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“True Heroes of the City”: Sparks of Patriotism as Firefighters Contain Chongqing Wildfire

Chinese firefighters and volunteers are praised on Weibo for going above and beyond to control the Chongqing forest fire.

Manya Koetse

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Chinese social media is flooding with posts praising the “heroes of the city”: all the firefighters, officers, soldiers, and Chinese citizens who fought ‘fire with fire’ and joined hands in combating the Chongqing wildfires under extreme weather conditions. The Chongqing wildfire containment has also fuelled patriotism among netizens.

This week, the mountain fires raging in Chongqing have become a big topic on Chinese social media. On Friday, the topic attracted at least one billion views on Weibo after professional firefighters and volunteers worked around the clock to contain the wildfire in the city’s Beibei District (#重庆山火#).

The fight to contain the fire became a collective effort, with thousands of Chinese volunteers from Chongqing and beyond coming to the scene to help in any way they could. Professional firefighters from other regions also came to the rescue, including teams from Yunnan and Gansu Province that specialize in forest fires.

Videos taken at the scene on Jinyun Mountain on Thursday evening showed countless people helping out at the mountain, some footage captured how people were shouting out “come on!” (“雄起!”) at each other for encouragement.

The southwestern regions of Chongqing and Sichuan Province have been battling forest fires since mid-August after the region has been facing scorching temperatures and severe drought.

Meanwhile, there have also been power cuts in Sichuan and Chongqing due to power shortages during the extreme summer.

At the same time, the city is also handling an emerging Covid outbreak and rolled out a mass testing campaign in order to test about 10 million residents in the city.

One image that circulated on Weibo showed a photo of Chongqing dealing with mountain fires, power cuts, and Covid test lines all at the same time.

 
Nixingzhe: The Heroes Going Against the Current
 

On the early morning of August 26, when the Beibei District fire was under control, Chinese social media flooded with posts praising the “heroes of the city”: all the firefighters, officers, soldiers, and common citizens who joined hands to combat the fires under extreme weather conditions.

Dramatic photos and digital artworks also circulated on Chinese social media, including photoshopped images produced by netizens and state media.

“Heroism of Chinese” image dedicated to Chongqing firefighters.

One photo from the scene (displayed below) served as an inspiration for other online posters and edited images, including one by state media outlet People’s Daily.

This image from the scene of the forest fires is one of the iconic photos that inspired others to edit and replicate it.

People’s Daily online poster.

People’s Daily published multiple images evoking feelings of patriotism, such as a bird’s eye view photo of the mountain fire and the rescue efforts, writing: “These are the amazing Chinese people” (“这就是了不起的中国人”).

On social media, the Chongqing firefighters are referred to as nìxíngzhě (逆行者), “the ones going against the tide.” This term, describing those who go beyond their call of duty, has been used by state media since early 2020 to refer to frontline workers and individuals who made a significant contribution or sacrifice during China’s initial battle against the novel coronavirus (see 2020 Top 10 Buzzwords in China).

An important method used to contain the spreading wildfires in Chongqing is ‘fighting fire with fire.’ With the help of all the people at the scene, Chinese specialized teams used controlled fires to prevent more forest fires by burning the fuel that could feed another fire. People’s Daily dedicated a Weibo hashtag page to this special and sometimes risky tactic of controlled burning (“以火灭火”) (#重庆北碚山火中的反向点火战术#). According to Chinese media, this fire fighting tactic played a decisive role in containing the fire.

Screenshot via Douyin showing firefighters having ice cream after their hard work.

Videos circulating on Weibo showed how drained some local firefighters were after containing the fires in the stifling heat, dealing with heat stroke and exhaustion.

“I don’t know what else to say, thank you,” some commenters wrote, with others saluting Chongqing’s heroes (“致敬英雄”).

Many people expressed pride in how the wildfires in Chongqing were handled, drawing comparisons with forest fires in Australia and other countries.

One Hunan-based Weibo user wrote:

“Compared to last year’s mountain fires in Australia which burned for nearly two months, and the July 30 fire in America’s California that saw local people fleeing and leaving, the fires in Chongqing showed us the power of the Chinese people. People spontaneously donated money and goods, and young people rushed to the frontline. It reminded me of the major flood efforts in ’98, how prepared for battle the white clothes workers were during the Covid outbreak in Wuhan, the subway rescue scene that happened in Zhengzhou last year. It makes my eyes tear up. This power comes from the love for the homeland that is rooted in the bones and blood of all Chinese people, this is the benevolent ‘all for one, one for all’ power of the Chinese people.”

On Friday afternoon and evening, firefighters and officers returning from the mountain were welcomed by groups of locals applauding them, waving flags, and offering them bottles of water and lemonade. These scenes were shared by official media channels on Weibo and beyond.

Although the narrative of the movie-like Chongqing battle against the fire is largely directed by state media propaganda on Chinese social media, many netizens join in the online celebration of this positive outcome of a difficult firefight. At a time of zero-Covid, power cuts, and scorching heat, it seems that many people are glad to see a happy ending to an otherwise devastating natural disaster.

“The fire is finally out,” one Weibo user wrote: “Front-line troops, firefighters, veterans, people of Chongqing, you are heroes, thank you for your great work!”

By Manya Koetse 

 

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©2022 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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.

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China Brands, Marketing & Consumers

Tsingtao Brewery ‘Pee-Gate’: Factory Worker Caught Urinating in Raw Material Warehouse

The pee incident, that occurred at a subsidiary Tsingtao Beer factory, has caused concerns among consumers.

Manya Koetse

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A video that has circulated on Chinese social media since October 19 shows how an alleged worker at a Tsingtao Beer factory climbs over a wall at the raw material production site and starts to urinate.

The incident reportedly occurred at the Tsingtao Beer Factory No. 3, a subsidiary of the Tsingtao Brewing Company, located in Qingdao, Shandong.

After the video went viral, the Tsingtao Brewery Company issued a statement that they took the incident very seriously and immediately report it to the authorities, who have started an investigation into the case. Meanwhile, the specific batch in production has been halted and shut off.

The incident has caused concern among consumers, and some commenters on social media wonder if this was the first time something like this has happened. “How do we know this hasn’t happened many times before?”

Others speculate about what might have motivated the man to urinate at the production site. There are those who believe that the man is part of an undercover operation orchestrated by a rivaling company, aimed at discrediting Tsingtao. It’s even suggested that there were two ‘moles’ leaking in this incident: one doing the urinating, and the other doing the video ‘leak.’

Meanwhile, there are voices who are critical of Tsingtao, suggesting that the renowned beer brand has not effectively addressed the ‘pee gate’ scandal. It remains uncertain how this incident will impact the brand, but some netizens are already expressing reservations about ordering a Tsingtao beer as a result.

But there are also those who joke about the “pissing incident,” wondering if Tsingtao Beer might soon launch a special “urine flavored beer.”

By Manya Koetse

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Featured photo by Jay Ang (link).

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China Local News

Streamed Without Realizing: Chinese Village Cadres Suspended after Sex Scene Video Leaks Online

“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do live-streaming!”

Manya Koetse

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Two cadres working in Weicheng District in Shandong Province were suspended this week after an “inappropriate video” that showed them engaging in sexual acts started circulating on Chinese social media.

The two got a bit too cozy together in a meeting room, and the moment allegedly was unknowingly caught on camera after a secretary did not turn the camera off after a video conference.

On October 6, Phoenix News (@凤凰网) reported that the subdistrict office in question denied that such an incident took place in their jurisdiction.

The local Discipline Inspection Commission, however, confirmed that the incident did take place and that the case was under investigation, although they would not confirm which positions the two cadres held. Online, it was claimed that they are a thirty-something male secretary in and a fifty-something female director.

Some Chinese media sources noted that the video in question seems to have been recorded from a security camera system screen, raising questions about whether the two had forgotten about the security cameras, or if they actually forgot to turn off a conference call camera, or if the incident was captured by both the security cameras and the webcam.

On Weibo and other Chinese social media, the incident has caused some banter among netizens.

“At least our Party comrades are now addressing their needs internally without causing harm to society – that could be considered a form of progress,” one popular comment said.

“It’s not bad, it’s just bad that they forgot to turn the webcam off,” others replied.

“Ah, so this is officially what officials do?” others wondered.

“Village cadres are so hard-working. Besides conducting conferences, they also do livestreaming!”

By now, it’s been confirmed by a staff member at the Wangliu St. Office in Weifang that the two individuals involved, both village cadres, have been suspended. They are currently under investigation by the Disciplinary Inspection Committee. By early Saturday, a related hashtag had garnered over 200 million views on Weibo (#两干部流出不雅视频被停职#).

By Manya Koetse

Get the story behind the hashtag. Subscribe to What’s on Weibo here to receive our newsletter and get access to our latest articles:

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©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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