The impending ban on the Chinese social media application TikTok in the United States (starting on January 19) has created a big wave of unprecedented numbers of American social media users, especially youth, to “emigrate” to other similar apps, but this time in mainland China. This has caused many of them to get in direct contact with Chinese netizens and find for themselves the shocking reality of the advanced, beautiful, and culturally advanced China contrary to what the U.S. mass media, think tanks, and government and elected officials have been telling them. TikTok has 170 million American users.

This incredibly ironical turn of events is showing, not only the obsoleteness of the policy of isolating and undermining China, but the total ignorance of American policy makers. Their arrogant move to ban TikTok, has backfired in the most powerful and comical way at the same time. American TikTok users have flocked by the millions to download a Chinese app with similar features, although it had no English instructions, forcing them to attempt to figure out what the Chinese figures meant.

This Chinese app, called Xiaohongshu or RedNote is a popular Chinese social media and e-commerce platform. The Chinese name means literally “Little Red Book” is attributed to Mao Zedong the former Chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and founder of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It combines aspects of Tik Tok, Instagram, Pinterest, and an online shopping experience. Users can share lifestyle content, discover products, and purchase items directly within the app.

RedNote has been downloaded and installed by Americans at least 3,600,000 times up until the time of the writing of this article (see images below).

Already many of these Americans, now nicknamed “TikTok refugees”, are posting videos about their amazement at what they are seeing being posted by Chinese users regarding lifestyle in general in China, but also the advanced infrastructure, public transport, prices of food and groceries, healthcare, housing, and the cultural activities offered to the people of China. More importantly their previous sense that the Chinese people are oppressed and living a depressing life, an image induced by American mass media and politicians, is turned on its head as they see Chinese citizens expressing not only joy for living in China now but also pride.

Many of these American users are expressing deep disappointment that they have been lied to for so long and wanting to learn more to discover the reality by themselves. So, many of them are learning to speak some basic Chinese words and sentences. They are making new friends in China, and are eager to learn more about China. It is almost certain that thousands and thousands of Americans, who never had any intention of travelling to China will now seize the opportunity of visa-free trips to China and travel to China to get more amazed and report back to millions of Americans the true China they have seen.

News have it that the most popular Chinese instant messaging application, Wechat, is being prepared by its mother company, Tencent, to receive American “social media refugees” by facilitating their signing up through their previous Facebook account instead of the previous complicated process involved in creating a new account. Most American’s and many people around the world use WhatsApp messaging service, which is owned by Meta Platforms, Inc. The latter owns Facebook and Instagram too and its founder and chairman is Mark Zuckerberg. It has been revealed  that U.S. major social media platforms share user data with U.S. intelligence agencies as part of a mass surveillance operation under the pretext of protecting national security.

Many of these American users are expressing deep disappointment that they have been lied to

The U.S. banned TikTok using the same pretext, alleging without providing any evidence, that the company and its parent company, China-based Bytedance, provide user data to Chinese authorities and is used as a propaganda instrument to influence American public opinion.

What has happened with the mass emigration from the U.S. to Red Note, is a true cultural awakening which the arrogant American leaders never envisioned could ever take place. This is a classical boomerang in politics. In Greek mythology, the term “hubris” is used to describe acts of utter pride, arrogance, combined with ignorance in defiance of natural law, or the gods. It is usually punished by a fatal retribution or “nemesis”, a concept derived from the Greek Goddess of Retribution, Nemesis.

One famous example given in Greek mythology is that of the fall of Icarus. He was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. Icarus and Daedalus escaped from King Menos using wings Daedalus constructed from birds’ feathers and threads and fitted them with beeswax. Before escaping, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun because the heat would melt the wax. Icarus ignored Daedalus’ advice and flew too close to the sun and thus the beeswax in his wings melted and Icarus fell from the sky, plunged into the sea, and drowned.

Attempting to undermine China through sanctions, tariffs, and bans like this will not stop China’s rise. Ironically, they negatively affect the U.S. itself. It would be wiser for American leaders, and EU too, to cooperate with China and rise together for the sake of their own people, and also for the sake of eliminating poverty and achieving stability and peace in the world.

Hussein Askary
Vice-Chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden