After years of dominance of social media by a handful of players, a new app has people around the world chattering with excitement.
Clubhouse has set its sights on shaking up a staid field. An antithesis to the visual quick takes that define Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, the start-up consists entirely of audio chat rooms. A select number of speakers populate the “stage,” while up to 5,000 users can listen in. Audience members can raise a hand to be invited to speak, creating an experience akin to attending a forum or panel discussion.
Although launched a year ago, Clubhouse has seen exponential growth in the past few weeks, after its Silicon Valley-based creators loosened the app’s exclusive invitation scheme to grant users a limited number of invites.
The platform is particularly popular in China, where invitations are reportedly being sold for up to 400 yuan (US$61.97) each.
Many were surprised that it was only blocked yesterday evening, especially as Chinese-language clubs discussing sensitive topics such as Taiwanese independence, the Uighurs in Xinjiang and Hong Kong’s National Security Law are not hard to find.
Listening in on these chats reveals an eagerness for open and candid communication. While propagandistic talking points are inevitably rampant, people are also asking questions of each other, and responses are thoughtful and welcomed. In one case, a Chinese speaker tried to justify his stance on Taiwan by saying it has been part of China for 5,000 years, only to be interrupted by other Chinese who refuted his claim, telling him not to speak for others.
Granted, this population is invariably skewed by the hoops Chinese users had to go through to download it. The app was only available on iPhone — already cutting the potential pool to 20 percent of smartphones — and at the time could not be found on the Chinese App Store.
With so few avenues for open cross-strait dialogue, these chat rooms feel promising. However, Taiwanese must not let their guard down, especially as Beijing’s “united front” tactics become more sophisticated.
The Chinese Communist Party fully supports people-to-people interaction — as long as it happens on its terms. For example, as part of its “cross-strait exchange base” initiative, the Matsu (馬祖) temple on China’s Meizhou Island (湄洲) has been hosting livestreams with other Matsu temples in Taiwan, drawing tens of thousands of viewers. The Chinese face-swapping app Quyan (去演) has also gained scores of Taiwanese users, who must confirm their e-mail address and biometric data before using it.
Beijing’s goals are twofold: Through these tactics, it not only can draw Taiwanese closer by promoting cultural affinities, but can also extract personal data to build police profiles of Taiwanese without them ever setting foot in China.
For Clubhouse users, the greatest concern might lie in the backend. The company that is thought to provide real-time audio services for the app, Agora, is a Chinese firm with headquarters in Shanghai and Santa Clara, California. While it claims to not store user data, experts have said that it could be subject to Chinese laws requiring cooperation with investigations.
Some pro-Beijing Twitter users have also claimed to be recording conversations and participant details.
It is still too early to know Beijing’s full intentions, but considering its recent tactics meant to digitally lure those it deems politically suspicious, users — especially Taiwanese — must remain aware of the risks.
Because much of what former US president Donald Trump says is unhinged and histrionic, it is tempting to dismiss all of it as bunk. Yet the potential future president has a populist knack for sounding alarums that resonate with the zeitgeist — for example, with growing anxiety about World War III and nuclear Armageddon. “We’re a failing nation,” Trump ranted during his US presidential debate against US Vice President Kamala Harris in one particularly meandering answer (the one that also recycled urban myths about immigrants eating cats). “And what, what’s going on here, you’re going to end up in World War
Earlier this month in Newsweek, President William Lai (賴清德) challenged the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to retake the territories lost to Russia in the 19th century rather than invade Taiwan. He stated: “If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t [the PRC] take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the treaty of Aigun?” This was a brilliant political move to finally state openly what many Chinese in both China and Taiwan have long been thinking about the lost territories in the Russian far east: The Russian far east should be “theirs.” Granted, Lai issued
On Sept. 2, Elbridge Colby, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development, wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal called “The US and Taiwan Must Change Course” that defends his position that the US and Taiwan are not doing enough to deter the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from taking Taiwan. Colby is correct, of course: the US and Taiwan need to do a lot more or the PRC will invade Taiwan like Russia did against Ukraine. The US and Taiwan have failed to prepare properly to deter war. The blame must fall on politicians and policymakers
Gogoro Inc was once a rising star and a would-be unicorn in the years prior to its debut on the NASDAQ in 2022, as its environmentally friendly technology and stylish design attracted local young people. The electric scooter and battery swapping services provider is bracing for a major personnel shakeup following the abrupt resignation on Friday of founding chairman Horace Luke (陸學森) as chief executive officer. Luke’s departure indicates that Gogoro is sinking into the trough of unicorn disillusionment, with the company grappling with poor financial performance amid a slowdown in demand at home and setbacks in overseas expansions. About 95