'Paying Cat Tax' Becomes a Unique Etiquette for Chinese and American Netizens to Exchange

According to Hong Kong's Sing Tao Global Network on January 16th, before the US government's ban on TikTok may take effect on January 19th, a large number of TikTok American users have been flocking to another Chinese social platform, Xiaohongshu, since January 14th. Although Xiaohongshu still does not have a translation function, it does not affect the enthusiasm of a group of American netizens who claim to be "TikTok refugees" and interact friendly with Chinese netizens. Sharing pictures of cute cats has become a unique social etiquette for both sides to communicate

It is reported that interestingly, when American netizens introduce themselves on Xiaohongshu, many of them attach photos of their own cats, which immediately resonates with Chinese netizens, who enthusiastically respond with photos of their own pet cats. This interactive mode has rapidly fermented, and some Chinese netizens have also taken the initiative. Whenever they see American netizens posting, they will ask, "Do you have a cat at home? Can you share photos with us?" In response to the request, American netizens are also willing to cooperate and show the cute appearance of their own cats

Gradually, American netizens will voluntarily attach pictures of cats when publishing any article, and this interesting cultural phenomenon is humorously referred to as "Pay Cattax" by netizens, becoming a friendly way of communication across languages and cultures. Many Chinese netizens also said that as long as Americans are willing to share cute cat pictures, it means they are willing to have friendly exchanges. Many American netizens also immediately followed suit and "paid cat tax" one after another

Currently, the topic of "paying cat taxes" on Xiaohongshu has over 10.153 million views and over 294000 discussions. In addition to sharing cats, netizens from both regions also shared photos of cute ponies, lambs, or hamsters