China Media
The Brexit “Divorce Drama” Captivates Chinese Netizens
As politicians, (British) citizens and international media are feverishly discussing the post-Brexit turmoil, many Chinese netizens see the Brexit referendum as a “divorce drama” rather than a critical political decision-making process: will Mrs. Britain and Mr. EU ever get back together?
Brexit is not just making headlines in Europe. The topic is also trending on Chinese (social) media. On Sina Weibo, the topic #Brexit Referendum (#英国脱欧公投) has attracted 980 million readers since Sunday.
The question how Brexit might affect China has been discussed by different official Chinese media such as Global Times, that suggests that Britain leaving the EU might indirectly affect China’s export. Britain is China’s second largest trade partner in EU.
As the “leave” vote also affects the overall financial market, it could also cause instability and a possible setback to the internationalization of Chinese currency, according to Global Times.
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China Daily reported that especially Chinese companies with a significant presence in Britain and the EU will be impacted by UK’s decision to leave the European Union, as they might encounter legal issues and problems over taxation or employee mobility.
“Although deep down B. still had faith in their marriage, she could not make this decision by herself.”
But for most Chinese netizens, Brexit is not so much a political decision-making process but rather a “divorce drama” – with Britain’s EU leave actually being compared to a married couple in a relationship crisis. Many netizens wonder whether their crisis is severe enough for an actual divorce.
A popular illustrated article by Phoenix News best represents the so-called “divorce drama between Britain and the EU”:
“A long time ago, Little B. [Britain] was very powerful, with villa’s on every island and fields on half the globe..At the same time, on the continent of Europe, some people had been fighting for hundreds of years. Until one day, after the war, they finally stopped and made a baby named E. [EU, previously ‘European Community’]..It did not take long for E. to grow up and notice his pretty neighbor B. Although E. seemed small and harmless, Little B. feared that he might grow big pretty soon and would then cross the English Channel to bully her.”
But E. did not grow up to be a spoiled brat – and he actually gathered quite some money. Although E. was not very handsome, he was a capable young man. Little B. had some bad luck; all her fields over the world turned independent, after which she had less to eat. In a moment of desperation, B. thought E. was not so bad after all – and she was hungry – so she decided to marry him. But married life was quite tragic for the couple. Because E. was a real male chauvinist, and meddled in all kinds of big and small issues, which made B. very uncomfortable.”
The story continues:
“E. really wanted some kids with B., but she firmly refused as she was afraid it would turn her into a faded old woman.(..) Although B. and E. always had some small frictions during their marriage, Mr. E. always thought B. was very pretty, and her family was rich, so he treated her like a princess. Although B. was not really satisfied with the marriage, she had no intentions to actually divorce…until E. brought home some poor neighbors recently…”
“B. was outraged, and all the anger of the previous years came out, as she said E. would never listen to her – she wanted a divorce. Despite all the havoc, E. still really liked B. and would do everything to make her stay. Although deep down B. also still had faith in their marriage, she could not make this decision by herself. So she decided to consult her family” – and we all know how that story ended.
Caption: E. (man): “It is all my fault!” B. (woman): “I drink milk tea, you eat sausage, how come I marry you!!?”
“The drama is coming to an end; go wash up and sleep.”
The story of “B. and E.” continues on Chinese social media, where some netizens believe that Britain threatening to leave the EU is just a symptom of the UK needing some extra TLC: “Britain wants out of EU? It’s just like a wife demanding a divorce. It is merely a matter of a romantic night and giving her an extra handbag. It just takes some persuasion and it will pass”, one netizen says.
Although there are now more voices rising saying that Brexit might not actually happen, some netizens still see reasons to worry: “It is so awkward for EU now – Brexit is like a couple that wants a divorce. Even if the marriage remains, life will remain to be difficult in the future.”
Whether they are positive, negative, or indifferent about the Brexit turmoil, the majority of Chinese netizens see the referendum as a “relationship drama” which will probably end with Britain remaining in the EU. “Britain will not leave”, many netizens remark matter-of-factly: “The drama is coming to an end; go wash up and sleep”, writes another netizen.
“It will be Scotland all over again.”
One of the reasons why many netizens are convinced Brexit will not end up in an actual break-up is because it reminds them of another “divorce drama” in 2014: the Scottish independence referendum.
Back in 2014, the Scotland referendum also attracted much attention on Chinese social media, with the topic #Scotland referendum (#苏格兰公投) being viewed over 11 million times at the time. The referendum was framed in a similar “divorce” narrative, with many netizens referring to the referendum as Scotland proposing to end of its 300-hundred-year marriage with England.
“It will be Scotland all over again”, says one netizen: “Create a scenes, make some headlines, and then get some extra rights”.
Many netizens created their own “dramas” around this referendum. One netizen even wrote a romance story featuring Arthur, a young man who was losing his charm, anxious about whether others would stay with him.
“Dear Little B, if you ever want to get back to me, I will always be here for you!”
Many netizens also get poetic about the Brexit crisis: “Dear Little B, if you ever want to get back to me, I will always be here for you!”, one netizen writes, posting the following video [turn on subtitles]:
“I just broke up with my girlfriend,” one netizen comments: “and then came Brexit. This video perfectly represents our epic love story.”
The original poster is not too positive about this love story’s outcome: “The UK will say: ‘I’d rather cry in my Rolls-Royce, then laugh on the back of your bike!”
“B. and E. have really split up,” one netizen writes: “And matchmaker Cameron has left the stage.”
Scotland leaving Britain or Britain leaving the EU might be far-away political events for many Chinese, but recent social media reactions show that netizens form their own understandings of the tumultuous events. Although the actual story might go beyond a simple marriage crisis, many Chinese netizens are eager to see if the B. and E. will finally get to live happily ever after.
– By Diandian Guo and Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo
©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Media
Slip of the Tongue: Biden Accidentally Says He “Applauds China”
On Weibo, people joke that Biden’s gaffe was a Freudian slip: “He finally said how he really feels about China.”
It was a top headline on Baidu News on Saturday, March 25: while delivering a speech to the Canadian parliament on Friday, U.S. President Biden said he “applauded China for stepping up,” quickly correcting himself and saying he meant to say ‘Canada’ instead of ‘China.’
Biden was giving the speech in Ottowa during a state visit to Canada, during which the U.S. President and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau held bilateral talks discussing various security issues.
In the speech, Biden reaffirmed the strong relations between Canada and the United States.
At the moment of Biden’s gaffe, he said: “So today I applaud China for stepping up,” before correcting himself and making a quick joke: “Excuse me, I applaud Canada. You can tell what I’m thinking…about China. We won’t get into that yet.”
Ahead of the state visit, Trudeau spoke to CNN about U.S.-Canada relations and China, stating that there are areas in which they will “going to have to directly challenge China” on issues such as human rights and security. He said: “We’re going to have to continue to be wide-eyed and clear about the threat that China poses and wants to pose to the stability of our democracies.”
Regarding Biden’s gaffe, Chinese media were quick to jump on it and soon the incident spread on Weibo using various hashtags (“Biden Corrects Himself after Saying He Applauds China” #拜登称为中国鼓掌后改口#; “Biden Accidentally Says He Applauds China” #拜登口误为中国鼓掌#).
Chinese state media outlet Global Times (环球网) posted one of the most popular posts on the matter, which included a video of the moment, receiving over 82,000 likes.
But other big accounts, such as the Communist Youth League, also posted about the moment.
“Even if he dreams, he still thinks of China,” one top comment said, with others replying things such as: “He just can’t keep China out of his mouth.”
Some people also suggested it was a Freudian slip, and that Biden actually said what he was thinking: “Finally he said what he feels!” and “he loves China.”
China’s Communist Youth League also posted a meme about Biden allegedly also saying “US-China relations” instead of “US-Canada relations” during a bilateral meeting in 2021.
At one time in 2022, Biden apparently also mixed up “Ukraine” and “China” during a speech.
By now, Biden’s mix-ups and mistakes have become a regular occurrence, something that was already covered by The New York Times as early as 2019.
One meme on Chinese social media featured Joe Biden and Donald Trump side by side wearing a 1960s PLA uniform, the flag of the Communist Party in the background.
Trump was previously also jokingly called “Comrade Trump” on Chinese social media, saying he was the man “making China great again,” suggesting that his policies and actions inadvertently contributed to China’s rise. For this reason, he was also nicknamed “Build the Country Trump” (川建国) and ‘Comrade Jianguo’ (建国同志 [Comrade Build-Country]).
An older Trump meme, see Twitter thread here.
For a similar reason, Biden is now also nicknamed “Boosting China Biden” (拜振华). Both ‘Build the Country Trump’ and ‘Boosting China Biden’ are written in such ways that they could pass as Chinese names, which is part of the joke.
Some netizens playfully warned Biden and Trump about being careful not to give themselves away: “Please, comrades, be careful about hiding your true identity!”
“Comrade Boost China Biden, thanks for your hard work,” another jokingly wrote.
By Manya Koetse
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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
By Manya Koetse
With contributions by Miranda Barnes
Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.
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China Media
“New Chapter of Sino-Russian Friendship”: Putin Publishes Op-Ed in China’s People’s Daily, Xi in Rossiiskaya Gazeta
In Xi’s piece, the word “China” was the most recurring one. In Putin’s article, the word “Russia” was repeated the most.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday, March 20, for his scheduled state visit to Russia.
During his three-day Moscow visit, Xi will have one-on-one talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the first time Xi visits Russia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On the first day of the top-level meeting, the Chinese state media outlet People’s Daily headlined that Xi Jinping published an article in the Russian government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta on the occasion of his state visit, while also featuring the news about Putin’s signed article on the front page (the actual article was published on page three).
Meanwhile, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta did the same: they also featured Xi’s publication on the front page of their digital newspaper, while also turning Putin’s contribution to the People’s Daily into one of the main headlines. The newspaper also published a special section dedicated to Sino-Russian friendship.
Xi’s article, in Russian here and in Chinese here, was also translated to English and published by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on their website here.
The article, titled “Forging Ahead to Open a New Chapter of China-Russia Friendship, Cooperation and Common Development” (“踔厉前行，开启中俄友好合作、共同发展新篇章”) mainly stresses the strong bond and mutual trust between China and Russia and the future of Sino-Russian relations, with the word “cooperation” being used 22 times and the word “friendship” used 8 times in the text. The most-mentioned word in the text is “China” (24 times); “Russia” was mentioned 22 times.
“Ukraine” was mentioned three times in one paragraph about the ‘Ukraine crisis,’ which emphasized China’s “impartial position” and its active promotion of peace talks.
Word cloud of Xi’s text for Russian newspaper (What’s on Weibo/Word Art).
The article by Putin is titled “Russia and China – A Future-Bound Partnership” (“俄罗斯和中国——面向未来的伙伴关系”) (link in Chinese, link in English) and it is similar to Xi’s op-ed in multiple ways, and also focused on stressing the special friendship between both countries and how similar they allegedly are in their culture, tradition, and foreign policy.
The article was actually also very similar to an earlier article titled “Russia and China: A Future-Oriented Strategic Partnership” published by Vladimir Putin for Chinese state media outlet Xinhua just before the Winter Olympics and Putin’s visit to China in 2022 (link in English).
The current article condemns America’s role in the international community and thanks China for its approach to the Ukrainian issue. The word that comes up most often in the text is “Russia” (20 times); “China” is mentioned 18 times. Words such as “cooperation” and “partnership” also come up a lot (7 and 5 times respectively).
Word cloud made from Putin’s text for People’s Daily, by What’s on Weibo via Word Art.
The hashtag “Xi Jinping Published Signed Article in Russian Media” (#习近平在俄罗斯媒体发表署名文章#) was posted on social media site Weibo by Xinhua.
China Daily posted images featuring several quotes from Xi’s signed article in Chinese and English.
While it was not the first time for Putin to post an op-ed in a Chinese state media newspaper, it was also not the first time for Xi Jinping to publish a signed article in a Russian government newspaper. He also posted one in 2015 (link in Chinese).
Xi previously also published letters or bylined articles in the media of other countries.
Ahead of his state visit to Finland in 2017, the Finnish newspaper Helsinki Times featured Xi’s article titled “Our Enduring Friendship” (“穿越历史的友谊”). Xi also stressed bilateral relations in letters to the foreign media of countries such as Myanmar, Greece, Nepal, North Korea, and others.
The term used by Xi in the article, “starting a new chapter” (“开启时代新篇章”) was repeated by many commenters replying to the topic on Weibo, where Xi’s Russia visit is covered by many media accounts in videos, text, and images.
In a recent post, political commentator Hu Xijin (@胡锡进) noted how Xi’s Russia visit made international headlines, underlining the major significance of the meeting. Hu wrote that no third party could hinder the “steady development of Sino-Russian relations.” At time of writing, only three out of more than a hundred replies to Hu’s post were displayed – the three replies consisted of hearts and thumbs up emoji only – with the other comments being filtered.
Although the meeting between Xi and Putin was promoted in the Weibo trending lists, most posts about the state visit only allowed some selected replies in the threads below, or simply closed the comment sections. This was also the case went Putin’s annual address in Moscow was featured by various accounts on Weibo.
For more articles on China-Russian relations and related Weibo discussions, check our archives here.
By Manya Koetse
With contributions by Miranda Barnes
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Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. First-time commenters, please be patient – we will have to manually approve your comment before it appears.
©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
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