It isn't "cancel culture"; we have an entirely separate lexicon for when a state uses its authority to silence and outright disappear people. Framing the PRC's actions with a cutesy Twitter phrase feels more like a cheap and not-very-interesting "gotcha" than an accurate account of what's going on.

The only difference is who is doing it.

What a coincidence, that just happens to be the key difference that makes it the wrong word to use.

Are you gatekeeping “cancel culture” now?

Do dictionaries make you angry?

And the effects. Canceled people feel victimized and then write papers an attend conferences about how they can't say anything anymore. I'm still waiting Jack Ma's papers or conference.

yeah... one is the good people defending each other & pluralism, the other is goosestepping fascists pushing their narrow perogatives onto a culture & the world.

It’s certainly a difference. And a salient one at that.