The shocking news that Shinzo Abe was shot twice during a campaign speech in the city of Nara on Friday morning has become top trending on Weibo, where many commenters show little sympathy for Japan’s former Prime Minister.
In the morning of July 8, 2022, Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍 晋三) was shot twice during a speech for an election campaign event in the city of Nara. According to the latest reports, the 67-year-old Abe has been rushed to hospital. Update: just before 18:00 local time, news came out that Shinzo Abe died after being shot.
The shooting incident happened around 11:30 when Abe was giving an Upper House election campaign speech in front of Yamato-Saidaiji Station of the Kintetsu Line.
Ex-Tokyo governor Yoichi Masuzoe (舛添要一), who was also at the event in Nara, tweeted that the former President was suffering “cardiopulmonary arrest” (心肺停止状態), meaning he is showing no vital signs.
According to the Asahi newspaper, a 41-year-old man by the name of Tetsuya Yamagami has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and the weapon was seized.
On Chinese social media, the incident immediately became a trending news topic and various images were shared showing the alleged suspect. Other photos showed the former Prime Minister laying on the ground surrounded by medical staff. The hashtag “Abe Shows No Vital Signs” (#安倍已无生命体征#) received over a billion views on Friday.
One Weibo news post about the shooting by CCTV received over 1,6 million likes. The top comment said: “Exam candidates, remember this for extra points: July 7 is the day of the 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident that started China’s War of Resistance against Japan; July 8 the day when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot and killed.” The comment received nearly 100,000 likes.
Influential media blogger Zhang Xiaolei (@张晓磊) posted: “Walking alone down a dark alley*, this man will go down in the history of Japan,” referring to the gunman.
Some of the comments called the shooter a ‘hero’, saying he would not just go into Japanese history, but also would be remembered in Chinese history books. The comment that “this is a historical day” is a recurring one on Weibo today.
Former Prime Minister Abe was President of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and he was the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history from 2006 to 2007 and then again from 2012 to 2020. He retired as Prime Minister in 2020 due to health reasons.
“An old man gets shot and falls to the ground yet you are gloating over it. Where is the morality? Where is your bottom line?“
In China, Abe has never been popular. After his 2020 retirement, he visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine war memorial just days after stepping down. An 2021 editorial in the Chinese state media outlet Global Timescalled the former Prime Minister the “chief anti-China politician in Japan.” In a 2021 Security Dialogue on Taiwan-US-Japan, Abe said that “Taiwan must be a leader among democracies.” Some weeks earlier, he had also stated that “a Taiwan emergency is a Japanese emergency,” urging China not to provoke its neighbors or seek territorial expansion.
In 2017, a video of a Japanese kindergarten recital saying that the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands belong to Japan and that China should not “spread lies” about Japan went viral and sparked controversy on Chinese social media. That incident also put Shinzo Abe in a bad light as his wife previously visited the school, and he had reportedly once said that the ideology of the school’s chairman was similar to his.
Anti-Japanese sentiments often surface on Chinese social media, where the history of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) is still actively remembered (read more here).
“Shinzo Abe needs to let go of his hatred, excuse the gunman, and erase this part from history,” another popular Weibo comment said, sarcastically referring to previous Japanese history textbook controversies regarding the silencing of Japan’s war crimes.
But there are also those who are condemning those who apparently delight in the fact that the former Prime Minister was shot. One popular Weibo comment criticized these Weibo users, writing: “An old man gets shot and falls to the ground yet you are gloating over it. Where is the morality? Where is your bottom line?”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian (赵立坚) commented on the attack on Shinzo Abe during a regular press briefing on July 8, expressing shock and concern, adding: “We hope that former Prime minister Abe will be out of danger and recover soon.”
Some could not resist making a sarcasting comment in the post reply section, writing: “There is still the danger that he might live?”
Despite all the reactions expressing a negative stance toward Abe and Japan, some Weibo users are posting a candle emoticon for the former Prime Minister, writing: “Sending prayers for Shinzo Abe.”
Update: On Friday late afternoon, local media reported that Shinzo Abe died after the attack. Soon after, before 18:00 CST, the hashtag “Shinzo Abe Passed Away” (#安倍晋三身亡#) became the number one topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo, with the hashtag page receiving over 280 million views within thirty minutes.
* “孤身走暗巷”, “walking alone in a dark alley”, comes from a song titled “Lonely Warrior” (孤勇者) by Eason Chen.
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Manya Koetse is the founder and editor-in-chief of whatsonweibo.com. She is a writer, public speaker, and researcher (Sinologist, MPhil) on social trends, digital developments, and new media in an ever-changing China, with a focus on Chinese society, pop culture, and gender issues. She shares her love for hotpot on hotpotambassador.com. Contact at manya@whatsonweibo.com, or follow on Twitter.
There has been a lot of talk about frogs in Chinese online discussions following the G7 summit. Over the past week, the G7 summit, that was held in Hiroshima from 19 to 21 May, was criticized in Chinese newspaper headlines and by official media accounts, while China’s ministry of foreign affairs accused the G7 of “smearing” and “attacking” China.
The G7 was called a “failure” on the China Daily front page of May 22. On the same day, Global Times called the summit “manipulative” in its front page headline and suggested the Group of Seven had descended into an “anti-China workshop” in its op-ed, which featured an illustration by Liu Rui that showed the seven nations in a boat, not cooperating and barely moving.
The Global Times op-ed, including the cartoon by Li Rui. Source: Global Times.
But perhaps the most noteworthy criticism on the G7 summit came from Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying (华春莹).
On her official Twitter account (@SpokespersonCHN) Hua lashed out against the G7 and its participating nations in a series of tweets in which she condemned the summit as hypocritical, deceptive, and biased, while highlighting China’s contributions to global economic growth.
Some of the tweets posted by Hua Chunying in response to the Group of Seven “attacking” and “slandering” China.
The Chinese condemnation of the G7 is a direct response to the G7 Communiqué and to the summit’s supposed “hype around China-related issues.”
During the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the participating nations expressed growing concerns about China’s expanding global influence. The summit’s official statement emphasized the need to “de-risk” rather than “de-couple” from China in their relationship. The statement mentioned China 20 times, a significant increase from the 14 mentions in 2022.
The discussions focused on various aspects related to China, including its relations with Taiwan, human rights issues in Xinjiang and Tibet, interference in democratic institutions, and responses to Russia’s military aggression.
Prior to the summit, President Emmanuel Macron of France made it clear through one of his advisers that the G7 was not an ‘anti-Chinese’ coalition. However, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom went beyond the official statement, emphasizing the significant threat posed by China to global security. Speaking to reporters at the G7 meeting, Sunak stated that “China poses the biggest challenge of our age to global security and prosperity. They are increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad.”
From China’s perspective, the Group of Seven is unwilling to go beyond their own distorted world view in which China is labeled a threat. And so, in one of Hua’s tweets, she posted an image showing a frog on the bottom a well, looking up to the sky and wondering: “G7 = world?”
The image tweeted out by Hua Chunying on 22 May, 2023. Source: Twitter.com.
The depiction of a frog in the well is a direct reference to the well-known fable by philosopher Zhuangzi about a frog in a well who does not believe it when a turtle tells him that the world is bigger than the view from the well. The frog stubbornly denies the existence of the wider world and asserts that nothing lies beyond what he can see. The fable has given rise to Chinese idioms such as “the frog at the bottom of the well” (井底之蛙) and “looking at the sky from the bottom of the well” (坐井观天). These idioms are commonly used to describe those who exhibit ignorance and resist broadening their understanding beyond their limited perspective.
Hua’s frog-tweet and others were also shared on Weibo by state media outlet China Daily, which initiated the hashtags “Hua Chunying Fires Back with Series of Tweets to Counter G7’s Smear Campaign Against China” (#华春莹连发多条推特回击G7抹黑中国言论#) and “Hua Chunying Uses Frog at Bottom of Well to Hit Back at G7’s Smearing Remarks” (#华春莹用井底之蛙回击G7抹黑言论#).
One nationalistic Weibo blogging account (@大大大餅乾丶) shared additional images of frogs, including one with a frog adorned with an American flag and the word “independence” written on its forehead. The blogger pointed out that some groups in Taiwan believed that Hua’s frog tweet was directed at Taiwan, stating: “It seems like their self-awareness is right on point.”
Post by Weibo account @大大大餅干丶, including the frog image. (Source: Weibo.com).
The connection between the frog idiom and Taiwan is not unfounded. In August 2022, during Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan, an illustration depicting a frog leisurely relaxing in a hotpot while the US increased the heat and mainland China held the lid also went viral online.
Illustration by Kokita Chang, circulating on Weibo in August of 2022.
Meanwhile, on Weibo, many praised Hua’s sharp criticism of the way in which China was targeted during the G7 talks and embraced the frog analogy. “One a frog, always a frog,” some wrote.
Other state media outlets, including Global Times, also reported about Hua’s tweets and argued that that the G7 is purposely hyping the “China treat” theory (中国威胁论). The louder their anti-China rhetoric is, the less impact it has, the article argues.
Other commenters, however, seemed to note some irony in the frog analogy. One blogger argued that since the frog in the image himself wonders if the G7 is really the entire world, he actually already does not have such a limited worldview. Several Weibo users wondered who the frog actually represented, suggesting it could either be the G7, Taiwan, or mainland China itself.
Within this context, some individuals expressed curiosity about Hua Chunying’s choice to post the original message on the American Twitter platform, which is inaccessible within mainland China. They humorously remarked, “Twitter? What is Twitter?”
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On April 26th, Chinese state media outlet CCTV posted a lengthy post on Weibo about the much-anticipated phone call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to CCTV, the main point of the conversation was to exchange views on China-Ukrainian relations – based on “mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” – and the war in Ukraine.
The phone call is especially noteworthy because it is the first Xi-Zelensky conversation since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The phone call came after a number of noteworthy international developments, including Xi’s visit to Moscow in late March, French President Macron’s China visit in April, and that of Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The momentous conversation also took place shortly after comments made by Lu Shaye (卢沙野), the Chinese ambassador to France, caused controversy. Last week, Lu questioned the independence of former Soviet countries like Ukraine in an interview with French television network LCI. He commented on Crimea being Russian and suggested that former Soviet countries have no “effective status” in international law. The interview sparked controversy and anger among former Soviet countries Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, and other European countries.
Meanwhile, on the Chinese side, the Foreign Ministry stated it respects the sovereignty of ex-Soviet states. Various voices argued that Lu Shaye’s words were taken out of context and were the effect of a certain Western media strategy (see the take by Chinese scholar Zheng Ruolin here and that of commentator Hu Xijin here). However, Lu Shaye’s remarks regarding post-Soviet nations could have increased the urgency for Xi to reach out to Zelensky via phone.
Putting Out the Fire
One sentence from the phone call that was highlighted by Chinese state media and which was turned into a social media hashtag was that of how China “will neither watch the fire from across the river nor pour oil on the fire” (#我们既不会隔岸观火也不会拱火浇油#).
While the sentence reiterates China’s supposed neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the conversation between Xi and Zelensky also signalled China’s desire to take on the role as a responsible global power and international peacemaker.
CCTV reported that China will insist on urging for peace and make its own efforts to stop the war. China reportedly will send an envoy (Special Representative of the Chinese Government for Eurasian Affairs/中国政府欧亚事务特别代表) to Ukraine and “other countries” to help seek a political settlement in the crisis through in-depth discussions with all parties.
Chinese official reports on the call also emphasized how Zelenskiy congratulated President Xi Jinping on his re-election and that Ukraine adheres to the one-China policy, hoping to “open a new chapter in Sino-Ukrainian relations and work together to maintain world peace and stability.”
Direct News headlined that the US was “sour” over China’s conversation with Ukraine.
News of the call was posted and promoted on Chinese social media by various media accounts. Direct News (直新闻) by Shenzhen Media Group even called the Xi-Zelensky call “the most significant international news of the entire week.”
The same media outlet also said that the U.S. response to the Xi-Zelensky call was “somewhat sour.” White House spokesman John Kirby called it “a good thing” but also said it was too early to know whether it would lead to “some sort of meaningful peace movement, or plan or proposal”.
Although most Chinese media accounts reporting on the phone call on Weibo had their comment sections turned off – leaving no room for online discussions, – pundit and former Global Times chief editor Hu Xijin also posted a lengthy commentary on Weibo about the issue on April 27th, which received over 900 (selected) replies.
Hu stressed the important role China has in a world where it is the only major country that maintains friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, with both leaders willing to listen to China’s views. Neverthless, Hu wrote that there is still a long road ahead for peace to be achieved.
Hu also suggested that Washington is playing a negative role in reaching a political settlement of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The US has not shown “true willingness to push for a ceasefire” and moreover is also “utilizing the war for its own strategic objectives,” according to Hu.
In the comment section, many discussions were also focused on the role of the US. “They don’t want a ceasefire,” some wrote.
There were also other commenters who suggested that the key to solving the war in Ukraine eventually is not up to the US, nor to China, but to Russia and Ukraine alone.
Some still have the hope that China can make a difference in achieving peace: “China can do what other countries cannot. When it comes to it [reaching peace], we can do it.”
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