As residents of China's Shanghai are overwhelmed by food shortages caused by the lockdown, China's propaganda agencies have pushed on social media to promote a Winter Olympics ceremony hosted by leader Xi Jinping, while continuing to censor and delete references to life's hardships in Shanghai and discussions of food shortages. content.
The commendation ceremony held on April 8, China time, was widely reported by the Chinese media. CCTV News posted a clip of Xi praising Chinese culture and Chinese cuisine in his speech. Among them, Xi Jinping also named Gu Ailing, a Chinese Winter Olympic skier who won three medals, and said, "Gu Ailing loves to eat pie."
After the meeting, Gu Ailing, who was active in the United States and China, said: "General Secretary Xi Jinping mentioned that I eat pie, and I am very happy", "I am honored to bring Chinese culture to the world."
The interaction between Xi Jinping and Gu Ailing went viral on social media.
However, in the opinion of some netizens, the central government and official media felt uncomfortable with the festive atmosphere created by the commendation conference at a time when the epidemic in Shanghai has caused a large number of residents to live in difficulties and to be helpless.
“The people of Shanghai are not interested in the performance of the Winter Olympics awards,” one netizen wrote on Weibo.
"Gu Ailing eats pies, foreigners eat dumplings, and I eat the tears and suffering of people who have closed business due to the epidemic," another netizen wrote.
"I watched the news broadcast just now and I was still summarizing the experience of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The years were quiet. The sense of separation is back to the first year of the epidemic. Wuhan was struggling, and the Spring Festival Gala was singing and dancing," a netizen lamented. Say.
VOA found that some similar microblogs that could be viewed earlier have been blocked because these microblogs "can no longer be viewed according to the relevant provisions of the "Weibo Community Convention" due to complaints from many people."
Under the closure of the city, many Shanghai residents have encountered serious material shortages and need to obtain food supplies by "grabbing vegetables" online every day. There is no shortage of heated discussions and complaints about this topic on the Internet. However, netizens discovered a few days ago that the hot search topic "Shanghai grocery shopping" has been blocked on Weibo.
“Good news! Completely solve the #Shanghai Shopping Mall# problem,” one netizen wrote, adding a screenshot of Weibo blocking the topic.
"I'm speechless, does starvation count as zero," replied one netizen.
"Whoever finds the problem will solve it" and "It's amazing for my country," other netizens wrote.
In addition, an article on the Shanghai epidemic that was widely circulated on WeChat was also deleted.
In this article titled "Help! ! ! "In the article, the author stormzhang wrote about the experiences of himself and the people around him after the closure of the city in Shanghai.
"The biggest problem now is that it's getting harder and harder to buy food, all the express delivery from other provinces can't be delivered, and all the supermarkets around the takeaway merchants are closed. We can only rely on Dingdong, Hema, and Meituan to guard the food on the hour. It depends entirely on luck. If you can grab a few Chinese cabbage, you will be happy all day," he wrote in the article.
He pointed out that the degree of materials received by different communities in Shanghai varies greatly. "Many communities have received very little materials, and it is a fact that some people have not received materials."
Different groups have different living conditions, he said. Young people who are familiar with technology can successfully "grab food" through software, but it is much more difficult for the elderly.
"I am an ordinary person working hard in Shanghai... I have no other ability, I happen to be an Internet blogger, and I have the ability to speak up. No matter whether this article will be harmonized or not, I will also do it today. Speak up, for myself, for the people living in Shanghai, and for the people of the whole country," he wrote.
WeChat deleted the article on the grounds that the content violated the "Regulations on the Administration of Information Services for Internet Users' Public Accounts".
On Weibo, a netizen named "Workplace Person Punch-in Calendar" claimed to have reported the article by himself.
"At this juncture, publishing such an article is to create trouble for the country and make the people of the whole country panic... This self-media blogger should not rub shoulders with the country's hot spots for traffic," the netizen said in a Weibo post. The blog wrote and posted a screenshot of his successful report.
After other netizens found out, they issued an angry condemnation of the user.
"The full text reflects the current situation in Shanghai, and it is impossible to experience it without Shanghai. I don't expect to understand, but reporting real distress information is a cold-blooded act," one netizen wrote.
Others said that in addition to criticizing whistleblowers, China's censorship system needs to be rethought.
"People are bad and cheap, but the system behind them is even more problematic," wrote one netizen. "Why does whistleblowing prevail? It is the positive feedback given by the system that inspires the evil of human nature."