strategic decoupling" — a process he says the U.S. must see through to the end.
