Phone apps hit home in Beijing's bid for hearts and minds

Ariel Lo spends a couple of hours most weeks sharing anime art and memes on Chinese apps, often chatting with friends in China in a Mandarin slightly different from the one she uses at home in Taiwan.

-  Emma Graham-Harrison and Chi-Hui Lin

"People use English on Instagram, and for Chinese apps they use Chinese phrases. If I am talking to friends in China, I would use them," Lo said as she picked up a bubble tea at a street market in central Taichung city.

The 18-year-old Earth sciences student, who creates art in her spare time, is part of a generation whose online life is increasingly influenced by content from China. That is worrying politicians and experts who fear young Taiwanese drawn to shop and entertain themselves on apps ultimately controlled by Beijing may be getting more than style tips, and sharing more than memes.

Social media companies can harvest valuable data and shape perspectives through the algorithms that control what viewers see. The FBI last year warned that TikTok and its Chinese counterpart, Douyin, were a threat to national security.

In Taiwan, those worries are particularly acute. China has made clear that it wants to take control of Taiwan, by force if necessary; and the two share a language. That makes Chinese apps, music and drama attractive and accessible to Taiwanese users, who are in turn an important audience for Beijing.