A desperate plea from a restricted American to pass along a message.

Hey everyone, longtime lurker that never really needed a reason to post until today.

A few weeks ago, I downloaded XHS to see if I could just get a glimpse into the life of regular Chinese people, and what I found there was so much more than that. What began as me just wanting to take a look at life in China developed into a social atmosphere where I felt I could truly be myself and connect with others, all thanks to the warm and welcoming people I met on the app. I was taken aback and inspired by how many ordinary Chinese people were using XHS to practice their English, work on speaking with each other, and asking questions regarding grammatical or pronunciation issues they were having.

As someone who has taught my girlfriend and several friends many basics of the English language after they came to the US, I figured I would see if anyone on XHS would be interested in practicing their English with me, since it’s something I enjoy taking part in and I can really appreciate the effort people put in. I ended up adding a few friends so that they could practice with me through DM’s, and I found one person who practices on live stream sessions every morning. I joined her stream and she was ecstatic to have a native speaker who wanted to help her and her 5 viewers learn. She even invited me to connect my audio and we chatted for a while, it was honestly kind of surreal given how people are on most social media out here. I assured her and whoever else was their that I would absolutely love to make this a regular thing, since she practices at 6:30am in her local time, which is always free for me.

Right after I left the stream my account was restricted like many others here, and until my passport comes in, it appears I am out of luck. I am reaching out here to see if anyone would be kind enough to pass along a message to the one new friend letting them know what happened. I have an idea of what I want to say, and I can send you the text and you can modify if it needed if what I have typed makes your weary at all, but it is nothing bad. I basically just want to let her know that this was unintentional, and I am working on a way to continue using the app and getting back in touch so we can continue practicing together.

Thank you in advance to anyone who took the time to read this. Being restricted from this app has honestly really saddened me. In all honesty, tears welled in my eyes when support confirmed there’s nothing they could do after some frankly embarrassing pleas (I got a real human after a while and they were very sympathetic fwiw). I could be banned from any other social media and not care, but I was actually really connecting with people on XHS, and thinking of the possibility that I may never be able to speak to these people again and they will think I just flaked on them pains me.

Also, just to clarify, this is not a romantic thing or anything of that nature, at all, and there was no money or anything involved. I just want to let them know I’m sorry for disappearing out of nowhere and I am actively working on a way to get back in touch with them.

Comments

Tough_Iron_Heart•9 months ago•1

It’s required by the Chinese government, to restrict foreigners from using this app. On September 11, Red Note was “interviewed” by the government (it's on the news). One of the important reasons is that there are too many foreigners, so that the Chinese inside the wall know too much real information from abroad, which is a threat to CPC' rule

midlifecrisisqnmd•9 months ago•1

I can pass it along, dm me her handle and message :)

Stunning-Necessary75•8 months ago•1

If you send your passport, they should be able to verify your ID. As long as it all checks out, you shouldn't be banned. Basically, all social media apps in China require ID to be updated, and sometimes they're bad at dealing with foreign ID.

rephil3•8 months ago•1

download wechat, register passport and connect xhs to wechat

ExpensiveRate8311•8 months ago•1

Americans should keep away. The American country is already ruined dont spread to others

romremsyl•8 months ago•1

Hopefully you got the message to them already. If not, you can message me about it. I haven't had to do real-name verification yet, but some tips I've seen are to type in all caps like your passport, in the same name order as your passport. Possibly this could be LAST FIRST MIDDLE. Also make sure the image is not mirrored; the writing on the passport needs to be readable. Hold the passport under you with your face visible above it, and have both your face and the passport in the photo. You may need to take a picture of the front and back of the passport as well as the info page. Someone said there isn't an appeal process, but I've seen people post about their appeals after winning them so there should be an appeal button if you are denied initially.

JournalistFragrant51•8 months ago•1

Well,something did happen on September 11. It's been heavily censored.

gela98•8 months ago•1

I’m on XHS everyday, I have never been restricted since joining in January 2025. I’d be happy to pass on a message on your behalf. PM me and or let me know the details and I will follow through. I completely understand this feeling and also have enjoyed and learned so much on red note, I’d be happy to give back in this capacity if you still need help with this.

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