China Covid-19: How state media and censorship adopted coronavirus

At the beginning of the year, the Chinese government faced two major challenges; an unknown disease that threatens to tear through its population and a wave of voices telling the world what is happening.

By the end of 2020, a look at Chinese state-run media shows that both appear to be under control.

The BBC’s Kerry Allen and Zhaoyin Feng look back at the country’s online government censors who worked harder than ever to suppress negative information, the citizens who managed to break through the Great Firewall, and how the propaganda machine rewrote the story has.

At the beginning of the year, it was clear that something unprecedented had happened. Thousands of messages of public outrage appeared on Chinese social media asking if local governments were still covering up a Sars-like virus.

While government sensors regularly mute anti-government messages on platforms like Sina Weibo, they were so large that many remained visible.

This is because the Chinese government often scrambles to respond when censored disasters are faced, and that censors act sluggishly. In January and February, several media outlets took the opportunity to publish stubborn investigations, which were widely shared on social media.

Later, when Beijing came up with a propaganda strategy, these reports were suffocated.

Debt is shown in all directions. In mid-January, Chinese President Xi Jinping suddenly became an absent figure in China’s media. He has not been seen in public, and photos of him have disappeared from the front pages of traditional government shops such as People’s Daily. There were speculations that he, quite physically, avoided the guilt.

Within a week, however, things changed significantly. Top officials have begun warning local governments that they would ‘be nailed to the pillar of historical shame’ forever if they withheld information about affairs in their regions.

Blame shifts in Chinese media and social media in the direction of Wuhan’s leadership, with newspapers such as Beijing News writing unusually critical comments and asking, “Why did Wuhan not let the public know earlier?”

Mr. Xi then reappears in early February as a pillar of confidence and power amid China’s recovery.

In the midst of all the confusion, it became clear that the voice of one man had been silenced where it should not have been.

Li Wenliang became internationally known as the ‘whistleblower’ doctor who tried to warn colleagues about a Sars-like virus. Dr Li died on February 7 after it came to light that he had been investigated for ‘disturbing social order’ by ‘making false comments’.

More than a million users went to Sina Weibo to leave support messages for him on his profile after his death, which is often called China’s Lamentation Wall. However, posts have been deleted from time to time, to people’s frustration.

However, Netburgers found creative ways to keep his memory alive using emojis, Morse code, and ancient Chinese script.

Many have also written messages that they cannot say online on their masks. A trend is appearing on Facebook as well as the popular WeChat mobile messenger from users writing the words “I can not understand it” on their masks in response to Dr. Li’s death.

While the authorities have since officially recognized Dr Li Wenliang as a ‘martyr’, several notable activists can be written from the country’s Covid-19 history.

During the outbreak in Wuhan, a number of civilian journalists internationally made a striking impact by bypassing the ‘Great Firewall of China’ to make the city heard.

These include Chen Qiushi, Fang Bin and Zhang Zhan. They have garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube for videos that they say give a true picture of what is happening in Wuhan.

However, it has food. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists notes that the authorities in Wuhan ‘arrested several journalists for the coverage that threatened the official story of Beijing’s response’. CPJ says three are still in jail. And since YouTube is being blocked in China, few in the country know what its impact is.

Questions were also asked about whether one journalist who reappeared had become part of an overseas propaganda campaign.

Li Zehua disappeared in February after posting a YouTube video in which he says he was chased by police in his car.

He was not heard from for two months, but then posted a video in which he said that he had cooperated with the authorities and was in quarantine.

He has not posted since, and many have suggested he might be forced to make the video.

Since March, China has wanted to mark its success in overcoming the coronavirus, but it is particularly clear that the sensors have been trying to dispel the evidence of dissatisfaction, especially among young people.

China has stressed that it wants to avoid another Wuhan-style closure. Yet, as the South China Morning Post notes, many universities have continued to implement ‘blanket campuses’.

In August, many students returned to a physical classroom for the first time. But protests have erupted on campuses across the country against universities that have rationed internet and shower times due to the sudden overcapacity. There were also complaints that university canteens were exploiting the dependence on food on the premises and increasing food costs. Many such conversations were subsequently censored.

Anger and discontent among China youths has caused many people to go beyond traditional social media platforms on lesser-known people this year to find a shared voice.

The news site Sixth Tone marks a resurgence of ‘NetEmo’ on the music streaming platform, Netease Cloud Music, with ‘penetrating’ comments from young Chinese about ‘failed exams, doomed relationships and shattered dreams’.

It says the platform tried to stem the trend by announcing an action on what it said were “fabricated” user comments.

China has also tried to promote an overly optimistic image.

Although there are concerns that The Crown may tell a false version of the royal history of the United Kingdom, many Chinese are concerned that books and TV shows from the Covid era did not show exactly what happened in Wuhan. .

Chinese author Fang Fang received much praise earlier this year for documenting her life in Wuhan, and a rare glimpse into the fears and hopes of Wuhan residents.

However, her online diary has since made her the target of ardent Chinese nationalists, who accuse her of trying to smear China and promote a ‘doomsday story’.

State media has sought to promote other books, including those of expats, to bolster the government’s optimistic message about the virus’ handling of the virus.

In some cases, there was a backlash in the state media that prescribed a certain narrative about dealing with the Wuhan outbreak.

This was evident in September when Heroes in Harm’s Way, the first drama ‘based on real-life stories’ of front-line workers, suffered setbacks because they played the role of women in the outbreak.

It is clear that China wants to end 2020 on a high note.

In addition to telling his own citizens that he has largely won the war over his Covid-19, China also wants to tell the world.

But China now wants to distance itself from its early connection to the coronavirus and promote the idea that China’s Covid-19 success means its political model is more successful than the West.

It went further than an end to loaded terminology, such as the ‘Wuhan coronavirus’ – which China’s own media used even in the early stages – to reinforce the suggestions that the coronavirus could actually start in the West.

Chinese outlets did not waste any time during the year highlighting the poor handling of the virus by the United States – and to some extent the United Kingdom – and how it exacerbated divisions.

It happened to such an extent that it became popular for Chinese netizens to call Covid-19 the “America virus” or “Trump virus.”

Chinese newspapers and broadcasters liked to point out when American media turned to each other, how politicians prioritized spending on election campaigns over health care, and how a messy, endless election led to extreme political polarization.

If there is one message that China wants to take in 2021, it is that the country is rounding off the year with unity and prosperity, while other countries can only provide for further division and instability.