Communist Party of China social media account faces backlash in China after mocking India’s COVID deaths

‘This is so inappropriate for an official account, it does not represent people of China’

May 02, 2021 06:49 pm | Updated May 03, 2021 11:18 am IST

Screenshot of the post shared on Weibo, by an account maintained by the CPC’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission

Screenshot of the post shared on Weibo, by an account maintained by the CPC’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission

A social media account linked to the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) top law enforcement body came under fire in China over the weekend for mocking India’s COVID-19 deaths in a social media post.

The post was shared on Weibo, China’s Twitter-equivalent, by an account maintained by the CPC’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the powerful body that controls the courts and police.

The account, which has 15 million followers, in a message on Saturday shared two images side-by-side of a rocket launch in China and a cremation ground in India, adding a message: “China lighting a fire, India lighting a fire”.

Unusual step

While the message initially went viral, it prompted widespread outrage on Chinese social media for its insensitivity, leading the Party-linked account to take the unusual step of deleting the post.

Dong Mengyu, a researcher, said on Twitter one blogger wrote an article in response saying, “I apologise to Indian people on my own behalf. The post by the [Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission’s] Weibo account doesn’t represent me. We live on the same planet... We feel your sufferings.” That essay, Mr. Dong said, was later deleted.

The original post, reported Manya Koetse of What’s on Weibo, a website that tracks social media trends in China, was shared 9,000 times before it was deleted. It was not the only such post from an official organ mocking India’s situation — another Weibo account linked to the Ministry of Public Security, the top police authority, shared a similar message.

Inappropriate comparison

Both posts prompted widespread derision, at a time when several Chinese social organisations have begun fundraising efforts to channel assistance towards India , including some prominent Buddhist organisations.

One widely followed social media account maintained by lawyer Wang Peng, Ms. Koetse reported, posted a response describing the message as “such an inappropriate comparison”. “Every country encounters disasters! Not to mention that in times of the pandemic, every country is involved,” he was quoted as saying. “From the propaganda point of view this is a classic case of propaganda failure,” added another. “This is so inappropriate for an official account, it does not represent the people of China.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.