This article has been updated.
China has been trying hard to repair its global image, tarnished by the spread of Covid-19, but its efforts are being undermined by some of its “wolf warriors.” The term used to refer to aggressive Chinese diplomats, but now nationalistic government social media accounts have also joined the ranks.
On Saturday (May 1), the official Weibo account of China’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission stirred a huge backlash after one of its posts attached a picture juxtaposing China’s successful launch of a module into space with one that shows India’s cremation pyres burning at night. “China lighting a fire versus India lighting a fire,” the post read.
An image showing a Chinese rocket burner next to the cremation pyres of India s COVID-19 victims, with the caption: Lighting a fire in China vs. lighting a fire in India, that was published by a Weibo account belonging to the CCP s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, but later censored after an outcry. CCP s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission
Censors in China have deleted a post from an account backed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that drew a mocking comparison between the fires under a Chinese rocket and mass cremations of COVID-19 victims in India.
The meme-like image showed a Chinese rocket burner next to the cremation pyres of victims, with the caption: Lighting a fire in China vs. lighting a fire in India.
Chinese Military-Civil Fusion and Section 1260H: Congress Incorporates Defense Contributors
Members of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) walk past the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, China. (Photo credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg, https://flic.kr/p/ehevvw; CC by 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)
One provision of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2021 requires the U.S. Department of Defense to publish an annual list of “Chinese military companies” (CMCs). Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo referenced the provision, Section 1260H, during her confirmation process as a way to handle the “substantial challenges China’s military-civil fusion policy poses to U.S. national security.” But while the 2021 NDAA required the list to be published starting on April 15, the report has not yet been released.
China has deleted a Communist Party social media post mocking India s unfolding Covid-19 crisis, it is understood.
The since-removed post showed an image of a recent rocket launch in China next to what looked to be workers at a mass cremation in India, alongside the words: China lighting a fire versus India lighting a fire.
The inflammatory post by China s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission sparked online criticism.
The inflammatory post by China s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, pictured above, sparked online criticism
An image of the Tianhe Core Module which was launched into space by China on April 29 were juxtaposed with a photo of what appeared to be workers at a mass outdoor cremation in India.