Nationalist Internet Users in China Laud Putin’s Intervention
China’s internet, known for its fierce censorship, is filled with pro-Putin sentiment. Photo: Sputnik/ Reuters
As the world reacts to the weakened state of Ukraine, many governments and individuals have thrown their support behind the Ukrainian government and people. Online sentiments from China’s web reveal a different type of backing.
In response to President Putin’s speech on Feb. 24 defending the Russian invasion, a user on the Twitter-like Chinese app Weibo wrote, “If I were Russian, Putin would be my faith, my light.” Other users of China’s internet have lauded him as, “Putin the Great” and “the greatest strategist of this century.” These nationalist users often belong to younger generations, and are referred to as “little pinks,” a reference to the pink background of the online forum, Jinjiang Literature City.
This pro-Russian sentiment falls in line with some projected attitudes from the Chinese government. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying named the US as the culprit behind Russia-Ukraine tensions in a daily press briefing on Feb. 23. During a briefing the next day, the spokeswoman redirected a question asking if China considered Russia’s “special military operation” an invasion. She critiqued, “You may go ask the US: they started the fire and fanned the flames,” adding, “how are they going to put out the fire now?”
Chinese President Xi Jinping seems to have taken a less accusatory position, calling on Russia to resolve the crisis, in a phone call with President Putin after the invasion began.
Fallout from missiles in Ukraine. Photo: Lynsey Addario/ New York Times
Not all of China’s internet users have fallen in lockstep with Russian intervention. One Weibo user admitted that had they only used the app to look at information about the crisis, “I would have believed that it was the United States that had invaded Ukraine.” An article titled, “All those who cheer for war are idiots,” was widely circulated on Chinese messaging app WeChat, before being removed for violating regulations.
Pro-Putin sentiment is not limited to the Far East. Former President Trump and some US conservative commentators have been implicated in making favorable references to the Russian leader. As breaking news about the conflict is filtering to users around the world, Russia seeks greater control from big tech over what information is disseminated.