On 15 January, when Nauru switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing, “Nauru severs its ties with Taiwan” was the top trending topic on Weibo. For two weeks following, we tracked mentions of Nauru across China’s most influential social media platforms – Weibo, WeChat and Douyin. Netizens rejoiced because Taiwan received a blow two days after their presidential elections, where China’s least favourite party, the Democratic Progressive Party, secured a third term. The switch gave netizens a channel to release their anger towards…
