🔥 Quick Take: Trending in China
This is a brief update from our curated roundup of what’s trending in China this week. A version of this story also appears in the Weibo Watch newsletter. Subscribe to stay in the loop.

In the last newsletter, I promised to follow up with more ‘post-parade’ responses. On Weibo and other social media platforms in China, hundreds of hashtags have emerged around the theme of the “afterglow after the parade” (阅兵后劲). In addition to the featured ‘AFP versus Xinhua’ discussion, here are some other noteworthy social media trends following the September 3 event, which turned out to be one of China’s largest military parades:

 
1 🇨🇳 “I’m So Happy in China”: Putin and Kim Jong-un’s Daughter in the Picture
 

Besides everything happening on Tiananmen Square during the parade, many netizens were just as interested—if not more—in what was going on at the sidelines. The presence of Putin and Kim Jong-un drew a lot of attention, and since political discussions are highly controlled on Chinese social media—especially during such high-profile events—online conversations mostly focused on smaller, more personal details.

One viral clip posted by Ta Kung Wen Wei Media (大公文匯網, a pro-Beijing Hong Kong media outlet) showed Putin during his various visits to China, where he always seems to enjoy local delicacies. The video’s caption read: “You have no idea how happy I am in China!” (“我在中国的快乐谁懂啊?!”).

As for Kim Jong-un, his daughter Kim Ju Ae, who accompanied him on this trip to China, became the social media star of the day. Many netizens still remembered her from a few years ago, when she joined her father at a Pyongyang military banquet and a widely publicized military parade. At the time, she was believed to be around ten years old, and Chinese bloggers nicknamed the round-cheeked girl “Golden Chubby” (金胖子) and “Golden Fourth Fatty” (金四胖).

In 2023 versus 2025

Now, however, the little girl has grown into a young lady. Many praised her style and grace, calling her a “little princess” (小公主). The hashtag “Kim Jong-un brought his daughter” (#金正恩把女儿金主爱带来了#) garnered over 190 million views on Weibo.

 
2 🎥 An Unexpected Face at Military Parade: US Pawnshop Owner Evan Kail
 

The American Evan Kail, a former pawnshop owner from Minnesota, was among the more unexpected faces at the parade. He appeared to be a semi-official guest, not watching the parade from Tiananmen Square but instead joining hundreds of locals to view it via livestream at the Temple of Heaven, where he was surrounded by cameras and media—making his attendance part of the broader media circus surrounding the military parade (#埃文凯尔天坛观看阅兵直播#).

Kail first went trending in 2022, when he posted a video asking for help after coming across an old war photo album he believed contained rare and previously unseen images of the Nanjing Massacre. He eventually donated the album to China. Although the book reportedly turned out not to contain photos of Nanjing but rather of Shanghai (with some images likely being mass-produced souvenir photos—and the authenticity of the album not really being the focus here), Kail is still well respected in China for bringing international attention to the atrocities of Nanjing. He recently published a book in China, and his story has been widely promoted by Chinese state media outlets.

 
3🏅 Parade Soldiers’ Sunburn Tan Lines Praised as “Special Medals”
 

Some of the post-parade “afterglow” discussions on social media focused on videos showing soldiers returning from the September 3 parade. They were easily recognizable at train stations and airports by the stark sun lines on their faces—caused by long hours of outdoor training and marching while wearing helmets with chin straps (see videos).

The “special medal” sun lines
Netizens called the marks a “special medal” (特殊的勋章), and the clips of soldiers returning home with their sunburnt faces also added a more vulnerable and human touch to those perfect military formations.

 
4 🤐 Man Detained Over “Parade-Insulting Comments”
 

It wasn’t all roses online during the military parade—although most netizens probably wouldn’t have noticed due to strict censorship. Some people were punished for expressing online criticism. One 47-year-old man surnamed Meng (孟) from Hubei was turned into a warning for others and was detained after posting “insulting” comments about the September 3 military parade on a livestream on WeChat. Another man from Tianjin saw his Weibo page blocked after he suggested that watching the parade is a shallow or fake form of patriotism—and it’s highly likely he was not the only one.

 
5 🚀 Military Model Toys Boom 175% in Sales Following Parade
 

Another post-parade effect: China has seen a surge in consumer interest in military-themed toys, from fighter jets to missiles and tanks. Starting on September 3, the military model category on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com reported a 175% increase in sales.

 
6 🪖 The Next Military Parade
 

Thought this was it? Not quite. Chinese media are already stirring anticipation for future military parades with the hashtag “Looking Forward to the Next Military Parade” (#期待下次阅兵了#). While nothing has been confirmed, the next likely milestone years for large-scale parades are 2027 (the People’s Liberation Army’s 100th anniversary) and 2029 (the 80th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China). To be continued…

By Manya Koetse

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©2025 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

The assassination of prominent American activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk, 31, became a trending topic on social media all over the world, including on Chinese social media platforms Weibo, Douyin, Toutiao, and Zhihu.

Kirk was shot on September 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. At the time of writing, a suspect was apprehended after a manhunt of two days (#特朗普称柯克枪击嫌疑人已被拘留#).

Using hashtags such as “Trump’s Political Ally Shot While Speaking” (#特朗普政治盟友演讲时遭枪击#), Chinese media outlets, online commentators, and regular netizens have been discussing Kirk’s death, with a focus on Kirk’s ideologies and the deeper issues in the United States that may have contributed to him being shot.

Although Charlie Kirk (查理·柯克) is not widely known among the mainstream Chinese audience, avid social media users are familiar with him. His past videos, with added Chinese subtitles, are popular on platforms like Bilibili, and his persona and viewpoints have sparked debate on sites like Zhihu.

Charlie Kirk is a highly visible figure on global social media for engaging in face-to-face debates with left-leaning students (or anyone who disagrees with him) on university campuses in the United States and even in the United Kingdom. These debates often became heated, as they touched on some of the most polarizing political issues.

Kirk defended his anti-abortion, pro-gun, pro-Trump, and anti-immigration stances and criticized transgender identities and same-sex marriage.

There are various discussions on Chinese social media related to his death.

A central part of the discussions surrounding Kirk’s death on Chinese social media focuses on American gun laws and Kirk’s own views on gun control.

On Zhihu and Weibo, many commenters echoed a sentiment also seen on Western social media, noting the irony of Kirk being killed while advocating for gun rights. In 2018, Kirk tweeted about a mass shooter being shot, writing: “guns save lives” (#查理柯克宣扬枪支拯救生命#).

Kirk was discussing and defending his pro-gun stance in Utah at the moment he was shot.

With this in mind, as well as taking Kirk’s other conservative viewpoints into account, many Chinese netizens do not necessarily empathize, with some even creating light banter around his death.

One popular comment on Weibo said:

Others claimed that Kirk “got what he wanted”:

This sentiment was quite prevalent on Chinese social media, where others also stressed that the very gun freedoms Kirk advocated for ultimately killed him, calling it the “gunshot of freedom” (“自由的枪声”).

Another commenter (元锡损) on Zhihu even described the killing of Kirk as a form of “art,” presuming that he was shot by someone who opposed gun ownership:

But some argue it all goes beyond a pro-gun stance, like the international news commentator Zhu Xi Er Ming (@逐汐而鸣), who also showed little empathy for Kirk:

These kinds of reactions often appear on Chinese social media whenever political unrest or major incidents occur in the United States, with netizens expressing anti-American sentiments and criticizing America’s “so-called freedom” — especially since human rights are a sensitive topic in China–US relations.

Criticism of America’s gun laws is often part of such criticism, such as after the Orlando shooting or other major shootings. This, in part, has to do with how US and China are practically polar opposites on the issue of gun control and what it means for ‘freedom.’

As one Xiaohongshu blogger (@民间观察员张向强) wrote, before news of the suspect’s apprehension came out:

China has some of the world’s strictest gun control laws and the ban on civilian gun ownership – as well as extensive surveillance systems for public safety – is generally supported by the public.

But reactions are mixed; not everyone is unsympathetic toward Kirk, nor do all commenters link his pro-gun stance to his death. Many voices also pushed back against claims that Kirk “got what he deserved.”

Yan Feng (严锋), a prominent commentator and Professor of Chinese Literature at Fudan University, called for a more compassionate response. He wrote:

In other comments, he said he opposed private gun ownership, but also suggested he did not believe Kirk was shot due to his pro-gun stance, while also stressing that Kirk never supported the use of guns to kill people with opposing views.

Luo Yiming (@罗祎明医生), a medical doctor at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, wrote:

There were also posts highlighting how Dean Withers, a left-wing influencer and long-time opponent of Charlie Kirk, reacted to the news of his death during a livestream — with shock and tears. That reaction also sparked discussions about how, even if you hold opposing views, you can still feel sorrow over someone being killed.

Although the initial discussions over Kirk’s death on Chinese social media seem to remain a bit on the surface, focusing on gun control and going from questions of karma to compassion, there are also other discussions placing his assassination more into a context of American social and political polarization.

One of China’s most famous online political commentators, Hu Xijin (@胡锡进), argued that political assassination is an inherent, dark part of American modern history. He wrote a lengthy column on Kirk’s death, calling it “a crash of the software of American democracy” (“这是美国民主软件的一次死机”) and also saying:

Well-known Chinese internet commentator Wanghu de Jianqiao (@王虎的舰桥) blamed American social governance for Kirk’s killing. He wrote:

Others agree with the notion that something is inherently amiss in American society, with some suggesting that the shooting shows the “unusually intense class struggle in the United States” (“凸显了美国阶级斗争的异常尖锐”).

Zhihu user Wenhou (文猴), who also runs a WeChat account focused on men’s self-improvement, blamed Kirk’s death on leftist policies and suggested that American feminism was complicit in the country’s “social decay.”

Hu Xijin, as well as other commenters, think that the Charlie Kirk shooting might be a turning point for what is yet to come. On Zhihu, some predict an ideological hardening that could push America closer to more political violence and societal fragmentation. Others think that it will weaken the radical left and unite the modern right-wing factions.

Some commentators are especially pessimistic about America’s future. One example is the active Weibo commentator, entrepreneur and public persona Xiang Ligang (@飞象网项立刚), who tied Kirk’s assassination to the recent shocking murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska while driving a train home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Xiang wrote:

Zhihu blogger ‘Patrick’ wrote:

One anonymous Weibo commenter wrote:

By Manya Koetse

(follow on X, LinkedIn, or Instagram)

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.

©2025 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.