People from China flock to Clubhouse to enjoy calm, open debate

FOR MODERATE, open-minded critics of Communist Party rule in China, who also speak Mandarin, the past few days have been heady ones. Across the global Chinese diaspora, word has spread rapidly that Clubhouse, an audio social-networking app, is the place to be for unfettered, calm debate about contentious topics relating to China. People have been pouring into its “rooms” to discuss everything from the gulag in Xinjiang to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Some are residents of mainland China, despite a hasty attempt by censors to block them.