Research Article · Vol. 24, No. 1 (2025) · pp. 52-78
Digital Diaspora and Homeland Politics: Chinese Student Communities on WeChat and Xiaohongshu in Australia
- Yuqing Chen — University of Melbourne
- Daniel O'Connor — University of Melbourne
Published Jun 30, 2025
Abstract
Through a year-long digital ethnography of Chinese international student communities in Australia, this article examines how platform affordances of WeChat and Xiaohongshu shape engagement with homeland politics. We find platform-differentiated repertoires: political talk is sublimated into lifestyle framing on Xiaohongshu while WeChat sustains bounded deliberation within trusted circles.
Keywords:digital diasporaWeChatXiaohongshuChinese studentspolitical communication