China Media
“Without Limits, There is No Freedom” – Controversial French Burkini Ban Goes Trending on Weibo
France’s ‘burkini’ bans recently sparked outrage on Twitter, where many netizens called them “racist” and “oppressive”. On Chinese social media, however, many netizens seem to support the French ban on Islamic swimwear, while other Weibo users just don’t understand what all the “fuss” is about

Published
7 years agoon

France’s ‘burkini’ bans recently sparked outrage on Twitter, where many netizens called them “racist” and “oppressive”. On Chinese social media, however, many netizens seem to support the French ban on Islamic swimwear, while other Weibo users just don’t understand what all the “fuss” is about.
On Weibo, various Chinese media recently reported about mayors in different French cities banning the ‘burkini’, a type of Islamic swimwear for women. The news of the ban, and photographs of police allegedly asking a woman to remove her conservative beachwear, were shared amongst Chinese netizens and attracted many comments.
On Twitter, the ban has led to a stream of angry reactions, with many calling it “oppressive”, “racist” and “absurd”, while defending wearing the right to wear a burkini as “the right to cover up”.
The French burkini bans are based on ideas that the body wear item is “not just a casual choice”, but “part of an attempt by political Islamism to win recruits and test the resilience of the French republic” (Economist 2016). The bans come after a series of deadly terrorist attacks over the past 1,5 years.
Religious neutrality is a value that has been strongly upheld in France, where the government adheres to a strict form of secularism known as laïcité – designed to keep religion out of public life (Economist 2014). Since 2004, wearing conspicuous religious symbols in public schools became illegal. According to Brookings, that law was widely condemned in the United States, where high schools allow students to wear head scarfs, Jewish caps, large Christian crosses, or other conspicuous religious signs.
But French supporters argued that in the existing social, political and cultural context of France, they could not tolerate these religious symbols. In 2010, wearing a full face veil was also prohibited by law.
“Don’t you get it? This is all for the safety of the country.”
On August 24, Chinese news site The Observer (观察者网) posted on Weibo: “Where are the human rights? French police force women to take off her muslim swimwear. Recently, at a beach in the French city of Nice, French police requested a woman to take off her muslim swimwear, which triggered much controversy. At the time, the woman was wearing a so-called ‘burkini’ (布基尼) while sunbathing. Four tall men went to her while holding their police stick and pepper-spray.”
The post, just one out of many micro-blogs posted on this topic on Sina Weibo, attracted near 6000 comments. The most popular comment (i.e. receiving the most ‘likes’ from other netizens) said: “The rule of France banning clear religious symbols in public does not just apply to muslims. This rule is the same for all religions.”1
A burkini sold on a swimwear website.
The number two most popular comment read: “Don’t blame the police for this! France is afraid to get bombed! They are afraid of people hiding bombs in their clothing in crowded places.”2
“Don’t you get it? This is all for the safety of the country,” the following commenter wrote.3
“Freedom is not unlimited, freedom is relative, freedom is limited – without limits, there is no freedom.”
Many Chinese netizens see the burkini ban as a direct consequence of the strings of islamist terrorist attack occurring in France over the past 18 months. “This is how it should be, China is the same, there can be no exemptions,”4 one netizen says.
In China, a ban on wearing burqa’s, or ‘face masking veils’ (蒙面罩袍), was legally approved in January of 2015. The prohibition on burqa’s applies specifically to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, home to the majority of China’s muslims.
A year earlier, Chinese authorities also implemented several measures in Xinjiang to keep religious expressions to a minimum after a string of attacks allegedly committed by Chinese muslim extremists. The measures, amongst others, did not allow fasting for Ramadan, no niqabs, hijabs or large beards in buses.
[rp4wp]
Underneath a Weibo post on the burkini ban by China’s Lifeweek (@三联生活周刊), the number one popular comment says: “To all the people here saying that what you wear is a personal freedom: it was also enforced that women could no longer have bound feet [in China], with the police parading the foot binding cloths out in the streets. Some women felt so humiliated that they committed suicide. Do you also feel that their right needed to be defended? (..) Freedom is not unlimited, freedom is relative, freedom is limited – without limits, there is no freedom.”5
” What is all the fuss about?”
But not all netizens agree with these views. One micro-blogger, who goes by the name of ‘Demons and Monsters‘, said: “Although I am opposed to the burqa, I am also against the enforcement of wearing less clothing. What if you caught a cold? You are an endangerment to others if you fully cover yourself in a public place, but it is your freedom not to expose too much.”
“What about the West and its human rights? Its freedom of religion?” another Weibo user remarks.6
Noteworthy about the burkini ban issue on Weibo, is that although (state) media seem to denounce it in their reporting (“Where are the human rights?”), the majority of netizens seem to support it. When Chinese news site Jiemian posted the news on Weibo saying: “A setback for freedom? Three cities in France prohibit muslim swimsuits”, it got the response from netizens: “A setback? This is progression!”7, and others saying: “People keep mentioning human rights, and freedom. Take a look at Europe’s terrorist attacks – what does it [still] mean?”8
“When you come to a place, you follow their guidelines and customs. This is normal. It is also a way of showing respect to the local [culture]. What is all the fuss about? Should muslims be an exception to the rule?”, one 45-year-old Weibo user from Shandong writes.
“I thought we were talking about facekini’s here.”
Another person compares the burkini to the Japanese kimono: “I think a lot of people here do not understand the feeling of French people. For example, what if you would walk down the street and see that in China people are wearing kimono’s? When in Rome, do as the Romans do, or just go back to your own country. Don’t use religion as an excuse.”9
Although the majority of the netizen’s reactions on Weibo are different than those on Twitter, a recurring issue on both social media networks is the focus on ‘freedom’, with some Chinese netizens emphasizing the fact that what you wear is your own freedom. But the most-liked comments on Weibo are those stressing that freedom is relative: “Many people say that a woman can wear what she likes, that it’s her freedom. But did you ever think about whether these women have the freedom not to wear it? They clearly don’t.”10
There are also those who confuse the ‘burkini’ (布基尼) with China’s ‘facekini‘ (脸基尼) (“I thought we were talking about facekini’s for a moment!“), although for now, it is highly likely that neither are welcome on the beaches of Nice.
China’s infamous ‘facekini’
– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo
1 “但其实法国禁止民众在公共场合显露出明显的宗教标志的规定,不只是针对穆斯林。 这个法规对各大宗教是平等的,比如在公共场所佩戴十字架,佩戴佛珠,严格的说,都是不符合法规的。”
2 “别喷警察了!法国是被炸怕了 就怕人群密集的地方 衣服里那么厚有藏炸弹”
3 “那是为了国家安全,你懂个屁[doge]”
4“必须这样,中国的也一样,不能搞特殊化”
5 “评论里谈到穿什么是个人自由,当年女性不能再裹脚也是强制性的,警察们挑着裹脚布招摇过市,无数女性感觉被羞辱自杀,你是否认为她们的自由也应该被捍卫?就是现在很多女性也自愿回家自愿生多胎自愿流产自愿被打死,她们的自由呢?自由不是无限的,自由是相对的,自由是受限的,没有限制就没有自由。”
6 西方的人权呢?宗教自由呢?
7“这是倒退?这是进步!”
8“还有人提人权,自由。不看看欧洲被恐袭搞成什么了么?”
9 “我看很多人不了解法国人是怎样一种感受,打个比方,就跟你走在街上看到中国有人穿和服的时候[微笑]所谓入乡要随俗,不然真的请回自己国家。别拿宗教当借口这里不适合这样的宗教,你为何还来呢?”
10“很多人都说那些女性喜欢穿什么就穿什么,是她们的自由。但是洗地的那些人有没有想过,她们有不穿这个的自由吗,很明显没有”
©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
[showad block=2]
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.

China Insight
Why a “High-Speed Train Slapping Incident” Went Viral on Chinese Social Media
An altercation between passengers on a high-speed train to Chengdu has caused a stir on Chinese social media, sparking discussions about some long-standing social issues.

Published
2 weeks agoon
May 12, 2023
An explosive argument between two female passengers on a high-speed train has gone viral on Chinese social media this week. The fight has triggered widespread discussions on the issue of ‘mutual assault,’ the problem of ‘brat children,’ and why it might be wiser to avoid intervening in these types of disputes altogether.
An argument between two female passengers on a Chinese high-speed train has recently attracted a lot of attention on Chinese social media. (See video, around the 4:10 mark.)
The incident, which has been dubbed “the high-speed rail slapping incident” (“高铁掌掴事件”), happened on the C6276 train on May 2, 2023, between Meishan East Railway Station and Chengdu East Railway station.
This is the incident that happened on a high-speed train to Chengdu that has gone completely viral over the past week, triggering discussions on right&wrong and long-standing social issues. https://t.co/vmgXWS8jqz pic.twitter.com/9MHcjIdZL6
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) May 12, 2023
Two female passengers seated on the train got into an argument after one woman (Wang 王) got angry over the other woman’s children kicking against the back of her seat. She turned around and scolded them, after which the mother (named Yang 杨) got upset. Both women took their phones and argued while filming each other.
The situation soon escalated from there, and the argument turned physical when Yang first slapped Wang in her face. Several videos of the incident that have since gone viral show that Wang then also slapped Yang in the face, and did it again shortly after.
Train staff and other passengers tried to mediate the situation and calm the women down. One man in specific raised his voice to mediate, while also condemning the parents for not correcting their children’s behavior.
Wang posted about the incident on social media on the night of May 2nd, and it has blown up since then.
Wang was later summoned to the police station and reportedly was fined 200 yuan ($30) by the police for her role in the incident. On the night of May 4th, Wang arrived at the police station at 8 pm, and did not leave until 3.30 am.
In a video posted online, the woman explained that she refused to reconcile with the other party, insisting that they should receive the appropriate punishment for their actions (#高铁上被掌掴女孩坚决不和解#). She said she would accept the fine she received, but stressed that the party that initiated the fight should be punished more harshly.
“To give each one a flogging of fifty strokes” (各打五十大板)
One of the main reasons why the case became so big is because the incident was ruled as “mutual assault” (hù’ǒu 互殴). On Chinese social media, many netizens express that the judgement is not correct since Yang was the first to attack and Wang defended herself (zhèng dàng fáng wèi 正当防卫).
The issue of self-defense being ruled as a ‘mutual assault’ is a recurring one in Chinese social media discussions. A popular opinion is that the police often rule something as ‘mutual assault’ to just settle the matter and be done with it. This is also referred to as gè dǎ wǔshí dà bǎn (各打五十大板), a Chinese idiom that translates to “each person gets a flogging of fifty strokes,” meaning the guilty and innocent are being punished in the same way.

One post about the issue by Sina News received nearly 225,000 likes on Weibo.
Since the slapping incident continued to trigger discussions online, the Chengdu Railway Police issued a statement on May 10, in which they provided exact details on how the incident unfolded. They concluded that both parties were guilty of assault, and that Wang had received the 200 yuan ($30) fine while Yang had received an administrative penalty of 500 yuan ($72).
Still, many people feel that punishing the instigator as well as the person who strikes back is not fair, since it allegedly prevents people from trying to defend themselves.
“The woman who was beaten showed great perseverance,” one person commented: “Hopefully, this case can serve as a milestone event, thoroughly correcting the society’s long-standing habit of taking this approach [of ruling it as ‘mutual assault’] to smooth things over.”
In 2020, Jeremy Daum at China Law Translate published an article about self-defence and on how cases related to the right to protect oneself can evoke passionate public responses. The article describes how then-released guidelines help authorities navigate cases involving the right to protect oneself and the determinations of when such a defense is justified.
As Daum points out, one remarkable feature of the 2020 guidelines is their explicit concern for public opinion. In light of some cases triggering massive public debates, the guidelines call for greater transparency in explaining the law to the public and on how verdicts are reached.
The 2020 guidelines are evident in this specific ‘train slapping incident,’ as it is clear that the reason for penalizing both parties was clearly communicated to the public as the incident went trending online.
“Brat children” (熊孩子)
Another reason why this particular incident received so much attention has to do with the issue of so-called “brat children.” In Chinese, they are referred to as xióng háizi (“熊孩子”), which literally means ‘bear children’ and is used to describe unruly, naughty children (often boys) who are prone to cause trouble.
In The Historical Dictionary of Chinese Culture (Sullivan & Sullivan 2021), it is explained that the rise of the “xióng háizi” phenomenon in China during the 2000s was due to the prevalence of a parenting style known as “soft-touch parenting.”
This approach to parenting was significantly different from previous decades and emphasized gentle and nurturing methods. As a result, many of these children, who are often only children who are pampered by doting grandparents, developed a reputation for their disruptive and self-absorbed behavior in public places (p. 130).
The behaviour of these “little brats” often makes headlines. Like the time when security cameras captured how a young boy urinated in an elevator and broke it, or when a little kid crashed and destroyed a Lego sculpture within an hour after it was displayed in a Chinese mall.
Many commenters on social media say that they have had it with these “little brats” and their parents. In one of her social media posts, Wang argued that there should be designated carriages for passengers traveling with children on high-speed trains to avoid bothering other passengers.

Brat children on the train (via
Regarding the incident, many people believe that the intensity of the argument was due to the fact that people have become increasingly intolerant of unruly children and their parents who fail to discipline them. Although Wang also slapped Yang, many people still side with her, saying they understand her frustrations and supporting her right to criticize the children and their parents.
One commenter (@陌川_MC) writes: “Lots of things are happening every day, yet why do we always see incidents involving ‘brat children’ pop up in the trending lists? The basic reason is that it strikes our travel pain point: we constantly get annoyed by little brats. Behind every ‘bear child’ there is a ‘bear parent.’ People are very disgusted with such parents, but can not do anything about it, which is why they cannot help but feel indignant when they see these types of incidents happening.”
“I was on a high-speed train for three hours yesterday, and all of these three hours a brat child was crying. Didn’t it wear him out? Even I was exhausted by listening to his cries, and the train attendants didn’t do anything about it.”
The hashtag “Should Trains Set Up Special Carriages for Children” (#列车有必要设置携带儿童车厢吗#) received comments from many people who applaud the idea.
“Dongbei Brother” (东北大哥)
One of the other reasons why the train slapping incident has become such a big topic is due to the role played by one of the passengers who stepped in and ‘mediated’ during the fight. As he comes from Northeast China, the man has now come to be known simply as the ‘Dongbei Brother’ or ‘Northeastern big brother’ (东北大哥).
During the incident, the man came up and meddled in the argument. Although ‘Dongbei Brother’ has become an online celebrity, netizens also accuse him of taking sides during the altercation, labeling the child as a troublemaker and completely ignoring the fact that Wang was filming the children and yelling at them.
Others suggest he only intervened to gain attention for himself and increase his social media following.

The man approaching in the yellow jacket is “Dongbei brother.”
In response to these accusations, then man said on a recent livestream that he only stepped in because he saw the two parties arguing and wanted to prevent the altercation getting any worse. The man also stated that he received a call from the child’s mother, thanking him for his intervention. Neverthless, in light of all the negative comments he received, he also stated that he would not intervene in similar situations in the future. That topic also went trending (#东北大哥称不想再管吵架事件#), receiving 180 million views on Friday.
Some people took the backlash against ‘Dongbei Brother’ as a lesson, suggesting that it might be wiser to avoid intervening in these types of disputes altogether.
Lastly, the recent incident not only sparked discussions on the issue of “mutual assault” and “brat children,” as well as the role of those who intervene, but it has also shed light on the issue of cyberbullying. The individuals involved in the incident have all faced online abuse, highlighting the harmful impact of cyberbullying.
Despite all the people who have strong opinions about the incident and the various people involved, there are also those calling on netizens to stay reasonable above all else. After all, the best thing people can do to set the right example for so-called “brat children” is to try and stay civilized online.
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:
References
Daum, Jeremy. 2020. “Standing your ground, China Style.” China Law Translate, October 5 https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/standing-your-ground-china-style/ [May 12, 2023].
Sullivan, Lawrence R. and Nancy Sullivan. 2021. Historical Dictionary of Chinese Culture. New York and London: Rowman & Littlefield
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.
China Health & Science
Beijing Changfeng Hospital Fire: Five Things To Know
29 people lost their lives due to the devastating fire that occurred in Beijing’s Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday. These are 5 things to know.

Published
1 month agoon
April 19, 2023
On Tuesday, April 18, a big fire broke out inside Changfeng Hospital, a private hospital located in Beijing’s Fengtai District. The incident, which killed 29 people, is now known as the “4.18 Beijing Changfeng Hospital Fire Incident” (4•18北京长峰医院火灾事故).
Videos of the incident that circulated on Chinese social media (see here) showed smoke coming out of the hospital windows on different floors, with patients hanging on to air conditioning units outside of the windows. The footage also showed patients falling down the building from higher floors.
This is the timeline of the incident as reported by Chinese official media:
• April 18 / 13:00-15:00
At 12:57 on April 18, the Fengtai District fire and emergency services received an alert that a fire had broken out in the east building of the inpatient department of Beijing Changfeng Hospital. The fire, which was extinguished at 13:33, killed 21 people. The cause of the incident was still under investigation.
• April 18 / 15:30
At 15:30, the rescue work was finished and a total of 71 patients were evacuated and transferred to other hospitals in Beijing.
• April 18 / Evening
Changfeng Hospital closed its doors and only allowed immediate family members of inpatients to still enter the hospital. The Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association, the largest association of private hospitals in China, later also announced that they had canceled the membership of Beijing Changfeng Hospital in light of the incident.
• April 19 / 9:00
As of 9:00 local time, official sources reported that the death toll of the fire incident had risen to 29 people. 27 of them were patients who were treated at the hospital, and some of them died after their transfer to another hospital. The average age was 71.2 according to China Youth Daily.
• April 19 / 12:00
In a briefing held by Beijing authorities, it was said that the fire originated from sparks that arose during renovation and construction work at the hospital, according to Chinese media reports. Authorities stated that the Changfeng Hospital director, along with 11 others (including the hospital’s Vice President, the construction company’s leader, and one construction workers on site), had been detained for their criminal liability in the fire incident.
• April 19 / Late afternoon
According to CCTV, Beijing’s Fengtai District has set up a community working group (群众工作组) to provide assistance and support to patient’s families and help with any practical problems at the scene.
Here are five important things to know regarding the deadly fire at Beijing’s Changfeng Hospital:
1. The Patients Were Especially Vulnerable
The fire reportedly broke out at the 5th floor of the Changfeng Hospital, which is a private hospital specializing in neurology, vascular tumors, and arteriovenous malformations.
The patients that were staying at the higher floors at the affected building were especially weak, as they were mostly elderly patients and those receiving critical or end-of-life care. Many of them were mobility-limited patients who could not easily get out of bed and escape the fire by themselves.
2. There Were No Adequate Fire Evacuation Measures in Place
There were no adequate fire evacuation measures in place at the hospital, where hospital rooms were crowded with multiple patients. According to one nurse who was quoted by China Youth Daily, she had to climb down a water pipe from the 8th floor of the hospital, which is the building’s top floor. The videos that circulated also showed the lack of fire stairs, as patients fled from windows and held on to air conditioning units.
Because the fire occurred during daylight hours, emergency responders were able to act quickly, the hospital building had only 8 floors, and rescue efforts were not hindered by road obstructions, the high death toll resulting from the Changfeng fire is all the more surprising and tragic.
In late February of this year, Changfeng Hospital had released news about strictly implementing fire prevention and control measures. The hospital reportedly also held a fire prevention and control meeting according to government regulator requirements, but the April 18 fire showed that these measures were not actively implemented.
3. The Construction Work on the Hospital Seemed Unregulated
Chinese media source The Time Weekly (时代周报) reported that residents in the hospital’s neighborhood stated that the renovation of the building had been going on for some time and that many wires could be seen outside of the building where the fire occurred, expected to be illegal power lines (私拉电线) without proper safety measures.
The cause of the fire can be traced back to sparks that were generated during renovations on the inside of the hospital, at the inpatient department, and they reportedly ignited volatile fumes from combustible paint on the site.
This also suggests that the construction workers and the renovation procedures in general did not follow proper safety or risk assessment protocols that could have prevented the fire from breaking out.
4. Media Coverage of the Fire Was Initially Limited, Comments Censored
Although the Changfeng Hospital fire is now all over Chinese social media, news about the fire was strictly controlled in the direct aftermath of the incident.
On Twitter, VOA News reporter Wen Hao (@ThisIsWenhao) noted how public anger erupted across Chinese social media on Tuesday as videos and social media posts about the fire were taken down. Wen states that it was not until 20:49 that local official media first announced the fire and the number of deaths.
Reporter Vivian Wu (@vivianwubeijing) also noted how it was not until about 21:00 before Chinese news outlets received the “green light” to report on the incident.
All the big reports about the incident only were released eight hours after the fire started, suggesting that local authorities wanted to make sure the fire was under control and that there was enough information on the incident – and how to communicate it to family members and the general audience – before further news was released and went viral on social media.
In a blog that has now been censored on socials titled “5 Facts the News Conference Didn’t Tell You About the Changfeng Hospital Fire that Killed 29 People” (“长峰医院火灾致29人死亡,发布会没告诉你的5条真相”)* – still online at iFeng – the author called it “a mystery” that such a major fire in Beijing could stay under wraps for eight hours until the official announcement came out. The author, along with other sources, also claimed that some family members did not know about the fire until they saw the news pop up.
In 2022, a fire that occurred in Urumqi city, Xinjiang, triggered waves of mourning and anger on Chinese social media. On Weibo, there were many questions and rumors surrounding the incident at a particularly sensitive zero-Covid time, when frustrations were already building (read all about the aftermath here).
Although the context and location of the Urumqi fire is very different from the Changfeng one, it seems clear that there was a government-orchestrated media strategy following the direct aftermath of the April 18 fire to keep information flows under control.
5. The Incident Reignited Scrutiny on Private Hospitals in China
The fire at Changfeng Hospital has reignited scrutiny on the role of private hospitals in China, which have been previously also been criticized for prioritizing financial gain over the well-being of patients.
In light of this incident, some netizens mention Putian Medical Group, a powerful player in China’s healthcare industry that has set up private hospitals all over the country. Putian has previously been criticized for overpricing patients, working together with Baidu to lead patients to their clinics, and fraudulent affairs (read more here).
Now, Changfeng Hospital – which runs a number of hospitals in twenty cities across the country – is also facing backlash for spending hundreds of millions of yuan on advertising their medical services while suffering financial losses. At the same time, they were clearly not allocating enough resources for proper fire control and safety measures in their buildings.
Chinese media outlet The Observer wrote that the hospital actually shows similarities with the Putian Medical Group, as various clinics or hospitals led by Changfeng were previously also reported for medical scams. The Fengtai branch itself was penalized a total of 11 times since 2016 for various reasons (#长峰医院7年间至少被罚11次#).
For now, many people are still questioning how the incident could have happened and why its outcome is so tragic. While further investigations are still underway, some of these questions will hopefully be answered in the near future.
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
* The five questions that the news conference did not answer according to the blogger relate to: 1. Why family members and the general audience only learnt about the fire at such a relatively late time; 2. Why the death toll of the incident was so high considering the circumstances; 3. Why the hospital was allowed to do interior construction work while also resuming normal operations; 4. Why the owner of the Changfeng Hospital group is not among the 12 people detained after the fire; 5. Why Hunan patients who were treated at the hospital were allegedly transferred to private secondary hospitals in Beijing.
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.
©2023 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

‘Carpet Pacific’: A Timeline of the Cathay Pacific Scandal Through Weibo Hashtags

“The Frog in the Well”: China’s Condemnation of the G7 Summit

China’s Celebrity Weight Craze: Qin Hao’s Viral Diet and Body Anxiety Behind the Weight-Loss Trend

Weibo Watch: Comedy, Controversy, Complexity

From Comedy to Controversy: Behind the Li Haoshi Incident
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to become a premium member of What’s on Weibo today and gain access to all of our latest and premium content, as well as receive our exclusive newsletter. If you prefer to receive just our weekly newsletter with an overview of the latest, you can subscribe for free here.

Why Russia Is Nicknamed the “Weak Goose” on Chinese Social Media

“Like a Zombie Apocalypse” – Chaotic Scenes in Shanghai as People Flee Building after Abnormal Test Result

Nightmarish Night in Itaewon: Fatal Halloween Stampede in Seoul

Chinese Students Are Making Their Voices Heard, from Nanjing to Xi’an

The 11.24 Urumqi Fire: Mourning and Anger at Lives Lost in Apartment Building Inferno

The ‘Blank White Paper Protest’ in Beijing and Online Discussions on “Outside Forces”

Much Ado About Big Breasts: Two Controversies Surrounding Busty Women on Chinese Social Media

Did This TikToker Find Unseen Nanjing Massacre Photos? Regardless, Chinese Netizens Want the World to Know about 1937

Tribute to Urumqi at Shanghai’s Wulumqi Road

Barbie Hsu, Wang Xiaofei, and the Mattress Incident: Weibo’s Divorce Drama of the Year
Get in touch
Would you like to become a contributor, or do you have any tips or suggestions for us? Get in touch with us here.
Popular Reads
-
China Celebs3 months ago
Hong Kong Police Find Head of Murdered Model Abby Choi in Soup Pot
-
China Arts & Entertainment1 month ago
What Went Wrong in Suzhou Acrobatic Show? Fatal High-Altitude Fall Triggers Discussions on Safety Measures
-
China Digital3 months ago
Meet Ren Xiaorong, People’s Daily AI Virtual News Anchor
-
China Insight2 months ago
Modern-Day Yugong or Greedy Wolf? Critical Discussions after Ningxia Land Owner Goes Viral Begging for Water